Dizzy

Well here it is... We all know the flaws of the new vintages, but we are starting to figure out the fix's for them. JMB got the retaining ring figured out and this is an easy mod for the datewindow that everyone can do with the right tools. The datewindow on the 1680 dial is way too small and barely lets the font show through and also makes the cyclops appear out of alignment. Mods: Pulled the dial off used very small square file to slowly open the window touched up filed edges with black paint, worked the 5min markers a bit and sprayed dial with matt clearcoat. Its not "perfect" but dont forget this pic is supersized. At normal size with the naked eye, it looks pretty damn good compared to before. The opening is aprox 75% larger than before. I dont have a before pic but you guys will instantly see what i mean. I removed material mostly from the inside edge and some from the bottom to expose more of the font. This is a pic from the website showing how the datewindow is too small and almost covers the font on the left side of the window. Here is my Puretime dial after mods Looks 100x better. It really needed the matt clearcoat to add some texture to the plastic looking finish. This watch just keeps getting better and better. Its actually more fun doing all this work instead of buying an MBW. Swapping a dial is easy, but modding the datewindow and refinishing it adds a sense of pride to the build. I guess if you wanted to get really fancy, you could even bevel the edges of the window to make it perfect, but i didnt want to run the risk of my touchup paint not matching and making a mess of it. Oh and YES the gen/aftermarket dial fit perfect and datewindow aligned bang on. I used the NDtrading dial as an example while i removed material. I suspect all the cyclops alignment issues are caused from the too small and right justified datewindow. Hopefully this fixes all the datewindow issues. Good luck and have fun dizz

Well here it is... Pulled the dial off used very small square file to slowly open the window touched up filed edges with black paint, worked the 5min markers a bit and sprayed dial with matt clearcoat. Its not "perfect" but dont forget this pic is supersized. At normal size with the naked eye, it looks pretty damn good compared to before. The opening is aprox 75% larger than before. I dont have a before pic but you guys will instantly see what i mean. I removed material mostly from the inside edge and some from the bottom to expose more of the font. This is a pic from the website showing how the datewindow is too small and almost covers the font on the left side of the window. Here is my Puretime dial after mods Looks 100x better. It really needed the matt clearcoat to add some texture to the plastic looking finish. This watch just keeps getting better and better. Its actually more fun doing all this work instead of buying an MBW. Swapping a dial is easy, but modding the datewindow and refinishing it adds a sense of pride to the build. I guess if you wanted to get really fancy, you could even bevel the edges of the window to make it perfect, but i didnt want to run the risk of my touchup paint not matching and making a mess of it. cheers dizz [edit - oh and YES the gen/aftermarket dial fit perfect and datewindow aligned. I used the NDtrading dial as an example while i removed material. I suspect all the cyclops alignment issues are caused from the too small and right justified datewindow]

Is WM9 even working on that freekin sea-dweller? It was supposed to be released like a year ago. We havent even seen pics or anything. He hasnt even updated his website (last time i checked) since springtime. I remember BK said he would use any 16600 deposits towards a different model he carries so that might be an option. Has anyone even heard from WM9 as to what the heck is going on? maybe BK can let us know whats going on... I still dont think the new WM9 sea-dweller is going to be any better than the Noobfactory super sea-dweller V2. BUT, maybe i am wrong... some production pics would be nice... to at least keep the dream alive. dizz [edited for spelling]

Heres a dial pic that might be some help for comparison.

Thats a cool idea!!

Well this is all just plain rediculous if you ask me. I didnt try fitting a 127 onto my PT sub so I cant comment on the positioning. The crystal that came with it didnt seem all that bad, but i wanted to do a t19 anyways. If i was planning on keeping the cyclops i probably wouldnt have swapped it out... As for the date window, it doesnt sound like a gen spec dial is going to line up properly. The PT dial datewindow is WAY too small. it needs to be filed out to make it wider because as stated above, the opening is too small and covers the left side of the numbers. Even with the t-19 installed, I cant stand how it covers the numbers on the double digits. Im going to pull off my dial tonight and try to file it a bit to open it up to the same size and ratio as my gen sub dial... A little black touch up paint on the edges and some matt clear spray and it should be good to go. I'll post pics after its done. It will be a 100% improvement if it works... Wish me luck Dizz

I know theres quite a few bezel swap tutorials here. Search for how to change bezel insert on 16610 and maybe that will result in something. After you get the insert out, then you pop out the crystal. You might have to remove the movement and pop it out from the inside with your thumbs. Are you swapping out the crystal on your WM9?? dizz

Yes I agree that its bordering too expensive. $3000usa and who knows what you are getting. You can get a 18kt gold day-date head for $3000 and throw a fake bracelet on it also. I assume that nipple dial is from an all gold GMT and has been swapped in there. Just knowing that the dial was swapped and the bracelet is fake, who knows what else has been swapped out. Could be a fake case too or even worse you will open it to find an ETA movement I'd be careful with this one. dizz

Good thing i went to a t-19 then... does this mean that swapping dials wont work on the Puretime vintages because of datewindow location? Why would they screw this up? I was going to get some dial dots and swap an NDT white sub dial into my puretime 1680. Am i wasting my time attempting this??? dizz

What store were you in? Maybe the lady thought it was supposed to be a submariner and saw a clasp she's never seen before and assumed it was a fake? dizz

I think double sided scotch tape would be too thin and weak. 3M tape would be strong but the foam kind is pretty thick. @offshore - how thick is the tape on the website?

how about using GS hypo cement?

How about something like this? Puretime Watch International Pretty darn good for $200.. accepts gen triplock crown without changing the tube, silver flat top 3 datewheel, ETA 2846 slowbeat movement etc. dizz

I am going to be adding an NDT dial to an ETA 2846 movement and Im going to need some dial dots. Where is a good place to order them from? I see Ofrei has them but his shipping charge is $29 to canada. Thats just rediculous. Any better place to buy them? What shape dots do i need? I see them come in round, rectangle and curved bar shape. dizz

Now this is cool! Im not a big expII fan but this i can do! Ive been wanting to build a nice 1675

No not the entire crystal, but just a little spot directly under the cyclops, and the underside of the cyclops itself. The rest of the crystal has no AR. I dont know why they dont just single side AR the whole underside of the crystal, but they dont.

Look at the top lug in this pic.... wtf happened to cause that? You would thiink you would need a vice and a sledge hammer to bend that.

I like the redundant bezel setup!! That 7750 turned out pretty good. Subdial spacing might even look ok when its not sitting right beside the correct one. I'm really starting to get into these old daytonas. I'm feelin the itch to build a v72 version also... correct movement engravings and all. I might make that a winter project. dizz

All you noobs are all spoiled these days with the high quality of these newer replica watches. I still find it funny how people complain about the smallest details. Im used to having to spend $500 on gen parts just to make the watch wearable. Now you can get an amazing rep out of the box for just a couple hundred bucks, and they are really good quality. 3 or 4 years ago there was nothing that was as good as all these new watches coming out. Even the basic submariner reps were all junk except for MBW's and the odd other ones but they were hard to get and super expensive. Now you can buy an almost perfect rep for $300.. its just amazing compared to just a few years ago. Im still shocked everytime i see one of the new Noobfactory offerings. even with the minor flaws, they are AMAZING replicas. Dizz

Ive noticed the DSSD that I had was a different color steel from my MBW watches. I found the DSSD was a greyish color compared to the brighter white steel of a Breitling rep for example. There seem to be 3 types of stainless used in rep watches ( I cant remember the numbers) but they are white, blueish/yellow and greyish. Even when you polish them out, they have a slightly different hue in the sunlight. This is one problem I find when mixing and matching rep bracelets and clasps. Some stainless is even a duller more "aluminum" looking color. I think the bright one (Breitling and old rolex) is the 316 stainless and Rolex now uses 904L on the newer watches which has a little more nickle in it so its a little more yellow/blue. Im sure someone here can explain it better. Other than the color, I dont see what she would have called out on your watch. Other than the fact that you are wearing a hard to get $9,000 rolex. I hope you didnt wear it into a Auth rolex dealer because that is a no no. dizz

always bracelet on sport Rolex. I dont even care for nato straps. Maybe a nice croc strap on a datejust or something if you like that look, but its not for me. The only watches I ever wear on leather is my Pam 196 and 127

Im a 1680/1665 guy, but if I did have to choose just one... I guess it would be the 16610 LV maxi dial and swap out the green insert for a black one. I dont like the deep sea as I find it to be "off balance". I havent yet tried on a ceramic Submariner so I cant say much about that one, although I really do like the look of it. dizz

only 2 hours left guys.. get your bids in before it ends!!

It would probably sell quicker if he sanded it down to bare metal first lol

drilling lug holes is a pain in the ass. Maybe a machine shop can get it done if you strip the case down first. I dont see why they couldnt. Lug holes sure look good though. rolex made a big mistake getting rid of them on their tool watches. dizz