panerai153

Very nice my friend, I believe you have solved the problem!!. I think that this will help a lot of folks with their 6542 builds.Very interesting about the 25-116's having three different OD's. So inconsistency is not just in the realm of the reps, but genuine as well! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I suppose it's possible to Lume any dial/hands. The question is how good will the Lume be? Looking at the "black Lume" it's very difficult to tell if it's just a bad photo or the lume is weak, but I'm not impressed with it. Someone else posted a similar thread a while back, and one of the guys here who has a lot of experience with AP's said that he had the hands lumed on one of his AP's with black Lume, and he felt like it was a waste of money. Personally, I love Lume, the more the better, and that is one knock on some of the AP ROO chronos is the painted hands with no Lume. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Another big crown!! cc33's poor cousin!!

Nice watch, AJ, that's a watch that you and Mike on a Bike can wear and look like a "normal size'

I believe that I saw that on the Omega forum on WatchUseek a couple of years ago. you might go over to that forum and ask or search "discount Omegas'

1665 built several years ago. Detailed build thread http://www.rwgforum.net/topic/129985-drsd-project-its-back/?hl=drsd This was my first "major' build and one of my favorite watches.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

They are produced by two different factories, so the version numbers sort of leapfrog one another one factory introduces a model and it is V1 the other factory comes out with their version and it is a V 1.1 or a V2, then the first factory comes up with an "improved" version and it's a V3 and on and on and on. So in the case of the FC's these are the latest from the two factories. You need to compare them and decide which is for you. They all have flaws, it's pretty much down to which one has the flaws that you can live with or are able to alter with modding. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

DW is one of the old Ubi DW's The 1675 dial with a flat plate and dial feet is a better option than the 6542 dial which doesn't have dial feet, but the rolled down edge snaps onto a gen Rolex movement but will not fit an ETA. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Very,very nice!!!! The only thing that I would suggest is a WatchNY bezel. His is closer to gen than the DW bezel. I'm certainly no Daytona expert, but this one looks great. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

My new AP Silver Rubberclad Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I bought the case from a member here, and it was over 1k for the case set. I would expect that with everything, I have well over 2K in the watch Thanks very much for all the compliments guys. This was probably the most difficult build I have ever undertaken, but it is also one of the most satisfying. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Holy Moly !! That's a big un. That's a mike on a bike size watch!!

Welcome to the wacky mad world of reps!!!!! sputin summed it up very nicely. the J12 factory is introducing some very nice models lately, some are the new 2014 ROO models that AP introduced a few months ago. One thing about reps, it's very hard to make a blanket statement as to which is best. Some models, J12 is much better, other models, noob is better, so what you have to do is pick what model you want and then look at the reviews and comparisons for that model. If you are looking at a FC diver for instance, you need to look at reviews comparing the noob FC and the J12 FC, then decide which you like best. All of them are going to have flaws, so one thing you have to decide is what flaws can you live with and which ones will drive you crazy and end up forcing you to sell your watch 2-3 weeks after you get it.

Back over a year ago, I wrote a pretty extensive write-up about my 6542 build. I really can't call this my build, because while I own the watch the build was a joint effort involving a lot of members here on the forum. Since the original post I have made a few changes to the 6542, the first was a dial swap to an Ingod44 White dial. This is the 1675 dial that they were selling, as the face is identical to the 6542 dial, but this is a flat plate dial with feet, and the 6542 dial is a "pie pan" shape (like and upside down pie pan" with rolled edges that snap on to the genuine Rolex movement. this won't work on the 2846 movement. the other modification was to send the caseback to JMB and let him work his magic!! He engraved the Pan AM logo and the issue numbers on the case back.I also swapped out the rep stretch rivet bracelet for a gen 65201H Jubilee bracelet. For those who have come along since the original post, here is a brief rundown of the components Case : Ming Quy 6542 case this is a pretty accurate case, and it has a correct plated brass bezel and correct case back Case back: Came with the case, and engraved by JMB This is not the flat "stepped" case that appears on later GMT's Insert: JoeyB Lexan- these are the best around, if you build a 6542, you need to get one of these Crystal: The case came with a genuine correct crystal, but it was cracked. I believe we used a Clark crystal Dial: Ingod44 White 1675 dial Hands: Small GMT hand is a rafflestime that JoeyB modified to be more correct. The other hands I believe came from a puretime 6542 that we were using as a donor watch Movement: 2846 Slow beat with the GMT gears came from the puretime 6542 Crown: Gen Rolex Bracelet: Gen Rolex Jubilee w/gen 55 endlinks, "A" code clasp (1976) This is not the correct bracelet, as the 6542's came with rivet bracelets and were probably changed to 7836 bracelets at service, but this is and old comfortable bracelet and wears well. That pretty much sums up the build, lots of folks were involved in this, as there were numerous problems along the way, several were movement related, as the 2846 is a pretty old movement and this one required several trips to the shop to get right! Here are a few photos I took today. The last one is a pair of Rolex GMT's the black dial is a gen 16750 which is the second generation after the 6542 so you can see the progression of Rolex GMT's from 1958 to 1983 The watches are shown with some of the PanAm memorabilia that I have accumulated. Thanks for looking

No the 1680 is either 26mm or 26.5 mm so the modern cases are not the same size as the old 1680 cases. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I agree 100% anything that you do to an original dial will greatly decrease the value. And all original watch is much more desirable than one that has a refinished or relumed dial. I believe that as someone suggested. Get a luminova service dial and hands, will glow better than the original, keep the old dial hands in the eventuality that you might want to sell it atsome future date. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Most of the builds using the old MBW case, use 2846 movements. You can still find them although they are getting harder to find in NOS condition. They all need a service as they have been sitting around for years, even the NOS ones. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I'm not sure you are going to be able to build a 1680. Sort of the old " you can't get there from here". Sapphire case set, can't change to acrylic, don't think a 1680 dial will fit a 16610 case, or whatever those modern cases are from.just too many incompatible parts. This may turn out to be a lesson in futility, but you learn from every project. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Sort of like this one? Or this one Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk