droptopman

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Very nice work, excellent review D. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Sweet looking piece. There are a lot of really nice people here. One of the things I like the most about the hobby and the forum is the willingness of others to share their knowledge and experience. Awesome first build. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Can't remember who built it but someone did a TC with gen 11613 dial, bezel, crystal and crown and it looked awesome. They used a blue strap instead of bracelet but with the strap end links and it looked great. I have an old rep 11613 with the solid gold tt bracelet and have contemplated doing a Franken TC or wm9 and using this bracelet for it. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

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DJ again. Think she might be sold today so may be building another one. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Yep save up a couple more bucks and get a TC. Look in the trade area there are used ones for sale frequently. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

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Yes on strap for now. Sourcing a bracelet. Yes if I go full Franken will look at engravings. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

This is jmb's budget experiment watch I bought a couple of weeks ago. I polished the case, crown , bezel and crystal then taped her off and brushed the lugs. I like vintage pieces to look restored. Had a nice Donerix croc strap with gen buckle in the parts box, so put that on her. I love the simplicity of the 1016 but was not sure at 6'3" I could work the smaller size. This was an inexpensive way to try out a vintage Explorer. I must say I wore this all day Saturday to the gym in the morning then out to play golf in the afternoon then straight to dinner. The smaller size works great for a sports watch. She is really growing on me. Pretty nice looking piece for $225 with the strap cost included. Hard to beat for the cost. Now that I know I like it on the wrist need to find some gen goodies for her. Jmb does a wonderful job on these. I think the finish work turned out great. Some pics: Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Excellent choice, Moab is great guy and member. Always helping the forum and it's members. Congrats Mike. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

I'll repost in a few. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Dude you nuked my post:). Geez it was your watch..... Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

10:15 am pst and no thread yet so I will start it off. Franken MattDate today. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Yes I made a pledge to not buy from dealers but patience ran out looking for a case. Of course right after I bought it a used one came up for sale..... RA thinned the case. Says it looks gen. Just have to wait and see. Stock bezel assy was not good so Matt found one that fit the gen crystal and insert perfectly and rotates correctly. I will post up pics and details once she is finished. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Ok ordered 4 today so I will post up picks when I get them. And yes 2 MB and 2 Rolexes:). I know tacky but they look so 80's. Comms were super good and quick. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Very nice T. Love the dial. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

No not yet as I really didn't want anything other to let others know. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Now that is funny. I tracked it from Germany, not China...although as we have seen they can rep anything.

Hi All, Thanks for being here, love the forum and the hobby. I posted some of this previously, not really complaining here, more just venting and providing information to the forum that may be useful to someone. I purchased a donor watch from one of our TD's back in May for a Franken 16750 build. My first real build since joining the forum. I have been sourcing information and parts since I joined the forum back in December as this is one of my grail pieces. Anyone that has gone down this road knows it takes a lot of time, research, $ and patience. The watch was the "1:1" 1675 with upgraded "Swiss" movement ($333 model). Several emails back and forth between me and the TD about the movements as when I ordered this was about the time all the treads about wrong and/or broken movements were being discussed. Assured it would be a Swiss ETA several times as I read all the posts and was concerned it would be a clone movement. Point being I would have ordered the stock movement (cheaper) and sourced my own ETA. Was assured again it was ETA several times...Of course when it arrived and was opened up, it is a clone. Even after verifying with well know WS and sending pictures, the TD and factory still claim it's an gen ETA. No need to beat the story anymore. At this point anyone who spends a little time reading here will know that it is unlikely to get a gen ETA in a rep these days... So that gets me to today and why I am posting this. Case was sent to France to Rolex Addict for mods. RA informs me that the case is a 1680 sub case not a 1675....Now I am a little frustrated. The movement issue I somewhat expected based on information on the forums, but the wrong case. C'MON man. RA says it is not big deal as the mods are the same and the case is the same but it is engraved 1680. So if I want to wear it on a NATO I will need to remove the 1680 and have the correct engraving put on. Just more time and expense. I know this may seem trivial, it just gets me thinking how often does this happen? And for new people or people who do not send their watches to a WS to be checked.....How often are the parts different than what was sold. I guess the message here is to check you pieces carefully or have a good WS check them to ensure you get what you paid for and wanted. OK done whining...thanks for listening and providing a place to discuss. So on the positive note, case on it's way back to USA and that means this time piece will be on my wrist sometime soon. This has definitely been a test of patience, but I did learn a lot during this process and want to thank several members for helping this NOOB out. Funny story. I ordered a 2015 S5 Audi about the same time I bought the donor watch. I kept telling Matt that the car would be ordered, produced and delivered before the watch was on my wrist. It is going to be close. Car arrive at port of Seattle yesterday so couple of weeks to process and get to the dealer, then their processing, then go take delivery. Going to be close as to what piece is ready first. Leave it to the German's to build a whole car before I can build a fraken rep watch... Mark

I remember my first experience at a nice AD store. I purchased a 11613 on my 20th birthday in 1987 from a shop in Seattle. I still remember that day vividly. I was so proud to have that watch and it was really the beginning of the Rolex Addiction for me. Prior to that my daily watch was a Movado museum given to my by a girlfriend. I still like to stop in the high end AD stores and look around, the problem is it is hard for me to walk out without buying something . Now that I found this place I would rather spend my $ building something, but the attraction of another gen is always there.

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Me too but getting a few to optimize shipping expense. He had some with Rolex logos too. I know....but had to have it. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

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