Watchmeister

A true classic. Can't think of a better watch to own in gen. Wear it well.

Looks really good. Out of curiousity, did you start with seconds at nine version and did Domi do the case alteration to adjust for the crown? In any case, wear that one well.

Panerai actually tried PVD first on the luminors but had a lot of complaints about the scratching. Once they got their feet wet with ti on the 25 in the A series (and had enough money to buy some ti ) they moved onto the 36 and 40 in the B series. The rest is history.

Absolutely stunning! But what took you so long?

Do you think the writer even owns a watch? I did learn one thing though. That Linde Werdelin makes some very cool watches. They look like a more elegant version of the Concord C-1.

Agree wholeheartedly. Decide what you want to pay. Enter amount and never think about it again until you are notified that you won or lost. Lends itself to fewer sleepless nights.

R- Looks like a great project.

Hopefully Wolf will weigh in as he would know. What I know about the 40 is that it was the twin sister to the 36 but with black versus brown dial. It also was made in very few numbers. I would guess it is highly unlikely that there was a Pre-A version. As far as I know Panerai did not use titanium in any watches until the B series other than the PAM 25 (Submersible) so unless someone randomly inserted an old dial into a ti case as does sometimes happen I would guess it is unlikely.

Loving that watch. Wear it well.

They all look great I would sell the DRSD. No matter what you do the DRSD's always look fake. No one has ever gotten the red right and that is the first thing Rolex cognoscenti look for.

You guys are out of my league. Best I have - old school MBW's from friends. The Archibald 1655: The Ubi Gift - :

Wolf- Stunning work. I am loving that crownguard.

Hey, you cheated. But I do like your thinking.

Great stuff. Wear them well. Great minds think alike. I sold my last PVD project a couple of years ago and am now doing a couple as keepers. It only took me 3 years to collect the parts.

My own perception is that the number of new reps coming out after Chinese New Year this year was pathetic. The stuff a number of folks have been waiting for - cartel Ploprof, Davidsen 24A, etc. have still not come out. They have put out a number of reps of higher end pieces which are not accurate enough for our market but probably sell well to the masses.

Pateks, Breguets, etc. are wonderful timepieces but they are a whole different price point. Rolex has mastered the elegant "tool" watch - not haute horologie. And for me I had also completely lost interest in them until the folks around here introduced me to vintages.

Doc- This is an excellent summary of the whole Daylight series. And you are definitely right that a 7753 requires a different dial from the 7750 and the datewheels are not interchangeable. On a different note I had Ziggy service a gendaylight at the same time he did one of my Rep/Frankens and according to him the the movement rework was significantly more so than the hand winds including a three part protective tube inserted into the case to ensure proper functionality of the date change. Just for fun here are the Daylights I have had over the years. Scary, isn't it.

J- Another stunning addition to your fabulous collection.

Everyone should have a very simple takeaway. His Choice! And as it was ultimately his choice no explanation is necessary.

No heads up necessary. Never an issue of customer problems when he was here. But he hasn't been here in a while. Check in where he does offer his services. He has plenty of reviews elsewhere.

Suffice it to say this is old news. You can find him elsewhere but as Ken has said it ultimately was his choice.

You can't please everyone all the time. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. The reality is that Rolex sells a multiple of everyone else in the $4,000 plus category. At some level they are positioned as entry level luxury and they have done a wonderful job. They must be doing something right. But why do I think the writer can't afford one.

There is no question that crystal heights vary fairly dramatically by model, type and even by year. And the comment about automatics having taller bezels to accomodate taller handstacks and a cyclops is true as well. But not as much as most people think. Many of the auto reps "cheat" by lengthening the bezel to allow additional room but also to get the magnification with their lower grade cyclops better. In playing around with all the 2893/2 frankens I have always had to resort to a gen bezel to get proper date magnification with a gen crystal. The higher height in the rep bezels leaves you with too much magnification. I have studied a fair number of gen Pre-V pictures and had the benefit of seeing 4-5 different gens in the flesh. Although all of the models have significant crystal "pop" it varies fairly dramatically. It is not like there was any consistency from one model to another in those early models. Even the basic cases can be fairly different. On crystal height I spoke with Ziggy and we have decided to lower the crystal just a smidge but leaving 90% of the "pop" you see now.

Yeah, baby!

Theo- Too funny. The first franken I ever built was with that EOD case and the same blue dial.