SportsterRider

The 1120 will work fine in his case if it came with a 2824. I'm currently wearing a Franken 2531.80, complete with a genuine 1120 that fits the case perfectly - stem alignment and all (spot on center), and it's not the closed factory case (it's the case that is commonly available from Josh, Andrew, etc). Maybe your movement spacer was the culprit? BTW - great job!!

The date window on the DG will line up with the correct dial from an automatic (2254.50). You can either look for a quartz movement and build your franken that way, or you can look for the correct dial (it should say chronometer - and be sure to get the full size version, and not the mid-size). You will have to remove the dial feet though, as the ETA and DG are in different positions. It's tough building a franken for the first time, isn't it? I'm in the process of building a franken 2531.80 right now (even scored a genuine 1120), but it's a tough balance between money spent (go too far and might as well buy a used gen), as well as sourcing the correct parts! Good luck and don't let mistakes get ya down. Put the quartz dial back on E-bay and find yourself the correct dial.

Looks great! I wish I could get my hands on a case like that! I've got a genuine 1120 sitting here with nothing worthy to put it in.

Looks great! It's amazing what a good AR does for the overall appearance of the watch. BTW - what happened with K2222?

Interesting. I didn't know that some had 2836's. I was under the impression that it was either a 2824, or the high beat asian UPO Lite. Mine is a UPO Lite, with the Asian movment. Thanks for the info!!

Does anyone know offhand if a 2892-A2 will work in a UPO case? I'm thinking about a swap and would like to know as much as possible about what I might need to make the switch work.

Fantastic review! As was mentioned, there's nothing like the real thing, eh? Congrats!

Agreed. I've got the gloves, the ball and the duct tape in my drawer-o-tools! And yes, they're only for working on watches, I swear!! Looks like me in the morning when trying to operate the coffee maker!

I've tried it every way imaginable. It just doesn't work for me, and I have some pretty strong hands! Maybe I've just been fortunate with my reps having a properly tightened case back? Who knows... I agree that using every ounce of strength you have is definitely not necessary, and often very bad. But a watch case back is really no different than any other hermetically sealed joint/valve/etc. Also, every genuine case back I've ever removed required a tool. That tells me that it needs to be tighter than you can get with your fingers if you want it to be 'sealed' to it's rated depth. For swimming, bathing, etc, you can certainly get away with 'finger' tight, though.

Yep. On one of my VIPMariners, I was able to remove the case back with dish gloves like TeeJay pictured. It was the only one though.

While I've seen a few case backs that use a flat rubber seal, I haven't seen one like that in years (I do see them on crowns, however). All of my reps, at least, use a round o-ring, that is absolutely no different than what is used on the crown. Maybe genuine watches, like Rolex, Omega, Patek, etc, use different compounds for different seals, but I seriously doubt that reps do. It's rubber. If it's properly lubed and not damaged, it'll re-seal just fine.

Good point. For most of us, 'diving' isn't on the requirement list, so the rubber glove deal is probably fine. But I doubt you'd have a problem deforming the o-ring by over tightening - unless you're a gorilla? Personally, for as cheap as a proper case back tool is, I'd still rather do it the right way.

The rubber glove/ball/duct tape trick has only ever worked once for me. If a case back is installed correctly, with the proper amount of tightness, none of these 'tricks' will work in my experience. If the case back is loose enough for any of these to work, it's not on tight enough. Of course, YMMV.

I don't think this is true at all. The seal on the case back is no different than the seal(s) used on the crown, which is 'opened up' many times throughout the life of the watch. As long as the seal is lubricated to allow the case back to be tightened down properly, and you don't damage/tear the seal, there should be absolutely no problem.

Great list! Can't believe I forgot the GMT-IIc!

Well, it was my list, after all, so nope! I think the SSD is a great rep, but it's not in my top 10 for out-of-the-box accuracy. The CG's are wrong, the rehaut is weird (from some angles, spot on, from others, totally wrong) and it's got the typical rep pearl. Modded, it's a damn good one, though.

The more I think about it, I should have had the SMP Chrono in there somewhere - maybe in place of the DSSD?

Translation was awesome! Great looking 1911!

My list would go like this: 1) Skyland (SS and Blacksteel). Simply the best out-of-the-box replica I've ever seen. Period. 2) SOH. There appear to be two version of this watch. One has a poor dial with bad dial print (Automatic is printed incorrectly with the 'A' not under the 'P'), the other is spot on. The latter is another out-of-the-box replica that's about as good as it gets. 3) SOSF. Of the three dial colors, I find the black dial to be the most accurate. The white and blue dial versions aren't 100% correct in their hue, but black is, well, black. This is another rep that is sooo close to the real deal, without any mods. 4) Ebel 1911 Discovery. I haven't handled one of these yet, but based on the opinion of those that have, along with pictures I've seen, it's hard to imagine this watch being any better. 5) Explorer II (Noob factory). The black dial Explorer II that BKLM can source is one of the best Rolex replica's out there. Other than the crown/tube, the rest of the watch is about as close as you can get without buying a genuine. 6) Closed Factory SMP. I'd rank this higher, but since it's now unobtanium, it gets sixth. From what I can tell, there is only ONE 'closed factory' SMP that really counts. It's the 007 version that came with a Seagull 2892. It had the correct bracelet (pins), but what really set it apart was the correct movement, which allowed correct dimensions with regard to the caseback. It also had a correctly placed He valve, and the CG's were spot-on. 7) WM9 Submariner. Version 2 is the closest out-of-the-box due to a much improved bracelet, better dial and tweaked CG's. But either version one, or two, are about as good as it gets with the venerable Submariner. Of course, with mods, either version can be made to as close to 1:1 as is possible with a 2836 movement. But out of the box, it get's 7th place from me. WM9 Yachtmaster. This could actually be ranked much higher, but it hasn't really gotten into circulation all that much. Until it does, I'm comfortable putting it at number 8. From what little we've seen, this sucker is another 'spot-on' replica, in pretty much every respect. If we start to see these in the hands of the community a bit more, this could easily take 1st place if all the hype bears out. 9) Tag Aquaracer. I have zero experience with these, but there are many on this board who do and have gone on record as to the watch's accuracy. This is another one that, on another list, could be ranked much higher. 10) Rolex DSSD version 3. Another watch I have zero experience with, but gets great marks from those that do, depending on the version. That's my 'top 10' off the cuff. Looking forward to seeing what others think! SR

If you don't get any replies, let me know. I can install the new tube/crown combo for you.

That series finale was Frakkin' awesome!

I agree with the prevailing sentiment - not bad at all, especially at that price!

My condolences, The Zigmeister.

Ahh, I see what you mean. Ya, it's a lot like the Bond SMP and the Bond SMP Chrono. But at least with the Skyland, you have a totally different dial, crown and finish on the case and bracelet. I suppose it's a matter of personal opinion as to which is more accurate (and they are both so close to the gen that it's really nit-picking). I'm of the opinion that the Skyland is closer to it's genuine counterpart than the SOSF. I love my fishy, but the misaligned bezel and the shoddy lume application on it are more easily noticed than any lume issues with the Skyland. And the bracelet on the Skyland has a MUCH better feel to it, thanks in large part to the polished finish (which removes all the sharp edges). The Skyland is surprisingly cheap compared to the SOSF. I say pick one up and give it a shot! I doubt you'd have much trouble selling it if it wasn't your cup of tea?

Excellent choice! I've got the same watch with the black dial. It's a fantastic rep - one of the best I've ever seen. I'll have to disagree with By-Tor as I feel it's better than the SOSF, and has a totally different feel. Congrats!