tanaris

The Athaya crown/tube is a must on a cartel case. However you don't need special tools, just remove the old tube with pliers (it will get destroyed, but it's crap anyway), countersink the hole with a 5(?) mm drill bit and carefully screw the new tube in place using the crown and some loctite. 

(Of course the special tool wouldn't hurt, but it can be done without.)

Dunno if it's still available, but I think that's the one BK used. Be aware that the 12 hour marker is most likely misaligned. 

I guess I have some options:

- Get a better case. But I don't have the funds for that atm.

- Trim the case. But that would require access to a lathe.

- Trim the dial. I can probably do that with tools I have, but that would make the dial unusable the day can afford a better case.

- Build a 5513 instead and put the 1680 dial in a drawer for the time being.

Desicions, desicions.

I'm actually measuring a two week old Josh 1680 A2836 (RLSV01004) right now:

 

The rehaut opening is 25.4 mm. There's a slightly recessed area for the dial, that's 26.2 mm, so a 26 mm dial (such as the Yuki snowflake I have here) fits perfectly.

 

A 26.5 mm dial would probably need to be shaved.

As I just received a 26.5 mm dial I can confirm this.

Now... do I shave the dial or do I enlarge the recess by .3 mm? Which is easiest, considering I don't own a lathe? What are the dangers of just mounting the dial to a dremel through the center hole and grind away?

The only issue with mine is a slightly misaligned date wheel, but I rejected the first qc due to bad ceramic insert.

If I recall correct, the blue bezel is painted (the black is proper ceramic). Tells are bezel indices being engraved and not flush, the pearl often sticks out too much (but can be pushed in), case back is not gen-like and hour indices are rounded (more flat on gen). But overall it's pretty ok, especially the black one. 

Common flaws are misaligned date wheel, and there's a batch of bezels where 12 and 6 o'clock don't line up. 

I'm actually measuring a two week old Josh 1680 A2836 (RLSV01004) right now:

The rehaut opening is 25.4 mm. There's a slightly recessed area for the dial, that's 26.2 mm, so a 26 mm dial (such as the Yuki snowflake I have here) fits perfectly.

A 26.5 mm dial would probably need to be shaved.

Like a moron, I scrapped the entire thing. Don't ask.

 

Where would you recommend I get a good Submariner 16613 two-tone blue-face non-ceramic replica now? Who should I contact? What old sites are gone/what new sites are good deals? What am I looking to pay, etc.?

You mean, like, where can you find the best sub?

Tbh it sounds a bit like this hobby isn't really your thing. 

There is a chance the problem was user error, as I would wear the watch for one day, then leave it sitting for 5+ and be forced to wind it as it had run out of momentum. I may not be as smart as I think; maybe I didn't properly pull/wind the stem. I stripped something enough for the crown to not want to stick onto the stem anymore. This is actually the second time I've done that. Before was with a really cheap watch off of some random website that isn't even mentioned here (SwissWatches or something)

 

I see a Submariner at WatchDen.com for less than Andrew's TrustyTime. I don't see how this could be a good thing.

There's usually no need to wind it to get it started, just let the rotor do its job for a bit an give the watch a little nudge.

But of course you should be able to wind it, at least carefully. I know the A7750 can suffer from stripped gears if you're not careful. But what do you mean that the crown didn't want to stick to the stem? The crown should be threaded and winding should actually tighten it. 

I've had good dealings with TrustyTime in the past, but I read on another forum about customers getting similar responses lately. But anyway, by disassembling the watch for fun you voided any warranties so...  

Actually it's 230 VAC in large parts of the world, not DC.

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Oh, I opened mine twice and nothing happened. Does it mean it's broken??

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But here's the deal with the rehaut... the Swiss 2824 in these (which by the way looks brand new and not reclaimed), 

Mine definitely doesn't look brand new. But hey, it works

(Never seen that regulator design before.)

For the SMP:

Flaws/tells are mainly pearl (easy fix), case back, bezel numbers&indices (engraved, not flush as the gen and slightly thinner). Also the hour indices are not as flat as the gen. The rep is also slightly thicker than the gen. But except for the pearl, I'd say all those are passable unless you do a side-by-side comparison. 

Common errors I've seen are are bad bezels (uneven spacing - 12 and 6 markers don't line up) and misaligned date wheels.

Also currently they only come with "Swiss ETA", which is a bit of a lottery. Mine came with a movement that's either very old or very "franken" based on the looks of the regulator markings. But it works, so...

Apart from all that it's still a very nice watch, and my current daily beater.  

Yeah, the numbers and indexes on the bezel looks slightly fatter on the gen.

That looks good. How did you do it, exactly? Mine also sticks out a bit.

I took my wife's hairdryer, used it on "high" for a minute or so, waited about two minutes and just pushed with a hard plastic thing. Then I put it face down and let it cool. I think someone said that there was plenty of room under the pearl, so don't push it down to far. Use the bezel as a stopper for whatever thing you push with, i.e. don't push with the pointy end of a pen or something

Do you have a (before and after) photo? It would be interesting to see the result!

Yeah, a bad one

The real-life difference is like night and day. Maybe I could push it down a little more, but I don't want to risk breaking anything.

I did the pearl mod on mine yesterday. Super easy with a bit of heat and IMO it solves the biggest tell for "normal" people. I'd say even a gen owner wouldn't call it out unless compared side-by-side.

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That's a cracking piece mate I reckon it should be but has a few tells no? Members who have them let me know and I will add them but only if they are Super

Caseback is way off. Pearl is rather obvious. Lots of them have incorrect bezel inserts. Lume is terrible. Those are the big tells I guess.

...but apart from that, it's stunning.

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I just did the screw swap on a Carrera. First time, was dead easy. Took one at a time, skipped three (under balance and under chrono reset thingie), the only one that was a bit fiddly was the one that holds the 30-minute wheel spring.

I ordered the screws below from cousinsuk.

(One thing I noticed was that there was no gasket under the caseback, anyone knows the dimensions?)

Screw For Barrel & Train Bridge + Others ( 5106 ), Valjoux 7750 (VAL77505106) x 6 @ £2.15

Screw For Operating Lever + Other ( 58139 ), Valjoux 7750 (VAL775058139) x 2 @ £3.85

Screw For Balance Bridge ( 5121 ), Valjoux 7750 (VAL77505121) x 2 @ £2.93

Screw For Oscillating Weight ( 51143 ), Valjoux 7750 (VAL775051143) x 1 @ £2.93

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The datewheel problem seems to be common on those. Also watch out for the bezel index error (not on this one). 

The first qc pics I got last week (black) had exactly that flaw, the ones I got today have not. Seems to be (at least) two different bezel batches around.

I too didn't notice it at first, I had almost convinced myself that the bottom misalignment was due to angles or something. The danger of doing qc with an iPad, I guess.