Watchmeister

I walked into an AD wearing my Fiddy and tried on the 372. IMHO unless you are an everyday 47mm wearer you would never bother owning both from a looks perspective on the wrist. It is gorgeous though.

Can't wait for the "Journey to the Center of the Earth" limited edition.

What is not to love. They made this one 50 years ago..... the 6152 for those who can't afford the $100k for an original. Nice of them to dirty up the dial and hands for us.

Great thread.

Shows what I know. But what I do know is that absent the gen this is far and away the best Pre-V caseset and CG out there. Loving that service pic. Hadn't seen it before.

You mean like this?

or this...... find the watch

Why thank you Mr. P. A nice compliment coming from you.

- Older 111 Noob case (without strap notches) reshaped by W0lf

- Crown guard from the small run done a while ago

- Gen Crown

- Bart Crystal

- FGD Dial and hands lumed in tritium and coated by Ziggy

- Dirk 1st gen strap

A number of folks have shown great Pre-V projects and now its my turn. With phenomenal casework done by W0lf providing the best Pre-V case I have ever seen and a FGD dial and hands redone by Ziggy in tritium whose glow matches my A dials I couldn't be happier. For this quality of project I had to break out a virgin strap.

Very nice collection. How many have you worn in the last 2 months?

The Noob versus H factory and dealer preference is the most prevalent example but I am also seeing it in other brands with watches like the AP and Hublot Divers with dealers and their different versions. Similar stuff seems to be going on with Rolex and clone movement versions, etc. It is a great time to be a rep buyer but now we have to be ever more vigilant about doing our own research.

Best of luck. And yeah, that would definitely be one heck of a blog. Inquiring minds want to know what you will be wearing for a timepiece.

The rep industry is an ever changing industry and I did want to provide a warning to some of the newer folks. And no, this is not a better than thou post. There are plenty of folks who are far more knowledgeable than me. But it does seem to me that the industry appears to be changing again and folks should be careful when asking dealers for advice and selecting a watch solely on that basis. Until a few months most major dealers seemed to have the same access to watches and so it was as simple as pick your dealer and then pick your watch. Increasingly I think this is no longer the case.

Dealers are now promoting different factories and versions. One dealer will have better access to (or be stuck with more stock) than another. Dealers will also be promoting different versions. Great examples are the heroic debate of Noob versus H factory PAM's, the two very different versions of the upcoming Hublot Diver, etc. And my simple point is that life is not as simple as it was. Do your own research, read reviews, check with friends, etc. and make your own decision which particular factory or version of a watch you want. Simply asking a dealer increasingly runs the risk that you get a self-serving answer. I have been as guilty as the next guy but now I am going that extra mile to decide exactly what I want, reaching out to the dealers I trust to see who has it and then making the decision as to where to buy it.

This is not meant to be insulting to our dealers who are trusted and serve members well. It is meant to simply warn people that as the dealers compete trying to lock down exclusives, rejecting factories that provide lower profitability or even finding other factories as an alternative the burden falls on us to make up our own minds rather than simply asking the dealer.

No nasty comments from vets please.

So I suspect it is a safe bet that the wheel is the correct size.

+1. If you were going to try and shave it that fraction of a millimeter you would have to measure very carefully. It will not be worth it.

That usually occurs when over tightening the screws. It happened to me on more than one Hublot with ceramic bezel. What others folks have said is true. Ceramic is often an inferior material for watch purposes.

I believe he is occupied with "the real world" at the moment.

+1. Great out of the box rep.

It should. You will get QC pics of your watch so then you will know.

I think these are both great although I am not loving the red crown tube. It does feel like Tudor is "out-Rolexing" Rolex. A ti with He valve in a 41 or 42mm size is an awesome idea. And now they can do different case sizes? WIll wonders never cease.

cheers to another 2,000 posts.

I went to my local rep friendly watchsmith in the week and asked him to check the water resistance of my H-Factory Pam 005. He said it was pointless testing it as the crown would still turn with the CG lever closed. Is he right? Should my crown not be turning when the CG lever is closed?

No. I have gone swimming with gens without a crown guard, seriously. I lost a CG screw and didn't want to risk it with the other. If the appropriate gaskets, etc. are in place it is no different than any other non-screw-down crown watch. But if what your smith is telling you is that the area around the crown and crown tube looks suspect than it wouldn't matter whether there was a CG. Test it.

Sounds like it was timed in only one position. Swap out the movement in any case.

I can tell you a build 3 years ago would be $3-4k. Current estimate would be closer to $5k plus.

Very enjoyable read. I have so far avoided the V72 builds but may have to make this a 2012-13 project.