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Great post, I always wondered exactly how those wheel removers worked

Great pictures, and really nice to put a face to the name after all the years

Theres probably another reason to get Schumacher behind the wheel as well, He was always the master of car setup, and could achieve miracles bringing an underperforming car up to speed via the quality of the feedback he could give the engineers. With the testing ban Ferrari can't just drop him into the car for some laps, but this gives them and him a perfect opportunity to drive the car properly on track. Regardless of how he performs at Valencia I think we can expect some big improvements to the Ferrari car to result from this.

The watch business (like many others) really got silly towards the end of the boom, it seemed like everyone was asking $10k for base models with pretty average spec ETA movements. Every brand had limited editions .. in fact some brands didn't have any models that weren't limited edition (eg Panerai) The better brands will certainly survive, but I believe we will see the model ranges significantly re-shuffled to bring prices down a lot. I see the second hand market having a massive shake up too. The days of pre-ordering the latest Audemars limited edition for $25k, and flipping it in ebay immediately for $50k are well gone. Most of those models were hardly worth the $25k to start with. When the profits from flipping are gone, then the speculation on models ends too, and the limited editions will have to drop back in price.

Great review thanks. We need more like this.

As pugwash says be careful what you buy, sunglasses are actually protecting you, not just about looking good. Most opticians have UV measuring devices so if you ask nicely you can probably get then tested before exposing your eyes to the sun unprotected

Great post thank you, I'm looking forward to seeing the finished results. Its clearly a very well made rep, but you can see how sloppy assembly and finishing spoils it.

Amazing bit of engineering, but kind of confusing as its the super fragile toubilon housed in a super rugged action man type case. My guess is the movement is so fat that only the Defy case would fit it. This is just a "halo" watch anyway, its job is the bring attention and prestige to a line thats otherwise just massively overpriced sportswatches.

How great would it look DLC coated though...

Really nice collection thanks

Very nice.. I had the pin with the shoulder made already, but I hadn't thought about using the mill as a lifting tool.

I'd love to see pictures, the lower priced HBB reps have actually been better then the first factory ones in this regard for a while now.

They need to sort out the bearing, the real one has the circular retaining ring rather than the zig-zag pressed in part.

A slight variation on Avitt's technique is the use a G clamp (screw up type clamp) to apply the pressure instead of pliers. I find its more controlled and there less chance of slipping and damaging the case.

The genuine uses a 2894 eta movement, and the rep version of this, as used in various seconds at 3 reps, is available, so I can well believe this might have that. The main chrono second hand however is powered from inside the movement and not the transfer gears. So make this rotate at twice the normal speed (ie one rev per 30 seconds) would require changing the ratio between the tilting pinion and the drive wheel on the chrono seconds shaft. If you've ever worked on these parts of a 7750 you'll understand how tough this would be and how unlikely it is. I know Breitling Bentley's are huge in Japan so "perhaps" the market is bigger than we think and the movement factory did the mod, but I'd be expecting a price closer to $600 with this level of re-engineering.

I've got 4 genuine crowns and they all have differences. You really need to measure the crown dimensions and custom make a part if you want a perfect fit.

The smaller GT model should be ok (although still a substantial watch), forget the 47mm ones, they are giants, and as they are polished they look big too.

I can't help thinking that some of the IWC's and Panerai's will hold value a lot better long term than the Cvstos. I'd definitely be looking at second hand too, there are some awesome deals out there right now, even on models that were really hot only a year or so back. If I were you I'd be holding out for something pretty special like a AP offshore or one of the more limited Panerai's on the second hand market. Cash is king remember, and I can imagine $7k would go a long way with someone desperate to quit something.

It would be even better if they made the whole bezel properly, with the transfer gear, and the non-rotating crystal. The Cousteau works very much the same so shouldn't be that hard. I'm also waiting for the new Bentley rubber strap they showed at Baselworld. Check the Japanese Bentley site for the pics of that.

In theory the 30 seconds sweep seconds hand would be easily done by simply doubling the drive ration of the final set of pinions. I maybe wrong but I'd be surprised if the movement factory would go to this trouble for a fairly low sales volume model. Its also significant that the watch has been photographed with all 3 sub dials at the 12 mark, so you can't actually tell which sub dial is which. At this price I'm going to guess its a regular 7750 layout despite the dial printing.

it usually a mis-aligned movement ring causing this. often loosening the case back is enough to release the pusher but you'll need to remove the case back and make sure the ring is sitting properly to fix this permanently.

Its great to see decent RM reps finally. I'm not normally a fan of gold but this one really suits it.

I made up a short piece or round stock on the lathe with a shoulder, This goes thru the tube from the inside until the shoulder is against the inside rim of the tube. You can then pull like crazy on that until the glue breaks. Usually thats pretty easy.

I still have a bunch of his crystals tucked away.. just waiting for the right watch. Its almost a shame they are probably worth as much as the MBW watch you'd put them on now. His crown tubes with the dodgy over size thread were a slightly different story though. Have a few of those too that will need to the glued into place I expect.

The lack or scrapes from the rotor hitting the main plate is a good sign, it means the rotor pin has never been worn to a great degree. This in theory suggests a movement with some service history. But you'll need a professional to give any opinion beyond that. Good luck with whatever franken build this ends up in.