TeeJay

I would suggest sticking to a 1655-style dial, for the very reason it was designed. While being in space, as with caving, night and day can be relative concepts, but the human body still maintains circadian rhythms. The reason I suggest sticking to a dial with 24 hour markers on the dial, rather than relying solely on the bezel for hour markings, is so that lume can be applied, rather than attempting to lume the bezels 24 hour markers (It would also ensure that even if the bezel was to come off while wrestling with a Klingon, the watch would still maintain readable hours ) What I would like to do (but my art package has now totally died) would be to replace the 6 marker with another triangular marker, and replace the 9 marker with the same rectangular marker as on the other 'main' hours. That way, it would be more compatible with the 24 hour system, but still maintaining a familiar 12 hour style, to assist with the wearer's circadian rhythms

Okay, my graphics program kept crashing, so I had to do this as a real rush-job to just convey the basic idea, rather than fine-detail. I think it combines the excellent visibility of the 3,6,9 dials, with the long second markers of a Tudor 79190, with the additional 24 hour markers of the 1655, with an attempt do distinguish the main hour markers from the additional 24 hour markers, to reduce the cluttered look which the 1655 dial suffers from, I hope you like it

Give me an hour, I'll see what I can come up with

That's the weird thing about this myth: There's no evidence whatsoever of there being any link between McQueen and the 1655, not through ownership, endorsement, or even being in the same photo as someone else wearing one.

However, I have it on good authority that a number of people have watched one or more Steve McQueen movies while wearing Orange Hand Explorers. FACT!

It's a funny thing indeed, as some sites say that he wore a 1655 privately, yet there's still no actual evidence of him doing so, and I'm sure there're enough candid photos about for someone to have found one with the necessaries... Oh well

I think that fact might be quite correct

Agree to alla-this, and also agree that McQueen's role in building this watch as a cult object is likely exaggerated. LOL! The oilskin-enthusiasts have the same argument about whether McQueen's wore Belstaff or Barbour. You know you

Did Steve McQueen actually own one? I knew that he owned a sub (5512) and wore a Heuer Monaco, but I thought him owning a 1655 was an urban Rolex myth?

Indeed, a poor choice of words on my part, it might simply be that he endorsed the watch somehow, rather than directly owning one, indeed, all the photos available show him wearing a 5512 or a Monaco, so who knows... Irrespective of his personal possession of the watch, I'm sure that it is the connection of his name to the watch, which has resulted in its Cult Status, rather than any intrinsic quality to the design itself...

Wonderful shots! This one is my fav

This would make a great wallpaper.

+1

The exp 1655 is not a GMT watch and should not have an adjustable hand!

The orange hand was there purely to show whether you were in am or PM when caving.

This was not a popular watch when new and is surprise as to why it realizes so much money now!

They're Cult Watches now, for the simple reason that Steve McQueen owned one While they photograph nicely, personally, I find it a horrible watch to wear, the dial is too cluttered. The only reason I have kept mine, is because I am really pleased with the luming job I did on it. If it wasn't for that reason, it would be gone, and I would have gotten something else as a spare...

But hey, to each his own

Thanks TJ. Man, you have a lot of beaters in the list. lol! And don't get me wrong, the MMD is superior to the YM in many ways to a purist watch collector. It is a substantial piece and a nice size in the "big" category. Quite thick and heavy. I still think its dial layout and "look" is probably cooler than the YM if I am to be objective. It is just that comfort and familiarity seem to be winning my favour. It is a subconcious thing to be sure that was probably always there. I'm just now choosing to listen to it.

My categories:

Dressy sports watch light dial (YM)

Casual sports watch dark dial (Pending - probably Sub or Sub II)

Casual sleeves watch (DJ - Oyster Bracelet)

Dressy sleeves watch (DD - President Bracelet)

Casual Chronograph dark dial (Ti Aquatimer)

Dressy Chronograph (Pending - VC Patrimony Chrono Lemania 2320 or Lange Datograph splurge for either...ouch $$$)

Formal Watch (VC Traditionelle Handwind)

Travel Watch (UN Big Date Dual Time)

I think it's because I don't change watch very frequently, I figured needing to change to a different kind of strap would make a good reason for changing watch Bracelet is okay for most eventualities, but sometimes it gets a bit too hot for a bracelet, and that's when NATO or Tropic comes into play I hardly wear watches on leather straps at all now I've moved away from PAMs, and I think some of that is not wanting to take off a watch which is waterproof, just because water would damage the strap, so much easier to have a strap which is also truly waterproof as well I think you're quite right about DJs needing a cuff to truly work, in short sleeves they are just that little bit too small.

[Edit to add]

Not mine, but a fine example of this awesome dial

An awesome post, brother, awesome to see you on the board again If Rolex is whetting your apetite at the moment, I'd be remiss if I didn't suggest you have a look at the Tudors as well I absolutely love the 79190 dial, as the triangular markers at the cardinals make such a difference to the usual Submariner markers, both visually from an aesthetic point of view, but also visually from a functional point of view, providing larger indices to look at Following your example, I have no plans to build my collection beyond 'function/occasion/situation' watches, and now class those as:

Daily beater

Daily beater hot weather (on NATO or Tropic)

Travelling watch

Sports watch (chronograph)

Suit watch (casual but professional)

Formal watch (leather strap only)

Spare beater

To be fair, the beater, hot weather beater and travel watch could be effectively one watch, (GMT on Tropic would be my vote) but I think it is nice to have some variety, just to have the opportunity to wear and appreciate a different watch from time to time As you've sold on the MMD, I'll write it off my list for potential buys, and settle for another YM, as that really was a nice 'all round' watch to wear

In that case I prefer the Ti Ingy AMG as Titanium does not heatup in direct sunlight. Perhaps I even have a strap for this watch somewhere (kevlar if I'm not mistaken)

To be fair, if it's just the watch head, I wouldn't be overly concerned about it heating up from sunlight, but of course, it's your choice With regards the Kevlar strap, what is the water resistance/water retention of the strap like? I only ask, as personally speaking, I don't like the feeling of a wet fabric strap on my wrist. I only tolerate a wet NATO strap if its wetness is inevitable, such as swimming, but if it's avoidable, such as bathing, I would still remove the watch rather than get the strap wet. A silicone strap, on the other hand, while not always quite as smart, can still be quite acceptable aesthetically, as well as meaning it's no issue if the watch gets at all wet

i totally agree buddy ... thanks for the props!

Any time, amigo

They look fantastic

As for this:

And the lume

Get it black-lumed, keep the look, gain the glow

Hi FXRandy... Great to see you're still around!

Allready own a Breitling SFSO and guess the wife will wear it again around the pool.

Actually looking for 'something different'

Prefer a non-chrono version as the chrono's tend to be less water-resistant

This was the previous watchbox. The IWC Portu Chrono was sold to FxrAndy and also the IWC st. Exupery is not in the box any longer...

Personally, I'd just put the Ingenieur (right hand pad with just the 12 and 6 numerals) on a rubber strap

as promised, here are the pics of the genuine mesh. i put it on the rep deployment and it fits my wrist perfectly! i'm really enjoying the look and it's much more comfortable than the rubber strap. hagw.

I couldn't really make out the pics on the iPhone last night, but that is not only a winning combo, but that clasp really looks the business, no-one would ever guess it was a rep part, it really sets the mesh off perfectly

No change here, still wearing the usual beater The weather's been in the high 20s, sometimes a bit humid, and I've been in the pool a few times, and I have to say, the Tropic-style strap from Modena really is the ideal strap for this kind of weather, and well worth every penny Fantastic quality, at a price even I could afford

Wow, why didn't I check this thread earlier? I'm honored you'd put me in such esteemed company, TeeJay!

It was seeing your pre-Daytona on the Tropic strap which gave me the 'final color-scheme' for my project, although I'm planning to make it a Tudor Chronograph instead of a Rolex, and also gave me the final push I needed to try the Modena Tropic-Style strap, which has been a real pleasure to wear during the recent hot/humid weather

I'll probably be wearing this one for a while!

Very classy, bro

Yeah baby... what the DSSD should have been. "Steam Punk" is perfect.

+2

I've found that my 029a attracted the most comments from females, which Omega, Rolex and Tudor have never elicited. Wether those other watches were noticed but not commented upon, I could not say.

Thanks! This is my "beater" watch now, although I will probably still keep it near spotless

It's funny, without the branding, it almost looks like a Submariner with a GMT function, what kind of warped individual would build a watch like that

Looking very nice

Its working

Not for me

Strangely, when I click on a watch, it shows 'frequently bought together' options which are not shown on that sole page I'm just it's just a temporary glitch, but I must admit, I rather liked looking through the quartz non-chronos, it was a nice change from the norm

The people who buy high-end reps like we do is a small group.

Normally tourists or online-shoppers pick up the cheapest stuff without knowing anything about the watch. It is just about a Omega, Rolex etc Logo. Perhaps the know that there is a Submariner or a Seamaster, but that is it.

We are on the hunt for the next perfect rep or mod one with gen parts from an already expensive rep. The big group of rep buyers would never consider to buy a rep for more than 50$. But this group is probably multiple times bigger than our "little" community.

There is market for cheap stuff, so the factories try to use it and make money. That is normal. They make probably more money on the cheap [censored] - because of high sales and not the price

I agree 100% I bet they sell dozens more 'cheap' Subs, compared to just one sale of one with a 'Swiss' movement

Mmmmmmmmmmm.....I am talking only about the forums and RWG in particular...what they offer here on RWG..what is posted on their own website is not what I am discussing and have no say about....RWG is our dominion and what is posted here is what we may have influence...sorry if I have not made that message more clear

Ahh, I see what you mean now Yes, it would certainly be in their best interests to list the best watches they have (best meaning best quality, not necessarily the most expensive) Strangely, since I made my post, I went back to the WatchEden site to continue my 'Hublot Hunt', and they are now listing only a single page of watches... yesterday they had 20 pages

I can see that the dealers have little influence on the factories....unfortunately

But the dealers do decide what they offer and what they offer on these fora

I expect them to do what they can to get the best replicas to our attention

my point is that we should advice them to post primarily their quality pieces on RWG (I am not saying that one should ban posting of low grade replicas for sale)...but that the dealers should realize that posting too may of those will drive quality inclined buyers (typical RWG member) far away from them....and into the arms of Mary and the like....the message that quality matters has to be heard and RWG should lead the way toward that goal

Ahh, yes, I see what you mean there, in that they should offer the best of what's available I think it depends on how much of their sales demographic really comes via the forums, rather than 'google hits'. As collectors, forum members are more likely to be more critical have more discerning taste, than someone who just thinks "That's a nice watch..." (to whatever watch they see ) so indeed, if the forums are providing the majority of their business, then it would be better for them to tailer their collections to that market. On the other hand, given that there is so much drop-shipping, it's not a case of them having bought stock and not shifting it, so it doesn't matter to them if they advertise the 'less than excellent watches' as well as the good stuff On the theme, the other day I actually looked at WatchEden's Hublot selection, and they have got quite a range of nice quartz watches. Maybe not to everyone's taste, but certainly ideal for some, infact, I'm planning on getting one each for my best friend and his wife for when they're next over from Tokyo. Given the need for punctuality, he needs quartz accuracy, and I remember he asked if I'd heard of 'Hub Lots' last time we spoke, so that might well be the ideal watch for the purpose