stilty

the GMT calendar seat has 3 rubies... while the others only have 1 ruby. 7965 is also 27.2mm in diameter and 1mm thick. The regular seat is 26.6m in diameter and 0.80mm thick. Phong uses the standard seat and installs a shim to raise up the date disc in order to clear the gears. As for the dial, the gen diameter is 27.3mm. If you go with a genuine dial and handset, be sure to let Phong know. I received one case from him where the rehaut diameter was slightly too small and the rehaut just covered the dial markers. Also, the genuine orange hand is long and nearly touches the rehaut. So you have to make sure he gets the rehaut correct, or you will run into big problems with the orange hand.

Nice find! post a WTB on the gen boards. Dial and hand set will run you about $800-$900. Depending on how patient you are... can cost you more. One thing I notice with your movement. The date disc seat looks wrong. It should have 3 rubies on top. It could be a standard seat that has been shimmed. The date disc seat is a very hard part to find. I found a NOS from a seller in HK, but it cost me $300. I could have just shimmed it, but I wanted it to be proper. The difference between the two is 0.20mm in thickness. The taller seat is required for the date disc to clear the extra 24H gears. You won't know until it is removed, but from the pictures, it looks as if the date disc is sitting high enough to not interfere with the gears. The other thing that I notice, is that the screw that holds down the date driver does not look to be screwed down very far. This could be a problem if it pops off. There is a stud on the mainplate that needs to be replaced in order for the screw to catch and secure the driver properly. check out this picture to see what I mean.

@F333- The 26 should be closed, while all the other 6's and 9's are open.

@ F333, the date progression is the same, the Rolex will not fit in an ETA, but it makes a perfect overlay when used with the proper ETA movement/case combination.

the 3135 disc is the same as ETA. 3035 and 1575 are opposite ETA. I have a few very rare 3135 discs with open and larger fonts. Same font as a 3035, but advance the same as the ETA! A double bonus.

Very nice! I'm glad it all came together and worked out! Congrats! side note: date disc is a genuine rolex. icing on the cake!

Very, very nice! Great job!

I am very reluctant in selling my stuff. Here is the a problem that can arise. I sell a decent Franken to someone that I think I can trust. They in turn sell it as a genuine watch to someone else. Then that buyer soon discovers it is not genuine. The scammed buyer goes after the seller, perhaps the Feds get involved. (postal fraud, etc). The scammer then points the finger at me saying I sold the watch to him as a genuine. Now I have the fed's, or Paypal, or eBay, snooping around my business and questioning me, freezing my account, and knocking on my door. Not worth the hassle.

nice additions and great photos!

Thanks guys! Well, the see through caseback is a novelty, but the novelty is wearing off. But I must say that I enjoy seeing that blue spring beat away. @Chi, yes a Rolex service dial and handset. @Red, yes the 580s are correct for this watch, but they are a bit flat and do not fit very well. The bracelet is also period correct for the 521XXX serial. VC is '77. and @ LH... I've got a decent trio or explorers! If I can ever get the 14270 off my wife's wrist, I'd take a pic.

Here is something new I picked up a few days ago from my watchmaker. fully serviced and regulated. Service dial and handset, so she glows like a torch. Happy Monday!

Nice write up, review, and pics. I have one of these from the Josh EXII. The one flaw that really jumps out, and I'm surprised no one has commented, is the last center link that connects to the endlinks. it is bent downward around the springbar. Same thing on the Josh bracelet. On my gen 7836, the link is flat across the top to match the other links. Also, on the Josh 7836, I am not able to fit genuine 2mm bars to either the bracelet or endlinks.

the difference is in the dial side. 2836-2 is taller on the dial side to compensate for the day function. As far as the date discs. the 2824-2 is flat and sits recessed in the main plate. The 2836-2 date disc has a step that raises the disc to sit flush with the day disc. The thickness with the step is 0.63 if I remember correctly. The measurements for both movements are in the ETA documentation. If you look at the drawings, the measurements are from center stem to dial seat. for the 2824-2, it is 1.80mm, for the 2836-2 it is 2.25mm. The difference is 0.45mm in thickness from the dial side.

Man, I don't know about this one. 39 bids at

interesting topic. Isn't this around the period when the patents expired? That is why the engravings are now ORIG. ROLEX DESIGN, and not REGISTERED DESIGN? Some 1655 were born while Rolex had the patent, and some not.

Very nice! My guess was a daytona. the caseback pic is a dead giveaway. the brushed finish pretty much extends across the caseback to the teeth. here is where you can get the casebacks. Very good quality. http://www.thomaspreik.de/ look forward to seeing more pics! Cheers!

found it on ebay. I'm sure they have more. They have them for 1680 as well. $105 shipped from Hong Kong. They weren't too clear on it being waterproof though. looks cool, just hope the crystal doesn't pop out!

Well, I have the case now. Had it for a while now. Just haven't had the time to do much with it. I did fit a gen crystal, tube and crown, and test fit the movement with dial attached. All fit nicely. I have yet to drop off the movement to have the GMT conversion done. I hope to try and fit that in my schedule today! I have all the GMT parts for the 1570, but just need the movement built. I did pick up a display back. Here is a teaser pic. I just hope it is waterproof. I should have wiped it clean before the taking the pic... the movement looks all scratched, but it is just the crystal back.

WOW! Stunning dial!

Hey guys, if a 1570 fits the case, and ETA will fit the case. You just need a movement holder, and I have some to retrofit the ETA into a 1570 case.

You mean a case like this? fully modded case

hmmmm..... If I'm not mistaken, I may have seen that beauty over coffee on 47th St.

Definitely not a gen dial. The outer square markers should just barely touch the rehaut as in Freddy's photo example.

not even close

Well, here is a Beverly Hills Pawn shop that looks to be selling a fake. here on the bay: 260626318579 The case looks fake to me. Check out the rehaut. It is covering half of the outer square markers as well as the T SWISS T printing on the dial. Something not right with this one. Also, the crown seems to be sitting too low.