predfan2001

The 5513 is my dream watch but since I'm on a budget, I had to convert a 5517 to suit my fancy. And yes the lugholes are oversized since it was a 5517 case but I have a new case on the way that should correct that. Then I'll be happy.

The MBW 5512 is about the only one I've seen that doesn't have yellow script. I ended up modifying a 5517 dial to have white lettering on mine.

ok, I do swim alot in the summer and there is only one watch I have worn in the water in the past 5 years....my Sandoz Sub. It has never leaked and has never missed a beat.

All I can say is good luck. I wanted to put a SMP band on my GMT rep and it took almost a year and at least 6 rep bands before I got a combo to work. Bracelet swaps on Omega reps will make you pull youre hair out.

There was a Bond SMP quartz dial on eBay 2 weeks ago. I didn't bid on it because I'm getting a black one....the "chronometer" on the dial is not a big deal to me. I'm just going with a cheap ETA quartz movement and hands from Orfrei.

Movement is a for a Noobmariner (and the date window is aligned with the dial) and the dial fits a vintage rep case.....I'm still guessing T127

Well the Tropic 127 would be my guess but I just wanted verification. Hell I asked Helfands and got "Can't help you". That's pretty crappy being they ARE a watch parts supplier and I have bought many items from them (but I didn't tell them it was for a rep). Makes me think about buying elsewhere.

You guys may remember my old franken-Hydro Tudor....it's long gone but I'm building another. This time I'm going with a cyclops crystal. The case I'll be using will hold at Tropic 19, I've never ordered a cyclops crystal and wanted some verification on which one to order.

The next two watches on my list were the Breitling SFSO with a black dial and an Omega Speedmaster Moon watch. I bit the bullet but didn't want ot break the bank so I chose the asian version of the SFSO. I've heard mixed reviews and far as the band goes...good & bad. I don't have a watch with a rubber strap so maybe this is the one. I checked on a couple of our collectors sites and didn't see an offering for rubber straps. Then on to eBay and I saw a few. Are these reps or truely gen? Is $80.00-$90.00 about right?

I guess this lughole problem would cause issues with some of the rubber straps to. Heres a couple of pics showing what I ran into. The band on the left it the original off of my GMT rep....the link to the right fits a gen SMP. Note the position of the springbar hole. Now here is what I needed. The SMP link is on the left. The pic on the right is photoshoped to show what I needed.

Well one would think popping a gen SMP style GMT bracelet on a GMT rep would be a piece of cake. WRONG! The lugholes are in different positions so when you install the SMP bracelet it has a big gap between the endlink and case. I tried redrilling lugholes but never really trusted them. I've tried about 6 sets of endlinks and all of them left a gap. I even bought a Bond SMP rep thinking the band would fit it...nope, same thing. Well friday I received and few extra bracelet parts from a member and guess what? There were 2 endlinks that allowed the gen bracelet to go on perfectly. Don't have a clue what they came off of but after a year of fighting this, the bracelet if finally on. (still not sure if I like the insert..I may go back to the original style)

I wondered about the case (since it has lugholes). Is it useable at all or just a loose copy of a Sub.? I figured it would be compatable with rep Sub stuff. Since you can't figure out what to do with it (depending on the size of the dial), I know somebody that needs a case for a DG 2813 and a Tudor dial

Just is today is the British SBS military watch...I'm gonna call it a rep. but I guess it is an unbranded "Omega'ish" military style watch I picked up off of eBay via Hong Kong. I call it a rep. because the seller has other unbranded military watches that are nothing more than an asian Sub rep with an unbranded dial. I elected to go with the non-dated 42mm ETA quartz model. I plan on wearing this one through out the summer as a daily beater. The solid stainless case has a nice satin finish with a screw on caseback and a screw down crown. The mineral crystal sits flush in the case, even with the insert. The coin-edged bezel is uni-directional and turns smoothly and tight. The strap that came on it was a black nylon strap but it was too short for me. I popped on my olive 20mm NATO and it feels great. I would compare the size of this one to the 42.5mm Omega Planet Ocean. It's a little larger than a Submariner. Not too big or heavy...just about right. All and all I think it is a pretty good deal for $60.00.

Wearing this for now but thinking about a SFSO or an Omega Speedmaster Moon watch next.

Oh I forgot about the cyclops misalignment..if its a crystal misalignment issue, don't know if ya heard but one of the best caseback removers is a ball of tape a little smaller than a golf ball. Well they work on crystals to (if you don't want to break the watch down). I've done it to several. Just press a tape ball on the crystal and twist. It may take a couple attempts to get it right but it has always worked for me.

Looks great. Much better than that old Ultimate I bought from him. I still feel like I've been violated and that was a year ago

Bond SMP bands will not fit correctly, different lughole position. They will have a gap between the endlink and case. I put a gen GMT SMP style band on mine but had to redrill the lugholes and that is a mf'r to do. Try a NATO. Goes on easy and feels great. The asian GMTs are one of my favorite reps but the sweep is a little choppy. I lost one of my inserts and replaced with the all silver style...not sure I like it though

Well it seems that when dealing with rep Submariner stuff nothing ever turns out like you expect it to. I ordered a new "Noob" movement from a collector that has been tested and regulated (DG 2813?? I think). It came in yesterday and the date lines up perfectly. Either the other dial I have is not a Noobmariner...or this movment just doesn't have an overlay on the date wheel. Now I just have to figure out what I am going to do about markers and find a Noob case. If all else fails I do have a vintage case it fits in.

Well after digging around in my watch parts bin I did find that there are quartz movements that will work. The problem with the Bond SMP is there are no hands avail. that will fit the typical quartz movement (70/120/20). Sword hands however are plentiful. So my plan is to proceed with this project, but with a black SMP. The hands may not be totally correct be they will be close. I'm going to order an asian black SMP and attempt to convert it to quartz. Why am I doing this...cuz I want to!

I've heard it discussed before but not sure if anyone has actually tried it. Thanks to the extra parts (case, 007 dial & case back) the seller included with my used SMP rep, I have quite abit of the stuff (except for a SMP dial) to attempt building one. Here's my thoughts on parts for the build, please give me your thoughts. SMP rep case Case back from my GMT Gen or rep SMP dial Crystal from the GMT or ??? Bezel from the GMT with a new SMP replacement insert ETA 804.114 or 805.111?? movement (is there a quartz movement that is a direct replacement to a 2824-2??) SMP style hands for quartz ETA from Ofrei Plastic movment holder from the assortment offered by Ofrei My biggest worry is about which ETA quartz movement will have proper stem placement for the case and proper date window alignment. I plan on starting with a movement only to test fit it in the case with the 007 dial I have now. If it works out, I can go from there. If anyone has attempted a build like this and can recommend a movement it would be very helpful.

Most of the "super reps" would rate a 8 to me (and since they're reps a 10 would be nearly impossible). The Omega UPO would barely be an 8 but it can be improved. The Breitling SFSO, Omega Railmaster and the new SSD Rolex Seadweller are good 8s. I'm sure there are many others but my knowledge is limited to a few brands. My way of grading this rep (the rep, not the seller...Carlsbadrolex is great) is not a standard but a 6 is still a good rep to me. I've had some Rolex reps that I wouldn't even rate a 3!

I'll start by saying this. I have a white Tudor Sub dial that I really haven't known what to do with but accidently I found out that it is the same diameter as a Noobmariner (good asian Sub rep). Ok all is good, order a Noob (or what ever they call them this week) and pop this dial in for a cool franken...wrong. The date window on the Tudor dial is different than the Noob....more off to the rt. So now I'm wondering, is the date window placed differently on the ETA Noob or what. The diamter of my dial appears ok for a Noob case but do I have to find a 2836-2 movement...any ideas??

I got my used Bond SMP rep in today and was disappointed to find that my gen bracelet will not fit it. I'm running into the same issues I had when I tried to install it on a GMT rep. The lugholes on the rep are the issue. On the reps, the lugholes are drilled further out on the lug than a gen so when you install the gen band, there is a 2-3mm gap between the endlink and the case. I half a$$ drilled lugholes on my GMT to get the gen band on and it looked great. I just never trusted it 100% because the redrilled holes weren't very deep. So what about installing the gen band to the rep endlinks you ask? That won't work either because all of the individual link dimensions are totally off. The rep band with not mate with the gen endlinks without some major grinding and then it would take away too much so that it would never look right. So scratch that idea and on the the watch itself. It started life as an ETA Limited Series 007 series SMP rep. The previous owner elected to convert it over to a standard Bond SMP. I'm not sure why but I can only assume the 007 was a better case than the SMP?? I say that because the seller included the old case and the 007 parts and the crystal in the extra case sits too low, well below the insert. The band on this one is not bad, much better than most of the flat SMP rep bands. I guess the biggest issue is it needs re-polishing and scuffing (oh and it is 1 link too short for me...help me!!) and the clasp sucks like most Omega rep clasps. Since this is the first SMP (non GMT) rep I've owned I couldn't wait to see the wave pattern on the dial. It looks ok but it looks different than the gen I had. I'd say the rep appears to have the waves etched into the dial and the gen seemed to have the wave pattern sticking up if that makes any sense. Never the less it looks ok. This is the typical SMP rep with the He valve at 10:00 and screws in the band but there is one thing about this watch really jumps out at me. The insert is a greyish blue. It looks totally off but maybe the the 007 reps have a different color insert?? Plus it's not centered correctly but I'll fix that with a new insert. So all and all I'm happy with it. It was fairly cheap (plus the seller was kind enough to include the extra parts) and given the overall quality of the SMP reps, I'm glad I didn't have to pay retail. It seems to function well but if I can't find a matching link I guess I'll have to install a blue NATO or a blue rubber rep band. Personally I'd say the SMP rates about a 6 on a scale of 1-10 as a rep based on what I see. Check out my pics and feel free to comment. And thanks to the seller, I do like the watch and I appreciate the deal and extra parts.

Hey, you could have bought his previous "Ultimate" model Sub. It looked just like the Newbie but cost $458.00.

The Newbie is wokky....I'd rather have the Beginner!