Toadtorrent

Do they ever give out the BIG book?? That's the one I want. It measures 3x the size of the little Chronolog...beautiful.

No sweat. You'll start to learn even more as your knowledge base increases. When you start seeing some of the projects folks like Ubiquitous, Toomuchgear, Freddy333 and of course The Zigmeister have assembled...WOW. You will be inspired...awed...and motivated! You'll also develop new appreciations for things you might not have given a second glance to before.

RWG has the best technical information with the coolest cats around. Have fun...and when you're ready...remember to contribute back to the forum to keep it the best.

You could order from any of the collectors who can ship from the EU. Eurotimez and Precious Time are very popular.

I'm not sure about the avatar. Make sure it's 150x150 and <150kb. Try uploading the file instead of hosting it somewhere else...

They vary a bit...but that's around the mark. With complete documentation, they've gone more...without and depending on the year...they've gone less.

Is there any way you can share the file used to print the datewheel??

Welcome aboard. The forum is great because of the fantastic contributions of the enthusiastic members. Help keep it great and read, search, learn and share your experience and expertise.

Exactly...thanks! The pic is actually Gioarmani's from his tutorial. The tool required to adjust the beat costs A LOT...in the neighbourhood of $800 CDN!!! So, it's not worthwhile to get one unless you have money to burn, or plan to do a lot of adjustments.

Just swing the rotor out of the way...you'll have to stop the rotor in part of it's rotation to access the adjusting parts. If you have the ETA movement, it should look just like the pic in the Gioarmani tutorial...you can see where the rotor is in that picture...the rotor is not removed. Just adjust the screw that's circled in Gioarmani's pic above. The pic is of a GMT...which is using a modified 2836. "A and B" as daschund corrected me below, is to adjust the beat. Generally...stay away from "B"...and just use the screw...if you can. It shouldn't be out of whack that much.

Glad to hear it worked out in the end. I've never heard of Customs holding anything in Canada before. Bizarre!! As to the clasp...stick the short end of the strap at the top of the watch...and the long end on the botttom. Attach the "Flying B" end of the buckle to the short end of the strap...laser etching on the croc grain side. Feed the other end through the slot of the buckle...and then through the "pinch" claws as well. Close the clasp and you should have leather on the inside except for the pinch claws...and the metal of the buckle should be sandwiched between the leather.

Those first pieces are exciting to get. Well done and glad the experience was positive. Your quartz one will probably be the most reliable and accurate you get.

From recent posts of The Zigmeister...it sounds like you can source them but they are really expensive...in the $500 range!! That's more expensive than I can get valjoux 7750s. My ETA source doesn't have them anymore and said they are no longer listed on their availability list. Somal Canada can get a Chinese GMT movement (likely the ICHS that is found in reps now) for $20 CDN. So...with this in mind as a cheap replacement...my willingness to go down this road for getting a watch with a GMT function is restored. The movement may not be the greatest...but hey...rip and replace when it dies with a readily available cheapy.

I'm assuming you're talking about the spinning rotor. You can just let it swing out of the way...you don't have to remove it. It can get kind of annoying with it's spring loaded swinging...but that's how it works. You're only making micro-adjustments at a time so you don't want to have to keep putting the rotor back on and taking it off repeatedly.

Here's the info from TMG: "The dial was aged and the 24 hour indices extended a little to the edge of the dial. A genuine T116 was installed (glued in place) as well as a set of vintage relumed NOS Omega hour & minute hands from Ofrei (stock# HAN-2752). The stock GMT and seconds hands were recycled and repainted in flat colors plus a vintage lume. The Omega hands are nearly spot on to the real deal Explorer II and really make the watch. The hands are never correct on any of the 1655 reps. To finish it off I have a gen 7836 folded bracelet fitted to it." More details can be found in this post HERE. You can also check for some comparison pics for reference in my 1655 thread linked in my signature. Nice looking piece BTW!

You sound like you're well on your way. Welcome aboard. Just because you may have an end in sight for the watches you plan to buy...you can always learn to modify them...adjust them...maintain them, etc. It is a fun hobby...and RWG is filled with some of the most supportive and knowledgeable watch enthusiasts around. These are people who are master watchmakers, master collectors, and masters of information and ephemera. Check out some of the links in my signature to get you started on some interesting reading...especially the links contained in my Noob Guide.

Great post...what a deal on this one!! That is a great looking watch...and at that price??

There's some interesting stuff in there. The 2 Hublots will be interesting to watch given they are only a couple years old...

Wow...you went all out on this one! Beautiful piece!

I heeded the advice of members on this board in going for the cheap Chinese tool set, and getting a gen Bergeon 29.5mm die and I'm very happy with the combo. Mind you...the CN hands I bought were too thick for the Bergeon die to sit properly...but it rests on "top" well enough to get purchase. I could grind out the hand slots on the Bergeon die...but that would take time and effort.

I think any of the tourbillon watches are the ultimate in dress watch. A tourby to me is an interesting watch particularly in BOTH rep and gen varieties. Though there is a huge difference between a rep and gen Breguet tourby for example, the rep still is an outstanding mechanical marvel that one cannot just be in awe of gazing at. I've been in absolute awe of the full skeleton rose gold VC tourbys ever since I tried one on...beautiful...absolutely beautiful and something that would dress up any occasion...at about 10x the price tag of the above listed pieces mind you...but what an heirloom for you to pass on to your non-existent children (or me in a pinch).

I can pick up a spindle of 100 decent SLs (TDK, Ridata, Ritek, etc) for around $18 CDN...cheap and definitely the best value. Lots of movies I find though I want in full uncompressed quality and go DL.

Welcome aboard. There are quite a few of us 'Nucks aboard. You just found yourself the most informative watch board around. Be prepared to spend a lot of time reading here. Check out my Noob Guide linked in my signature and you will have a reference for some information you probably already know but some links to excellent technical posts from some of the best watch writers and master watchmakers around as well.

School is fun! School in Hawaii...well...what can you say. I passed through U of Honalulu...beautiful place...don' know about Hawai'i Hilo...but it will be hard to go steer amiss. You will certainly not go wrong going there...especially vs. Chicago. You might need some new watches though to make sure you get to class on time...and a watch with a good tach to time the frequency of geological anomalies...

That is fantastic! I had no idea...now that has me thinking. What a great idea!!!