Mike_G

Anyone know of a source for the older style Tudor Ranger dial with vintage rose logo rather than the shield. It needs to work with a JMB case and ETA 2824-2. Yukii has Ranger dials, but with the shield logo. Also did these Tudors all have Rolex crowns or did they have a "Tudor - logo" crown.

Thanks for the reply. It’s been awhile since I’ve been active can you elaborate on “Mary’s 7836”

Where did you get the bracelets? I may sell my Explorer build, but if not, I want to put a steel bracelet on it.

Dealing with Kent was great. He answered all of my initial emails leading up to sending him the watch. He told me turn around time would be 4 to 5 weeks. I didn't bother him during that time. He did the job in 4 weeks. When he was done he sent an email with photos of the finished work. He does not mind working on reps. I was up front about that. He said the 1016 Explorer is one of his favorites. It turned out better than expected. Looks good in daylight and lume is very good as well. I recommend him highly. http://www.everestwatchworks.com

I'm very happy with his lume work. I just wish I had use him earlier. Would have saved me money.

My best advice ... send it to Kent Parks at Everest Watch Works. Pricey but worth it. Cost me $201 to fix my mess and relume

I tried reluming my 1016 rep myself. Big mistake. I sent it off to Kent Park at Everest Watch works and Kent did a great job! First photo is the mess I made and the next two are of Kent's "repair"

Probably not. If the movement craps out at some point I may, but I'm pretty satisfied with it as is.

It took less than a week to get here from China, it seemed like an eternity. I am a Rolex / rep noob so I don't claim to know much. All of what follows are my observations and impressions. Function wise the watch is keeping accurate time (after only 12 hours of wear mind you). The bezel moves well. Not too loose or too tight. The crown feels a bit gritty when screwing / unscrewing but otherwise does what it's supposed to. There seems to be a slight alignment issue with the date wheel. Some numbers seem too far left in the date window. The date changes instantly with no lag but does so a few minutes before midnight. Second hand has a smooth sweep. If I had to guess I'd say it moves at about 6 beats per second (I haven't tested this. Just uneducated guess). The bracelet feels sturdy. The clasp is a bit tight and can be difficult to open. The sides of the links are polished. The appearance (to my amateur eyes) looks authentic. I would not be able to tell it from a genuine model. I'd be surprised if we're called out by my friends and colleagues (none are Rolex enthusiasts). From what I have read a gen 16600 weighs in at about 149 grams. This one is very close at 144 grams. It has a nice heft to it. Over all I am very satisfied so far and have no immediate plans for mods. I ordered the watch from Josh at Perfect Clones. I opted for the "Swiss" ETA 2836. Transaction was smooth and shipping super fast. Update: Appears to have gained about 10 secs in the last 72hrs. Good enough for me.

Not bad. $100 for the TC dial and hands and $39 for the bracelet. I actually had one and sold it for $25 .....kicking myself now. If anyone knows the best source for bezel / insert and crown I'd be really interested to know. Seems I have read complaints about the tube. Maybe gen tube / crown or athaya? Gen bezel / insert? Yuki? Stock?

Expecting a new BP Sea Dweller 16600 tomorrow. Ordered it from Josh at Perfect Clones. I'm starting to second guess my decision to get the Swiss 2836 that's modified with slotted rotor and Rolex markings after reading some negative posts. But I cross that bridge when I get to it. What mods are most popular in this watch? Case reshaping? Crown? Hands? Bracelet? Bezel / insert?

Absolutely stunning

To me it represents a nice bridge between the vintage and the new. Just ordered one with Swiss ETA from Josh and can't wait to get it. Thought about getting the lugs drilled but not sure I want to mod it.

+1 JMB does really good work and is easy to deal with. Very helpful as well. No plans for a steel bracelet in the near future. It's funny I prefer leather straps on the Explorer and steel bracelet on the subs.

So I've had the watch a week or two now and really like it. Two issues. 1) The bezel is loose and turns freely 2) looks too new. I've discovered I'm not very good at the diy mods. My thoughts for mods are: Age the case, have the case engraved, replace the bezel and insert and replace or relume the dial. What are most folks doing with the new and improved cartel watches?

I know we are our own harshest critics, but I just cannot make myself like the lume. I'm going to bite the bullet and spend yet another $150 or so and send the dial and hands to Kent Parks at Everest. I'll repost pics in a month or so. Fingers crossed

Wow, one machine to satisfy all of my fading needs. I bet it could double as a dehydrator for dried banana chips and beef jerky

To me starting with a blank dial makes sense for a couple of reasons. First, seems impossible to work around the printing on the dial and gave it look natural. Second, if you mess up on a blank dial just start over. Not possible on a printed dial. I've destroyed a couple of dials and it hurts deep. When I see a tropical dial I'm reminded of a faux leather paint effect. My wife's boss did this on an accent wall in his house and it looked great. Whoopy if you see this can you chime in. Could someone supply you with a blank dial and you have it printed? ( is printed the right term?) I'm not suggesting copying something like this 1:1, but I bet someone skilled with an airbrush could produce a really nice blank

Seems like the focus on getting the tropical look is trying to modify the dial after its printed and lumed. Wouldn't the effect be easier to achieve if you could start with a blank dial. Create the look on the blank dial and then have the printing done after. This might be a question for Whoopy and would certainly depend on the ability to have a dial custom printed. Yuki sells a brown dial but it looks nothing like a "tropical" I think what I have in mind would have to be hand finished before printing.

Looks good to my uneducated eye. All except for the lume anyway. I would guess that someone did a bad relume.

Thanks! The Hands are growing on me. I wish the lume on the markers matched a bit better

Okay ...a little self critique. Lume is too dark. I think I'd prefer a lighter lume, maybe more of an off white / cream. The hands look like crap. Like I said it'll do for now but I think a new set of hands and a professional relume is in my future.

Here is the 1016 build I've been agonizing over for a few months now. Not perfect but okay for now. I figure I can make improvements later. Also shown is my new Tudor Sub Clone from Josh. 1016 Specs: JMB case Yuki dial with yellow lume Hands from Ric's watch repair. Relumed by me gen ETA 2824-2 gen crown miltat Horween leather strap from strap code Starting with the assumption that I know these aren't perfect and that I have a pretty thick skin Id love to hear what you would do to improve on these.

Here's mine. Essentially the same watch but in the style of a Tudor 7928. Been wearing it for a few hours now and I have to say that over all I really like it. If I have any complaint it would be that the bezel feels loose. Of course it looks too new for a watch from the 60's. I don't believe I'll do any mods for the time being.

Very nice! If my 1016 turns out anywhere near that nice I'll be a happy camper. My Yuki dial just arrived. I'm just waiting on some Bergeon dial feet and it'll be time to get to work.