Watchmeister

Stephane- Glad to see you are enjoying it. Pictures look great as well. They never look that good on my wrist. And yes Ziggy did a masterful job on that one. I hope you get many years of enjoyment out of it. Mickey- Actually the first year of the 196 did not have luminor on the caseback (or at least I have seen several gens from that year without it). It was based off the 162 which was the first daylight and it didn't have it either. The 188's do seem to usually have it. But I have never seen a gen g series 188.

Nothing to do with the King around here. Avoid this one.

Not a thorough answer but the underlying movement is their standard quartz perpetual movement implying it could support all the functionality of a standard perpetual calendar. So once you can set the date, month and year you should be all set. The year is actually calculated based not on the actual year but on the date of the last leap year. Don't know if it answers your question. I have only seen a gen of this once and played with it very briefly. If I remember correctly you can actually see years from leap year with second hand and month through the calendar.

IMHO, I would keep looking but think long and hard before buying a new gen. Prices are definitely coming down in this neck of the woods.

That was the flaw with the cd. It just so happened that with the bezel it clicked into place exactly a half a turn out of alignment. We tried to fix it and concluded that it could not be. I had thought the Slevin had improved on that. I think Lanikai has that watch and he would know. PM him.

Looking good. Clearly a well thought out collection. Wear them well.

The Davidsen dial does look fairly good. But what you can't see from the picture is the finish. Different watch - same concept though. Notice the dial sheen and character printing/formation. It's all about the dial and date.

A couple of corollary questions come out of this thread. What are your favorite projects? What are your upcoming projects, etc. But that is for another day,

Very nice project. And no worries on matching lume/tritium. None of numbers, dial markers or hands are likely to match on the gen.

Great minds think alike. But don't forget that dial.

I feel like we are about to watch Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla.

Beautiful watch. Congrats on a great project. Not everyone appreciates the fact how unique the white dial PAM's are. No rep dial will ever have that same sheen or letter or number formation. I am just curious - if you look at the dial from the side can you see the brush marks? I would swear I can see them on my 03.

If you are having any second thoughts at all don't do it. Second hand Daytonas are readily available any time you want it. The key piece of information you are omitting though (and I suspect on purpose) is how much it currently is. And you are in financial services so you know as well as anyone. This is going to be a tough year and so I suspect other opportunities will abound. Prices in the second hand market for watches are (IMHO) already starting to come down reflecting the realities of life. Four automatic PAM's I follow just sold below $5k. Having said that, unless the dealer is demanding $13k or more there is probably very little downside. But I don't buy them being a good investment. I do view them as being a safe one which in fairness is rare for a watch. There are too many of them irrespective of the demand. These are fabulous watches but not limited editions. In general I am a big believer in buying in the secondary market. My principal reasons are the watches typically cost less and I am paying a premium for a pristeen watch when new and yet it isn't going to remain that way if I wear it.

Ubi- Nice to see you putting your skills to good use again. Very pretty project. Now we just have to get you working on bigger watches.

I would reiterate two points. Constructive concerns should be posted on sales offerings. Factual comments are very useful such as it is cheaper new or a correction on description (swiss movement or not - when it is not) or publicly requesting a pic of the movement are all valid posts. Simply saying that the offering is a rip-off without justification is not. Today there is far better information available than ever before. And we can make the information even better by posting trade reviews and pictures of the watches after they are received. The information is only as good as we want to make it. Frankly, in our current format it can be even better than the gen forums. But it requires a group effort. And on the comment about other forum offerings they all suffer the same issues.

There is really nothing else to say. What a fabulous gesture. This a great ending to a wonderful effort on the part of the membership.

Fabulous modded watches. And yes, that CG with Davidsen's new dial makes that 5218 a beauty. Wear them well. I can't wait for V's cg's. I may have to give that 5218 a try,

If that is the case than the joke may be on him. Don't know how I missed that one. Seriously, I hope there wasn't a real ruckus caused. Were they rep or gen Omegas?

Great straps and very reminiscent of the Pre-V Dirks. Enjoy them.

Stefane- Fabulous collection. As you know it is not about the watch. It is about the journey. The average heavily modded rep takes 12-24 months from the day I receive it to complete. And I agree that every time a watch comes back with a new mod or you do it yourself it is like receiving a new watch. And that new watch is 9 times out of 10 better than any other rep you could buy from a dealer (if you could). Along the way the watch has its own story and hopefully you develop a fondness for that story. Enjoy them and wear it well. - Kruz

Arch- I am sure you will have an outpouring of support on that one.

How could I forget Ubi's frankens. I have to add those to my list.

BY the way, they are not reps. They are "homage" pieces. Seriously, I can't imagine anyone ever asking. I suspect that if they are asking you ain't looking the part.

Ubi- Fabulous gesture. Late to the party but, as always, bringing your A-game. Best of luck to all. A fitting ending to a wonderful effort on the part of the membership.

I thought the ones above were seconds at nine irrespective of what the sub-dials say. They are stunning though. I would love one of the few MBW AP's with true seconds at 12 (but not for $4,000). An Angelus 6152 like Kai's - but we are working on that.