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...

Thank you for the suggestion. any pics? also where can i get a dial and hands if i do not see one on the trade section?

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 believe the "long arrow" dials are said to be from extra/left-over PAM195 dials and were only used for the early 005s. Thus, rare and VERY sought after.

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.

I am loving this loop. I don't know who is doing what but if someone is going to produce accurate dimensioned case backs with pantograph engraving (the only accurate engraving for both case backs and even movements) than I am in for at least one.

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.

.. Promised I wouldn't say.. but now.. the originator can say..

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.

No rep uses Tritium though, is this a gen? Just looked and my rep 036 has "T SWISS T" on the dial

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...

Selling mine because of a new purchase and more incoming watches, no nefarious purposes hahaha.

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.

Good thinking on the marker--I've tried to use those as the first step to fix the a's on PAMs..the black does not quite match.

Not to be a dope, but if you're painting over white, couldn't you get an exact match using oil paints, which you can mix to match, and a fine brush which wouldn't seem any harder to use than a marker?

Looks like they nailed everything except the date window bevel, which even in the cell phone pics looks a little too big. But, that means 99.9999% of the people who will see it will think you just dropped 8k on a watch! Wear that bad boy well.

I may be rank noob when it comes to Rolex, but I've been around RWG long enough to know that when you see a bunch of sales threads for watches of a single type it can only mean 2 things: 1)someone has just discovered a major flaw or 2) a significantly better version is soon to be released. I assume that the 2892 subs are the reason all those v2's are being sold and since I'm in the market for a new LV in which to install my gen dial,I guess I need to decide whether to pick up the next v2 LV that comes up or if I should wait for the first round of the new versions to be resold.

Here's the question: While I'd like to use my gen dial, I am by no means a Sub fanatic--is the difference between the V2 and the 2892 version just the crown position? If that's the case I'll probably hunt a bargain by buying a v2. If there are other differences that non-Rolex WIS's can spot I'll probably buy the 2892...

...and the etched case back (not engraved) is a deal breaker for sure......

He needs to fix the layout or it wouldn't matter if it were done in crayon...

Ever notice how our repmaking friends sometimes have mental blocks against certain watches, that no matter how many versions they do they can never quite get them right. Even odder is that these watches are usually the ones that seem the easiest to rep, technically? Case in point, the Santos 100: The first versions had the swiss made under the VI instead of on either side as per the gen; a mysteririous gaps between the X, XI and XI (how did the gaps appear there and nowhere else on the dial?) and a incorectly bulbous "sapphire" cobechon on the crown.. Then they fixed the dial print flaw, which was apparently so easy that they decided to design and stamp the dial with some sort of wavy texture absent on the gen. For V.3 they made a version with a flat sapphire in the crown but forgot to fix the dial. Now they have re-fixed the "swiss made," lost the waves (retaining the incorrect too-big gap between the X, XI, and XII but I can live with that). But, just to give nitpickers like me something to [censored] about, they ecided to throw bulbochons from v.1... Since I have a good crown version, i suppose I will buy a $275 fake watch just for the less inacurate dial. Mission Accomplished, Repmakers!!!

http://www.tt88time.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=21_163&products_id=5004

Looks fabulous--gotta love the justifiably famous MBW brushing. blue for me please.

Yes, the Jumbo did have solid casebacks in the version w/o the second hand--the new, clear back version I believe has a seconds hand. I don't know whether or not the construction is like gen, but in any event, I almost never disassemble my watches in front of people.

The 4B is sweet!!! Guess I just found a use for my gen 111 dial. Which caseback would be most appropriate?

OMG....Speaking of which, S., I completely forgot about your unbelievably generous parts loan which has been sitting in my safe for a month having been put to good use. It will be on the way to you first thing tues. AM!!!!

Can't wait to see it. Best of luck with the project. I am redoing my one AP Franken project as I write this.

There's going to be some great AP's around here!

My smith is putting the finishing touches his blue dial, correct case EOD and beginning work on both kruzer's and my white dialed themes.

Edit: The RB sounds great...but will it ever be seen?

If we can get the correct measurements from the case then it's actually not a bad idea, we have a great source for dials and crowns, if lh can make a new run of cg's then we're pretty much set. caseback would be somethings that has to be looked into. I don't know if the dsn is accurate enough if we're nitpicking The other parts should be easily available... perhaps something for a group-buy? It's not gonna be a cheap watch though....

To keep costs down a CAD drawing would be much better than measurements. The actual milling is the easy and comparatively inexepensive part. It's the design and prototype piece that kill you. To be sure a case can be made from a blueprint or even from measurements, but you're talking about another 1k-1.5k in startup costs. Divided by, say, a 20 piece run, that's $75 per unit on top of what will probabl;y be a $250 case to begin with. With the talent pool at RWG i refuse to believe we don't have someone who can do a CAD drawing with a few hours work.

Thanks for posting the link--I won a minor prize in the vintage PAM lottery (for the first and probably the last time in 5 years of collecting) by picking up a pocket watch 100% identical to the one in the first link for $89.68 at a charity shop. I was having doubts whether or not it is a Cal. 616 but I suppose now that it is. IMO, unless your intent is to build an homage instead of a rep, 616's are for solid caseback watches only, which is a good thing:

1)most 3646's had solid casebacks and the only timea clear casebacks were used is when a watch was sent back to OP for retrofitting or when one was added by a collector to show that his watch is gen.

2) a 616 is an "instant tell" flaw to anyone who knows 2646's are powered by 618's.

3) a 616 will perform like a 618, which is much better than the poljot alternative.

The bottom line is that you got an excellent deal (i'd say the fair market value of a 616 is about $650) as loing as you are building a homage or a solid back rep.

I've been buying from Joe since the late 70's....He can do just about anything you want duplicated from a GQ.

So, if I wanted, say, a jacket based on my Oxxford "modern cut" suit w/ pants cut like Lauren Black Label, and using fabric similar to Zegna Trofeo (which would be my dream suit) he could do it? I'd do as many as I could afford. Any idea how much a custom job like that would run, ballpark?