speedy1

300-500 for a rep...........uh...........I think HOW MANY reps is the problem $5000 for the Titus QuasiMoto I built a couple of years back WHO KNOWS HOW MUCH in the BMC TT01 I am building now And a good $5000 in the Colnago CTII I built last year I bought a 2006 Triumph speed triple in June My wife.....................well she bought a HOUSE! WE both get nice things and I can buy almost anyrthing I want SO LONG AS IT IS SEEN AS FUNCTIONAL. There in lies the rub. She sees the bikes as functions because I can ride them and motorcycles and the moding there of for the same reason. Also each bike I own and each vehicle serves a specific purpose (IE time trial or sport class or SCCA solo II) But she can't for the beautiful life of her see why I need more than one or two watches. ESPECIALLY when I can a couple of genuine beauties that get worn less often that my reps. And add in the fact that a quartz seiko keeps better time than any of my auto reps and or auto/manual gens doesn't help my arguement either. Everyone's relationship is a bit different but since I my wife is a financial and investment consultant she definitely has the money juggling skills and there for bill duty in our household.

OOOOKKKKK. Here is one of my rare topic posts. But I find my situation pretty damn funny. I had just bought a MBW 1680 and MBW "snowflake" Tudor Sub when Eddie Lee's IWC Inge' came out. I, along with almost everyone else, became short of breath when I saw this watch. BUT.............the wife had put ca-bosh on any more watches (understandably so) Well first I asked Eddie if I could WU him the cash. He of course said yes. But, I couldn't figure out how to get the cash out without my wifey asking what I needed that much cash for. If I usually need a sum of money I tell her I am going to the tittay-bar and she is fine with it. But for various reasons that won't work this time. So, finally, I was in the midst of purchasing a wheelset for my mountain bike from a good freind when the idea hit me. I told my SO that I was purchasing the wheels for for more than I actually was and paypaled him the funds (my wife and I both use the same PP account) he then paypal'ed Eddielee for me. My wfe remembers that I spent $900 building my last wheelset so she didn't question the extra money. (She never says NO when I buy bike parts as she is a work out fanatic and anything that will make me work off my beer gut beginnings is ok with her) So had to send an email to poor eddielee explaining the situation. He like the champ he is understood of course. And I have a IWC on the way now. My wife rarely notices what watch I have on so I am not worried about it. Yes, yes, I know it is wrong to lie to your spouse. But it doesn't hurt her, we can afford it, I only spend money of bicycles otherwise, and I am an addict damnit ... So you can pass judgment on me if you want...... BUT I HAVE A NEW WATCH ON THE WAY!!!! My question is..............who else has resorted to such levels to get a watch that they wanted?

There are some great stories that you will see like that if you have hung around the Rolex forums for a while. The only one I like better than this one is the one where the fellow lost his 1680 sub somewhere in the yard while building a fence around his yard. He couldn't find it and eventually purchased a newer model Sub. Then, TEN YEARS LATER.....he had torn down and extended to fence so that he could plant a garden. And while tilling the soil, saw a flash of silver in the churning soil. he stopped.....dug through the pile a bit.........and TAADAA!!!!! he found his original 1680. He said that he gave it a couple of shakes and it started running. It wouldn't keep good time but it would run. It seems Rolex and omega have the best stories like that. This watch doesn't looked used......................it looks "well loved"

whats up with the stepped bevel on the rep's rehaut? otherwhise it is spot on... (crowns can always be changed) *edit* I just realized that the rep is using the 1680 sub case, cool.

Just spend 22 bucks on ebay and buy a new insert. The pearl will look much better anyway. EVERY rep has its flaws and trying to find ways to fix them is half the fun of buying and modding reps. If you start being TOO nitpicky with a dealer you can start pissing them off as they are selling you a FAKE version of a $6000 watch for $180. Just be advised that your watch will always have SOMETHING wrong with it when it arrives on your door step as a couple of hundred dollars doesn't buy a whole lot of quality assurance.

In hunting and hunting for the the correct, larger, crown gaurd and crown for the perfect pre A with the larger CG and crown or maybe a newer H series with the big brushed crown. This CG and Crown are monster but after a buttload of work they fit the JimmyFU cases perfecto. The Crown may be too wide for a H series (2.1mm) but I think it would look correct on one of the 5218-201 type watches? This is a pic comparing one of the older CG's and crowns so you have a size reference. Also keep in mind I can make the NEW CG a bit more "shallow" (ie closer to the case) if need be too. opnions, suggestions (constructive critisms please)

Finepics, You act like I pulled these observations out of my ass. I don't post that often so I try and make good ones when I do. So here are your pics pics one shows the two pieces pic two shows where you can actually see the delamination of my crystals. I removed the crystal so that I could email the dealer with pics of the delamination. And no there isn't and AR Coating. The observations made were of my own watch so others may vary.

Yes

I was big on correcting this until I actually recieved the watch. It is amazing how much worse have a watch magnified and filling your entire computer screen to make flaws look worse.

I bought one and have to say that It is a SUPERB watch! Ok, some observations. The crystal is actually 2 pieces, one 3mm piece and one 2mm piece that are glued together. There is NO AR coating (even though it is listed with) The crystal is GLUED into the case as well as held in lightly by gasket. THIS IS THE ONLY WEAK POINT in my opinion. The dial (aside from the marker paint) is REALLY nice. The case is very nice and very well made. I have mine on one of the 187 style rubber straps from Joshua and have to say this looks better than any other strap on it I have tried.

Thanks for the replies! I can't wait for mine to get in. I guess I will find out in about a week.

@ Quarks Did you have to same problem of needing to touch up the blue coating around the applied markers?

Well, Jos said mine will be shipped out this Friday. Out of the box, what mods are "REALLY" needed finepics? Is it like most reps and basically need a bit of time spent with the case and finishing pads or is it one of those that all the problems are with the dial. I.E. covering chrome bits on the markers, realigining markers, etc. In other words, what are the glaring problems that need to be adressed before wearing it?

Good point!

put it inthe freezer for a day or two and it will go away.

I was approached by a few people and asked to customize dials for them. I told them I would buy the dials, do the work, and them send them pics. Then they could send paypal and I would send the dial. Out of 7 people, 4 deals went off just like clock work, and hopefully we will see some pics shortly once they have them installed or install the dials themselves. But the other 3 orders are as others, one fellow backed out totally and one other hasn't returned pms even though I have seen his name as being logged in. The last fellow ask me to hold his until he gets paid in the middle of the month (I do understand this but it is inconvienent). I did not ask for payment up front because I wasn't advertising this as a service but I was going to charge for it if I was going to do it. My question is......is this about right ratio for deals to fall through for doing work like this? How does one take precautions to shield themselves in a case like this as I have two 202 dials and one 201 dial sitting on my bench. Or does this follow the standard rulenof repilca watches........."If you can't afford to eat the cost of the part or the watch don't get involved"

After recieving the 2.0 crown I am soooooo glad that I went that route (even though I had first envied the 2.1) After comparing it to the gen it looks spot on inho. I think the 2.1 is just a tick too large. BUT then again who the hell will notice it.....................besides us I mean.

The lighter the lume the better off you are trying to modify it. If you use orange the glow gets really wierd after a while. The yellow is nice to start with, but the BEST results (like the one I posted earlier) is to paint it totally white and start with a clean color slate.

Here is one that was dry enough to put together. (yes this is how I spent my lunch hour today) here it is.... this forum member wanted it to be a bit more "worn looking" and wanted it to look used sooooo...

Glad to help! Let mw know if you have anyother quesitons. No reason you need to make the same mistakes that I did.

The next lesson installment will be how to refinish the rest of the dial I guess.. Here isa quick and dirty shot of the top portion of a sandwich dial I am working on for another member who is wanting a 202A built. It has been retextured and the tswisst is now gone as well as the lumed being redone to vintage orange as well as trimming the entire dial down to fit a JimmyZFu case. After I finish the lume tommorw I will get a shot of it put together. The dial in my watch has been relumed but the dial top is the nice smooth original finish that all Davidsen dial come with. And before anyone else pm's me about doing a dial for them....don't contact me if you are going to be [censored] off about the price. It takes a good 4 hours of work to get it all correct if i screw up I eat the time and dial. Davidsen dials are kick ass right out of the box, and VERY inexpensive as a bonus. It doesn't take a whole lot of time or money to make a great watch but it take a good bit of one or the other to make a KICK ASS watch!

Ok quick detail: YES, the acrylic reduces the glow. But A. it is 10 year old tritium so it glows only just and a for a short period of time. and B. the acrylic blend isn't the final step. FASKOLOR was the only water based paint that would stick like hell. The reason is that is is basically thined out elmers glue with glow powder in it. This is an over simplification yes, but it was made to stick to shiny smooth lexan without pealing off when flexed so it is tough as hell. I tried probably 4 oil mediums and at least 6 other types of self mixed glowpaints and this has by far worked the best. BUT, the correct way to get the desired effect was this: You mix a bit of glow paint with your acrylics until you get the desired color. Then go a TINY bit darker and If you are going for an orangeish color, don't freak out when you get yellow once it is thinned and painted (you will see why is just a sec) because the feaky burnt yellow color is exactly what you want. I know this becuase I tried probably 50 different color patterns before finding the exact one I really liked) Paint a thin layer coat over the exisiting lume. it may take more than you realize but you need to use super thin coats anyway. REMEMBER!!!!! you are not trying to cover the lume but only tinit it a desired color!!!!!!! The thinner the coats the more the orginal glow will show through too. then after you have your color coat down and have let COMPLETELY dry, you then paint 2 thin coats of the glow paint alone over the top of the color. Th color will show through pretty well an be only slightly muted. ***NOTE*** this is ONLY if you are using the faskolor paint as all others are too thick or simply not transparent enough. Then after letting all this dry, you put a couple of drops or medium brown paint into a soda bottle cap of water. You are just making a slightly colored wash here. you then paint this over the lume and make sure it is a wee bit uneven to look like aged tritium and turning the burnt yellow an orangis tinge. This works well on hands to turn them a nice off white instead of green. you end up with this:

I LLIIKKKEEE IT!

this fantasy piece