Dizzy

good story! I dont really see the point of putting a gen movement into a watch either. Unless its all gen except the movement, and you find a motor for a GOOD price. I have a Datejust thats all gen except for the ETA2836 and the hands. Its a nice looking watch, keeps perfect time and from what you can see (except the hands and datewheel) is all 100% Rolex. Good enough for me. If I ever come across a nice 3035cal for a smokin deal, then i might toss it in there and sell it. I never wear any of my genuine watches. They just sit and collect dust while I wear my frankens.

The watch from PT actually isn't a WM9. Its close though. Its apparently the new one that BK is looking at to bring in and sell as a modded piece.

WM9 subs are currently out of production as far as we know so you will not find a new one from a dealer. The PT sub is the next best thing out there. If price isnt an issue then you should buy a used modded Sub. They are always coming up for sale in the sales section. You might even find a nice used and modded WM9 there. dizz

Oh now I see they do exist... mark VI I guess I dont look very closely at the newer ones.. I thought the single reds were only on the sea-lab watches? I didnt know rolex gave them out during service

have a look at this. Read the story. They only made a few single reds for sea-lab as a prototype and only a few still exist. I dont believe they made a service replacement for the Mark00. His feedback doesnt ensure confidence either. My link

Good luck. They are discontinued a while ago. You should focus on finding a used one in the "for sale" section here.

Im surprised it hasnt been deleted yet! lol

Yes mine is old. Its one of the orig MBW16610 models. Mine is also modded, and even during all the past WM9 hype, I couldnt find a reason to replace it.

The first post shows that its a saphire crystal and the same chassis as the ETA model. For $128 you cant go wrong. I have an EXP2 from about 13 years ago with a "japanese" movement, whatever that is. Out of ALL my reps, the EXP2 with no-name movement is by far the most accurate. Never been serviced, and its had water in it twice, and it still keeps COSC specs after more than a decade. Just dont "play" with the GMT functions (if any) and you will be fine. Dizz

I remember seeing one of those in a local jewelry store about 15 yrs or so ago.. it was priced the same as the used Datejust 1603 sitting in the showcase beside it... I bought the Datejust because it "Looked better". whoops lol I also remember trading my Tudor Snowflake for some Superswamper tires for my 4x4 about 10 yrs ago, and back then, that was a good deal. I guess Im not very good at predicting the future.

If you dont care about accuracy, just buy one for $15 off ebay. Otherwise those gen inserts look pretty good if you can snag one for $90. That would be the way to go on that Noobmariner you have. Thats a pretty good rep. Add a gen insert and a gen crown and you will have a sweet watch. You cant get much better than the noobmariner bracelet. Its pretty accurate. Just try to replace the clasp if you can.

Yeah i dont see how anyone can get WM9 v1 cases. Are there really that many laying around? I doubt it especially if these watches are made to order. I agree that its not a WM9 but a Taiwan or TW best case. I have a MBW16610 case that was modded long before Euro offered his Euromariners. Mine is a modded 16610 case with noobmariner dial and Noob hollowlink with gen clasp. The endlinks suck but i dont really care. Not sure what bezel insert it has, i cant remember which one it is. Im pretty much into vintage Rolex and nothing else these days. I havent even worn my 16610 in at least a year so Im not really up to date with all this WM9 stuff.

Pull out the existing crystal and compare/measure. You pretty much will have to just buy the new crystal and try it. Its pretty hit and miss when it comes to gen parts on newer model Rolex reps.

I thought the "Polex" watches from the cartel were the MBW copies that came out a few years back... I believe there are a number of different factories making vintage parts and each dealer cherry picks the parts they want to hit a certain retail price point or certain level of accuracy. I know i have seen a number of 1680's from Puretime and there are at least TWO different clasps on the bracelets. Another modder here stated that the cases are inconsistant when it comes to making retaining rings and that there are at least 2 different types of cases out there also. My 1680 datewheel lined up perfectly with MBW dials and a gen sub dial, while others say that the date font is too far to the left or right. Also some datewindows look super skinny top to bottom while others are completely different. It would be nice to be able to choose the parts you want and build your own watch. I would be interested to know a reliable source for the polex 5513 copy cases. Replacing a tube is minor, but when a crystal doesnt fit, then its off to the machine shop and a whole lot of time and work. I will tell you though that my recently bought 1680 from Puretime which does not accecpt a gen crystal but does take a gen crown, has the same serial number as my old MBW 5513 case that Ive had for 5+ years. It sounds like the factory that built my specific case partially copied the MBW case but must have custom tooled it to fit a wide range of aftermarket crystals, hence the white gasket used to lock it down. This case will be just fine once i send it to JMB for some lathe work. It would be nice if everyone could post their serial number, where they got it and if it takes a gen crystal or crown. Puretime 1680 white dial. Orig ROLEX design 1680 L34xxx same as my old MBW Case is thicker than my old gen MBW5513 PT case takes larger dial 27mm+ so it will accept gen size dial Gen MBW 5513 case will NOT take gen size dial 26.5mm. Dial needs to be trimmed to 26mm PT accepts gen crystal NO PT accepts gen crown YES

You could probably use waterslide decals on a blank bridge. The Panerai guys do this on their movements all the time.

ok gotcha.. so you just need any old rolex rep overlay then? I'll see if i have one laying around also if JMB doesnt have one for you.

lol

Ive used lots of gen dials with 28xx movements and replica overlays. So far I have never had an issue with alignment. Even my PT flat top 3 dial lined up with a gen submariner dial while others say they dont. Im just lucky i guess

lol Welcome to the forum! dizz

I agree. It looks like a good case for the money. The only other option in that range is MBW and it needs even more work to fit the gen movement. I would never spend $1500 on a Phong case when you can get the Yuki and put a little work into it. We should all have figured out by now that no aftermarket case is going to be "perfect". Thanks for the pics and info. Keep us updated with the build! dizz

Very nice, and very even. How did you do it? I also saw that dial on jakes rolex blog. Its a pretty rare dial, and visually, it makes a big difference compared to a regular dial. dizz

The complete case set is about $500. Did the movement fit ok? Any issues? dizz

You cant buy this,,,, the factory has vanished. You will need to offer big bucks to someone here who has one.

ok... sharpie works REALLY good on a gloss dial... not good on a matt dial. Even after a coat of matt spray, you can still see all the darker felt pen marks around the SUBMARINER. The text is far too small to color in with a pen without going out of of lines.

Has Rolex announced a pepsi version? It does look nice, but unfortunately a fantasy for now.