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Excellent idea Akira! Consider it done.

Thanks a lot Automatico, Yeah by "tige" I refer to the stem... I've been really clumsy but I somehow succeeded in re-opening the bridge by pushing the button with a very small object. I can now fit the stem inside the movement but, when I try pushing the button again with the same small bar, the bridge won't close. Consequently the stem freely slides off the movement; the seconds hand still moves but the minute/hour hands stand still... I have not tried anything else for fear of causing more damage... Any other advice?

I have been fitting a pair of gen springbars on this bad boy, but this is more or less the last intelligent thing I have been doing on this watch. Yesterday evening I removed the movement and dial from the case and tried to give the dial some alure and age. As ususal I did not obtain anything viable so i thought I'd better put everything back in its place. The horror!! I cannot get the tige inside the movement anymore. The button seems to be stuck and as I had to press quite hard to get it to open I fear I have been breaking it... I'm not good at doing those things...

Hi there! I did not ask for this particular dial. The 1016 ones must have been out of stock and Andrew sent me what he had left. He obviously informed me and posted QC pictures of the actual watch for approval before shipping the item.

Thanks for weighing in Akira! What would you do in this case? Work on the installed dial and apply a vintage patina to it or get a new one (service one that is)?

There are some dials back at NDT which are either 28 or 29mm in diameter. Given the steep price (USD 255) I'm not willing to run any risk: Can someone confirm that one of these will fit my case and movement? And for what is about the hands: Which one should I get? Can you recommend a set?

Of course mate! There you go: http://www.ttw168.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_103&products_id=567

Right on time for the Christmas day (wich I hope will be wonderful for each and everyone in here ). As I promised here I'm posting some pictures and my thought on this piece which landed on my desk this afternoon after a month's long journey from China: First of all thumbs up to Andrew for the flawless communication, excellent packaging and fail-proof shipping. Everything worked as advertised and I got exactly what I was showed in the QC pictures (good and bad). - The dial badly needs reluming and a good deal of aging. That being said it is not bad at all. Quite accurate according to me. - Next to my gen 16014 the case looks quite good, however the curve next to the lugholes needs to be slimmed down and smoothed off a bit. - The crown looks pretty good. - Ditto for the caseback. - the movement looks like it's a real ETA 2836-2 after all... so far it's keeping a very good time. - Crystal looks ok. - Can't say anything about the hands. Are they accurate according to you? All in all I feel that Andrew's 1016 is a good starting point for a build. Now I only need to find someone willing to take on the task

I'm a nice RWG member too therefore if I requested it politely enough would you build something like this for me?

Hi Akira, oustanding job you did there! Are you willing to sell one of these Beauties?

Just when I was starting to loose hope: 12-12-2012 11:26 National Hub, Received and processed 12-12-2012 10:47 International Hub, Forwarded for UK processing

Hi Alligoat, Last time I've been checking was right before writing this reply because you never know No change: Destination Country Infomation [united Kingdom] 27-11-2012 16:45 International Hub, Awaiting Customs clearance 27-11-2012 16:44 International Hub, Received in destination country 24-11-2012 22:48 Delivery Agent - GUANGZHOU - PTT, Forwarded for export 24-11-2012 19:37 Delivery Agent - CHINA, Collected from customer

Hi all, As per the "cryptic" topic I have acquired a 1016 rep from Andrew more than one month ago. Tracking reports the following: 27-11-2012 16:45 International Hub, Awaiting Customs clearance 27-11-2012 16:44 International Hub, Received in destination country 24-11-2012 22:48 Delivery Agent - GUANGZHOU - PTT, Forwarded for export 24-11-2012 19:37 Delivery Agent - CHINA, Collected from customer The parcel has reached the United Kingdom but it seems to have "died" there. Is this a common procedure or do I have start coping with the thought that I will never receive my prized goods? Thanks in advance and Merry Christmas!

more news on my attempts at "modding" my watch: I have been bathing the insert in a glass full of bleach. I left it there a trifle too long and now it has almost completely faded off. The "ghost" effect is quite nice but not on this watch. I have used a paintbrush and some clear water to gently cleanse" the dial from all the coffee stains and now it's "pristine" once again. Looks like I'm back to square one with the difference that now I need a new insert and possibly a new bezel . I still am pending any reply from RolexAddict so I still do not know what will happen to this watch; that being said working on it has been funny and it has allowed me to test my "skills", so now I know that when my 1016 hopefully reaches me I will at least be able to open it and check whether it really contains an ETA movement as advertised. Thanks to all for the advices and replies.

Not that I have succeeded in opening this watch and have (apparently) been able to remove movement and dial from the case without causing any (apparent) damage I am unstoppable. This morning I have stolen some coffe from my wife's cup, a paintbrush from my daughter's schoolbag to try "painting" the dial with it. A few seconds under the hairdryer and voilà! The result are terrifying but at least I have understood how to proceed... Now I'm wondering whether putting the dial in the washing machine will bring it back to its previous state or note Since we're here: I have not tried removing the hands -and consequently the dial - from the movement in order not to risk breaking something. I have tried googling the matter but all I could come up with was that some sort of equipment is needed to safely execute this procedure. Is it not possible (safe) to do it with a pair of tweezers? Is it particularly difficult?

I keep exploring.... The movement is not such a sh*t after all... perhaps it's just that the guy is not much of a handyman and he's been assembling the piece back so and so... here are a couple of pics I snapped about the watch's innards. I don't dare venturing further out of fear of not being able to put all the stuff back in place... I have been sending a PM to RolexAddict but so far he's not been replying: I'd like him to work his magic on this watch

Good evening all, Soooo the watch just came through the mail today. As I said I've been sourcing the bracelet from it and I now sport it on my (gen) 1967 Tudor Sub. The rest is as follows: I've been putting the said Tudor Sub next to this rep and can affirm that this case has got some serious potential. The crown looks exactly like the original. Crown guards are ok Lugholes are ok General shape and sizes look like they are ok. Insert looks ok but it lacks a pearl. Bezel teeth are ok The rest is pretty much Sh*t. The bezel is as flimsy as can be and it turns with almost no friction at all, it feels very cheap the movement is pure and utter crap. Just by turning the crown to change date or time I feel that the whole stuff is a bunch of tin stuffed into a metallic case and fitted together with strings. Sometimes the second hand will get stuck upon passing over the minute hand... The crystal looks good but it sits too high. Cyclops magnifies well and the calendar wheel looks ok but it feels very fragile and unsteady. In short I tend to think that this thing has to be gutted of all the stuff it contains and filled back with a solid movement. The dial looks ok but as someone commented it looks too clean, too shiny and too flat. It needs reluming and vintaging... in short it need the work of RolexAddict... A few pics to prove what I mean: What do you guys think? Am I too optimistic or is there room for improvement?

Thanks for replyng RolexAddict. I will use your pics as a comparison with my watch -as soon as I get it that is- Then I will post some pictures in this thread so to see whether it is worth the hassle of sending it over and having you work on it.

Yes they will ship to Italy via USPS for USD 4,00. USD 40 in total. What was the price of the pearl alone at Ofrei? USD 24 if I'm not wrong... this looks like such a better offer! The only thing that is not guaranteed is that this insert will fit into my bezel... I could run the risk for this small sum but I really do not want to get in the mood of shelling money on this watch if it's not a very good base to start a modding project on.

"Sure will but how do I do that?" Ok, I lied!

I just ordered the 2846 trusty 1680 i also used the puretime 1680 for my 5513 these are from the same factory and the watch fits a gen spec dial (26mm) without mods due to the rehaunt ridge shape i believe that this cartel is the best available for small money and with reshaped cgs and gen crown the case is very close to the gen i actually kept the cartel bezel but this can be changed i have ordered a clark crystal so i will find out if it fits soon i have a home made crystal on at the moment your watch does not look like one of these but check to see it it takes a 26mm dial Sure will but how do I do that?

Pearl: Ofrei sells them as generic illumines dot for bezel insert 24.00 USD Thanks for the info. After posting the question I have done some googling and finally ended up with the data I needed. Actually I'm wondering what the cost of shipping this to my door would be and, if it would be worth it... Is it possible that nobody in the EU supplies these small parts? Do we french/englishmen/spaniards/italians have to go look on the other side of the pond for spares?

Hi again Alligoat, thanks for the highlights, Just out of curiosity, how much could I expect to spend for a pearl? The movement is a 21j, nothing to write home about and I think the crown guards have been trimmed by the seller himself. Let's see what happens

Alligoat, the clasp is not a problem given it can be changed and, I am anyway not worried about the fake look. All I need is that this bracelet bears the correct endlinks and that it accepts 2mm springbars (which it does). Add to it that I get a whole watch for the price of a rep bracelet and I'm a happy camper . But once I have sourced the bracelet I still have all the rest left. So my reason for opening this thread is that of understanding whether there is anything good that might be of interest to you out there and/or if I can serenely use the various parts to play Dr. Frankenstein with (e.g. trying the unfamous "oven method" to obtain a crispy dial ), because I will not be damaging beautiful 1:1 aftermarket parts.

Oh I see. Well the seller told me that this is a cartel 1680 so I assumed that it came from watchcartel.com. For what is about fitting gen parts I am sorry but I can't help you there. All I know is that the seller has been replacing the original cristal with a tropic, that he's been getting the insert from the USA and that he's been fitting a new set of more accurate hands.