Watchmeister

CBR- I couldn't resist and hit the bid. Fabulous offering. And you know the money will end up in the right place.

That is a beautiful watch. Enjoy it. I never thought I would wear one but I picked one up from a forum member on a lark and it has been getting wrist time. Is the lever firm and the chrono/lever mechanism working properly?

Looking really good. Wear it well. Out of curiousity was it very hard to rub off the original AR. It does make a big difference.

V- Absolutely right on the AR. Still deciding on a new dial and then it gets taken apart for removal of AR, addition of gen crown, etc. But that is about 4 projects behind. I happened to have it this weekend and it does have a 3 in it. AGID- The datewheel comes from either Finepics (no longer made) or Lello (contact him). Can't remember.

Thanks for the kind words. But I wouldn't hold my breath on an equivalent 63 "fix".

Those MBW's were 2500 Euros (closer to $4,000) and not a happy ending. I was interested in them until I heard the price and also walked into the AP store to ask a few questions about their Offshore. Guess what, when they have issues with their movement (apparently the chrono module is the biggest issue) they don't bother repairing. They throw out the original module and simply put in a new one. Seriously, that is what the head sales person told me. And he was telling me this to impress me as to how good their service is. All it told me is that it is impossible to fix. And these are the same dickheads that when I brought in a gen AP for repair (because I had gotten water in it) informed me that it must be my fault as I must have left the crown open. The funny thing about that is that the time stopped exactly when I went swimming and an AP stops running when you pull out the crown. So unless I purposely undid the crown at the exact time I jumped in the pool... Needless to say, I have not bought another AP from an authorized dealer ever again. And the low low price of my replacement movement - $2,500. Back to the topic at hand - unfortunately this dial will only help the six folks (they made six - don't know if they all sold) who want a spare dial. At some point I did investigate doing it right using the movement from a donor watch with the right movement/module combo and could never get access to undrilled cases to mount it up.

It really is too bad. With the base movement and chrono module slapped on top verus our current bastardized 7750's you do end up with pushers and crown in the wrong place on the case and sub-dials being off so it is truly unusable. The question is do you bet that the eventual seconds at 12 version uses a similar base movement module layout. I wouldn't.

It is very frustrating as the reps are only now getting to a point where some of them are really great out of the box if they are in good shape.

Sorry to hear it. Unfortunately, as the design and manufacturing capabilities of rep manufacturers have increased (and ever more detailed watches are coming out) the QC has not kept up. With that and the general increase in prices the return factor is bound to go up. And I agree that it does make you think twice before you buy another rep. It is a very pretty rep. I would have bought it as well except that I can never get over having the wrong metal (SS vs ti) as the basis for the watch.

Stephane- That would be great if you were coming back into town. We will definitely have to get together. And of course you can choose what you want to see for lunch. Not sure any will go home with you this time though. But you never know. But you will have to come over to find out.

23 and 63 with help from good friends here: 23 and 36 - Don't ask it is sitting with me this weekend: And last but not least - nothing to do with nothing except that I bought this on a lark from another member and love it. Feels really well built and is the first non-vintage I didn't want to instantly send for relume. It is that good. And see - it does have a 3 in it.

No story to tell. I just bought them privately. But haven't you folks ever noticed all the seconds and parts showing up on the web? Where do you think they come from?

P-Man, you have just painted a perfect scenario where it makes sense. But I have to say that you can buy crowns from an AD for substantially less (albeit you have to own a gen in the first place). But I just bought 2 manual wind crowns for under $150 (total, not each). And no guys, I can't get anymore.

No worries on shilling. In truth you are doing folks a service as it may cause a member or two to delay his one and only HBB for the better version. Thanks for the pics. Hopefully some of the experts will weigh in and it can be made even better. And yes, using the old school low beat 7750 movement if it has not been improved will defeat the whole purpose of doing a new watch. It isn't much good if it isn't working and even in the best of circumstances infuriating looking at all the subdial hands not reset to zero.

D- I hope you were serious. Because I am - but not at $2,000. And yeah, my wife will kill me.

I appreciate the props but my skills are close to nonexistent. It is only through the help and work of others that things come together. It is fun to occasionally destroy a watch taking apart a movement though. Whenever I try it I end up with extra pieces. Sorry to hear on the DSN outcome. I do prefer to buy from other forum members. When I do buy from dealers I keep it to no more than 1-2 at a time. That way everything is sorted out on the first order before ordering more. I still like some of Davidsen's parts and he is a good resource for that.

Any rep deployant buckle will work as long as it is for a 24/22 strap as opposed to 22/20. The issue is usually with the strap and the thickness where the strap slides into the buckle. Deployant straps are significantly thinner at the end of the tail side.

Great straps. I am loving that Strapmasters.

Did it go to anybody here? Well, I will give you a hint. One of the other items the buyer bought was from Jimmy Fu. And no it wasn't me. Even I am not that insane.

Hey D- You got some place to store it until I can get there?

It is too weird. Ceramic is supposed to be an incredibly hard material. I really don't get it. I am thinking I need some sort of bushing (read as shock absorber) to avoid this. Any suggestions?

Good to see you around - even if it is brief. I do hope you will stop by occasionally over the summer. Enjoy those bikes. And in spite of your ongoing distress of questionable services being offered by questionable people do not lose sight of the fact that raising these issues here has had an important impact on the membership. Those folks no longer offer their "services" here sparing unsuspecting folks the pain of a bad experience. Quite simply, you have done what you can do. You can't fix the whole world - only ours. And yes I certainly understand the referral approach to future work. Then again that is easy for me to say.

And I suspect it is not one oil used throughout the entire movement.

I have noticed a number of folks with hairline cracks on their "gen" polished bezel. I have two on mine and as a result have a new bezel coming. I assume it happened when I got nervous and screwed the screws too tight. Does anyone have any thoughts or tips on how to avoid this as I will be mounting the new bezel and will be really pissed off if I do it again. I always wondered if the gen has the same issue or some form of washer or rubber bushing to avoid applying undued stress on the bezel. I had also wondered if there was one bad batch of bezels which impacted the earlier models or we were simply getting the rejects from a good ceramic factory. Any help would be appreciated. I do not want to have thrown out $250.00.