Davey

Well it finally arrived in once piece

I should be taking delivery of the dial and bezel soon so will have some finished shots! I'll take some new shots of the case at some point, its been aged, the top re-satinized and the sides polished to a deep shine, I've drilled lug holes, beveled the edges and fitted genuine bars.. I'm still working on my 1680 and another project, I've got the 1680 with me at work but its got a DRSD dial in it at the moment (I'm just testing the movement ) and I havent "finished finishing" the case.. This is actually based on a $30 no-date sub from silix, I've re-worked the case and drilled lug holes.. And fitted a much better crown.

Looking good! How did you repair the dial so well?

They are normally soldered on, but you cant really re-solder new feet once the dial is painted as the paint may bubble or crack. Best bet is to use a strong adhesive.. As for getting them off, I just snap them off, or twist them with a small pair of pliers, the solder normally gives way pretty easy.

Just got a call from the local depot, I have now confirmed the address details for the 3rd time and it should be out, no word of customs so *hopefully* all will be well, if not a little slow

Hopefully its just a "mix up", but if it isnt this will be the first time I've EVER had a problem out of god only knows how many shipments.

In the past everything I have ordered from HK has come via. EMS and Parcel Force.. This time how ever the package has been shipped with DHL, now I thought they had a great reputation and expected a smooth delivery.. The package took just 2 days to enter the country and get despatched, which seemed very promising! But blimey these guys are useless! They have been trying to deliver the package since the 28th, they seem to have no problem transporting it the first 15,000 miles but the last 15 miles from the local hub seems to be a bit of an issue? I've phoned them twice now to confirm the details (and been very nice about it) but they still cant deliver it!

drrrrrrrrrrrrooooooooooooooooooooooooool.... They truely are stunning pieces!

I'll drink to that! The Zigmeister gave me the encouragement to start pulling movements to pieces, i'm sure if it wasnt for him I couldnt boast my new found skill!

B is easier to fix

modifed 2836 SHOULD NOT jump in steps, they are modified to run directly from the drive for the day mechanism which is a smooth, I would assume 2893 is the same, but I've not actually seen a GMT 2893.

Some of them can be a right [censored] to open.. My tip: remove the divers extension link from the clasp using a spring-bar tool. Put a small screw driver through the part of the divers extension that the spring bar went through, lift the screw driver from one side slightly and the extension should pop-open, apply some light oil to the assembley, put it back together and refit.

The ETA movement will "wind better", when setting the time one revolution of the crown = approx one revolution of the minute hand, with the asian movements generally the gearing is alot higher and the minute hand will do nearly two revolutions for one revolution of the crown. The GMT hand setting on asian movements is normally rather jerky to where as on the ETA its smooth and precise.

In the grand scheme of things, its probably a damn sight easier to press the links out of 14k gold than steel Most midlinks I've seen have been plated and you can clearly see this by looking through the link side on.. But I'm not denying that solid links "dont exist".. But even if the mid links are solid you've still got a plated bezel and crown

We're talking $20 at retail level; at cost price and in the kind of quantities the watch makers are purchasing I'd be surprised they see a difference!

Also the 2836 doesnt have a loose hour wheel like the 2824 that needs installing and could get lost, thus saves time.. it might only be a tiny bit of time but time is money none the less and if they loose that one wheel the movement is useless and this isnt the sort of market that believes in spare stock

Jay and Angel get my gold award for customer service! They have a great relationship with their watchmaker and I have had a few custom builds from them myself. The problem with custom stuff is the watch maker isn't really that inclined to make it perfect, they will try and achieve what you want but they also have some pretty tight profit margins so they will always cut corners but the out comes are usually very good. Again hats off to Jay & Angel for taking the time to listen to what the market wants because the watch them selves makers rarely do this.

Hi Miguel, isnt that a Mid size YM??

P.T. is great, you pay a premium but you get next day delivery and no risk shipping!

In progress: Rolex 5508 Building from scratch, just need dial to finish (on its way) Rolex 1680 Building from scratch, just need dial to finish (on its way) And I should have enough bits left over to build a vintage Millgauss, but only time will tell Oh and something else in the pipeline, another vintage rollie

Latest two purchases: Date just and Pearl master from Jay & Angel (Silix-Prime). They have one of the largest range of ladies pieces and I cant recommend them enough.

The whole pieces seem re-worked, and it also looks like the case back has been turned on a lathe, maybe it just had some really deep scratches?

There all from china.

Thats just cheating :yucky:

Anychance I can have my real post count