Finepics

Flame flame flame - how can you possibly say that Brosnan was better than Connery. Until now Bond is Connery full stop.

Oops - I'm not meaning to start a war here (no pun intended either). Ubi - Yours has a nicer shaped case although it's 45mm (I know you prefer the smaller size) and the crown looks better too even though it's the black seal type. For yours I would fill the crown tube gap with solder and solder the strap bars and you would have an even nicer piece (if you can be bothered and are fussy enough). WM's dial is nice but even then it has not got the markers filled with a clear resin and if you want to be anal about it (as I am being) then this would need doing as well. The WM case just seems way too fat and is brushed, the crown is completely the wrong shape etc. I realise that WM is not selling this as a 1:1 creation but as a watch styled on the 3646. The gen has a much more svelte design to it. The description is not totally truthful as it is not an "accurate rebuild of the 3646" nor does the gen use the same movt (same movt maker but not same movt) - not complaining about it's listing on the bay as it is not pretending to be the real thing (ie scamming) but was just curious as to whether it was a member of the boards - now I realise it is so I will leave it at that as he's done nothing wrong. Here's some gen pics to show you !!!

Nice one Marco!!!

As we know the newer asian 7750's in the TAG link chrono's have larger hand posts for the subdials which means anyone swapping a gen 7750 into it will need to strip the movt to remove the gears from the asian and put them into the swiss. if you have a look on O'Frei they sell sub seconds hands for the Omega cal 1152 (which is a 7750) that look the same and are 3.70mm long (not sure of the length of the TAG hands). These would be for the TAG that has the parallel sided sub hands such as the grey dial chrono with the tachymetre bezel. Then you would only need to swap the centre second hand wheel from the asian to the the swiss. I could be wrong but if someone could measure their sub hands length we will know for sure but they cannot be far out. They are just $7.90 (not sure if that's each or the set). Check out O.Frei here and scroll to just over half way down the page: http://www.ofrei.com/omega-watch-hands-caliber-1152.html

If you contact RC Tritec they do several colours that are non standard and not on their colour charts - oone of which is called "Old Rolex".

It's funny - I've had a PP verified account now for 5 years and never had a problem. The only thing I would gripe about is their fees but other than that - guess I'm just one of the lucky ones.

Well I have to say that I am not at all impressed with the WM cases - they are nothing really like the gen despite the fact that he had one to model it from and that crown is completely wrong too.

No you wouldn't cos it ain't the right one. That's a 592 and is much bigger than the 616/618!!

Can someone explain exactly what is a tropic dome crystal. I know it's something to do with it having a skirt around it's bottom edge but could do with a full explanation from an expert.

Someone's selling their WM 3646 on the bay - not the most accurate description!!! http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayhttp://cgi.eb...p;rd=1&rd=1

Well it's not just about a break in period. All mechanical watches have a mainspring as the power source. This spring needs to be fully wound for it to work so both a manual wind and an auto need winding to start with. The difference then is that the Auto will not need further winding provided it is being worn regularly whereas the manual wind will need winding every couple of days. Most ETA's have a power reserve of around 40 - 50 hours without further winding.

Superb stuff By-Tor - I have the SMP even though I am a PAM fan first and foremost. I also have the TAG on the way too - both are far more realistic watches for a lot of us to be able to afford the gen. No way could I really have a gen PAM 201A so these are great watches as daily beaters.

But if the movt is fully wound down then the rotor on it's own will not generate enough power to keep the watch going unless wearing it. Take it off for a couple of hours and it will stop. I would always wind the watch at least 20 turns before wearing it for the first time. A good example of this is the 2892A2 power reserve ETA - this definitely needs to be wound a lot before the power reserve meter reads full power. Just strapping it on will not keep it going all the time.

Thanks for that LP - I will speak to Mr Smith about this unless he has read this already - that is certainly likely to make the difference between this happening and not!! It also needs to be posted on the RWI as there are members there that do not cross into this place.

I know this might sound stupid but have you manually wound the watch before wearing it. The automatic mechanism is not enough to fully wind the movt - only to keep it topped up.

I should step in here and explain something about the prototype situation. Mr Smith is aware that members would normally like to see a prototype before committing to place an order but the way this had to be costed does not allow for this in the normal manner. A prototype will be made but not as a one off for pics to be taken in advance of orders. So this means that the maker will keep making a test piece until Mr Smith is happy that it is exactly right then he will ok the run. The reason it had to be done this way is because the maker cannot set-up the machine to make a one off prototype in case we do not follow through with an order as the set-up costs for the CNC are very high. However this way gives Mr Smith a safeguard as he will not ok the run unless the prototype is ok and therefore will not lose out financially, but he has to pay for this up-front which is why he needs confirmed orders now and if the run is given the green light will need payment immediately. Remember guys that this is not an easy thing to have done and there are certain rules, outside of China, that apply to us and this device is a patented thing so there are legal ramifications to consider. If you want a decent CG then this is it - period. But crucially this will not happen at all unless we get more than 50 orders because the costs are so high that it's not worth it otherwise. This time you will just have to take our word for it and trust us that these will be perfect (I think you all know how much of a perfectionist I am and I can say with confidence that Mr Smith is even more anal than me).

I installed a genuine ETA wheel into a new asian 7750 - fits fine and works perfect.

PAM 231 with H series movt - AR crystal and the plating is very very good - definitely my choice.

that does not matter - take out the movt and stick it in a glass of water - it'll be fine so long as the caseback is not loose which they are sometimes.

Thanks very much for the vote of confidence there!!!

These are the ETA parts lists and lubrication charts. The servicing manuals come on a CD rom which are like rocking horse [censored] - very rare unless a registered watchmaker, and not cheap either!!! Notice that all the parts for every movt all have the same part number so a datewheel for a 2893 is the same number as a 7750. In fact the parts for an Angelus or Cortebert etc etc all have the same numbers. When ordering parts it is essential to quote the movt number in front of the part number.

No - they are not the same sizes. The 2893 is 1.50 (hour) and .90 (min), the 7750 etc are 2.0 (hour) and 1.20 (min).

What a nice thing to say - our panel of admin often sit there silently without mention so thanks from me too - Willith special thanks to you.

Er Chronus - there is nothing wrong with an Angelus movt!! In fact everything is right with an Angelus so long as it's the right one - cal 240 and you can find one - they are rarer than rocking horse [censored]. Most of the Angelus 8 days travel clocks are the cal 190 which are clock movts and are so thick they would not fit in a watch case and too large a diameter. The 240 came in 3 versions, 1 has an alarm and is key wound (no good) but another has a stem wind so can be used (but with the alarm still in it) but the 3rd type which is the proper watch type movt has no alarm and is stem wound. There are a few of us here who have something a bit like that!!!! If you just wanted an 8 day movt to go in a closed back then there are quite a lot to choose from and all would work if their external dimensions are right. But with all these things it's not just a case of plopping it in and away you go - there's usually a lot of fiddly work to be done.