eunomians

1/2 Japanese 1/2 Russian raised in Japan, France & USA. Now pass the soy sauce for my vodka-laced béchamel sauce-drenched hamburger

Feels weird when I log on over there... It feels like an enormous EMPTY abandoned space colony drifting towards a black hole.

Have not heard from Shadow in a loooong time. The real Shadow has not appeared yet. Shame. I hope he's great. He would've pm'd me by now if he was online.

The seller appears from time to time on Ebay under various User Ids. He changes IDs often because there is an enitre platoon of very angry WIS military watch collectors who have been actively hunting him down for the past 7+ years for selling forgeries as authentic. He emanates from Hanoi and has been known to sell out of Thailand from places like Chiang Mai, Udon Thani, Esan province(!!!), etc... He obviously has a network of sellers tied to him. His initial whereabouts was discovered around 8 years ago when a fellow that I know (who shall remain nameless) met with him in Hanoi. As Ubi mentioned, there are a few assorted folks who have joined in on the SM300 counterfeit racket. So there are other sources out there these days. As far as building a frankenwatch from Watch Co parts, suffice it to say it takes time, money and luck to gather all the parts. I am excited to see folks attempting to do this. My personal feeling about it is that it's best to buy OEM. Who wants a fake military watch? Not me, unless it is an OEM 5513 franken with all OEM parts since the 5517 is now unobtainable by us poor mice. SM300s are still reasonably priced since Omegas have always been the so-called #2 and not #1 watch. Preferrably whilst wearing chaps!

Cheers 2 the big girl!

I'll be there, ready to outdrink any challenger under the table!

Killer patina. I love it! You get a big thumbsup from the Euno camp! Cheers

Yes, I am waiting, too! I need 2! I have a NOS OEM date wheel for my 1675, but that is going in to replace my worn date wheel.

Excellent example. Great photo too. In fact, I always enjoy looking at your pics! Looking at your watch on this monitor makes me think that it might be about that time to purchase one of these lovely watches. I have yet to own a 1680! Crazy since I am a vintage Rolex junkie Best regards, man!

Love the, uhhhhhhh, oh yeah, the watch too!!!

Gorereplicas has some great prices! I'm gonna have to make a few purchases right now!!!

Dear RWG members: Watch co does not actually sell a kit, they just sell Omega parts from time to time. You must hunt slowly and build up an arsenal of parts. With a little luck, patience, lots of money and lots of time, you might get all the parts that you need to build a complete a watch. This kind of project is not for the faint of heart. It might be better to seek out the Vietnamese rep.

PM sent

I agree in buyin' a real one; but, I understand Ubi's desire to slap one together. It is indeed a fun route to take. My favorite SM300 is the 1st generation version circa 1957 with the thin half acrylic & half steel bezel. Quite rare and a pretty penny these days. I'd also take a late 60s issued RN SM300 + decomission papers. Wow.

Great choice, Ubi. There are reps, but they emanate from one Vietnamese cobbler in Ho Chi Minh City. They tend to have an OEM movement but they suffer from what is known as the "Stubby Dial". In otherwords, the dial is an easily spotted fakeroo. Most SM300s on eBay are fakes. I think your best bet is to purchase a NOS Watchco kit (if there are any left). My choice would be to have an original vintage piece because wabi/patina is of the essence for the SM300s. Just my opinion, but the SM300's true beauty comes out with 30+ years of wear and tear. By the way, this same cobbler also reps IWC mark Xs, XIs & XIIs - they are not very good reproductions, but they remain the only reps out there. He also makes other various military watches such as the infamous Longines Greenlander and the Omega Type 53. I have postponed purchasing an SM300 for many years and now the prices are heading towards a ridiculous benchmark. I should've I should've I should've... And Watchco is steadily running out of the world's last great horde of vintage Omega parts. Oh well, what new with the vintage watch game

Those are all questions I have wondered about as well. Why the heck are the crystals called "Tropic"? Maybe because they are domed, sorta roundish, like a globe - hence Tropic lines arond the Earth??? Who knows And certainly, the Tropic straps were a trademark brand, but in the 80s, some company in Hong Kong bought the original Tropic molds but excluded the Tropic stamp. Quality is not as good as the original Tropic straps for sure. I can tell you that they get sweaty in the tropics as all rubber straps seem to. I guess they are really in their element whilst submerged under water! Arrf!

Great Bob, I am sure that she's gonna love it. Please post some pics! I while back I bought my gal a vintage steel black-dialed rollie that I can't even peel off of her to take pics of.

Great links. And I agree with your electric comment. Cheers

For many years I would always get sh*t from vintage Rolex collectors about wearin' straps with my Rollies. I am glad to see that I am not alone here! Nice Crocs, gentlemen! I have also been known to don the "O.G. style" Tropic straps, too. Rolex ADs used to offer Submariners with what was known as the "Tropic Option". Yes, yes, this has been verified by Dowling after much debate a few years ago regarding this issue. I am glad that I stocked up on NOS Tropics when you could find 'em for a buck a pop. Those days are long gone. So is even finding a mint unused Tropic strap. I wear my Daytona sometimes on a 19mm Tropic - looks and feels great. Here's a 'lil Tropic action... Woooweee!

Achtung, signore! I will throw myself into tha mix!!!

I saw the Timex. Wow

I hope to hear some good news soon! I can't wait!

Great mods & nice change of pace slappin' tha good ol' 6263 on leather. Not a new trend my friend but certainly an uncommon trend...