mezzanine

So fellas, I've been able to take a close look at one of the screws, but you want to know what's sad? I would need a loupe to be able to visually see the threads closely enough to verify the threading... I'm pretty sure it's gen. Here are some pics... Again, the part that caught the attention of the watchsmith was the rolex coronet emblem on the clasp being too recessed and 'light'. He also said the printing on the inside of the clasp should be engraved rather than 'stamped'.

Thanks for the additional feedback about what to check- I'm going to use these suggestions and I'll update the thread hopefully in a couple of hours with a report about what I'm able to discover....

Just to give a heads up, if anyone comes into contact with a Brian Guillemette be careful, he scammed me for $600 and I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to get it back....

Check the posts above for the answer to the question.

Thanks for the input guys, I'll try to do a visual inspection for the stuff that Freddy mentioned and report back on what I see... The thing that caught his attention was the rolex symbol on the clasp. It's very faint. Also, he said that he believed the engraving on the inside of the clasp was stamped instead of engraved (or something...?). I don't know if that sounds consistent... Thanks for the offer on the comparison, CBR- I'm thinking that I could go down to the closest AD (which actually isn't very close) worst case scenario, but even if I were to receive the other 'supposedly gen' bracelet that I have currently en route I might have enough of a basis for comparison. My gut tells me it's real, but this guy is highly experienced and has an extremely trained eye. *edit- I just did a quick visual inspection of the bracelet, and I don't think it's fake. The coronet emblem on the clasp looks like it's almost embedded in the clasp, rather than engraved, and I think that's what the watchsmith noticed and caused him to believe it was fake.

God I miss my AP.

I was wondering if those collectors out there that have handled or seen a genuine Rolex bracelet could describe some of the differences between the gen and replica bracelets. This thread is an ironic follow-up to an earlier thread about using a genuine Rolex bracelet on vintage Rolex 1680/1665 projects. The seller's pictures of the watch in question are in the first post of the thread: http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=67131 I recently purchased a 78360, but when I took it to my watchsmith to have it installed on my SeaDweller, he told me that it wasn't authentic!! This was especially surprising considering that I believed I could observe a definite difference in quality between the genuine bracelet and the reps I'd previously been exposed to. I don't think there are a set of 580 endlinks on the market that are repped nearly as good as gen, so the idea that the endlinks would be fake seems implausible. Ultimately, that's not what causes me to think that the watchsmith is probably incorrect. It's the finish and feel of the gen. It's very hard for me to imagine a rep bracelet matching the feel, even if it was well oiled and given a pro refinishing bracelet treatment. At the same time, it's hard to articulate that general impression in terms of specific qualities inclusive to each. Is it the higher grade steel? The machining of the individual metal pieces? The machining or fit of the screws that keep everything together looking tight and feeling loose? In our hobby you're always asking yourself about the difference between parts. Given my difficulty in articulating the differences, it makes me wonder whether the actual differences are smaller than I realize and I'm trying to believe there's something substantial there when there isn't. It felt from an 'immediate impression' perspective that the difference was huge, but now I'm curious about subjecting that impression to something more skeptical as far as attributing reasons for that supposed difference. I would almost describe the impression or experience as being similar to listening with a high end sound system without a decent amp, and then plugging in a good amp and the music just seems to come alive or be more animated, but trying to describe the effect it in acoustic terms can make you start sounding like you're into astrology or something... Anyways, I wish I had some pics to post of the actual bracelet, but those will have to come a little later on in the thread because of a misplaced USB cord...

The parts questions are somewhat subjective, but yes, you should be able to do better on that tropic. I'd want to see that insert before I'd agree to a deal. That sounds cheap to me...based on what I've been seeing recently. With the inserts, can I make a suggestion? I would spend the time to source something that you have zero doubt about. The effect of having a gen vintage insert is critical to the presentation of your watch, it's not something you want as an aftermarket part, IMO. It's also the part that is hardest to source and is often faked.

It's gen for sure, but it doesn't look like it's in the same ball park as the sub bracelets...sadly...

I'm figuring, worst case scenario, I might be able to trade it for something more appropriate. What's the value on this in the used market? Hopefully close enough that it's not too much of an additional investment. Thanks for the feedback gents... I have to laugh...I called it!! But I don't mind the circuitous route....

I swear to god this bracelet better fit! The seller told me that it was purchased and worn on his Tudor Tiger for a few years, but was taken off by Rolex and polished when the Tudor was sent to rolex in new york for service is in Feb of '07.... But yes, now that I look at it again, he says that it's a solid link bracelet "in great condition with almost no signs of wear". So what does this mean, then? I hope that it's still usable!! I'm hoping to be able to use it on my 1680, and then use the 78360 on the SeaDweller...the 78360 is better on the SD because of the polished sides of the 93160 (or whatever it was that I bought today).

I am one happy guy right now- I think I may have solved the last of my bracelet woes...could you guys take a quick look, and even though the pics aren't great, give me an idea of what it looks like to you- the previous owner wasn't able to elaborate very much on the specifics of the bracelet... I'm now the proud owner of two $1000 replica watches- please contact the authorities to have me committed for a full mental health work-up.... What's cool about it is that I was able to do something nice for a friend here, as I wanted to pass on some of the good karma that I feel like I've had in my pursuit of a couple of gen bracelets....

My recent mistake on the SD bracelet pieces aside, I think I might be scoring a wicked deal right now on a bracelet. Stay tuned for my latest misguided attempt to beat the system, only to realize I'm missing some critical detail! That's part of the fun of it, I'm finding. I think it makes you appreciate when you finally get there all the moreso.

To play devil's advocate for a moment, it all depends on what was agreed upon before the sale with regard to the customs issue. I hope that Josh doesn't say he ships there on his site, unless there's also a disclaimer about the customs issue. I'll say this for myself- I'm not going to be shipping to Europe in the future. My luck has been very poor recently sending stuff there, and I can't afford to absorb that risk as someone who doesn't have that factored into his bottom line.

I knew it! I thought it might only be for the modern. That said, I only paid $40 US shipped, so the damage isn't too bad... So this is probably how projects get started...you end up with a part of a part, and it all just slides into bank account horror from there...now I think I need a SSD.

Yup, I hope that at some point I can find a nice deal on a 7206 rivet bracelet. In the meantime, I picked this up off of Ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...E:X:RTQ:US:1123 Let me know what you guys think, as far as what you would pay for it- I can't tell what endlink it is, but I think probably 592? Anyways, it's four links of a 93160 A bracelet and the endlink. As best I can tell, all that's wrong with it is that it's missing a springbar to connect the endlink to the links. It would go on my SeaDweller, as I'm pretty sure this bracelet was specific to the Seadwellers, but others would know more...

Interesting question. The opposite of something like this would be a Sinn or a SFSO or SMP. The panerai's, with their mostly basic movements, are a prime candidate for 'overvalued'. The Pateks, VC, etc.. are prime candidates because of the gawdy prices they fetch. If we're talking about a popular model, then it's very hard to me to understand the prices of the vintage rolex pieces. I was joking with a couple of members that rolex endlinks are worth more on a per-weight basis than solid 24k gold. For little pieces of thin flimsy metal.

I'm not sure whether they could rep the ceramic well or not. I know that it would be very difficult to achieve the effect of the polished ceramic bezel on the HBB without real ceramic. Ceramic has a mirror-like reflectivity that isn't a property that is shared by many other substances.

I only wish my most expensive jeans were $110. As it is right now, my cheapest pair of jeans is still over $150. If you wear Diesel or other designer denim brands, the prices are outrageous.

Yeah, I noticed those too. It's unfortunate I need the 20mm..

You guys want to hear a funny story? A couple of nights ago I took some pictures of a set of vintage 580 endlinks that I wanted to list for sale. So I set them out on my bed to be able to have a backdrop. I took the shots, then went into the living room to upload the pics. I start to get contacted about the endlinks, decide to make a trade instead of selling them, and go to package them up...when I discover that one of them is missing! This is just great...a tiny piece of metal that is probably worth more than solid 24k gold on a weight-basis. I start searching. An hour spent on my hands and knees scouring the floor and carpet and every nook and cranny. Then I realize how futile it is, and email the other party to let them know what happened, fully expecting the guy to say "okay buddy, if you have another offer, just say so..." But he was pretty cool about it. So I go back into the bedroom, and all of a sudden my cat pops up onto the bed, and picks up the other end link in his mouth and scampers off towards his litter box. I chase him down and retrieve the endlink. Now I have a theory. So the cats have a secret spot where they'll take some of their illicitly gained goods to eat/play. I go and check...and low and behold, my missing endlink!

I'm no fun with these any more...

I'm not sure about the superdomes, Oli....this is a really really interesting subject for me, as it's an insane market to try to wade into if you're not extremely knowledgable about pricing, etc... I've seen the superdomes continuing to go around $250, which is more consistent with the price you probably would've paid for them. But the thing is, then there'll be some really bizarre outlier listing, where someone is asking for 700 and gets it that throws the entire balance out of whack, and makes me people start wondering whether they're sitting on some winning lottery tickets somewhere in their parts box. It's very confusing for an outsider.

Smartest thing any new member could do is go out and buy a HBB. Not joking.

Oli, that's one thing that makes no sense to me whatsoever. Why are the prices so inflated on something like service parts, or even stuff like bracelets? It makes me wonder whether it doesn't make sense to start putting stuff on Ebay. I'm into high end audio equipment as well, and I'm selling some expensive components in the same type of forum community like we have here. Thing is, I think I could probably do better outside of the 'niche' community, and I can't help but wonder if Ebay has turned into a sort of dumping ground for that type of inventory...