A couple of noob questions about my new Explorer II Rep...

[brendo22]

Hi there,

I'm new to the forums, and I have a quick question about my new Explorer II white face rep I just received from Watcheden. First I should say that overall I'm impressed with what I received and the service from watcheden was good. I received the watch in about 15 days overall shipped to the CONUS. In regards to the watch, the hour marker surrounds are actually black (which Ive read isn't the standard for the white face exII reps), the dial printing is pretty crisp, and overall for the $80 I paid, I'm pretty satisfied. Now on with the small problems with the watch-

1st problem- The date is off in the date window, the number seems to be higher up in the window and cuts off the top of the numbers. It could be that the date overlay is misaligned, but I also noticed that the dial is slightly off from being centered as well (and off clockwise) which would lead to think that the dial could be misaligned slightly. I would think adjusting the dial counter clockwise to re-align would at least somewhat help the date window alignment problem.

Question - If I remove the movement, can I rotate the dial face just by hand? Or would I have to remove the hands, etc. before doing anything?

2nd problem - The GMT hand when I adjust it, every quarter rotation around the dial, the date wheel sort of clicks as if its turning over at 12am to change. It doesn't actually change it just moves slightly then clicks back into place.

Question - Is that normal? I'm not familiar with GMT movement. Also I adjust the GMT hand when the crown is in the date position, rotating the crown down adjusts the date, rotating the crown up adjusts the GMT, is this right?

I will upload pictures tonight of my watch as well. Outside of these things the watch holds great time, and looks great! Any input would be awesome thanks!

Edited December 4, 2009 by brendo22

[alligoat]

Welcome aboard!

1. The black marker surounds are correct for a late model Explorer II white dial.

2. The date alignment in the date window is a little trickier- it probably entails removing the movement from the case, and could mean removing the hands and dial and re-positioning the datewheel overlay- if it has one. But considering you only paid $80 for the watch, it may be just an asian 21j movement w/ an asian DW. So then you are pretty much stuck w/ what you have....

3. I don't know about the DW clicking, but the date and GMT hand moving by turning CW or CCW in the second position is OK.

Enjoy your watch, enjoy the forum, there's a shitpot here to learn and keep reading and use the search function- it's so-so but sometimes it performs OK. You've come to the right place! And maybe after a while you'll be able to spend more than $80 on a rep. But heck, there's decent reps out there for $80-120, you just have to know where to look.

[brendo22]

Welcome aboard!

1. The black marker surounds are correct for a late model Explorer II white dial.

2. The date alignment in the date window is a little trickier- it probably entails removing the movement from the case, and could mean removing the hands and dial and re-positioning the datewheel overlay- if it has one. But considering you only paid $80 for the watch, it may be just an asian 21j movement w/ an asian DW. So then you are pretty much stuck w/ what you have....

3. I don't know about the DW clicking, but the date and GMT hand moving by turning CW or CCW in the second position is OK.

Enjoy your watch, enjoy the forum, there's a shitpot here to learn and keep reading and use the search function- it's so-so but sometimes it performs OK. You've come to the right place! And maybe after a while you'll be able to spend more than $80 on a rep. But heck, there's decent reps out there for $80-120, you just have to know where to look.

Thanks alligoat! I appreciate the insight! One question though, would it be possible to rotate the dial slightly when I remove the movement (without removing the hands, etc)? And yeah its just a 21j movement so its probably just the date wheel, but my dial is slightly off center and that would help greatly if I could rotate it because it would help some of the offset.

[alligoat]

The dial is attached to the movement with small pegs called dial feet, so there is really no room for movement of the dial.

You could cut off the dial feet and glue the dial to the top movement ring, possibly... Once again, it's a job for a watchmaker. You might be able to reposition the dial by opening the case and loosening the hold down tabs, turn it slightly, see if it works, and retighten and close the case.

These inexpensive reps are great when everything comes together correctly, but in your case, maybe you just order another watch. I don't know if it's too late to email Watcheden and see if you could send it back, but it'll cost you $15-20 for shipping. Maybe you'll get a better watch on the second go around.

[brendo22]

The dial is attached to the movement with small pegs called dial feet, so there is really no room for movement of the dial.

You could cut off the dial feet and glue the dial to the top movement ring, possibly... Once again, it's a job for a watchmaker. You might be able to reposition the dial by opening the case and loosening the hold down tabs, turn it slightly, see if it works, and retighten and close the case.

These inexpensive reps are great when everything comes together correctly, but in your case, maybe you just order another watch. I don't know if it's too late to email Watcheden and see if you could send it back, but it'll cost you $15-20 for shipping. Maybe you'll get a better watch on the second go around.

Yeah, I understand, thanks for the input again! I really appreciate it, these boards are great! I'll crack open the case and see if I can just rotate the movement at least so it's straight. I can live with the date being off, it holds great time and also looks really good for the price. Not worth the hassle for me to order another one until this one dies. Thanks so much!