Finepics

The only way I can see to fix this is to have the hands specially made. I have been fiddling worth the picture of the dials and the rep printing is in a different place so having the effect of making the hands appear longer. I don't think there is really any other way to solve this.

My hand project was only to make the GMT hand for the PAM 88/89 etc - not the 063 full set so this would not have solved this in any case.

Caseback of the Istanbul:

This is one of those strange beasts - that movt is not a 618 - nothing like it in fact.

Such paranoia!!! If your watch was attached to a pound of semtex as a timing device than I could see that customs might take exception to that!!! I carry a couple of thousand £ worth of camera gear with me on travels and a couple of watches - never been an issue and I have not pre registered my camera gear! What possible reason would there be for a customs dude to stop you for having 2 watches - one of which you would be wearing!! Unless of course you were sweating over the crack in your [censored]!!!

My SMP chronos insert was only held on with a couple of drops of superglue. It almost fell off so was very easy to replace in the right position.

Thanks all - be patient (as if you haven't already) they are a comin!!!

Fantasy. There is a solid gold PAM 140 that has the carbon dial.

Minimum order was for 100 sets and really I have no interest in stumping money up front for these anymore. Already about to get fingers possibly burned with the datewheels so the fun goes out of when there is competition around.

Out of focus pics - usual trademarks for a scam. Absolutely not a Rolex.

Absolutely this is still happening. I had the samples through last week but there were some minor adjustments to be made (these are going under a cyclops magnifier so they have to be absolutely perfect). I am about to phone the company right now to get an update on them but I hope they are going to be ready before Xmas.

I already tried this but DSN wanted too much to make them so it was not worth it - good luck!!!

Miles off - crystal is totally wrong, case shape is clumsy and not refined at all. The crown is about the only thing that's almost right!!

Early PAM's have the flat top pin. look at a photo of a 5218-201A and you will see it. Actually you would not believe how badly made some gen PAM's are.

OK Ignore that - I just realised that I was not looking properly. The RG bezel is a limited edition for Formula 1 and the steel version is fine too!!!

Having looked at the catalogue I am confused as I cannot see any of these as accurate models. The all steel version should have a solid caseback engraved with Tuiga 1909 and a sailing ship etc - it's a limited edition. The Gold bezel on steel case is not in their catalogue at all and the gold versions have the ceramic bezel with carbon black dial or black dial with a tungsten bezel and ruthenium dial with tungsten bezel. Are these reps of older models?

What's wrong with buying ETA 7750 wheels - they are the same as the asian 7750 wheel.

No way to do this. The reason is this:

The transfer gears that convert the asian 7750 into a pseudo 7753 sit over the datewheel which is why it is recessed. Nothing can be done at all. ETA do a much better job where they make a whole new top plate that has the gears (which are a similar arrangement) running in a plate that carries the datewheel above them Also in these huge (now smaller) pics you will see the difference in size with the datewheels - 7750 is not the same a 7753!!:

Edited for better sized pics!!!!

Quick update with my wheels - spoke to printers today and they promise to get them done before Xmas. Again this is fine tuning that's the problem but better to find out now rather than after!!!

Again I still find that odd as I have converted a 7753 into a 7750. All the parts inc keyless works are identical except for the top plate which has the transfer gears. There are about 6 movts in the 7750 range all with slight differences in dial layout but they are all 7750's - I have just checked my parts list to be sure but all the same. It is possible that ETA changed the design of the stems as I know there are several different stems for the 2836 movt.

This is an 18,000bph movt. It's basically standard ETA apart from the re-worked bridges. The newer movts with the sword regulateur I think are 21,600 as they use the Asian balance wheel and gear train. The ETA 6497-2 is 21,600bph but is not available to buy from ETA.

Bob is a buffoon. His 7750 stems don't work in my 7753 either despite him telling me they absolutely would.

Well that I find strange as the stems for a 7750 and 7753 should be the same. The only difference between these two movts is that the 7753 has a different top plate that has transfer gears to move the 12 o'clock subdial over to the 3 o'clock position. Otherwise they are identical movts.

Thanks for all the support. A quick update - I had the protoypes through and have tested them this weekend however there are some issues (a bit like the 7753's) that need correcting before the printers make the metal printing plates for them. As before until they get them 100% perfect I will not send any out. I know that this means we are unlikely to see them this side of Christmas but I don't want the printers to rush them only to then have to do them again. So please accept my apologies for the continued delays.

They are absolutely not interchangeable. The 7735 wheel is a bigger diameter due to the different top plate that carries the subdial transfer gears. Bob Frei is categorically wrong - I should know as I have two 7753's of my own.

Only just got to this thread which is why I have not replied sooner.

Firstly let me say that I normally don't have an issue with anyone creating competition - it's a free market - however this is a slightly more specialised subject than maybe making straps or buckles and with the nature of these things I think it would have been sensible to have kept an eye on what was going on.

Lello you disappeared a long time ago after some criticism from members about the quality of your work and because of that everyone here assumed that you were no longer involved in these projects or the boards at all for that matter. Having decided to try to print the 7753 datewheels (a project I actually started well over a year ago now) I also was asked about the 2893's etc so since you were no longer around I decided to give them a go and I opened a thread to take numbers of interested parties. As a result of that I purchased approx 75 x 2893 wheels and 25 x 2982 wheels since that allowed enough to supply the demands of the board (these have already been paid for). Had you bothered to come to the boards with updates on your projects from time to time I would not have entered into mine with such a large number because I am now comitted to this number as I cannot return any of the wheels. I would have made a profit if all of them sell but now the likely outcome is that I will be lucky to break even on this or maybe make a loss and this is what bothers me more than anything as frankly I am not so willing to give my time and effort for free - nor the endless phone calls or postage back and forth etc etc which have all cost me money. I have spent dozens and dozen of hours working on this and it has taken months of work to get this far.

In fact I am right now working to correct the faults with the sample run that I just received as they are not right. This now means my wheels will not be ready this side of Xmas as I will not supply them to members unless they are absolutely perfect. My printers are using a Swiss pad machine and will be having special metal printing plates made rather than using clichés (nylon screens) which should mean a perfect print which is why it is taking time to get it absolutely right. So members should be aware that my 2893's will now not be ready until the new year.

Just to clear up any confusion with other wheels etc - the 7753 wheels were not possible to source in advance so my printers have re-printed members existing wheels. This service I will continue to offer as the printing plates for these are being kept for future runs but I will still not be able to supply new wheels (ETA do not sell these as spares).

The 7753 wheel does not fit the 7750 - they are a different size and I am not doing the 7750.

@chieftang - sorry if I have not replied to you - I am very happy for you to offer an alternative US based AR service as again this has been hassle for me. Also this will work out well for US members as getting this done in the UK is not cheap against the weak dollar which makes this very expensive for any US customers so I might end up sending them to you as well!!!

Thanks to all those who have continued their support for me - I have decided that these will be the last projects I will undertake for the boards as a whole as frankly it's just not worth all the hassle and I have become thoroughly disillusioned with the whole thing.