panerai153

Heck, I've seen the folks at my local PO take one of my packages and turn around and throw it into a big rolling bin that's parked about 10 feet behind the counter!!! So if they will treat a package like that right in front of the customer, just think what happens behind that wall behind the counter? If you ask them" why did you throw my package"? Their answer will be" we asked you if there was anything liquid, fragile or breakable in the package, you said no"!!

I tend to overpack, but it's always better to be safe than sorry. It too amazes me how some folks stick something as sensitive as a watch in a wrap of paper towels, stick that in a soft side envelope and post it. then they are surprised when the watch arrives in a non operating state. Packing material is certainly not expensive. Priority mail boxes are free for the asking at your local post office. If you get packages, most are packed with packing peanuts and bubble wrap. i very seldom have had to buy bubble wrap, and never packing peanuts. ijust save the stuff that arrives at my house. So guys, try to visualize the worst case scenario of postal employees playing football with your packages and pack accordingly.

Here are a few more, not Rolex, but in the family, plus a couple of homage watches. Tudor 7924 MKII Kingstons

You can find aftermarket inserts on Ebay, Several sellers sell them. Here is a link to a bunch!!! http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p3984.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.XRolex+green+inserts&_nkw=Rolex+green+inserts&_sacat=0&_from=R40

To the OP, the first piece of advice I would give to you if you have any, even the slightest inkling of ever trying to make your watch better (franken), make sure the watch you buy is one that will accept genuine parts. All too often I along with many, many of the other members here have bought a watch that we really like, but it would be so much better with a gen crystal, bezel assembly, crown, etc. Then we learn the sad news, the watch is so totally un gen like it will not accept genuine parts, except possibly a gen crown/tube. I'll give you a good example, a few months ago, I bought a nice vintage TW best TT 16613 sub. After I got it, on closer examination, it had many deficiencies, not something the average Joe on the street would notice, but it was outside my comfort zone. I decided to have it modded,, sent it off, and the fellow emailed me to tell me that the bezel would not come off the watch without destroying it, the crystal was not gen size, thus a gen crystal would not fit. Those were two things that I really wanted to mod, a gen crystal and a gen bezel, as it already has a gen insert, dial and crown/tube. Long story short, I ended up buying another case that will accept gen parts and it's being modded now. So in the long run, all that I used from the original watch was the movement, hands and bracelet. I would have been a lot better off buying the gen like case, a Swiss ETA movement, hands, dial insert and bracelet., or starting out with a nice watch with a gen spec case, then the other "Parts" could have been added over time.

Very nice watch, and your candid reply is honest and probably parallels the views of quite a few folks who frequent the rep forums. They aren't necessarily "in to" reps per se, but use them as a tool to facilitate decision making, which in my mind, can't be faulted. I certainly can appreciate what you are saying about "trying before you buy" There have been quite a few times in my watch collecting/buying career that I have really wanted a particular watch, plunked down several thousand dollars, got the watch on my wrist, and try as I might, it just didn't "Sing" to me. In a lot of cases, selling a watch that's essentially brand new, but in reality is a used watch, results in a pretty good loss. Seems like if it were possible, buying a rep at say 250.00 USD wearing it for a while and if you really like it, buy the gen, if you don't sell the rep for 175-200,USD and move on to the next one!!

I would have this one on my wrist today, but it's at mymanmatt's for a case transplant, so until it gets back, this is the substitute, Gen 166610

That is correct.

Get yourself a couple of NATO's, they get pretty rank, pretty fast when you wear them in the summer heat. Where I live the temp is in the 90's every day for months, and the humidity is always 70-80 %, except after a rain then it's 90+ and 100% humidity. You are soaked with sweat all day if outside. Nice thing about the NATO, you can take it off easily, wash it by hand with soap and water, or throw it in the wash! Washes that " 16 year old boy's tennis shoes" smell right out.

Great watch, and really,really nice photos. If I were going to buy another gen Rolex, this would be the one I would buy.

You might try asking the question over at the Seiko-citizen Forum.Good guys over there, and you might get your answer by searching Monster bezel gasket over there. I doubt that Seiko put that gasket under the bezel for any other purpose other than water resistance.If it were me, I wouldn't get it wet until you get the gasket question sorted out.

We knew what you wanted, just couldn't resist. I would look for a gen dial though, not from Rolex obviously, but they do come around on occasion. You might try EBay. Did you buy the watch from a dealer, or a member? If from a dealer, contact him and send him a photo of the dial, he might be able to send you a replacement. Also what maker (factory) as there are different degrees of accuracy with the different dials from different factories. You could also shoot sneed12 a PM and ask his advice, he is the go to guy when it comes to Ceramic GMT's. He might actually have a spare dial lying around that he would be willing to sell.

I think it looks OK, I really don't care for rubber, silicone, etc. straps. I believe the problem here is one of longevity. I don't see one wearing this strap for any length of time. Too bold, and orange is not a color that most folks would wear with a suit or even a "dress down" Friday at work, just a bit too casual. And at 150.00 USD, that strap is pretty pricy for something to pull out of the box a couple of times a year and use for a week. I suppose I'm a purist, but I don't know of a single Rolex sport model that I think looks better on a strap than on the SS bracelet. Possibly a black one would work, but not so much the orange

I believe that there was a post over on RepGeek yesterday or two days ago that someone had it out, the general consensus was it was pretty terrible. Typical GMT problems, bezel insert numbers way too thin, the CG's were off, rehaut engraving bad, and the example shown on the website had a painted aluminum insert, not ceramic. The OP did say that he had contacted the dealer, and the watches for sale would have a ceramic insert. From the photos, it looks pretty nice, but it's loaded with faults. Biggest problem here, if you wanted to mod it, where would you get a gen bezel/insert. these are brand new Rolex releases, and I doubt that there are any "spare" bezel/inserts floating around. That insert is definitely painted metal, look at the numbers, they are flat. On the ceramic insert, the numbers are engraved in the ceramic. like this: this is a gen bezel/insert

Clem, There are lots of posts on the very questions you are asking. you should consider the search function as your friend. If you haven't been able to find what you are looking for, you are using the wrong keywords to search. Here is a hint to start your search, Dial dots

Something different today

Rolex!!!

Ah, Nanug my friend, you should know better!!series models are deathly allergic to fresh water. Biggest problem I had with mine,when you washed the outside, the inside got washed as well. The old Series IIa's were about as waterproof as most of our reps!!! Flash, the guys posting above are correct, advice wise. Most of the reps need to be frankened to be believable. Gen crown and tube, or a good quality aftermarket tube are pretty essential. With most Rolex models, every gen part that you add will enhance the quality and "believability" of the watch. Personally, I have never been a fan of the Explorer GMT, my favorites have always been the "other GMT" the 6542, 1675, 16750 and the GMTIIC. I love vintage Rolex watches!! Honestly, if you can put together a really nice Steve McQueen, you will have a wonderful watch that you can wear with pride anywhere. And, if you are built like Serena, and driving a vintage Fiat Spyder, who's going to notice the watch anyway, except for the tow truck driver who rescues you when you break down on the side of the road!!! All in jest, glad to have you aboard and hopefully some of us old guys can help you find and put together the watch of your dreams.

Man, that was great!!! Obviously a man with many talents. Thanks for posting the link.

Still wearing the 6542. May change next week!!

What is the size? 39-42 men's, 36 unisex, smaller than that women's.

I have the same problem on my home office computer. I'm using Kaspersky antivirus suite, they will not let you open a website with an expired certificate without manually going into Kaspersky and bypassing their system. It get's a little irritating at times, because websites let their certificates expire, not because they are virus/trojan infected, but because someone forgot to renew the darn certificate. Happened to me last week trying to open the US Gov "atomic clock" website, been using it with no probs for years, and them one day it was blocked.

Sorry for the mistake, I was thinking 100 atmos, not meters. 100 meters should handle just about any recreational diving that one would want to attempt. As jkay said, every rep has to be taken on an individual basis, just because someone said that their identical rep from the same TD is fine for scuba to 100 feet doesn't mean that yours will survive a dunk in the kids wading pool!!! If you plan to get a rep wet, it ought to be pressure tested, or at the very least have all the seals inspected and greased, and have the missing ones replaced.