Watchmeister

IMHO, the white rep dials are always far inferior relative to the gen than the black. P is right on the gloss. Also the painted numbers are just so different from anything I have seen on reps. I would swear you can see brush strokes (probably unlikely) on the major dial numbers. And I have played with various lacquers and varnishes and can never achieve that sheen. Earlier black dials are far easier to replicate from a finish perspective. And we all know the tritium issue. You either need to have it or think it is crap. I love it but it is a lousy lumination material. IMHO, the first gen dial I would buy would be a white one.

Even if it is doable the not so intuitive part is that the last type of movement you would simply douse is a rep movement. Why? They are siginificantly more expensive and there is inherently more risk of fundamental build issues. The new Asian 7750's are very well designed and can last a lifetime - but only if they are clean, oiled and properly assembled. At $400-$1000 for a rep you have to think about it seriously.

As far as l know no one on this forum has ever actually bought from Honpo. They do not sell outside of Japan. Historically they would not even sell to people who could communicate in Japanese who required shipping outside of Japan. All the watches came from two sources before the factories released second (and often lesser) generations to other dealers. They came from people who acted as independent agents. The first seller Kenji Eiyjin took responsibility for a certain amount of inventory and then sold it to the highest bidder on Ebay. He got thrown off of Ebay relatively quickly and then sold to a few folks independently. Of course he blew up but it was good while it lasted. The next guy selling under EtaSwissGoods or something like that actually was a dealer and a native Japanese who split his time between Florida and Japan. No one has ever been able to prove they are on in the same and I still don't think so in spite of the name similarity. He did scam a couple of people at the very end but a number of people had good transactions before he self-destructed as well.

That dial was a great buy and with L Swiss L it is very simple to pick up a set of hands. The more I think about the original set we are talking about the more I think the price, although high, is not that outrageous. I have paid $350-$450 for my last two sets of t-hands. If you then subtract from $1,000 you are left with $550-650 for a t-dial. I am still trying to figure out whether the dial or markers have been varnished. And I agree with PAMman, the dial is what the eye is drawn toward first. And to the best of my knowledge there is no white rep dial which comes even close to the gen.

I have been down that route before with a Japanese speaker on RWG and the last time I tried they were unwilling to ship to the USA or Europe. They really are designed to serve only the Japanese and possibly the Middle East market (although I was never able to confirm that).

It is interesting as it looks to me like someone has applied varnish to the tritium markers.

Suffice it to say - he is gone. And the next time someone is caught no one is going to wait to hear from the gen forums. So for anyone even vaguely thinking of doing this you should view it as your death sentence on the rep boards. It's not like there isn't heavy overlap between the rep and gen boards.

Rolli- Sounds fabulous. So the process would be to find/fabricate a good 201 case and then send it to the plater for copper and gold plating. 50 microns is outrageous. I wonder how that equates to 10k gold filled which was always the best plating on vintage watches. I have one or two and the plating is still fully intact. If we can find or make a good case I would definitely be in for this. It just can't be the standard really weird "rose gold".

Is it gone?

I would not buy that watch thinking I can repaint the datewheel. That would be an expensive mistake. Then again I don't think I would buy a watch amde out of all the wrong materials for $1,000 in any case. By definition it isn't even close to accurate. If the case really is ceramic on the gen one scratch makes this one worthless. I ma intrigued by the Plat mat. Obviously that one should be platinum. What do they do? Plate and brush? And if so I wouldwonder whether it is applied on PVD or old fashioned plated.

Either buy the actual ceramic bezel for $250-300 from one of the dealers but I don't remember which dealer is currently offering them or buy a lite version which is PVD but I would guess would look better than painting it black.

Nor me.

Nice crownguard.

In truth I get confused by the pics and my Honpo (which has now been converted into a 7753) is the actual one that Eddie used for comparison purposes. As far as I know based on conversations with a Honpo person who spoke English they only authorized a run of 150 and less were made. So any case number substantially higher is at a minimum not a Honpo caseback. Also the Honpo does not, to the best of my knowledge have a depressable date setter. It is one piece and I learned it the hard way as I have to manually set my 7753 date by toggling the hands back and forth around midnight. It is all one piece. The bezel on the honpo is also substantially thicker and more detailed in the teeth area and clanks around like a tank. The bezel markers on the honpo also have no slope into the bezel. They just sit on it like separate slabs. Here are a bunch of pics to further confuse the issue. My Honpo 7753 conversion: Honpo 7750 versus stock 187 7753 with inferior case (and eveyrthing else): I just looked again at the pictures. I would guess his is a first generation Honpo. I am still trying to figure out what your is and am very jealous of the functioning date setter. Want to swap cases?

I think he told me C series. I have to agree with PAMman on his choices. Here is an 03 with gen crown, all Jimmy and gen hands next to a gen. And if you are nice to me I may even have a spare set of black marina tritium hands. But you have to find the dial first.

Ditto with me.

He was great asset and a pioneer in the modding of vintage Rolex reps. I still have his first Daytona seconds at 6 and it is beautiful and still working - a testament to his skills both mechanically and aesthetically. I know that he left the forum in an emotionally distressed state (nothing to do with watches) and I do hope he has recovered.

P- Congrats on the purchase. If the price is close to what we discussed you got a great deal. And I agree that I prefer the 188 and 196 to the 250 and 251. I like the contrast of the polished and brushed and prefer numerals as well. I don't like the dots on the 251 at all. Save them for the subs (in tritium of course).

Caseback came on the watch. It was the 31st 7753 188 made. It was only later on that I learned that a small number of the gens did not have the Luminor on the back as they transitioned from the 162 to the 196 and 188. The inherent problem with the 188 rep dial was that they did not redo the dial font or number placement when doing the 188. It was based off the original 162. If you look at the 162 above you will see that it is very similar. On the gen 188 they moved the numbers and markers in to allow for more space between the dot and the number and for thickening of the font.

Just tell your wife it is a rep. It works at least twice.

Congrats on a good gen purchase. It looks like you got a wonderful deal. May all your other gen purchases be so successful.

With all the great posts on 188's I decided to join the club. This one is on an uncommon Strapmaster. It is about as modded as it can be and has way too much money into it. And no I am not as good a guy as Carl. I am not giving this one away. This one has old case, low serial number so the case back is fine without "Luminor" on it, second generation dial with relume, hand-painted hands, single-sided AR, gen crown, revised crown guard and datewheel. I also added a couple of shots comparing it versus the closest gen I have on hand. Needless to say, this is a Ziggy special. And I have to add - big congrats to Promotersf on his latest acquisition ! Very nice buy.

UJ- I was very sorry to miss it. We will have to organize another GTG this summer. It looks like good fun was had by all. Some very nice watches as well. Of course I am going to push for NYC only because there are a certain group of members who I know can get their wives to come along to the Big Apple. It was great of you to host this.

Very nice pics. Wear it well.

If those are the new Bentley models Bentley is in trouble.