Watchmeister

Having gone through many large watch boxes, watch winders and god knows what else I recently came upon these storage boxes offered by the rep dealers. This one came from Josh but I assume that many dealers have them as well. These particular ones hold eight large watches each. They are certainly not the most elegant watch holders I have ever owned but they are the most convenient. They occupy a lot less space on the desk and leave your straps intact. There is nothing worse than that perpetual curl or extra enlarged hole on an expensive strap which comes from sitting on a pillow in a fancy watch box or the watch holder in a watch winder. It also gets rid of the headache of figuring out how to carry multiple watches to that next gtg. And yes it is a glimpse of the lion share of what is in-house at the moment of my better PAM's but I figure it also gives you a sense of how compact and efficient the watch holder is. 24 watches with all those extra straps we all need. No more hassles from the wife on taking up too much room and I am good to go for that next GTG.

Ignoring the noise, I can't wait to see one on the wrist. And congrats to all those with the foresight to get involved in the project. These projects are always twice as hard as you expect and actually getting them done quickly becomes a labor of love.

P- Thanks for the pic. I can't imagine that is the replacement for the 6497 unless they are going to crank up the price of standard handwinds to $7 or $8k. I also have never looked closely but didn't know they actually number their movements as xxx of 500. I suppose it could ultimately result in matching the movement to the case.

If they really have improved the whole bezel stack I hope the manufacturer will take another look at the original seconds at 12 and design a thinner rubber gasket for that. It would be a major improvement to the standard as the bezel height is way too high. Did I read the specs right that the case is 42mm and the original standard ROO's were 44mm. I suppose the pusher protectors and larger crown still make it wear larger.

I presume the lack of serial number is courtesy of photoshop. Snrubb- I do hope you are wearing it. It is too nice not to.

Congrats on a beautiful piece. Wear that one well.

I have one but not with me. I now think I am wrong but when I bought mine a number of years ago it only came with one keeper and I had assumed that was correct given that a number of the A straps came with only one. Then again I may have simply lost it. They are stunning straps but a complete pain in the neck to put on properly. Getting that keeper above and below the "stub" is a royal pain. Here is one on a 63C for you. Completely incorrect from a purist perspective but I love it.

M- Those are simply fantastic. It is so great to see one of the truly great and generous artists back on the forum. It feels like old time - Madasboot, Ross, etc. Let the good times roll. And I must confess, I can't wait.

I wouldn't hold your breath. Knowledgeable forum folks are a very small part of the rep market and most buyers will go with the newer seconds at 6. They sell fine the way they are. So I would start saving your pennies for that El Primero movement. Although I am hearing it is now very difficult to get the aftermarket cases for the El Primero so even that party may be over with.

Congrats to modder and owner. That 1680 looks fabulous.

Back on the grid and doing awesome stuff.

Congratulations. You have done a wonderful job of upgrading the legendary Eddie Lee second/third edition 581 case set. It was the vast improvement on the first edition 492 case. Wear that one well.

Looks fabulous. Can't wait for the offering.

Congratulations. AS you now know when it comes to Fiddy's and 217's it is all in the "flat" 6's and 9's. No one has ever gotten those numbers exactly right - except for Panerai of course. Best of luck with the remainder of the project.

Congrats on a great project. Of course the movement takes it to a whole other level.

Congrats. That is an incredibly useful tool. I always live in fear whenever I remove or put back hands (which is not very often). Can't wait to see it in use.

Great thread. Although it will take a while we have started the process of trying to upgrade the case set. Currently checking all the dimensions on a prototype with gen strap pins which when I am happy will be sent to a CNC shop for quotes. Also in the process of chasing down a sapphire supplier who can supply gen spec crystals (as anyone who owns a gen or Jimmy Fu case set knows the rep crystals are too thin). It will take a while but with a little bit of luck it will be the final ingredient to the FGD dials, aftermarket crowns and cg's, etc.

I don't know how to make a spring loaded crown but I can send one to you if that helps.

You gave in and finally got it. I never got the other one off my father-in-laws wrist so you absolutely made the right move. Congrats on a true classic. Of all the Breits it is still my favorite. Wear it well.

That is a stunning combination. The black baton IMHO really makes that watch.

Very exciting. Per usual you can put me down for several as well. All the best and happy New Years. - Kruz

Unless I am missing something all gen dials and hands on the PAM hand winds will work with any 6497 movement (rep or gen) - whether on a 217 or 000. What you want to be careful of is whether the movement you are using has the correct bridge plates for a clear case back Destro. Remember the plates are reversed on a proper Destro movement. That is why there are so many fewer franken 217's.

It is a great tutorial. Just remember that if you are doing this on a 7753 rep the location and size of the date/window will be off. But eliminating the sunken element goes a long way.

It can be done and I believe all of two have been done. I did one years ago and ended up having to cannibalize several movements to get all the parts. It is a heck of a lot of work and requires either having access to obscure ETA parts or cannibalizing your existing Asian movement(s) which kind of destroys the purpose. Check with your watch smith. The other issue with the ETA movement is finding one with the correct bridge plate finish and engravings/markings. On the next one I bought I opted to simply service it and it has been running fine. You will never fool that 000.9% of the population who knows or cares about the movement so you are doing it for yourself.

For that reason I have always elected to use the Jimmy mineral or gen crystals. The sad part is that if anyone ever figured out the exact sizing on the gasket you can order or have made virtually any size easily. I have gen and Jimmy gaskets but that doesn't help.