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Very interesting thread on....


JoJo35

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Wow,

got quite a fright yesterday when our friend B posted this ("beware of") thread yesterday.

This was the seller I bought my bezel and insert from for my 1680 project.

Maybe the experts here can weigh-in on whether I actually purchased gen parts or not.

watches216.jpg

watches217.jpg

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Wow,

got quite a fright yesterday when our friend B posted this ("beware of") thread yesterday.

This was the seller I bought my bezel and insert from for my 1680 project.

Maybe the experts here can weigh-in on whether I actually purchased gen parts or not.

watches216.jpg

watches217.jpg

From the shape of the 2 in 20, I would say that it looks kosher... Emphasis on 'looks', as I am by no means an expert... :pardon: Looks good, infact, it looks fine on the watch, I just hope that you got what you paid for :victory:

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B, like I said in my PM, your insert is definitely a genuine item.

To confirm if the bezel was a NOS replacement item, the only way to tell for sure is with a loupe. Compare the genuine item to an MBW insert, and you'll see the difference in a split second. However, old inserts look a lot different than yours. The only way to become familiar with the differences is to research for years (don't ask me who in their right mind would ever do such a thing :whistling: )

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Seller has 1200+ positives, I would be careful with my accusation. There's always someone who's not pleased with a deal.

Second point is, the used parts he resells has to come from somewhere, they can not appear from air - so he bought them somewhere...right?

I can tell you, the so called "experts" on watch fairs, which are for years dealing whith gens, you can fool with a MBW case and dial! I've seen that with my own eyes...I think if the guy has sold a rep bezel it was not his fault...just look at the other parts he sells...

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IMO he's OK, even if you are not pleased you can get money back...

And no, no joke! I saw it with my own eyes...a double red 1665 (case was reworked on a lathe, a gen movement was built in), all work made by a modder from old TRC (old members know which famous modder I mean), was tried from another member from the forum to be sold on a watch fair (of course a gen watch fair, not on a flea market!). There was no intent to sell the watch, only to see the reaction. From three "experts" the watch was not spotted as fake! They opened the watch, looked at the movement (even the bridge was not correct numbered), and they made really good offers! (best offer a.e., a TT Sub + 2500€ cash!)

The best comes now: After that the 1665 ended at the AD (WEMPE!) with a revision! The only once comment was noticed on the bill, that the HE valve is not working, and there would not be any guarantee for waterproofness 'till full depth! The HE valve BTW, was a cutted drill thru the case!

Please don't tell me about experts... :meeting:

Edit: Oh, and there was a few more members from TRC present on this "experts-test"... :thumbsupsmileyanim:

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nice.pebbles IIRC is also known as Alex on VRF. He was banned from there (no easy feat mind you) for selling aftermaket parts as real (particularly hand sets) and selling the same parts to different people. This was years ago and from my experience he has cleaned up his act.

I purchased a snowflake dial from him and he sent me an email telling me that he came down with an illness and wasn't going to be able to ship it for a few weeks. I was ok with that as I was about to head out to China for 4 weeks and over that time period he didn't list anymore watch related items. When I returned, it still hadn't arrived. I asked him how he was doing and he had taken a turn for the worse and told me he'd refund my money but would hold the dial and let me know when he was up and running again. Couple of hours later, the refund came through and a few weeks later got an email from him about the dial. I had already gotten something else though.

VRF is good but take what the "experts" there say with a grain of salt. Just pay close attention to the items he has for sale if decide to purchase from him.

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nice.pebbles on ebay goes by Axel many years ago on VRF - defunct status since the ban

Operating on eBay with the wifey.

Bearing in mind, I have purchased a couple of Superdomes tropics from him, and now comparing with the apparent inconsistencies, this may have been true with the originality of why VRF admin decided on the ban.

Research lies in the eyes of the learner - unless you can produce an arsenal of genuine (and I mean genuine as in certified by someone in the Vintage game for over 20 years) and compare with the goods purchased, how does one distinguish the differences?

Beats me...with the factories having stopped production of Tropic crystals for quite a while now, it surprises me how many NOS Tropic, and especially Superdomes are still available in today's market? Perhaps some factories are cashing in on the Vintage Rolex game, and "repping" these high-quality tropics and passing them off as NOS.

Build your credible as a seller, and time to play both sides of the fences, and you've got your credibility to rest on....after all, who knows? You have enough testimonials from real individuals who can vouch for you....

Clear as chicken broth, I would boil the soup again to see how clear it is once again....after all the activities in the bowl - that Vintage Bowl.

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Wow,

got quite a fright yesterday when our friend B posted this ("beware of") thread yesterday.

This was the seller I bought my bezel and insert from for my 1680 project.

Maybe the experts here can weigh-in on whether I actually purchased gen parts or not.

The insert certainly looks the part, and the bezel too is very believable. Compared to an MBW bezel, it's miles apart. But, the final determination I think can be made by inspecting closely the machining marks between the teeth on the bezel. The gen will be very smoothly cut and have a consistent brushed look. A knockoff likely won't be quite so clean. As Jojo says, it's best to use a loupe.

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Axel B. has had a rather colorful transaction history in terms of what's sent vs. what's advertised. Not always 1:1! :)

Some things are okay... Some are not. There's no consistency, so just be aware of that prior to entering into any purchase transaction...

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Axel B. has had a rather colorful transaction history in terms of what's sent vs. what's advertised. Not always 1:1! :)

Some things are okay... Some are not. There's no consistency, so just be aware of that prior to entering into any purchase transaction...

Ditto. Pure gut speculation here, but I think the inconsistency stems more from inattentiveness or ignorance rather than a conscious effort to scam anyone.

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