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Your link does not work, but I assume you mean this watch Looks pretty good to me. But if you want 100% perfect, buy a genuine Rolex Explorer II from a vintage watch dealer. 1st, before spending $3,600 on a franken (that you did not build yourself), I would spend some quality time researching this model (EXII) yourself. Go to timezone, google & download as many good, clear pics of gens as you can (from all angles). Then compare the gens to this franken. Here is a gen to get you started (this model also has variations) 2nd, from what I have seen, most franken sellers like this advertise a nice, shiny watch that appears very well constructed & freshly serviced. But, from what I have seen, the watch you receive may not look quite the same. Think about the beautiful pictures of food that McDonald's & other restaurants use & compare those to the item you actually receive. This is frequently the case with franken sellers. Not that NDTrading does not have some nice items (I have purchased a few parts from them myself), but the old adage that says 'If you want it done right, do it yourself' was never more true than in the case of franken watches.

As usual, Alli hit the nail directly on the head. But I have to take some exception with By-Tor here. While most of us could ID this dial as aftermarket, 99.99% of the general public cannot. In fact, even with the aid of a dozen (richly illustrated) 'How to spot a fake Rolex' guidebooks in hand, most of the general public would still not know the difference. Trouble is (& I think it was Alli, again, who 1st observed this a couple of years ago) there is only a small handful of WIS types who CAN tell the difference, so most of the time, effort & money we spend trying to squeeze that last iota of accuracy out of our project watches, is going mostly unnoticed by the world at large. But, to paraphrase 1 of Ubi's comments, the joy of building is half the fun. Therefore, it seems to me that unless you enjoy the process of building frankens to stringent specs, it really does not make alot of sense to spend NDTrading prices on a pre-assembled watch since anyone with enough knowledge & experience to appreciate such a rarefied model will know, at a glance, that your model is a 'fake'. Everyone else will miss the whole point altogether.

First of all, let's get something straight- there is no equal to a genuine vintage Rolex watch. So then we start down the ladder. Next would be a franken put together from various vintage parts- hopefully all genuine. Of course, when you are buying 40-50 year old watches, you have to realize that the chances are that some of the parts have been replaced. Plenty of people buy and sell old Rolex parts, putting together better watches- they may even sell them for high prices claiming they are all original. After that you have the companies like NDTrading and Jewelry and Watch (Phong), who sell 'replacement' parts. These are better quality than typical run of the mill rep parts, but they are still rep parts. With a little bit of aging and modding they can be made to look very convincing. MBW/MBK puts out nice vintage replicas in the $350-500 range, but they also need modding to look convincing. And unlike NDT and J&W, MBW's don't have real Rolex movements taken from donor watches. In the replica world, it comes down to how much money do you want to spend. But more importantly, the first question is going to be, are you happy with a decent quality rep or should you really be buying a genuine watch? No rep will ever be equal to a gen, there are only levels of closeness to the gen, but a rep is always a rep.

Won't this watch take a standard 5513 assembly? Flat washer and bezel with insert. An MBW perchance. And of course, if that won't work, there's freddy's and my friend down here in beautiful Sugar Land, TX- Faisal Ali- wholesaleoutlet999/jewelryoutlet555. Seems like he sells the bezel assembly for the 9401 Or NY-RSC- but that could get pricey. Natalie at NDTrading.... Does the crown/case tube assembly look like a 24-702 assembly? The case tube looks like it to me.

It looks like NDTrading is trying to get $1,500 for 1 of their aftermarket Sub dials

Very nice. NDTrading case/bezel? ____________ Ziggy (or anyone) - Any chance you might have a spare crown wheel (the ring, not the core) laying around for a Rolex 1030?

hitecpro is from the United States- Cleveland, OH. He sells a lot of Rolex stuff, I've bought from him before. This dial and 1570 movt seem a little overpriced- and the movt looks kinda rough. As I recall, his name was Alex... can't remember his last name. You can buy a 1500 Date w/ a 1570 movement for $1000-1200 and a 1680 dial for $300-400 and you're off to building your own franken- get an NDTrading 1680 case for $1200.

Have been focusing on vintage gen stuff lately.. Here is a pic of my tool box for Case (most case are either Phong or NDtrading), got another box of gen dials, crown, band, leather strap...etc etc.. This year i promise to finish them off one by one..starting from the cheap Silix GMT, then NDT 1680, NDT 1665.. NDTrading/ Phong would be the only route this year..since Nato is the current trend.

I don't recall who showed the pic of a 3135 movement, but the engraving was the big tell on it also- the Swiss and 3135 were much bolder than on the gen movement. On this one, DW is referring to it as vintage. The dial doesn't look bad either IMO. With an NDTrading case at around $1200, you'd almost be there. This is about what we spend on similar frankens. It would be interesting to know what DW's cost is on these!

Mingquay, another Vietnamese seller (same as NDTrading).

The MBW dial was designed for an ETA movement, which places the center point of the date at a slightly different location. If you replace the MBW dial with an NDTrading or another good aftermarket dial that is made to fit a 157x calibre, it should align correctly.

oh sorry.. got it.. it's gen. v slow today. it's from VN (NDtrading quality)..

Does anyone have NDTrading's shipping address in CA? If so, please PM it to me. TIA

Before seeing Freddy's project, I actually didn't believe in making the 6542. Even NDtrading had their item removed a while ago...

Some good hits, but this may help - The bezel/insert are from MY (same parts I have on my 6542). The dial is a relumed rep watch dial, but I cannot find the rep watch seller's site right now. A clue to the mismatch between the dial & case is that the hands are too long for the dial. I had considered using the same dial, but I ultimately decided against it after receiving a better dial from an ebay seller....& then decided against using that dial after receiving MY's, which is the best aftermarket 6542 I have found (including NDTrading's). The crystal could be gen, but may also be Helfands or another aftermarket pressing. The case is NDTrading with poorly drilled lug holes (some of the holes look too new & not drilled very evenly). Finally, there is usually a reason why an 'Authentic Rolex GMT master 6542' is being offered for sale without an equally Authentic Rolex GMT master 6542 bracelet.....& it is not because the bracelet got lost or damaged (there are no accurate aftermarket vintage bracelets for the 6542 & the seller did not want to spend several hundred dollars on a gen). This is a case where God is in the details

I recognise that watch , glad you like it. The numbers between the lugs on most rep Rollies are etched, not engraved. Only the high dollar Vietnamese cases sold by NDTrading and Jewelry & Watch have the numbers engraved like the geniune. As far as engraving it to be more gen like, I don't think it would be worth the trouble since you would have to remove the movement from the case and find a way to engrave over the exisitng numbers with a dremel tool and engraving bit of some sort. Still, maybe some of the other Rollie experts here will chime in, maybe someone out there has the ability to do this mod easily. Cheers

Phong is jewelryandwatch.com. We call him the 'Vietnamese Connection' because we believe his parts are coming from Viet Nam. I assume that Phong takes V72 movements he buys (around $1K) and rebuilds them with Rolex copy parts- bridges, etc. He also engraves standard bridges. He can end up with something that is very close to looking like a real Rolex 727, or 722-1. He also must have access to aftermarket gold 6263/5 cases. but if someone is machining a 6263 case, it can't be too hard to do one in 18K. People here are building a 6263 for $2-3K that Phong sells for $5-6K. Of course, NDTrading is another high end rep dealer- particularly with early Rolex Sub models. Pop in a gen rolex movement and you have a nice franken. The original goes for $15K-30K, you build one for $2K-3K. These make sense if you enjoy watches but can't afford the gen- they're very good reps.

did some quick works on my MBK 1665... the belly botton looks more convincing now, at least I hope. not as good as the modders in here......at least i tried

Thank you. I hope the film lives up to all the hype. Can I assume that you likie Subbie? Sadly, no glossy COMEX. The dial was a custom job that Natalie at NDTrading did for me a couple of years ago (back when they were struggling & such things were possible). I am pretty sure I detailed the story of this dial in 1 of my early Comex or Hev tutorials. If I remember correctly, she charged me $120 & then replaced their then current (really crummy) 5514 dial with this 1 after I gave it a thumbs-up. The dial is still listed on their website (of course, the price has gone up a bit). My intention, at the time, was to use the dial in my original 10 year old Asian-powered 5514 rep when the movement died (which, back then, I thought would be any day). So, anyway, I put the dial on a shelf & waited for the POS movement to die (whoever said Asian POS movements are POS movements obviously never met this 1). But a strange thing happened..............the POS movement never died. In fact, the damned thing was still ticking away (within COSC specs) when I finally removed it from the case last month (which is where the 1520 now resides). Pretty amazing for a relatively cheap, 10+ year old rep that was my daily beater for many years. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on whether you are a half-full or half-empty glass of water type of guy), the only thing NDTrading did not get right (or bother to do, I am not sure which it was) was to print the COMEX lettering with black gloss paint. But, as you noted, the dial is so exquisitely well done that I decided to live with it & just try to deal with the COMEX lettering myself (this was actually their 3rd re-do attempt & was the only 1 of the 3 where they fixed what I told them to fix without messed up something else). After striking out with Ziggy & a couple of other dial refinishers, I started to look for ways to ( ) paint the lettering myself. Yes, me, the destroyer of every dial I have ever put paint to. But, after completely destroying a couple of test dials, I checked with my friendly, local artist supply store to see if there was some way to do this. They felt that it would be nearly impossible (even for an artist with a very steady hand) to apply black gloss paint into those tiny spaces without overlapping onto the surrounding white areas (I have trouble drawing my name with a crayon & they do not call me 'Shakes' for nothing). Instead, they suggested that I just paint a clear gloss over the COMEX lettering. The effect is like applying water to the surface of a dry flat marble material......the color darkens & appears glossy, which is exactly what is needed & any overlapping of clear onto the white areas would only be detectable with a loupe. I did some tests with a few different paints & glazes, but either they looked like they were starting to damage (melt) the white paint or were too thick or too runny. So, in the end, I just decided to use the dial as-is until/unless I can work out a paint & application method that I had more confidence in. Is the dial perfect? No. But it is good enough so that I almost posted a pic of my watch on TZ, because I thought it was a gen & I almost posted a pic of a gen here thinking it was my watch (and, sometimes, I am still not sure which is which). So that tells me my work here is done. What do you think - is it real or is it Memorex? Sorry, but no sale here........at least, not this time. I have a gen superdome that I had originally intended to use for this watch, but I have a couple pics of gens that were recently fitted with these modern gen beveled-edge crystals that give the watch a distinctly jewel-like appearance when the light catches it just the right way (similar to the crystals I used on my 62xx Daytonas). I kind of like that look, so, for now at least, I plan to keep the beveled crystal.

bwhitesox - pics are being posted. please see below. click me polexpete -I have only been able to find cases for 1655 Explorer II + NDTrading type dial and hands complete set ($650), 1680 cases ($450) from Minh Quy.. Minh Quy was suggested to me by a number of people as well as friends on this forum...

Tomorrow I will be flying back home. Have travelled from HK > Singapore > Hanoi > Saigon > Hanoi > Singapore > Hong Kong for the past 3 weeks... ... still in Singapore as we speak. Will try to post some interesting pics. Mainly taken in Vietnam. will post full shop name & address ( i have taken notes in my smartphone as I travel. I will post detailed info when I post the pics.) Singapore Mainly window shopping for me. I found some interesting 1675, subbies etc... 1. People's Park Complex China town 2/F (vintage gen) 2. Golden Landmark Shopping Center (vintage gen, rolex parts, dials) be careful of franken/ hot watches in the above places (demanding for gen prices) Vietnam Saigon (Opposite Sheraton Saigon) Minh Quy (cheaper than NDtrading) Bich Lien Omega S300 @ $350 Franken Tudor Monte Carlo e.g. 7159/0, 9420/0 Franken Daytona 6263 @$2,500 Franken Explorer 1655 @$3,500 Blancpain Fifty Fathoms (both bigger/ smaller bezel version) @ $350 as for myself, I bought some cases and dials/hands etc (e.g. 1655, 1680) from Minh Quy...I picked up a 6265 SS bezel from Mihn Quy for $30 when Phong was selling this very same item for $450... when you are in Vietnam, forget abt Phong or NDtrading and their pricing.. their factories are all based in Viet. I'll be doing some serious shopping next biz trip. safe travels & enjoy. PS: when you are in Hanoi,be careful with some motorbikes - the locals tell me that some bikers will grap your bags or wallets from behind. Use Airport Taxi. I will be able to give you some safe taxi company numbers once i get home. forget abt reps in Hanoi unless you are into Chinese reps.

The distributor is called NDTrading, but I do not think that is the name of the company or factory that makes them (I kind of doubt it is).

I agree with Alligoat. I have 1 on my bench that I got a couple of years ago from either Josh or Andrew I used the Hev pin & gasket from that watch's case for my DRSD (you can Search out the tutorial on how to drill out the Hev hole in the side of an MBW case). I happen to love that bracelet, but, to the best of my knowledge, the clasp is a fantasy design as Rolex never made 1 like that. The watch does have a nice silvered ETA datewheel, but, unfortunately, the font is not quite exact. And anyone who would know or appreciate the datewheel's silver color would also ID the san serif font as being wrong. The other reason I bought the watch was for the dial, which is pretty close to NDTrading's Doublered, but also suffers from its same primary problem - narrow index markers at 6 & 9. But if you can find someone to widen those markers & relume all of the markers, I think it would best the standard MBW Doublered dial. Mine came with a gen ETA 2836-2.

Flex - Universal has done 2 of my gen dials & they do outstanding work. Unlike NDTrading & other purveyors of 'professionally refinished' dials (which are, in fact, nothing more than 100% newly made, aftermarket parts), Universal is the real deal. Their professionally restored dials actually do look like the original & without the usual telltale (aftermarket) mistakes. However, I would give some serious thought to leaving the dial as-is, since it does not look to be in very bad shape in the picture.

All aftermarket dials contain inaccuracies & many of the inaccuracies tend to shift or vary (in their location, severity, etc) over time and/or from version to version, so it is difficult to say whose dial is best. But, given that, DW's generally tend to contain the least objectionable compromises to MY eyes. Someone recently posted a picture of DW's 626x dial selection elsewhere in this forum (use the Search function). You might scope out some of DW's more salient competitors - NDTrading, Andy & Phong.