Panther917 Posted July 31, 2010 Report Share Posted July 31, 2010 Hi gang, I am looking to build a Franken black SMP and was wondering if anyone has any experience with the various parts and if they will fit a rep. I'm buying a gen dial, hands, crystal and bezel and was wondering if there is a particular dealer that might be best to check with for the rep and which rep to get? Do they come with different movements, would I need an ETA or would the asian ETA be ok? Any thoughts on the bezel fitting a rep case? I 'm pretty sure the dial/hands and crystal will fit ok but concerned about the bezel a little? Is there that much difference between the rep bezel and gen bezel? would it be worth $100 to do upgrade to gen? Thanks for the help. This particular watch was the first one I remember thinking was cool when I was growing up and I've got a gen rubber for it and now the dial/hands and crystal but not sure on the bezel, anyone have thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryaku Posted August 1, 2010 Report Share Posted August 1, 2010 As far as i know the answer is no: rep SMP doesn't accept genuine bezel unless you mod the case and honestly i'm not sure it's worth it if you pay the bezel so much (especially if you consider the value of a good used gen): the rep bezel is pretty the same, what makes a huge difference is the insert and the pearl. If you're skilled enough you can try to mod your pearl, there should be a tutorial on RWG. However, Domenico made this modification to my SMP and the result is excellent, the gen bezel works like a charm. No problem for hands, crystal and dial, straight swap if you have a ETA movement. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boneventura Posted August 1, 2010 Report Share Posted August 1, 2010 So Ryaku, yours has a gen bezel then? And gen dial, correct? show us! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryaku Posted August 1, 2010 Report Share Posted August 1, 2010 It's still in parts, i just received gen hands and crystal with Ar coating. It's gonna be ready next week..hopefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boneventura Posted August 1, 2010 Report Share Posted August 1, 2010 It's still in parts, i just received gen hands and crystal with Ar coating. It's gonna be ready next week..hopefully. exciting.. I'm still on the hunt for a gen dial. If I don't find it, I use yours.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panther917 Posted August 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2010 As far as i know the answer is no: rep SMP doesn't accept genuine bezel unless you mod the case and honestly i'm not sure it's worth it if you pay the bezel so much (especially if you consider the value of a good used gen): the rep bezel is pretty the same, what makes a huge difference is the insert and the pearl. If you're skilled enough you can try to mod your pearl, there should be a tutorial on RWG. However, Domenico made this modification to my SMP and the result is excellent, the gen bezel works like a charm. No problem for hands, crystal and dial, straight swap if you have a ETA movement. Good luck. Perfect, that is exactly what I was needing to know.....I had a feeling that would be the case but not sure I want to take this prroject that far with the insert and pearl. I'm more concerned about the dial / hands and then how the gen crystal will look. That may be enough of a mod to call this one finished. I think you are right about the bezel cost and I dont want to get too far $$$ into this project. Thanks for the reply, I really appreciate it. -Murph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guillermo Posted August 3, 2010 Report Share Posted August 3, 2010 Perfect, that is exactly what I was needing to know.....I had a feeling that would be the case but not sure I want to take this prroject that far with the insert and pearl. I'm more concerned about the dial / hands and then how the gen crystal will look. That may be enough of a mod to call this one finished. I think you are right about the bezel cost and I dont want to get too far $$$ into this project. Thanks for the reply, I really appreciate it. -Murph Hi Panther, I am in the same boat. Got the SMP Black from Sead and now getting parts from Ofrei (dial, hands and crystal). Good luck with your project. Cheers, Willy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panther917 Posted August 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2010 Hi Panther, I am in the same boat. Got the SMP Black from Sead and now getting parts from Ofrei (dial, hands and crystal). Good luck with your project. Cheers, Willy You too Willy, I just got a black SMP from Sead via another member and the SMP dial,crystal,hands arrived at Fed Ex today so hope to have everything put together in the next week or two. Going to pair it with a gen GMT rubber and gen clasp.....We'll see how it turns out. Decided against the bezel swap at this point but may decide to do it later if it can be done reasonably. Good luck with your project. Post a pic or too if you can once she's done.... -Murph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooky driver Posted August 4, 2010 Report Share Posted August 4, 2010 i have a older smp bond that is maybe 4 years old....the gen bezel just clicks straight in, a clean swap. i have no idea if Seads smp is the same Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casanile Posted August 4, 2010 Report Share Posted August 4, 2010 So Ryaku, yours has a gen bezel then? And gen dial, correct? show us! :-) Mine has a gen dial, a gen crystal and a gen bezel. Everything done by Domenico. He said me that it was a real pain in the a** to modify the bezel to install it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryaku Posted August 4, 2010 Report Share Posted August 4, 2010 quick preview Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panther917 Posted August 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2010 Wow! Looks great ryaku.....Hope mine turns out close to yours,,,,,minus the gen insert. If you had to do it over again, Would you say the expense of the bezel and labor to do the insert mod was worth it. Or do you feel the rep bezel, gen dial, hands and crystal would have been "close enough". Just your opinion.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cougaree Posted September 29, 2010 Report Share Posted September 29, 2010 Guys, Where did you source your cases? Panther, the Omega 2254.50 is what brought me to RWG. Two years later, I still do have one. I understand the current version of "Swiss" Seamaster has wrong He escape valve location. Suppose I don't care as it's nearly impossible to find an old school case, will the gen dial fit into this case? Thanks! Cougaree Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryaku Posted September 29, 2010 Report Share Posted September 29, 2010 Case is from Mary - Watch-international: the watch was originally a SMP Bond which means you need a new insert, dial, hands and bracelet. Wow! Looks great ryaku.....Hope mine turns out close to yours,,,,,minus the gen insert. If you had to do it over again, Would you say the expense of the bezel and labor to do the insert mod was worth it. Or do you feel the rep bezel, gen dial, hands and crystal would have been "close enough". Just your opinion.... Sorry for the late replay buddy, i'd say it''d be too close to the gen price if you are not patient enough to find good deals on ebay. For example i bought a brand new dial for 60 bucks, a used bezel/insert for 50 bucks and labor was from Domi at a reasonable price. If you had to buy all these parts at Ofrei's price i'd say it's not worth it. Insert: i reckon it's an important upgrade but you don't need necessarly a gen bezel or insert: there's a very accurate insert ina SMP chrono black rep. It's really spot on. http://www.1-pc8838.com/omse10012-divers-chrono-25945200-black-a7750-28800bph-p-2926.html No need to say you have to be patient, very patient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cougaree Posted September 29, 2010 Report Share Posted September 29, 2010 Thanks for the advise! I'm actually thinking about the same thing. I think it's fun taking my time collecting all the parts. It's not like we don't have another watch to wear As for the bezel insert on that Omega chronograph, can we get it from our dealers without buying the whole watch? Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boneventura Posted September 29, 2010 Report Share Posted September 29, 2010 +1 on the patience! I'm working on a black bond version since june now. Still waiting for the bezel insert (it's ordered from PT) and haven't found the gen dial yet....But the hands and the watch itself are in the pocket! @ A: still no luck on the brace? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panther917 Posted September 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2010 Guys, Where did you source your cases? Panther, the Omega 2254.50 is what brought me to RWG. Two years later, I still do have one. I understand the current version of "Swiss" Seamaster has wrong He escape valve location. Suppose I don't care as it's nearly impossible to find an old school case, will the gen dial fit into this case? Thanks! Cougaree Courgaree....I've got all the parts minus the gen bezel (which I decided against) but the seconds hand arrived bent from the previous owner and haven't taken the time to order another one from Offrei....Its been sitting beside the franken UPO project in my "to do list" pile...ha! Haven't had much time for reps lately but maybe this will spark me to get those two projects finished.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryaku Posted September 29, 2010 Report Share Posted September 29, 2010 As for the bezel insert on that Omega chronograph, can we get it from our dealers without buying the whole watch? Thanks again! Good question. I tried but no luck so i bought that SMP chrono from silix for 140 USD (yes, no mistake, it's a special offer). I sold other parts and the insert was almost for free at the end of the day. I bought that watch also for the bracelet but i found out it's not compatible, different sizes. @ A: still no luck on the brace? Nope. It's really difficult to get a decent SMP bracelet nowadays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.