rag9fx

You know what is ironic - it is by no means the most accurate facsimile of a 1680 but because it was breathed on by Palp and even serviced by The Zigmeister at one point it has a little RWG history and love in it. To me it is priceless and has some pretty special 'provenance.' Not letting it out of my sight for a while - that's for sure.

OH WOW! Happy Birthday RWG!!! This place has been such an amazing resource - the bulk of knowledge I have on vintage Rolexes I owe to this place.

Hello all, It's been a little while since I've posted here - unfortunately my rep (well actually all watch) collecting has been put on the back burner for a number of years now as other priorities have taken precedence. But it is always nice lurking and seeing what developments are happening in the rep world as well as all the amazing mod pieces that you all are doing. I have recently come across one of my old and personally very treasured subs (Palp'd MBW 1680) that was lost buried in storage for years. It needs a little TLC as the bezel and insert have gone walkies and I am desperate to get this back on my wrist regularly again! The issue is that my usual vendors for a decent bezel set either do not carry them anymore or no longer trade. (Sad times.) Would anyone be able to point me in the right direction? Many many thanks! G

I just pulled the trigger on a (my first) gold tone rep as well and would be interested to hear what peoples' experience has been with 'plating' on reps in the past couple years. With the quality of finish with reps that i have been seeing recently and with the advent of better plating processes etc did I lul myself into false sense of security with the recent experience i have had with non rep gold plated items?

Hi Guys, Long time not speak- but I've been doing a bit of lurking every once and while. So while not entirely watch related I thought this might be the best port of call for this query. An acquaintance of mine handed over to me what they purport to be a genuine Dupont lighter- now truth be told I have never handled one before so i don't know what to look for. the action seems crisp and the ping upon opening resonates true. Is there anyone here that has experience with the knock offs and the gens? If gen I would like try to identify what exactly I'm handling so I can do a comparative evaluation against what is on the market. I will upload photos soon! Many thanks! Sorry for the crap images

Box fresh Exp II on nato. Thanks Toro!

Thanks for the welcome guys, yeah im of the mind that tool watches should be beaten the hell out of and should look worn... especially vintage subs so im not going to attempted to bring my 1680 to minty condition. i had it on my wrist a couple of years ago when the left side of my body kissed the rougher bit of a stone wall and it scratched the hell out of the crystal.. i polished most of the scrapes off but there are some pretty deep gauges on it still so it would be nice to have a fresh 127 on there. as far as the new bezel assembly is concerned. i was never too thrilled with the operation of the stock MBW bezels they seemed a bit too loose. so i have a new CWp assy in the post which functions more like the gen (push down and turn) im going to slightly fade the insert on it ... i was tempted to go for CWp's tropical (brown) insert and fade the hell out of it but i think thats going to be for another project down the line. still waiting for the parts to arrive tho... we have a back log of post here in the UK due to a postal strike i can't wait to get her back on form. after that i just need to save up a little and source a tube and crown for my 5517 and i think i should be content for a little while... but just for a little while oh, and thanks for the offer Kurt i'll be sure to give you shout!

if you want to go for a non cyclops go for a t19

Hi Guys, I've been lurking around for a couple of weeks i haven't really been on the forum or looking at watches (rep or gen) since '08... and to say the least its amazing what i've missed in the rep world particularly the WM9's that i've been seeing. (note to self...must not impulse buy) Recently i've been getting bits and pieces together to finish off some projects that have been sitting about- notably my 5517 which was put to an abrupt halt after number of personal, professional and financial issues came at me all at once. but currently im in the process of 'restoring' one of my personally prized reps: a palped mbw red 1680 ... which i guess is of particular significance to me since the red 1680 is one of my most coveted rolexes ever but more because (this watch in particular) is an example of what a great community this place is not for just how much i've learned here (about gens and reps alike) but for the people as well . This watch has been the learning curb for me... originally it was an exercise in getting as close to a gen 1680 as my wallet could permit but its given me great insight to vintage sports rolexes on the whole from hunting down appropriate parts to attempting to learning the right and wrong ways of installing crystals (man those gadmaned retaining rings) to getting the little details that no one else would really notice- (needless to say its faaaarr from even close or perfect but i love it like that) and secondly it has a nice bit of rwg history behind it - i bought it second hand from a member here years ago as a stock MBW 1680(my first rwg classified buy) and its been through the hands of both Palp and The Zigmeister... its one of my daily 'beaters' not that i intended it to be such but its been one of the watches that i can never seem to take off my wrist (yeah i really like it that much) ... that is until the bezel snapped off a number of months ago... (i've honestly put her through hell and back) whoops i'm starting to ramble... here are some pictures... i have a NOS T127 in the post with and an aftermarket bezel assy .... after i install those i think im going to ride her a little less hard. Anyway i really just wanted to say how great it is to be back and snooping through the forum... i've missed it greatly Ragsy.

I am bit of vintage rolex fiend but i have to say that IWC are the sharpest wathces i have seen... quite understated but at the same time very recognizable espesially by wrist watchers like my self... tonnes of respectablility ... i am a great B- uhr fan and gen big pilots just get me moist ... a little bit ago i saw a spit xvi on a flight from london to NYC and i have been searching for a good rep of it since.... I have recently put in an order for a 3717 pilot from GZ and it looks very crisp (from what i have seen) ... and it is the type of style that is rugged enough to wear casually and understated enough to wear with a suite ... i will post pictures when i recieve it... IWCs are brilliant !!! i would say you can't go wrong with one rep or gen.

there really is no need to "tap" it in... just wedge it in a little and pry little by little around the diameter of the retaining ring. hope that helps a bit. What type of blade are you using? I normally use a window or glassier scraping blade on a scraper handle. i find that using a handle gives me a bit more leverage .

I have ordered from him once before and it came through just fine ... but i was dissapointed with the quality of his stuff so i probably won't order from him again.