kbiz

I'm looking to possibly do a run of correct 6497 movements for contemporary pams... first for the most current version and possibly later for the earlier. Problem is it has proven too difficult to find swiss 6497s in the high beat... So I'm looking at the Chinese Seagull ST36 like the kind from Getat... I have the ability to do the proper cotes de geneve and pearlage as well as the micro fine engraving and rhodium plating... what I'm trying to figure out is if I can actually source a movement that's close enough where I don't have to machine all the screws and re-blue them, etc. It's only worth the trouble if it's possible to be spot on! So far I've looked at Getat and Jackson TSE and the Getat version pictured looks better than Jackson which seems strange because I'd think they came from the same place... Here's some pics: Jackson: Getat: Here's the Gen: The Getat description: $35 Description : Asian Seagull 6497 hand-winding mechanical movement with H3 (tall) canon pinion. With Swan Neck. Functions : 2 hands with small second at 9 o'clock. Running time : 48 hours after full-winding Beats per hour : 21,600 Jewels : 17 Size : 36.6mm x 4.5mm Included : movement, stem, 2 small mounting plates & 2 small mounting screws. So issues I've noticed so far: -screws look a little shiny but at least they're not rounded like the Jackson ones... -anti shock looks like it's probably fake and maybe rotates around -anti shock has the wrong shape but that can be swapped out -swan neck is a bit off as in not a 1:1 shape -winding wheels have wrong bevel and decoration is bad -winding wheels screws are way too rounded Anyone see any other issues? Also if you know a better source of movement let me know...

I think it's the outright lying, deception, selling rep parts as gen, oh and over all scamming and thievery that has caused the VDB clan to deserve and receive utter exile! But they knew it would come to this at some point... all part of the business model I'm sure.

personally the layout is painful to look at on that forum so I have never been able to deal with RWI... I participate on RG and WC...

Let's keep our fingers crossed for a good He valve and bezel!

It is too bad that the rep had so many flaws... have had a couple opportunities to pick up a gen dial but with the crystal and bezel issues... just not a go for me...

I wonder who JFu used... I wonder if he'd tell you... hmmm...

you can spot plate the silver battoned numerals... that's pretty easy. The CG reshaping would remove the gold plating though... I guess you could rig a small plating tank out of a glass and let it sit for a long time to replate whatever material you filed off...

it's old for sure... I thought it looked refurbished but the owner states it's all original...

that's what the dial used to look like... it's not nice now... it needs repair or replacement.

Hey guys I need some help... I'm needing to either repair this dial or get a replacement... I really don't know much about Rolex so I need some expert Rollie help!! This is what the dial looked like before and unfortunately it's now missing an index marker and has paint damage... not by my hands luckily... I say luckily because this watch belongs to a friend and he loves this watch to death... hopefully it's not impossible to source as I'd rather locate one than have to have the dial restored. Any help is very appreciated... the dial comes out of a 34mm case and the dial itself is 27mm.

I definitely think the radiation has taken a toll...

hahaha poor DSN his designs have been getting worse and worse...

I saw these on ebay before I saw them here... are the seconds hand tube exra long to fit the recessed seconds post??

As mentioned those are definitely factory stock photos... provided by the rep factories to minimize flaws and maximize gen appearance.. typically pics taken from the very best rep the factory has ever or will ever make... wouldn't consider them stolen, however.

Just wondering if any of the knowledgeable machinist's here know of an adapter to be able to use watchmakers collets on a regular lather with a C3 taper head stock... I'm sure there's something out there but I haven't seen anything...

I definitely like the old style better... but if I could have found a Ti new style I would have bought it just to have... I think they were trying to make the bracelet extremely subdued with the new style so the bracelet is more like a basic metal strap than a part of the watch... I get where they're going with it but I just don't think that's the nature of bracelets.

Yeah you'd need to mill it down on an upright mill... Although if you are good with a fine mill hand file you can actually accomplish the same thing but you better be good with a file

well if possible I always try to start with either old school parts or cartel as they're usually more accurate but you'll have to start looking for the differences... also make sure you care about the differences because you'll pay more for every detail you want to fix... and it depends what watch you're wanting to build. As for waterproofing, I don't trust any rep outta the box so I'd recommend having your modder or watchsmith do that for you.

IMO his case shape is typically wrong on every case set he produces, his CGs are way off, his dials are always quite a ways off, his crystals have distortion and in the automatics the cyclops is horrible, his case backs have finally, after years, improved... bottom line is his quality keeps going down and the accuracy of his parts keep getting worse... I've bought a few things from him over the years but not one of his hundreds of parts produced is the best on the market even though it's price point is just as high and he could easily produce fantastically accurate parts but "Chooses" not to... The list of things I like from DSN are as follows: -Ti low profile bezel (still needs turning on a lathe because the angle is wrong) -new 089 and 091 case backs -CGs only if grinding down and reshaping by hand into an A-F CG because they are completely the wrong shape from the factory Again this is my opinion and I am very particular about the little details and accuracy...

Josh and Andrew = Cartel So you already found the pricing for the Cartel's watches if you've been to perfect clones... I personally don't recommend DSN over cartel watches... not a fan of DSN parts...

all pams with the 28xx movement have the 6mm cyclops... 023/027/028/029/063... also the date wheels from all of these models are interchangeable except in DW thickness... date window alignment is also the same throughout... the reason DSN's cyclops is misaligned has nothing to do with the movement or the dial but more to do with the accuracy of his cnc grinder that bores the socket in the sapphire...

Right on the money... only thing to do with the 23a is buy just the dial... source some old EL hands and send hands and dial to Vac to fix the lume... now you have a decent base to build a watch... maybe if you're impatient go with DSN's crystal.

I wanna see those dial pics

oh stop... heh that's still a possibility... Yeah way back in time... in the very beginning of Pam reps... someone decided along the way to make the Pam auto cases to accept a crystal that's about 2.5mm thick so that a cyclops could be glued to the underside... this was before the sandwich crystals came out. This thinner than Gen auto cryatal tradition of sorts continued... so now if you have a Gen auto crystal or WO auto crystal you'll need a Gen case to use it... unless you're ok with about 1mm of crystal sticking out the top... that's why the only decent options for a rep auto case are DSN's newest 2 piece crystal (slightly better than horrible) or the legendary ultimate crystal (which means you'll have to buy an entire watch and sell off the extra parts). The sad part is the rep cases can't even be machined to accept a Gen crystal as theres not enough metal

Yup, I think he sourced the box and papers too