Watchmeister

Absolutely stunning rep. The makers are really stepping up their game. Business must be good if the dealers can front the $38k to buy the watch (yes, I know they ultimately get most of it back on the resale of the gen). Am I right in saying the levers or whatever on the chrono pushers do a nice job of obfuscating the lack of offset on the crown vs. pushers? I do wonder of you can correct the bezel flaw. I am experimenting with thinning out the rubber bezel on the older seconds at 12. It is way too thick on that version. I always found it interesting that the original seconds at nine had overall more accurate side profile (height) in spite of the correct construction of the seconds at 12. In any case, congrats on a stunning rep.

At the risk of seeming callous I would remind people that there is no point in posting get well notes for Joe here as he has not been here for years. We wish nothing but a speedy recovery for any human being but you would be better served posting your best wishes either via his email or on a forum where he currently participates.

Great review. And it seems they have actually corrected some if not all of the biggest flaws from the Skyland - centered dots and better red on the chrono hands. I was surprised to hear about the bezel click mechanism. The Skyland has one of the best and tightest of any rep - virtually identical to my gen CA. Thanks again.

Lani- Thanks again for the hard work. I am definitely in for one of those if and when they firm up. Now I just gotta go buy the original watch.

The ti with brown dial sounds very intriguing. I have an old Josh 36 lying about so I have a case and so now the question is what the best dial and case back combo? I hadn't thought about a Destro but that is intriguing. I can't go with a 111 because I already have the ultimate 111 - a Fiddy. Can't go with standard ss base as I had a gen for quite a while before sending it off to another esteemed member.

Thanks for the suggestions. The 172 has always intrigued me but it would bother me to have a Tantalum watch not made of tantalum(i.e. without Tantalum the watch is not deserving of a gen movement). The ti 118 is definitely intriguing though. I don't currently own a ti PAM (other than a 170) so that may be the ticket. Any other ideas?

Hi Guys- Thinking about projects for 2010. I have a really good E series movement from a past trade laying around and want to put it to use. What would you build? Fiddy is out - been there and done that. Remember the movement can be used as Base or Marina (with or without sub-seconds). I am open-minded to just about anything and am typically fairly resourceful at getting parts. So feel free to think outside the box. In truth I am on vacation so being lazy but I thought I would get other folks thoughts. Thanks in advance- Kruz

It's great to hear that there is good interest. I am away for the holidays but will be pursuing this after New Years.

I am in for several. Manual (1.2) or automatic(0.9)?

Simon- Congrats on a wonderful project. Your dials are going to make 2010 another wonderful Pre-V year. And we will get going on the case set in the New Year.

Congrats on a wonderful Franken. At the risk of being rude you have taken it this far so I would suggest you keep your eyes out for a gen crystal as they do come up occasionally and it does makes a substantial difference. No one will know it but you but you are who matters. And yes there were 2-3 different dials and 3 different case sets from EL (and others at the time) along the way which culminated in the EL 4rth generation.

Congrats guys on a wonderful year. Looking forward to seeing your pieces in 2010.

Merry Christmas to yourself! Looking forward to seeing the final project.

Thanks for the kind words. And yes, the pin problem if you are referring to the extended length has been solved. It helps to have the right movement. But that is 2010.

Guess I had the wrong impression.

They look great and congratulations. You must be a big dude to wear those suckers. I gotta say those baton dials are stunning.

Wild guess - if it is the base Ingenieur than the seconds is at the top of the hand stack. In any case you will need either a new second hand or someone who can gently crimp it so that it holds onto the top of the pinion securely. If it doesn't work after crimping then glue it on. I can't remember that rep but is there a cap on the top of the hand stack on the rep? I know there isn't one on the gen but you never know. But if it swings around freely when it is on then you need to do what I said above. If you are playing around with keyless works you are probably up to it.

If it is an Asian 7750 the best repair person (and person with the largest amount of parts would be Zigmeister. He has repaired literally hundreds of the various Asian 7750's. That doesn't mean your movement is repairable but he is your best shot. Otherwise contact the dealer who sold you the watch and see if you can get a movement.

A wonderful combination. The strap works beautifully with the 6152.

I was always under the impression they had the same pinions so the hands should be interchangeable.

Ziggy is the master on A7750's and I believe has spares of that movements. Check with him.

Too funny, I have a case, dial and handset for that Panda that has been sitting with Ziggy for years, literally. I cannibalized the movement to make the one and only legendary Honpo 7753 187 Franken.

I can tell you that luming a Fiddy is the easiest job in the world. Buy a wad of C3 and glop it on the underdial. And on the numbers it is the 6 and the 9 that jump out at me versus any rep dial. Gen Fiddy dial before relume:

Congrats on your Panda. It looks great. On the sister tread carefully as the one you have ends up with a perfect dial after Rob's dial coating. The black with silver sub-dials suffers from the wrong materal in the subdials. The subdials should be matte grey (very similar to the 162). The rep dial's sub dials actually looks like brushed metal which can't be cured by coating.

Wolf- Your 27 looks absolutely incredible. Very nice work. The 2892/3's are still some of my favorite PAM's. My 27 is long gone to a great member who scored a gen dial (from me ). I've started the long trek to building another PR this year. Here is step one.