jmb Posted September 12, 2009 Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 (edited) I decided to break all of the rules and order a cheapo sub from an unrecognized source to play with. I will be going "under the knife" to get my knee fixed in about a week so I figured I better stock up on projects so I wouldn't go stir-crazy while healing up. I ordered a Sub, GMT Master II, and a Daytona w/faux chrono. On the Daytona I plan on locking the sweep second hand and 9:00 and 3:00 subdial hands in their "reset" position so it will look a bit more believable. For the price I paid I really wasn't expecting much, had prepared myself for receiving a couple of boxes full of absolute junk, and wasn't expecting them to run more than a few minutes without requiring a good "rap". So far I'm pleasantly surprised! My untrained eye can spot a couple of things that need addressing but all-in-all they are very serviceable watches that I won't loose any sleep over if one of them gets crunched at work. Here are some preliminary shots of the Sub (I'll resize and repost pix later): I was quite surprised to find a "crown etching" on the crystal and a fairly generous pearl and one of the wholesalers threw in a freebie Montblanc pen to boot! While I am convalescing I'll probably practice re-shaping the crown guards a bit as they look a bit "overfed". Edited September 12, 2009 by jmb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted September 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 For some reason my "edit" button went "AWOL" so I couldn't change the image links so I blew away the huge ones and uploaded these: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanL Posted September 13, 2009 Report Share Posted September 13, 2009 What modification have you got planned then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadtorrent Posted September 13, 2009 Report Share Posted September 13, 2009 Good job JMB. Gotta start somewhere...and this looks like a good one. The start is learning to remove and reinstall the stem. That's needed for CG mods. Then...decasing the movement, and recasing...then removing hands...then dial, etc. The goal? Have fun. The side benefit? Learning new and creative ways to swear and curse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted September 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2009 Toad, I learned a few new words yesterday when I realized the date wheel on the 4813 movement I'm putting into my noobmariner didn't line up! I found your repost of the ajoesmith article on changing datewheels and am trying to work up the courage. It's gotta be done... Ryan, I'm not really sure, just stuff to make it more "believable", I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted September 13, 2009 Report Share Posted September 13, 2009 None too shabby, I think you've found yourself an excellent project watch Heck, if you weren't concerned with 100% accuracy to gen, it would be a nice enough watch to wear as it is Best of luck with your plans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted September 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2009 Other than the CGs and date wheel this on doesn't look too bad to me especially for about $25! Who/where is the best place to get date wheel overlays from or do people make their own with photoshop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted September 13, 2009 Report Share Posted September 13, 2009 Other than the CGs and date wheel this on doesn't look too bad to me especially for about $25! Who/where is the best place to get date wheel overlays from or do people make their own with photoshop? That's my kind of budget At that kind of price, watches become nearly disposable, so absolutely no fear of naffing them up (other than the frustration of it ) It'll make an awesome base for practicing the basics, or failing that, an ideal platform for modification/conversion work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted September 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2009 That was my thinking when I ordered these things, if I messed one up I wouldn't loose any sleep over it. TeeJay, check out my companion post about the GMT II, apparently it is totally wrong as a GMT and I'm thinking it's probably just a Sub with different bezel and dial. I'm thinking of turning that one into a Sub of some kind. From the critiques I've had of it it sounds like that would be easier than trying to turn it into a convincing GMT... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted September 13, 2009 Report Share Posted September 13, 2009 That was my thinking when I ordered these things, if I messed one up I wouldn't loose any sleep over it. TeeJay, check out my companion post about the GMT II, apparently it is totally wrong as a GMT and I'm thinking it's probably just a Sub with different bezel and dial. I'm thinking of turning that one into a Sub of some kind. From the critiques I've had of it it sounds like that would be easier than trying to turn it into a convincing GMT... Indeed, I saw the post To be honest, take Demsey's view on it: It's not important if the watch is 100% perfect, because it's still obvious what model watch it's supposed to be, and to be honest, the '24 hour sweep' movement and rotating bezel still allows you to track a second timezone, so still perfectly wearable. I have one myself, but inadvertently damaged the movement, by holding the watch too close to a halogen bulb to charge the lume, only to discover that the datewheel was plastic, when it warped from the heat, and dragged on the back of the dial, effectively jamming the movement / I still have plans for the watch though, as I wore it on my honeymoon, so want to do something with it rather than just chuck it out. If I was to just buy another GMT II and transplant in the dial and movement, it would be a bit redundant, so instead, I'm going to try something a little different, but the exact plans are something I want to keep somewhat secret for the moment, as they're not 100% finalized As you say, you could indeed simply convert the case to a Submariner. (Or even a Tudor Submariner ) Last year, I modified a Submariner dial to fit over the GMT movement, and installed it in a GMT, so I had a Submariner with GMT function Not everyone's cup of tea, but fun for me, and a watch I enjoyed wearing, until the movement died, and something I have plans to build a 'new and improved' version of If you take things too seriously, they stop being fun, and that's no way for a hobby to be Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted September 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2009 I hadn't thought about keeping the "24 hour" hand on a sub dial but it sounds kinda cool! Are there any good sources for inexpensive dials or do I need to start whining to a dealer and maybe they'll find me one just to get rid of me? ROTFLMAO I have e-mailed some for other parts and received replies that they couldn't get parts. I could have sworn I saw several obviously aftermarket/fake Rolex "red Sub" dials on flea-bay yesterday for $50 and today they are all gone... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted September 13, 2009 Report Share Posted September 13, 2009 I hadn't thought about keeping the "24 hour" hand on a sub dial but it sounds kinda cool! Are there any good sources for inexpensive dials or do I need to start whining to a dealer and maybe they'll find me one just to get rid of me? ROTFLMAO I have e-mailed some for other parts and received replies that they couldn't get parts. I could have sworn I saw several obviously aftermarket/fake Rolex "red Sub" dials on flea-bay yesterday for $50 and today they are all gone... The GMT Sub is something Demsey and I have discussed a few times, and agree that given Rolex produced the Explorer II for caving enthusiasts, and the GMT Master for pilots, it makes sense for there to be a diver's watch with the same GMT capability, but that it's simply a design avenue Rolex never pursued. To be honest, the one I built was not entirely as per my original plan, as I hadn't planned to using the vintage dial, but, my rebuild, will be a 100% modern watch, so a more uniform appearance As for dial sources, the Bay is one good bet, the other, is to just order more budget watches, and cannibalize them for parts... That's what I do with my projects Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted September 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2009 (edited) You're probably right. It would be nice if some dealer could do up a group purchase for a couple hundred, say, noobmariner (or comparable quality) dials and a bunch of us could split it. Surely these dials couldn't contribute more than a buck or so to the production cost of a rep. The watches are dirt cheap but the shipping is murder. I would order multiples but afraid customs might decide I'd crossed a line of some sorts. Edited September 13, 2009 by jmb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted September 14, 2009 Report Share Posted September 14, 2009 You're probably right. It would be nice if some dealer could do up a group purchase for a couple hundred, say, noobmariner (or comparable quality) dials and a bunch of us could split it. Surely these dials couldn't contribute more than a buck or so to the production cost of a rep. The watches are dirt cheap but the shipping is murder. I would order multiples but afraid customs might decide I'd crossed a line of some sorts. I know what you mean, a group buy would certainly be a good way of getting hold of parts, but it does rely on people needing or wanting said parts too Then there's the logistics of a group buy, which can sometimes not always go entirely to plan I'd say the best way to go, is to work out what watches you might need for parts, and order them individually or maybe two at a time, to avoid that customs hassles Sometimes the satisfaction of building a watch yourself, can allow you to overlook certain flaws in replication Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted September 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2009 (edited) Sometimes group buys can be a pain but they are usually worth it. I run a motorcycle related forum and have ran several over the past couple of years with good results. I suppose the make-or-break of such a deal would be price and minimum quantity. If, say, price was a buck or two ea and minimum order was 100 pieces I wouldn't have a problem buying 50 or so - that's about the cost of a couple cheap sacrificial subs with shipping. Again, depending on price, I would put them up in lots of 10 to make things a bit easier on the send-out... Keeping track and shipping onesies and twosies would be a real PITA! :-p Edited September 14, 2009 by jmb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedbird100 Posted September 14, 2009 Report Share Posted September 14, 2009 Hey JMB, Could you PM me the website where you found these? Best regards, Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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