Sogeha

Agreed. I was called for dinner mid post. Fixed now.

Pictures. Sorry they are not great. The NATO is an old cheap one I dug out to use until a nice new leather NATO arrived? I also forgot in my ramblings to say, personally I can use Phong for reps of genuine a that costs 15000-20000 or more, but if the gen is 4-5000 I don't think it makes sense. So basically vintage builds in my opinion.

Hi everyone, 

I mentioned in a thread that I had bought a Phong 5508 ETA and Mendota-Explorer asked if I could post pictures and give impressions, perhaps others might be interested. So let's start with a little history. I'm a Geek through and through. I used to design and build robots for a living, always loved and obsessed over mechanical things so it was inevitable I'd become a watch guy. I'm a car guy as well. Anyway as a kid I used to gaze in the local watch shop at all the expensive watches and Rolex soon became a favourite. A certain Commander Bond probably influenced that, I bought watches over the years each time stretching a little further in price until I finally managed my first Rolex. About twelve years ago I was cruising the net and bought a couple of reps. An Explorer 1 and a Comex. I didn't know much about models at that time and had little idea what Comex was. Anyway the Explorer was a good buy. The dial is very poor and may soon be updated, but the case is as good as it gets. The Comex.... Well it's a no date 1680 Comex without lug holes. Very rare model! As I got to know more I became embarrassed I even owned the Comex and never wore it. Lesson learned, I stayed away from reps for years.

I got sucked back into the rep thing by discovering this and other sites. I lurked a lot, even before I signed up. I read and became a bit obsessive. I knew I wanted a good rep. I don't much care what others think. Actually 99 out of 100 people don't even notice my watch and most of the rest don't care. If they say nice watch, I say thanks. If anyone I don't know asks about even my gen, I usually say it's fake. I don't want mugging thanks. So I only want the detailed accuracy for me. I knew Phong had the reputation as the best. I firmly believe his cases are the best. The price was a hurdle for me. It is a lot to pay for a rep and I kept thinking what if I'm disappointed? What if it's a piece of ***? Why don't I put the money in a gen or towards a Rolex gen? 

Well I ordered, sent off my money and sat having pink kittens about Customs either seizing it or taking it as gen and wanting thousands in duty. I followed the tracking and it duly showed up at my door without problem. I opened the package and if worn it every day since. I totally love it and don't regret the price one bit.

If or rather when I buy from him again, I will only buy a case. I know more now and will buy dial and hands elsewhere. I think my 5508 will get some modding in the near future. Some gentle aging would be good. 

The Comex? Well when I looked at it again despite all it's faults the case is a good 1680 project base. It's gone to a modded in Paris and I'm hoping it will come back a killer double red.

Sure I can. I think I'll open a new topic though rather than hijack this thread. In the meantime that's it in my avatar.

This is a great resource. 

If HR get the long minute hand back in stock it might be useful for 1016 Explorer builds. 

That's not just nice, it's inspiration. I have a Cartel 5513 in coming and my plan is pretty much the same. Gilt dial, probably Yuki, possibly Explorer, aged case and old leather strap for that "couldn't give a damn what you think" look.

Nice. Project X? I have been saving pictures from their site and thinking the same thing. 

that's what I bought and exactly what I intend to doing in the future.

I was considering a Phong. I've bought from him before. I shall watch with interest in case this takes off.