pompompurin

I think a lot of people underestimate the seriousness of pitting in an expensive gen, especially for a vintage piece that has collector's value. As pitting is localized corrosion which creates areas with small holes, the structural integrity of the watch and its water resistance could worsen further if preventative measures aren't taken. I guess this is one of the main reasons why Rolex switched to 904L after years of observation. However, not even 904L is 100% corrosion proof.

Making a 3135 fit inside a Raffles 2824-2 case was hell, but worthwhile.

by the way, Raffles 501b is highly recommended by me. I have them on my Startime 3035 16800 superfranken http://rafflesdials.com/one-pair-of-501b-steel-all-brushed-20mm-end-pieces-for-vintage-rolex-explorer-36mm-oyster-watch-band-bracelet-and-fat-spring-bars-in-2-0mm/

By the way, i managed to reshape, polish, and sharpen those raffles time ETA hands: https://forum.replica-watch.info/forum/rolex-tudor-replicas/9131259-pompompurin-s-chasing-ocd-who-has-the-best-eta-submariner-hands

yes it will take a gen dial if it has a sa4130 movement

i just compared my rafflestime hands to my JF 16610 hands (and i previously compared the JF 16610 hands to gen hands when i had access to gen hands). IMO, rafflestime ETA sub hands are the closest accessible ETA hands set to gen - even closer than HR hands by far. Apart from very minor flaws, the length and proportion is matching, and it definitely looks the part.

If i have to use sub hands for a build, i either use gen (with gen movement) or TC hour hand or Vietnam hour hand + HR minute hand + ETA 116610 seconds hand (which has a slightly longer tapered front; therefore, it is good for building certain periods of 1016). IMO, Clark, Yuki, stock cartel, and Startime sub hands look nothing like gen. I don't understand the praise about them haha. I would say HR's sub hands is the better one, but far from perfect. If you are dying for something quick, Rafflestime (not rafflesdial) sub hands look quite nice: they look like they have the right proportions and they are cut very nicely: Rafflestime minute hand measures 12.5mm from centre to tip.

Gen is the best for hands, IMO no compromise. If your gen service dial is the "SWISS" superluminova variant, then suck up the cost and buy the gen service hands. If your gen service dial is the tritium variant, you could buy gen service hands and have them re-lumed to match your dial. Gen service hands are supposed to be relatively affordable, compared to the original vintage ones. Also, second hand service hands are even more affordable. Trust me, i've been through searching for the best sub hands and concluded that gen hands are miles ahead better.

You can make a 2824-2 or 2836-2 or 2846 movement in to a no-date movement by simply replacing the combined setting lever to the one used in an ETA 2840. Buy a broken ETA 2840 (or a swatch watch with ETA 2840) and extract that combined setting lever

I have the same problem as you do, when it comes to sourcing the correct case for a vintage rolex build. Cartel cases aren't great and their incorrect crown/ stem/ tube height drives me nuts. Their thickness and slightly weird case geometry makes reshaping a pain in the ass for me. Not to mention, cartel hasn't been innovating or improving much during all these years. Since Vietnam cases have the monopoly for the better vintage rolex cases, i have to suck it up and pay $$$ unfortunately. But it saves me so much time to make the case more accurate to gen, compared to buying a cartel rep.

Raffles sell this tudor caseback (http://rafflesdials.com/steel-case-back-for-vintage-style-of-40mm-rolex-or-tudor-submariner-watch-case/) and it looks like the ones that are used in JKF (cartel) tudor subs. I think this raffles caseback should fit a cartel sub because someone said that JKF reuses the same rolex sub cases for their tudor subs. If the raffles tudor caseback fits, then you could sand off those tudor engraving and mirror polish it

imo, to get the shallow rehaut, try removing metal from the inside of the case. But if you do that, the crown/stem/tube height would become different and the VR3135 wouldn't be compatible. Therefore, the other solution is to install an eta 2836-2 movement. However, finding an open 6/9 ETA dwo (with the correct 3035 font) would be a challenge; but you could get away with a modern closed 6/9 DWO as RSC has swapped service closed 6/9 dwo into 3035 movements before btw, for your inspiration

Matching one here

1. do you plan to mod the watch? 2. are you looking for vintage or modern daytona? 3. what is your budget? 4. how OCD are you?

yup, it looks like a HR case to me (based on the lug profile, the caseback engraving, the crownguard, and the bezel/insert) this is what a HR (helenarou) case is and this is the price: https://www.helenarou.com/5513-submariner-retro-vintage-diving-watch-with-swiss-eta551328242.html you should just buy a rubyswatch case instead!