predfan2001

I've had 2 GMTs take a dump. The first one was the Rolex "Steve McQueen" vintage model with the ETA copy movement. First the GMT hand quit working, then it quit all together. I took it apart and found the the movement came apart. Screws were evidently left out because there were no loose parts in the case??. I didn't really care because I bought this watch to practice mods on anyway. Then my Omega GMT with asian movement (different looking movement the the Exp II) quit after just a few days. It was replaced by the dealer and the new one has performed great so far. The only issue is the second hand is a little more stutter to it. I almost feel that if you get a GMT, the best thing to do is to not adjust the GMT hand too much. This is for sure a weak spot. Now I just set it and forget it. I don't really need a GMT hand anyway, I just like the looks of some of the models. I try not to wear it very often because I feel its days are numbered. I've become very untrusting of any modified GMT movements. I can't blame the dealer for the crappy movement and he stood behind the sale. He replaced the Omega GMT with no problems. He did recommend staying away from asian movement watches, now I stick with ETAs. I'm staying away from GMTs totally after this.

Here's an idea (for a rep. or for Rolex). Since Omega just smoked Rolex by coming out with the 45.5mm Seamaster Planet Ocean, how 'bout a 45mm "Supermariner". I'm thinking a LV style dial (large markers) and a vintage style bezel (5510 style). AR crystal, helium release valve, fat oyster band, and maybe a new flip lock clasp with release buttons on the side?? It's about time for something new, but still keep with the classic style somewhat.

I tell them they're real. Screw it. I wear gens and reps. Everybody know I own some expensive watches. I could wear a different watch everyday of the week, nobody I work with or deal knows the difference. I jacked with a guy that had on a gen. Submariner at work the other day. I said "are you sure that's not a fake?". He defended his and never questioned mine . I've been the watch repair guy at work for years. Nobody questions my authoriti' .

Here's my problems so far: 1. (Quality) Bought a 42.5mm Omega PO from brand9ave.com. When It arrived, the crystal had a chip on the inside, the bezel insert was scratched and the divers extension would not stay closed. I really disliked this watch. I thought it would have been bigger but it wasn't any bigger than my sub. (thicker yes). I sent it back and asked for a 45.5mm in exchange. They did it and I love it. The worse thing about it is the shallow pearl. I am working on a plan to fix that. I don't mind that the Omega logo has feet. They finally satisfied the deal but it took forever it seemed. Many e-mails and IMs thru their customer support. 2. (Movement/Quality) Bought an Omega GMT with asian movement from Trusty (Andrew). It kept quitting interm. like something was binding in the movement. It finally quit all together. He replaced it and all is well with the second one. BTW, Andrew is the best to deal with. He was so nice, he made me feel bad for complaining. His customer service is second to none. He apoligized for the problems and advised me to steer clear of the asian movements for long term quality (I would advise the same). Normally I do but I wanted this GMT because the asian movement rep. is the probably the best looking one out there. Other than that I've been really satisfied with the quality of my reps. The way I see it is look at the ETA Omega PO rep. vs. gen. They are both made out of stainless steel. They both have a quality movement (as I have said before, I personally have had better luck out of an ETA than Omegas ETAs). Is being waterproof to 2000 ft and having a modified ETA movement or co-axial bla bla bla worth $3000 retail more than a rep. Not to me. I really don't worry about water resistance, the wettest my watches get is in the shower and none have leaked yet. Accuracy is usually not an issue if you go with an ETA. You can't beat an ETA (except for gen. Rolex in my opinion). I have severely damaged a genuine high end watch I was wearing before (that sucks), it gives me peace of mind knowing that I only have a few hundered dollars on my wrist now. Glad I ran into you guys!!!

I've thinking about the case "vintaging" myself. I have been thinking about using my tumbler and small gravel on a bare case with the vital areas taped off. I have an extra "practice" case to try this out on (I bought a cheap asian vintage rep. to practice mods on). I also have a Sandoz diver that I wear daily as a beater. It's 10 years old but the ETA runs like a champ. It's actually performed better than most of my high end gens. (namely Omega-I've had a few problems with my SMP). After reading some of the threads here, I tried a few tricks on it. I bleached the bezel. I used a coffee cup with a little bleach in the bottom and set the watch down face first. I checked it every few minutes at first but nothing was happening. So I just left it in for about 45 minutes. That gave it the effect I was looking for. I then removed the cyclops using a little heat as described in a thread. Next I gouged up the case a little with misc. steel items like big bolts and screwdrivers and then rebuffed it. Next I installed a vintage rep. Rolex riveted band that I scuffed around here and there and re-rubbed with a scotch-brite pad rubbing at different angles for a more worn look. I then hand rubbed the band with polish to brighten back up a little. If only it had a plexi crystal! Funny thing is I've got several compliments on the watch since vintaged. I never have before vintaging . Getting ready to start on a "very worn and abused" submariner rep. project. Just need to source a 1680 MBW. I wish I had got in on that group buy. Check out the Sandoz: Here's my old gen. refinished(??) dial I plan to use on the project:

I personally like very worn and vintaged items. I have a genuine dial, but I like the aged look of this dial to. This appears to be an old refinish to me, it was advertised on eBay as a gen. The submariner below the feet and meters doesn't seem correct. I was thinking this dial in a MBW case, gen. crystal, gen. crown and stem. Vintaged/bleached insert and roughed up bracelet. Maybe even a missing pearl.

Monday is all about the PO. I just got it to replace a defective 42.5 mm. The 45.5mm really makes a statement. Large and in charge!

Since the cyclops on my old beater was showing some wear (as well as the rest of the watch), I tried out this technique on it. I then added a vintage riveted band and bleached the bezel to give it a vintage look. I get compliments daily. Everybody loves vintage I guess.

No reps as far as that goes . That's a bone stock Colt .45 gov't model. Here's my baby, a polished stainless Walther PPK/S with zebra wood grips. If only I had a genuine Sub. it would be like Bond on steroids.

Pulled out the Omega GMT today. It's been in the drawer for a couple days but was still going. One thing about the asian movement, great power reserve.

The first thing you will need to do is to completely uncase the watch. Then remove the tube. The shoulders of the crown guards a best taken off a little at a time on a bench grinder. Use the finer wheel of the grinder when you get the material down where you need it. Clamp the case in a vise (like a coated hobby vise) and do the rest of the smoothing with a flat file. During this step I would recommend cutting a thin cardboard pattern of the curvature of the other side of the watch for comparison. When the case has taken shape, start using wet/dry sand paper to smooth the machine and file marks. Gradually work up in grade using finer paper. When you get the case smoothed down and the edges rounded the way you want to around 320 grit, you can start buffing with a Dremel and compund. I personally use Mothers Aluminum wheel polish in the jar as a compound. I would not recommend a Dremal for anything else in this project other than buffing. Using a Dremel for removing the cgs will most likely cause you more work by hand to smooth the case. Dremels are better suited for shaping cgs, not removing them. When the case is like you want it, you need to countersink the hole slightly, tap the tube threads with the proper size thread tap (they can be bought on eBay). Install a genuine tube and seals (a special tool is needed, but a torx bit or the end of a file handle will work also. I would use a thread sealer, but not locktite. Then slapper' back together!

Hmmm....but tomorrow will it be or maybe

Todays it's my ETA Sandoz diver. Vintage riveted band, bleached bezel, cyclops removed and plenty of scratches. This one is my bullet proof daily beater. 10 years old and still cranking.

I have a friend who works on gen. Rolex watches. I have purchased all of my gens from him. I haven't seen him in a couple of years and I ran into him the other day. I told him that I was getting into mod'ing reps. He gave me a fairly nice vintage genuine 1680 dial and a tropic crystal that I would like to install into a rep. I need advise on which rep. best accepts a genuine dial. I've heard that some reps will not accept a gen. dial, they are too small in diameter for some rep cases. I was wondering if anybody had any advise on this. I don't really want to invest in a MBW to mod. at this point, I am just getting started. I'm not a novice but I don't trust myself mod'ing a $450 watch at this point. I was wanting an ETA vintage Sub rep. to try this out on. I plan to get the rep., fix the cgs, install the tropic, put in the gen. dial and install a gen. tube and crown. I trust your opinions. I have made a few bad purchases that made me realize that I should have asked questions here. Thanks in advance!

Andrew is my favorite seller, but I actually read here that someone tried to install a genuine dial in one his vintage models and the gen dial was too small in diameter for the case. After looking around from site to site. It appears to me that there may be just 2 different cases used in most all $188.00 and below vintage subs.

Was wondering if anybody had any advise on which (or whos) vintage 1680 Submariner rep. (besides a MBW-looking around $150 usd range) best accepts genuine parts. I was given a well aged submariner dial and a new tropic crystal that I would like to install into a vintage rep. I'm not to worried about cgs, I can modify those no problem. I may go ahead and install a gen. tube and crown. I read here that some vintage reps will not accept a genuine dial.

I personally like the 1655, I know alot of people don't. I "kind of" wanted one but didn't want to drop big bucks for a watch that I probably wouldn't wear often, mainly just wanted one as a novelty. I chose to get an asian movement 1655 from Andrew at Trusty. All and all it was a pretty good "cheaper" rep. The dial was great as was the bezel. The riveted band is pretty cool. The second hand is suprisingly smooth. The screw down crown operates perfectly, no binding. The down side is that the rehaut is shallow and the cyclops has very poor magnification. I mainly bought this watch to keep and practice mods on, but it all but quit working within a couple of days after receiving it. I went ahead and uncased the movement and found that the balance wheel and rotor assy. were loose in the case. I guess they were never attached because there were no loose screws in the case. I robbed a couple screws and reattached the assembly and it worked again (I should have stopped there). Then I thought I would pull the movement and vintage the hands a little, they were too white. I gently pressed the stem release and then it was gone. I guess it pressed into the movement somewhere?? Never had that happen before. Now it's just good for parts I guess. The biggest surprise was that the watch had an ETA replica movement (I have an Omega GMT with asian movement that looks nothing like this movement). I'm sure this watch would have performed well if the screws hadn't been left out. As I said, the movement was pretty smooth. This is just "that watch" that I can't win with.

Omega GMT movement on eBay right now if anybody is feeling ready for a project. I think it says the hour wheel (??) is missing too.

My advise would be to set it aside and buy an ETA Sub. I personally have had no luck with asian movement watches. Some quit in the first week. If your not ready to sink over $350 into a MBW, Paul has a pretty good entry level ETA Sub. Keep your dead watch for spare parts or to mod later on.

Just bought a junky asian movement Steve McQueen to play with. The first thing I did was to sand and rebuff the crystal edges to give it a rounded look. May not be correct, but I sure like the looks alot better than that squared off crystal. FYI-Dremel (on low speed) and aluminum wheel polish is the trick for buffing plexi. Granted I bought this watch to practice mods on, but I really like it. The dial is so confusing you can't tell what time it really is but it looks COOL!!! Maybe I'll get a MBW if I can find a source.

Andrew is the best that I have dealt with. His prices may be a tad higher than some other dealers but the customer service is worth it. I had a watch take a dump right after I received it. He stood behind it and made it right.

All I have is an extra asian movt Seamaster GMT (black dial and speedy band). It croaked after a few days. Very nice for a mod or movt upgrade.

m

This rep stuff is still kind of new to me and at times I find the comments quite humorous at times. The only people who judge a watch this harshly are rep. fans (or a jeweler if your trying to sell a watch). I've had 5 gen Rolex watches in the past and usually put an after market band on them right off the bat. Did anybody know? Heck no. I bought a 60s vintage Oyster Perpetual once (an Air King more or less) with a riveted band. Couldn't stand how chessy the band felt and put a replacement Seiko oyster on it (with the gen clasp, solid links with pressed pins) and nobody ever knew the difference or questioned the band. The fact that everyone here picks over a rep. so hard proves that if you want to buy a genuine and have any questions about it, ask a rep. fan, not a Rolex fan. You guys know your stuff. 99.9% of the public never notices the stuff you guys talk about. Personally when I look at a Noob, the first thing I see is the crooked "S" and the bad spacing on "Submariner". It's obvious because it's crooked. The "L" on the "perfect" is passable to me. It varies on some models a little anyway. I really don't think anyone would notice it. There for my vote is for this watch over a Noob anyday. And after my dealings with reps I really don't care for asian movements in most cases. Save up and get an ETA!

Yes it is outlined.