archibald

Great pics, LAni! Has anyone noticed any flaws other than the mag (and of course the fact that they're not making reps out of platinum yet ) Is the crown postion OK? would the fit and finish be more toward the wm9 end or the migauss vicinity? Would love to buy this one but with a watch this simple, IMO glaring flaws would make it a no-go...

Even though they cost more than watchs built from rep parts, frankens are a much better deal--the effort is the same and you will end up with a watch that easily passes as gen 99% of the time at 1/3 the very cheapest you can get a used gen. To build a franken I would reccomend: A good handwind case and xtal either from ebay or the trading area-$100-$200 A good crown guard, which should be modded in the standard ways. If you can find one, I am partial to the Cg's found on the cartel's "Ultimates" (88,63 etc) which you can often find in the trading area as folks upgrade to jimmyfus and gens. $30-60 Gen 113/111/112/ dial (the dial makes far and away the biggest difference. In fact, IMO if you're not going to use a gen dial, you might as well save the money and just wear a stock rep since the flaws on the rep dial will be noticed long before any other rep-part flaws. $400-600. Rep hands to match dial $75 Accurate solid caseback $25-100 T48 crown, or if you are a stickler for 1:1 functionality rather than appearance only, a gen. $25-200 AR removed ot added (chief single sided) as the watch requires (a-c series PAMs=no AR/all later PAMS single sided AR) free-$45 A Gen strap is the easiest way to improve a rep or franken $75 and up. Lume notwithstanding, labor from a competent smith should cost no more than $100, probably less.

I think these were used on the first 50 or so G series 005's. In other words, a gen G series 005 plus a decent rep caseback plus jimmy CG plus dlc = perfect 195 at a fraction of the price, especially if you sell the gen movement, CG, and caseback.

Someone would have to find a pantograph engraved caseback and then any CNC machine could copy it perfectly--do the dsn casebacks fit other cases?

Been researching/posting on the gutar forums on this issue for a while but I know there are a bunch of guitar players here on RWG so I thought I'd ask.... I have all of the standard amp sim plugins (amplitube, gearbox, guitar rig, etc.) and for the most part have been pretty pleased with the results, but lately I've been going back to micing the amp (sm 57 and an old school fender twin) and just using the plugins for effects for two reasons: 1) I can only do low bit rates with the plugin amp/cab sims running w/o serious lag and I've found that recording at a higher quality improves the overall sound making the loss guitar tone choice less troubling and 2)I don't think the plugin technology is quite there yet anyway, at least with respect to good old fashioned overdriven tones. So I've been thinking about ditching the plugins altogether and investing in a multi effects rig to use either in fromt of the amp or as part of the fx loop during mixing or both. I guess the top end would be the new eleven rack but I would love to get away with a cheaper "stompbox" setup I can also use live. Lots of folks like the boss me-70 but it would be great to hear other RWG guitar players thoughts and experuiences on other units. As always, thanks in advance!

For dials, Ebay sellers Toumii (FM and Omega) and Watchco Australia (AP, VC, Omega, etc) are great. I've bought many dials from each. Seller natnat occasionally sells OEM panerai parts. Bought a Pam bracelet from this guythat was slightly better than standard rep and dirt cheap. Has anybody bought any hands for 40mm and/or 44mm PAMs that were better than standard rep hands? SL lumed aftermarket hands would be great if there is such a thing....

A truely classic thread! Thanks! It would be interesting to learn the relative hardnesses of the steels you've identified: My uneducated guess is that the cost and availability of the metal is a secondary concern for the Chinese. I bet their chief concern is using the kind of steel that provides the longest tool life for whatever kind of machining theyre doing, which probably has a bigger impact on their bottom line than the cost of the steel. As far as the DSSD goes, i would love to see the test results if only to congratulate the dealers on a new standard of deceptive marketing genius...if the steel is actually random 3-whatever, it means that J&A took the time to research what kind of cheap steel looks like Rolex steel so they could lie about it.

I have a gen dial that needs refinishing. It appears to be v2, and interestingly the letters are pretty gray...not as much as dsn but moreso than the v3 gen dial that is in my franken.

Depends on the cnc methods required for a given run size so the demand will influence price a great deal. We will need to have more discussions with the cnc guys but 300+ would be a good guess.

Great thiking and a gret project, freddy. I've long wondered about the following: Is there any way to fit the good dial/movement combo into a gen case? I've assembled enough gen parts to build a daytona and it would be nice to put them to use w/ the rep sec @6 dial/hands and movement while I source an el primero and dial. Of course if the if the case needs to be modified, I wouldn't do it. My smith is capable of making a movement ring, though. Conversely, would a feet-amputated gen dial work in the project you did? Only the biggest daytona head in the world could tell that case from gen and only then by a minor difference in the bezel... Great work!

Great watch...if Davidsen had just put the T-Swiss-T in the right place that would be nearly indistinguishable from gen.

Thant's the flaw of the 36, which is otherwise a pretty good rep--the rep dial is marked T swiss but any paneristi can tell it is lumed w/ luminova. An instant tell.

What a great Project!! Even better, it can be improved with a small investment of dough (maybe 20 bucks) and a couple of techniques I stumbled accross while working on datewheel projects... Shoot me a PM TJ and I'll point you in the right direction...

+ I didn't think ANYBODY was selling for nefarious purposes--I just figured since the release date on the 2892 was coming up, folks who ordered didn't see the need to have two of the same watch. I was just trying to figure out what i was going to do: buy a 2892 or pick up one of y'alls v2's! I think i'm going to pick up a noob, actually.