VesperMatt

I have a BK DSSD and I had Zig relume it. I personally go by the school of getting the best you can as a base. Knowing that there was a better option out there would have bothered me too much. If there is someone in the EU who can do lume, I would wait till you have the watch to worry about that/see if its worth doing. I had my watch for about a month before I sent it off. The lume on mine was rough and not what I would expect on a new model Rolex, reminded me of the rough lume on vintage watches. But I have to say, it was a customer who came into my office whose gen DSSD was glowing that finally pushed me into sending it off.

This website is a fun companion: The Suits of James Bond. Just don't start feeling the need to emulate the Dalton era's wardrobe.

There is a website that I check every morning: http://www.dappered.com Its all about sales and saving money on classic wardrobe staples for men. Lots of suggestions for cherry picking pieces from stores. They also often cover some of the new internet MTM operations that are really maturing right now, and allow you to order pants, shirts, and even suits at cut rate prices made specifically for you. Also, in the upper right hand corner is a link to their forum which is great if you are looking for a specific item. For example, I was looking for some monk strap shoes and several people were able to direct me to an assortment of what seem like quality pieces. My favorite place to steal looks from is http://www.mrporter.com A lot of the stuff is very top-end but you can often find substitutes elsewhere and just in general copy the overall look. There may be a couple items here and there that you might want to splurge on, I keep a particular eye on their accessories and shoes. Like above, find a good tailor. Fit is everything. It doesn't matter if you're wearing a $10 Merona dress shirt from Target or a Hugo Boss if the fit is crap.

Sure, just snapped this for you. This would be my first non-camera phone pic of a watch and I don't have a macro lense for my camera, so please excuse that. I took a photo of the cartel dial/movement inside the DW case, thats still the DW crystal on it. Next to it is my gen vintage datejust for comparison. The sunburst isn't as pronounced as on my datejust, but its there at certain angles. I got the watch from Mary in the beginning of July. Let me know if you need a different angle of the dial or to change lighting or something? My camera battery died after taking a few pics, that was the best of the bunch.

Well if it isn't the two main guys whose builds motivated my build. Thanks for chiming in fellows. I passed on a couple 7205s because I wasn't sure if the 57s would fit. Anyone have any experience trying to fit 60s on the case? These are by far the two most common that come up. I'm aware of the cost of 71s and certainly am not springing for this as it would exceed the amount I've spent on parts to this point. Switching to 357s down the road definitely seems like an option as well, I'm most concerned that the clasp and blades/rivets look correct. I'm copying AliGoat's build with an A7750 and dial from a cartel watch (that Mary sourced for me) inside a DW 6238 case. I thought I would be happy with just the cartel watch, but I couldn't stop thinking of those pushers! I've got a J&K crystal to put on there and the gen bracelet and crown are next on the to buy list. I still need to find someone who can do the machining to remove the 'tumor' as LHOOQ calls it and then I'm going to send it all off to Vac who said he can service the movement and remove the auto-wind to fit the thinner case back that came with the DW case. I'm debating trying to paint the hands vs trying out the 'slimeball's' replacements - Anyone ever have any experience with his A7750 hands? He already has a set of hour and minute hands that are painted black. The second hand should be easy enough to paint red, I think. My inspiration:

How much are you looking to spend? I see gen Tudor DateJusts and even lady and mid-size Tudor Subs going 'cheap' often. If you figure $200-$300 for the rep plus another $120 (if you're buying the dial) plus labor, you might be able to just get a gen Tudor for not outrageously more.

Hey guys, Piecing together one of my first projects. I've got an A7750 DW 6238 case and I'm trying to figure out what riveted bracelet is correct for this. I've searched and turned up varying opinions on 57 end links, which seem to be the most common on eBay. Some posts here say they should work and other saying they spin/have too much of a gap. Plus it seems to vary by case manufacturer (and unfortunately when DW machined the case) since I see different opinion of how end links fit for Gen vs DW vs Phong. Can anyone with an A7750 DW case chime in on whats working for them? I could take photos of the case and lug holes when I get home this evening if that helps. Case, I believe, is identical to his 6239 case with the tumor on the side (which I need to get machined off) and I purchased it within the past month or two. Trying to build a rep of the 6238 as seen in OHMSS for my James Bond collection Cheers, Matt

Got my BK DSSD back from a relume at Zig's. Now the slightly offset pearl is bothering me... I think today I realized this hobby is going to drive me crazy/make me broke!

I had originally thought the same about a list but, in addition to KB's comment's, I have to just say that I would never feel comfortable providing a list because the quality and consistency of sellers on iOffer is so varied. I could post that I had success with such and such guy and I got a decent product, but that could in no way be an endorsement for his other products. I've also had friends who have had previous successful transaction with sellers to only get gypped down the line. That's rare, but it happens. Maybe its not even intentional but maybe they were out of product? I have always gotten practically zero help after a sale. It reminds me of a McDonalds memo a local franchise owner got busted for sending out suggesting how much money they would save if they left the fries out every four orders. Everything is so very hit or miss on there, with varying quality, that I think a crowd-sourced list would be ill-advised. I don't need to be bothered/feel any sort of guilt because I said I had good relations with someone for a polo shirt and then you bought a bag from the guy and it was crap or he screwed you and never sent the item. Personally, when there is an imitation something I want, I have a descending hierarchy of: Contact KB, look on WatchEden, see if somebody on eBay lists it, see if I really want it bad enough to try my luck on iOffer. KB - Full disclosure, I have yet to actually purchase from him but have no doubt recommending him based on correspondence and time on this board. WatchEden - Another trusted seller on here who not only sells watches but also numerous goods. I'm waiting to receive my first order of Paul & Shark stuff from him. eBay - Lots of stuff is still listed here, usually for about $10 more than iOffer BUT you get eBay buyer protection iOffer - Well we've already discussed that.

Bahaha, that dog gave me the biggest grin. Cute kids and nice guns, too - love the classic 1911.

To me, my iOffer experiences have always been a gamble and last resort. I haven't yet been screwed but I know people who have. Sellers have feedback just like eBay and you have to pay attention to that, but I suspect a lot of their stuff is rigged. Many sellers are really helpful up until the point you send your money, then forget it. Also, I no longer expect stuff to ship via EMS like promised. So expect to wait a while to get it, via Registered Airmail, even if they say "EMS or equivalent" They also can be slow to send it. To the USA, it usually take 2 - 3 weeks to get my stuff and tracking (of course) can be flaky. Quality of goods... I haven't actually managed to make a first purchase with KB yet but its obvious that unless the item is aces, he won't sell it. Pretty much don't expect much quality control from iOffer sellers and be surprised when you do get something decent. Stiching, fabric, embroidery, everything varies extremely. And lastly, as far as payment - I always pay with PayPal and use a funding source that is good about chargebacks/disputes. iOffer has absolutely NO RECOURSE with the seller. Best you can do is leave bad feedback. There is no buyer guarantee like eBay and they do no investigation. Your next step after that is to file a dispute with PayPal and if that doesn't work contact your card company. I've never had to do that (I've started the process for items shipped very late that ultimately showed up) but I know friends who have been screwed. My personal experience, I never buy more than I'd be willing to lose and I try out sellers first with small orders.

Nice! I looked at these recently. Very smart looking watch.

IWC YachtClub homage from Tao. Sub-dials are an awkward calendar that you have to manually set yourself with the 'chrono' pushers and a funny Chinese quirk where the year subdial doesn't go past 2015. Tried picking up an IWC branded rep from WatchEden but they're out of stock right now. Pretty sure they make that rep in whatever factory this came from. My iPhone camera is extra blurry since I switched out the case back for a white one, can't wait for the iPhone 5.

Oh, I totally agree. I own gens and have never purchased a single watch new, as I mentioned. I went in there after basel inquiring about the price and availability and she put me on a list to call when it arrived. I see no reason to take the hit on immediate depreciation and the sales tax. I'm in the automotive dealer business, same deal there. Let someone else take the hit Still looking forward to trying on the gen though, and will probably wait till after that to pull the trigger on a rep of this. The more I see it the more I like it though!

The watch is only just now, according to a post by Chrono24 today, trickling into Rolex dealers in Europe. And a waiting list is expected. So I think this one will be a little rare at least for the very short term. I think a lot of people were very excited about this 'heritage' model when it was announced at Basel. For what it is, made from only photos, the quality of the rep looks top notch. I think a super rep would refer to one thats so close its for all practical purposes indistinguishable from a gen. Usually, I think, it takes a couple revisions to get there (look at the 'Ultimate' version of the DSSD and such).

Fantastic story! Already wearing a Rolex at age 13? You had style that I definitely didn't understand at that age. I remember when I was in my mid-teens my brother was doing very well and owned a (gen) DateJust. He told me he was saving up for a Presidential and when I was older he'd give me the DateJust. I looked at him and told him he was stupid, why would I ever want such an expensive watch?! I had to eat my own words several years later when I picked up my first watch, a vintage DateJust.

I love the orange, but its my favorite color. I suppose the black faced one is just in time for Halloween

Read that the gen has just started trickling in to dealers in Europe. Perfect timing! I'm on the list (no deposit) at my local dealer. Never have bought a Rolex new and probably won't this one, but I'd like to try on the gen and maybe get a rep for the time being. Love the white face/orange hand.

Rotary Chronospeed. Thinking of jumping on an actual rep of the Navitimer soon.

Yes, the gen heritage is automatic but the rep is quartz. However, I own a gen Heritage and from photos, it looks to me like a great rep. With WatchEden's discount right now you could pick one up for about $70 and slap it on a NATO for the gym. Although it is a little heavy. Only BIG tell on the watch seems to be the date placement, although the subdials are changed as well. As for leather, easy peasy... stick it on a rubber, tropic, or nato strap. I can't get into the style of the g-shock. How about a suunto or something like that? More streamlined.

Good to know. I use either PayPal or Amex exclusively, and often times Amex as the funding source for the PayPal. I could tell Amex that a wooly mammoth broke into my house and stole my credit card and they'd refund me the money.

'Original Poster' Cool story & good luck with getting it back to ticking.

WatchEden has a lot of quartz reps, but I feel that most of the reps with chronograph function are plagued by poor sub dial placement so whats the point? The rep of the Tudor Heritage is pretty good from reviews though, and next time I come up with some extra cash I think I might purchase one to compare to my gen. There are some decent homages out there as well, for under $100: Parnis Chronograph (Looks like, I think, a Carerra homage?) Rotary Chronospeed (Navitimer homage)

To me, the best value/design in Quartz watches goes to Victorinox Swiss Army. And it just so happens that there is apparently a big 50% off sale that started today. Check out the run down on Dappered.com I'm partial to the first one for $225 (Regular $450) And hey, you get a warranty.

Ofrei sells the gen strap. Haven't seen any reps with the strap. I think it was about $500 for the strap and the deployment. I think I recall there was a delay getting the 45.5 out with rubber strap, maybe its in the pipeline. Strap from the 45.5 won't work since they have a different lug width (20mm vs 22mm).