jmb Posted October 28, 2009 Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 My $85 DRSD arrived this morning so I figured I'd jot down an "objective" evaluation and post a few pics for y'all to analyze. This looks to be a fairly decent looking copy and I won't be afraid to wear it "fresh out of the box", but I am in no way a Sea Dweller expert (or any other kind of expert for that matter) so I'm sure some of the level of detail will be missing when compared to examples costing much more. I feel that at about half of what some of the other examples of this model sell for it would serve a budget minded collector well. Upon unwrapping the watch I remember thinking, "Man, this thing's light!" After close inspection I realized the band center links were hollow and since this is my first watch with a hollow center-link band so I suppose that would account for it only weighing in at 115 gm. It has a "tallish" plastic crystal that looks to be a bit different in profile than the version Lani reviewd, a non-SEL band, the usual tiny lug holes, and a bi-directional smooth operating bezel with a decent pearl. The hour markers are a brownish-orange (heavier on the brownish) and look to be tinted a bit darker than the hands. The date wheel has round-top threes, open sixes and nines, clicks over smartly, and the numbers fall squarely within the date window. The bezel rotates smoothly in both CW and CCW directions and the insert will probably be pretty decent once removed and reinstalled. I feel the glue is a bit uneven in thickness as one portion sits below the bezel lip while another portion sits proud. The pearl is not the common "zit" variety nor is it bulbous - I think it looks quite nice. The band, as already mentioned, has hollow center links and non-solid end links. The clasp functions smoothly and properly and although the stamping is well formed and deep unfortunately the scrolling around "Rolex" is improper at the upper ends. This clasp, however, differs from that on my last budget watch in that all of the text appears to be spelled correctly! The back has the proper engraving and although it appears to be laser engraved it is quite deep, but doesn't appear to be as deep as the gen article. The font also looks to be a bit smaller than it should be and the coronet shape doesn't look quite right. Enough of my rambling, time for some pix! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted October 28, 2009 Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 Nice pics, JB. And not a bad watch considering the price. Looks like you have the silver datewheel. The plastic crystal is interesting- flat top w/ sloped sides- a chinese invention, no doubt. Maybe a $15 all acrylic pearl might fit in there, you can certainly drill the lugholes, the teeth on the bezel are way too sharp- you could wear those down, trim the insides of the cg's a little. A strong dose of artificial aging would go a long way on improving the looks of your '40 year old watch'! I'd love to know if you have a working HE valve- some of the CN DRSD's do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadtorrent Posted October 28, 2009 Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 Thanks for posting this. For the money it works. Mods you could do are the pearl as the vintage pearls didn't have the metal ring...looked kind of like a blob of amber...and a cheap $15 Clarks crystal (finding one that fits) would give it the closer feel giving a more accurate profile and look. Bash it up. That's the big thing. It's an old "tool" watch...it needs battle scars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted October 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 goat, all I can say right now is that the valve does not push in from the outside! That's an improvement over the current crop of DSSD valves, IMO. If I take out the crystal I can hold the bezel up to the buffer and smooth it a bit and grind on the CGs a bit while I was at it. I'll also enlarge the holes a bit and put in 2mm spring bars. This may take me a few years since next week my play-time is gone as I have to go back to work! Yecccch... Toad, I'll measure the crystal when I get a chance. I was thinking this one might not look too bad if I could remove it, somehow chuck it in the lathe, and round where the face meets the sides a bit... If this crystal stays on it won't take much for it to look "used", if you look at it too hard it scratches! I hadn't noticed that about the pearl, I'll look around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted October 28, 2009 Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 That's a fine watch for the price, bro Tt has pointed out specific mods, but I'll give my .2c of once you beat the sh1t out of it, it'll look perfect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highoeyazmuhudee Posted October 28, 2009 Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 Good buy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted October 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 Thanks, guyz. I'm sure if I were to wear it around the shop a few days I could probably make it look pretty old! I've read about tossing the insert in some bleach to "age" it a bit, I may do some of this stuff in the future... Oh, I missed a picture of the case back so I added it to the end of the original post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted October 28, 2009 Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 goat, all I can say right now is that the valve does not push in from the outside! I have an old DRSD from Andrew. The valve is actually a pretty good copy of the original. It has an o-ring so it can be compressed from the outside very slightly (as it goes deeper). But it has a metal spring on the inside of the case that allows the valve to go out as the gases expand. This typically occurred in diving bells using helium while coming up from depths. Otherwise the crystal would blow off! However, the HE valve, the 93150 hollow mid-link bracelet and the silver datewheel are the only good points of Andrew's CN DRSD! It's slightly smaller than the MBW's and gen, crystal, insert, etc. don't fit, but it was one of my first reps and only cost $139 at the time w/ a gen eta. But that was 4-5 years ago! But to check it out, you'd have to remove the movement and look on the inside of the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted October 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 I'll make sure to check it out. I'll have to rip it apart if I want to do all the mods to it and I'll check it and probably epoxy it, but to tell you the absolute truth, my motivation's about petered out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P4GTR Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 I'm a pro at banging knicks and dents into bezels, bracelets and cases if you want to send it my way. For the price its the nicest DRSD ever! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demsey Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 I like your watch j. Aside the funky crystal, it looks every bit as good as my 1680 that I paid $250 for in '04. Taking aside mine has a gen ETA, you still made out. These vintage Rolex replica are neat, but I just don't know about wearing them around. It's like fibbing about getting laid. Saying you went home with a waitress from the oyster bar is one thing, saying you slept with Cindy Crawford? C'mon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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