infinitime

That actually looks pretty nice! Who's Adam? and how can I get in touch with him?

Hardly being ignored... here's my Tudor Day-Date.... the dial is nearly spot-on indistinguishable from the gen.

that is truly fugly

may i suggest your authorized Rolex dealer.

Interesting, seems like there are numerous different serial numbers. I have 6380, also from Ms. King.

Thanks for your response Chris, I was actually looking at ordering hands from Davidsen myself... I am also testing a new method for aging dials... don't laugh, but i have disassembled a watch, and placed the exposed dial under an UV lamp. My theory is that much of the yellowing on the dials of vintage watches are caused by UV penetration of the paint (albeit increased due to the heat forming underneath the crystal)...ever notice how watches from the tropics, where the wearer gets alot of sunray, tend to look most aged? Too early to tell, but I have had the dial under the lamb for a few hours each day now, and its been a week... I can begin to see the yellowing, and it is much more "natural" looking than using an applied on method with watercolor or tea... may, this is kind of a black art now...

Very nice... I really like that model, and was just thinking of getting one myself. Do you mind me asking why you switched out the Russian movement? Isn't it quick similar to the Rolex movement found in the vintage gen? Also, have you had any problems with the threading on the crown stem? I've been told that they wear out prematurely? Thanks for any info!

No, I don't have experience with the one that Trusty is selling... HOWEVER, I have handled the same variant(with all of the improvements seen in Trusty's photo) from another dealer (who sources from the same supplier as Trusty), and it appears that while the cannon pin has been corrected, the poor quality threading on the wirelugs, and the poor quality threading on the screw-down crown, remains the same. Wish it weren't so, but sadly this piece still needs work.

Also, let's not forget that the wire lug retaining screws are still of a poor quality, with threading into the back of hte case which crosses readily. THis thing is far from being close to perfect, as the dealers would like you to believe.

i would suggest a 005, solid back hides many of the obvious errors.

not hard, but where will you find the correct shaped part?

The crown guard assembly doesn't look right... particularly, the lever pin head is too large, and does not sit flush with the surround, like the genuine should. Perhaps a gen with a replaced crown guard?

Not a rep, but here's a picture of my genuine 1970s Chinese Air-Force issued "SHanghai" watch. The hour markers are chrome-plated "dishes" filled with luminscent paint. Unfortunately, the paint in two of the markers fell out... I refilled it with new luminscent paint (which is VERY new looking), then "aged" it with my tea leaf techique. The same with the luminscent paint on the minute hand. Can you guess which two markers with replacement "aged" luminscent paint? Not a rep, but here's a picture of my genuine 1970s Chinese Air-Force issued "SHanghai" watch. The hour markers are chrome-plated "dishes" filled with luminscent paint. Unfortunately, the paint in two of the markers fell out... I refilled it with new luminscent paint (which is VERY new looking), then "aged" it with my tea leaf techique. The same with the luminscent paint on the minute hand. Can you guess which two markers with replacement "aged" luminscent paint?

I second that, Davidsen's offerings are much better... True PVD, better lum on dial, and no recessed pin issue. go with Davidsen.

Nice, but both the sizing and the strap are wrong.

Do you mind me asking who you bought the SM-GMT from?

Great story...thanks for sharing

cool, i've ordered from them, and it seems like all their good stuff is not on their online cataglogue

Great review, too bad there's still no way to fix the incorrectly placed helium valve.

yup, but a highly concentrated dose... i pour a half cup of boiling water into a cup with two Earl Grey teabags. let soak, (to get the flavor and colour out!), then apply with detailed paint brush...

acrylic crystals can be aged nicely by leaving them out in the sun (after disassembling the watch), after a week or so, the crystal begins to yellow rather nicely... for added effect, do this with the crystal submerged in salt water. for yellowing the hands and markers, some have suggested the use of watercolor, but i prefer a light coat of tea (which is easier to apply in multiple coats) to darken progressively. finally, for the case, if you are looking for that scratched up look, then tossing it into a bag of loose change (without the crystal), and shaking it for about half an hour, will provide you with some of the most "natural" looking wear on a watch. Depending on how far you want to go with the vintage look, you can also create artifical "pitting" of the case by leaving a steel case in a saturated solution of salt water for several weeks. Even if it is made of stainless steel, you will begin to see rust and pitting marks on the perimeters.

very nice

Isn't the rotor engraved on the gen?

Guess we should all keep our fingers crossed... curious though, any idea as to whether the blue "ruby" on the crown of the gen is actually ruby? or is it synthetic? I gather this part is plastic on the rep?

Why be so harsh? I sell and ship regularly using Canada Post registered mail, and I alway include the tracking/control number. Just because it doesn't have real-time tracking, it doesn't mean the item can't be tracked.