clive

I have recently fairly rapidly been adding to my collection of (mainly) reps and homage type watches. I have bought some nice examples of several makes from Silix, Military Time and Perfect Clones, all of which I can recommend. I now want a good U-Boat rep, preferably of the 'Left-Hook' type. However, it seems that most gen U-Boat Left-Hooks on sale today are quartz movement types. I distinctly don't want any more quartz types as my perhaps twisted logic tells me that if I have several watches that I wear on different occasions, the automatic types fit the bill better as they are mostly stored in my watch box and are not operating and wearing out when they are not being worn. So the question I have is this. If I buy a replica automatic Left-Hook from (say) Silix, will it it be a copy of a genuine watch, available either today or in the past? Any help will be appreciated. BTW, reps are getting better and better IMHO, especially some of the less expensive ones. Ciao. Clive.

THIS WORKS! Hi guys, thanks for all your help and advice. As often happens, my problems were extremely easy to solve when you know how! The trick is freeing up the watch with petrol lighter fuel. I found this in an article on the web at quartz watch repair and believe you me it works 100%. I have 'cured' three quartz movements using lighter fuel (the petrol based ether mix that used to go into Zippo lighters). So its true that if movements hang around too long on the shelf they can get gummed up, as well as when in service. Hope this helps some other newbies. Ciao. Clive quartz watch repair.pdf

Thanks for the sound advice guys. You obviously get nothing for nothing. The only other internet supplier who can match these prices that I've come across on the net is Ioffer.com. I have reps from Silix and look-alikes from Military Time and am happy with both these suppliers, especially Military Time who I will be using further without doubt, but no problems with Silix either. So the $64000 question. How much can you get (eg) a rep Rolex for which is virtually indistinguishable from the real thing (until you take the back off of course). Obviously it MUST be automatic, not quartz. And where is a good place to get such an item without overpaying? Any takers? Clive.

Hey guys. Has anyone bought products from this source: http://www.discoverybuying.com/2014_Big_Discount_In_Rolex.html? The prices are unbelievable! But that is usually a warning. I've included a print out of the advert. Ciao, Clive. LAST CALL Rolex Self-winding Watch Only $28!.pdf

Hi. Thanks for the sound advice Fraggle42. I did just as you suggested and the stem popped out (and went in again!) without problems. I have attached an official Hattori diagram to show anyone other interested parties where to press. Clive. hattoriY121diagram.pdf

Hi there. I have a Konigswerk watch which I bought for a very good price on sale. This watch is fitted with a Hattori/Epson Y121 variant look-alike movement with no writing on it, so we can assume it is of chinese origin. The Japanese (original) version of this movement spells out clearly where to push to release the stem. Can anyone confirm that I have got this right as I don't want to mess anything up inadvertently. I need to take the movement out, as the day-of-week indicator dial at 12 o'clock has a loose hand and, although it sets without problem, it moves on its own without much provocation. Thanks, Clive. Konigswek_movement.pdf

Hi fraggle42. Excuse my ignorance but what is a reset pad? Thanks, C.

Hi Do any of you guru's know 1) why does a brand new quartz movement straight out of the box not always start on connection of the battery?, and 2) what corrective action can be taken if this happens. This seems a fairly common problem but it is also a controversial subject. In my case the movement is a Miyota OS20 which in general appears to be a good solid unit. Help please. Thanks. Clive

Hi. I would appreciate a bit of help, being new to this game. In my collection I have 2 rep Tag Heuer Grand Carreras which I rather like. They are both powered by a Miyota OS 20 quartz movement which I understand from reading here (and elsewhere) is a pretty well respected movement. One of these watches ceased working the other day and it is only about 6 months old. The chrono, including the second hand, work fine and the time and date adjustments both work as they should. But the main hands have stopped moving. Any ideas? I have a spare movement (new) but I would rather not do such major surgery at this stage. Yes, of course I checked the battery! Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. Clive

Hi Guys. Thanks for your replies. I got the idea of removing the movement from the front of the case here at RWG. The web address for the start of this thread is 'http://www.rwgforum.net/topic/116498-remove-movement-from-grand-carrera-cal36/' and the title of the thread is 'Remove movement from Grand Carrera cal 36', started by RWG member 'mattheis'. Any more help will be gratefully received and I reckon it could help others too. I must emphasize that I don’t want to do any damage through careless surgery or using the wrong tools! Unfortunately the system isn't allowing me to attach a photo of the watch with the back removed at the moment. Best Clive

Hi. As a newbie I'm looking for some assistance. I have a rep Grand Carrera caliber 17 RS2 which I like very much (picture attached). This one is powered by a Miyota OS 20 quartz movement. Unfortunately I need to give the reset pusher attention as I over-tightened the locking ring and, when I freed it, the locking ring and the pusher button tend to rotate together rather than the locking ring unscrewing freely over the button. OK it still works after a fashion but I like things right. To sort this out I need to remove the movement. When I opened up the back of the watch I could find no way of removing the movement from that side, although the stem released no problem (and reattached too!). A bit of searching on the internet revealed that the movement has to be removed from the front after removing the bezel and crystal which is new ground for me. Can anyone tell me how to do this without damaging anything, preferably with some picture to illustrate the process?

Hi guys. Thanks for your help. The process is in fact real easy. All you have to do is bend back the 2 tags on the joiners where they thread from the outside to the inside (they are gold plated on the outside in this case). The entire link can now be removed. Thread the bent back joiner tags back through the strap and then bend back the tags to secure after the desired number of links have been removed. See attachment. Cheers, Clive seiko_strap.pdf

Can someone assist in telling me how to take links out of the supplied metal strap on a rep Seiko that I have acquired. I've done most every other type but this one beats me. It doesn't have any pins, arrows or holes to release a metal tag. I have attached some pictures. The upper side of the bracelet looks good but the inside is frankly a bit of a mess. Help please, Clive