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Well that right there makes this an all star weekend. Anyone else watching the NHL?

Wow!!! How long has it been?!! Welcome back!!!

Lots of guys wear a "toy watch" in chambers between active shifts so they can retain a little sanity, keeping a connection with the outside world. It's a dry environment and the dive master can't crawl up your butt for bypassing the computer. But that's also when the HE leaks in causing blown crystals when you start blowing down. Yeah "every watch has a helium valve... the crown". That's how most high end dive watches that flood, get flooded. The owners forget.

^^^^what Sogeha said Why the fascination with 300m? By 150 - 200 feet it's dark, monotone, there's nothing to see, no fun to be had, it's just work. Deeper is darker and harder work. Increasing depth requires a lot more than a thicker crystal. The whole structure must be beefed up because pressure comes from everywhere. Why do you think a Sea Dweller caseback is more domed than a Submariner, which is more domed than a GMT Master? Last time I had my 1665 in the Rolex AD we took it apart, checked it out, then he assembled it for a pressure test. The tester has a finger that rests on the caseback and he ran it up to ungodly pressure... and the caseback didn't flinch. Nice and stiff.

I brought a genuine Franck Muller like that back from the UK and was walking on eggshells for awhile, those bloody things are EXPENSIVE!!

Hey welcome back!! Yeah lots has changed. For the Explorer try emailing Mary and ask her to look around for a GOOD one during her travels. She finds some amazing stuff

My stray mutts came from a far different kennel than yours! Wow, pretty.

You have your answer about which is the best version, ARF or ZZF. Your bigger problem will be finding a genuine *anything* for a Rolex, at a reasonable price. "Rolex" and "reasonable price" don't go together in the same sentence. What is overpriced today will seem like a bargain in a year.

I had the 43mm 50th Anniversary SD from ARF and I thought the Glidelock was very good. It was easy to adjust and it stayed where I put it.

Check the working end of almost any nut driver or socket wrench... there's a ball bearing with a spring. They've got to be readily available.

The Big Gonzo gets some exercize

Desk diving with heavy metal today

Spectacular. Achieving that finish on my 5514 case is my project for this year.

We'll have to let others chime in on that, I've never messed with GMT movements (I just wear them)

For the Lume-aholics out there...

Maranez version of a Doxa Army

Sorry gents, I live almost on the international date line so my wishes for a happy new year come very late in the sequence. I wish you all health, success and prosperity in the coming year! Find a friend and stick close to him this year. We're all going to need one.

Keep up the good work Mike, and the honest opinions about what works, and what doesn't in the fight against this thing. IMHO we should all go ahead and catch this damned Omicron variant, develop the natural immunities that will result, and put this thing to bed.

What alligoat said. You hear the stories "Oh, 300m water resistance means you might be able to shower without flooding it". That's a load of crap in my opinion. I'm an ex-commercial diver with 1000 hours at stupid depths and the only watch I ever flooded was when a Rolex helium release valve failed. I've had all manner of reps (yes, the cheap Chinese knock-offs) in the ocean all over the world, I've dived with them, beat them to death, and none ever leaked. If you're buying a copy of a tried-and-true case design, then as long as the seals are right, you're pretty safe. The Seiko MOD watches will go deeper than you'll ever want to. We did a topic here years ago about making a pressure checker from a Nalgene water bottle. I've done that and tested my watches to 90psi air pressure, which equals 52 meters seawater depth, give or take a little. That's plenty freaking deep for almost all weekender divers. And yes you'll be able to shower with it.

The Seiko divers are pretty conservative with their ratings. Lots of tests online about true pressure capacity.

Boy, welcome to the rabbit hole. Where do I start? It used to be modding involved Seiko cases only. I've built lots based on the SKX781 and there are plenty of people making parts for that. Many other people used other cases. Then the Prospex models came along (compressing the timeline a bit) like the SRP777 and the suppliers jumped all over that too. Then people such as yourself started wanting more cases with crowns at 3:00 instead of 4:00 and the suppliers started making custom cases like that. Now? You can get almost anything you want. Almost all of them use the NH35 or NH36 movement. These are the unbranded version of the Seiko 4R36, otherwise identical. They're great movements, they (can) keep COSC time and they're durable. And they're cheap. $30 gets you another, there's no sense even repairing one. So once you have your case and movement, you can mix and match to your heart's content. I did this for awhile and made two "Doxa" lookalikes out of SRP777 cases. They came out great. Here are two of them: Both have stock Seiko SRP777 cases. Both have Yobokies dials and hands. The orange one has a bezel from Yobokies, the yellow one has a bezel called "Revenge One" from One Second Closer. The orange one has a domed crystal from Crystaltimes, the yellow one has a polished chapter ring from Yobokies and a flat AR coated crystal from Yobokies. Both have generic beads of rice bands available from eBay for cheap, and the endlinks (that fit the band perfectly and take a little shaping for the case) come from WatchGecko. Crowns and casebacks came from Crystaltimes and Dagaz. This is just an example of what can be done. Get an inexpensive set of watch tools and go for it. If you screw up some hands trying to reset them, or if you scratch a dial, it's no big loss. Good luck! https://usa.crystaltimes.net/product-category/cases/ https://www.watchgecko.com/metal-watch-straps/accessories-parts https://usa.crystaltimes.net/product-category/srp-turtle-mod-parts/ https://one-second-closer.com/shop/the-revenge-one-polished-seiko-srp-new-turtle-mod-bezel-ntd-05-p/ https://calibercorner.com/seiko-caliber-nh36/ https://www.theyobokies.com/?mod=product&sec=item&task=detail&id=684 https://www.dagazwatch.com/apps/webstore/ https://suppaparts.com/Beads-of-Rice-bracelet.php

Merry Christmas! Thank you for always having a new wristie for us, your collection is incredible.

To watch afficionados far and wide, we at RWG wish you health, happiness and success in your pursuit of your personal Grail watch in the coming year! Ho Ho Hoooooooooo!!! Merrrrrrry Christmas!

I agree, beauty should be enjoyed not hidden away. This one has 3 others that are each worth more sitting in there with it. That’s why I built this, so I can still enjoy the vintage vibe, without worrying about wearing it.

*cough* Oh, this old thing??? Yeah I guess it'll do.