panerai153

Good to see you here sir. Love your straps and your service. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have three of Vic's straps on my AP's and I can definitely agree withy the guys above. Great fit, finish, very comfortable and SMP Lover is a great guy to deal with. Would post photos, but two out of the three are in the strap drawer waiting on the watches to come back from Legend's Spa!!

That is a beautiful watch, probably in the top three that I have seen in all these years on the forum. What is also rewarding is to see a fellow watch lover come on here, and really grow, flourish and become a real knowledgable contributor. Top notch projects are not for the faint of heart, and are often fraught with setbacks, but boy, when you finally get it together, you really have something to be proud of. I used to tell my kids when they were growing up, "The trail to the top of the mountain is always steep and rocky. There are many side trails that are easy, but they go nowhere.take the steep, hard, rocky trail, because when you get to the top you can't beat the view" My friend, you are on the top of the mountain looking down at all of us!!

I can't wait!!!

Mr A truly has some outstanding watches. The great thing is, rather than just have a "show and Tell" with his beautiful watches, he has collaborated with another member to make these mods available to all. Can't wait to see more photos. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looking at the strap to case ratio, it's either awfully small(case), or the strap is and XXL!! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalkqe

It's not my favorite, but it sure is easy to upload photos on those forums that don't allow direct uploads from your computer, and force you to use a photo hosting site like Photobucket. Also wonder what the life expectancy of photos posted using Tapatalk? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

AP V7 with a few things added!! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

That is a true beauty!! Best build thus far. You just can't duplicate that beautiful gen case!! My 16750 says hello and stands in awe of that matte dial. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Also may want to mention Ssteel, great guy and a great watchsmith. He is here on RWG. He is not taking new work at the present, but I would send him a PM and discuss his future schedule. He is from the UK, lives in Finland. Also Domi in Germany, great work, but he is really busy and may have a backlog of a couple of months. He is absolutely the "Go to" guy for building high dollar AP Frankens. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Here are some photos of the deployant buckle and it's attachment to the strap. The deployant has a tiny screw that holds the end that fastens to the short side of the strap, the screw must be removed and the cross piece slides out. On the second one, one side of the cross piece unscrews you slip the other side in and screw in the one that was unscrewed. With the one that has the tiny screw, I use a tiny bit of Blue Loctite, not a big drop, just a tiny drop. The other end is for the tongue side and you slide it through and the pin goes in one of the holes in the tongue side. You adjust that side by moving to another hole to tighten or loosen. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Should not be long before some "before and after" photos are posted. Just to give folks a better idea as to what is accomplished. As has been said, " A picture is worth a thousand words"!!

1680 would definitely be my choice. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The top one is the newer "2014" edition. It has ceramic pushers rather than the rubber pushers, not sure what other "improvements" were made. this is a rep of the latest line of AP ROO 42mm watches. It also uses a strap with the tang buckle which is 20mm. The older model uses the deployant buckle and it is 18mm wide. I'm slowly converting all of my AP ROO's over to the newer style straps and tang buckles, as they are much more comfortable to me, anyway. Not sure what you are describing about the leather strap. Is it difficult because the leather keepers are too tight?

That's a beauty!! Took the best of two good ones and made a great one. AFA the movement, I certainly wouldn't go against Domi. He's forgotten more about movements than I will ever know. The ETA 2824 "out the box" is a 28800 fast beat movement, however it can be made a slow beat by using parts from an ETA 2846, which is a slow beat. Quite a few folks have modified the 2824 to slow beat by using this method.

The best of luck. Keep us posted !!

I do on't know, I'm wondering if this is really sapphire or something softer. Anyway, I tried the eraser trick someone suggested on RWI, DIDN't work, so the only alternative is to try to find a watch with problems, or have this Crystal removed and maybe send it to someone to get polished and re AR'ed. Right now, I'll just live with it.

Being from Vietman, I would guess that this may be one put together by Ming or at least his parts. I like mine better for a whole lot less!! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Just my personal opinion, but if you are going to the expense of a Powermatic 80 slow beat and maybe a double AR Crystal, I would buy the best and most accurate model as a base to mod. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Bought this one M2M, so no idea who the dealer is. I was inaccurate in my initial description, goes from over the top of the 6 toward 11. I think this is a scratch in the AR, one of the hazards of double AR. Someone on another forum suggested taping the watch off and removing the AR with Cape Cod Cloth, but getting it all off is a chore, and if you don't get it all, then it really looks like crap! I'll cast about and see if I can find a crystal or maybe someone who can redo the AR on this one. Anyone get a lead on a crystal, give me a shout. Thanks Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That' absolutely correct, and the big reason most watchsmiths won't touch the A7750's. Bad parts, lack of replacement parts all add up to more time, frustration and oft times a movement that is fixed, but something else breaks and the watchsmith gets blamed for a shoddy job! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

The really,really top notch vintage Rolex watches are as rare as hen's teeth, and they never get traded to us, the great unwashed. Either they get sold at one of the high end auctions, or they get sold among the heavy hitters in the vintage Rolex world. Most of what you see for sale or watches that are less than pristine, have lots of service parts and/or aftermarket parts. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Someone on another forum said this was from BP factory.

Did something really stupid. We are on vacation and brought several watches with me, had each in a nice pouch for traveling. Well, over the past few days after wearing one I put it back in the wall safe, but not in the pouch. Of course car keys, etc got put in there as well. Wore my RG BP this morning, and sure enough, a nice scratch on the Crystal from 6 diagonally toward 3. My question is this Crystal really sapphire? I wouldn't't think sapphire would scratch like that? If it is, any idea as to were I can get a Crystal to replace this one? Thanks Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Hard to believe the Miyota movement is cheaper than the a2824 by 100 bucks. Must be some other shortcuts somewhere! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk