jmb Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 After looking at the several reviews of this watch I decided it was probably worth that much in parts! My ultimate plans will probably put a 2846 and Snowflake dial in this case but in the meantime I'll just "age" it for a while. For the most part I don't buy reps anymore. If I want something I scrounge the parts and build it and this is in fact the first rep I've bought in about a year and my first purchase from Josh. Normally "budget" watches have plastic movement spacers and other corners that have been cut, not so in here! I was pleasantly surprised to find the DG movement centered with a brass movement ring and secured with case clamps/tabs and screws. The case clamp screws had extremely shallow slots, so much so that it was hard to unscrew them, so I replaced them with better screws upon reassembly. Case back has very smooth threads and unscrews/screws in smoothly and the groove for the case back O-ring is machined into the case back instead of the case. The band is reasonable, with hollow mid-links and the usual sharp edges and loose screws. Every screw was at least 1/2 turn away from being tight! My biggest gripe with the case is the short CGs, not much can be done about them other than putting a spot of weld on the tips and re-working. I suppose the CGs could get like this on an old well used watch that has seen a lot of buffer action. Even putting the crown on a diet doesn't help much. One other thing I thought odd is that the case is marke as a 5513 and I ordered a 5512 but I suppose it wouldn't be unheard of for the factories to use the same case for both. The crystal retaining ring, it's great! The crystal retention ring is machined like the gens and MBWs I've copied with an angle cut on the bottom edge instead of a "step" like the PT watch. The tension washer looks to be stainless steel instead of brass which might account for the somewhat less smooth rotation I am experiencing on this. The movement displays the DG logo/mark and appears quite clean. I put it on the timer and it was at about +3 sec/day face up and a beat-rate error I can live with. I had intended to just wear this for a while but you guys are such bad influences I could only take about an hour of the tiny lug holes so it hadda come apart! I de-cased the movement, drilled the lugs to proper size, blended, and re-polished the case sides. I then drilled out the band and the end-links. When reassembling I replaced the standard spring bars with the more correct ofrei units. I then planned on replacing the crown but found I was out of "good" 7mm Trip-Locks so I chucked the fat crown in the lathe and took off about .010" or so then milled off the top of the tube a corresponding amount. The result is a much better looking crown but the unfortunately, as mentioned before, it did little for the CGs. OK, 'nuf jackin' my jaws so here's a couple pics after the two minor mods: Here it is right out of the box, notice the itty-bitty lug holes. Here's what it looks like under the hood. A good close-up of the crystal ring. Put back together. At least the clasp has everything spelled correctly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mapman57 Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 Nice one J - very efficient update to a great value piece? Maybe if you reshape them CGs on the upper face - make them less rounded and curved? They might appear a little higher is less rounded and fat? I was wondering what the bracelet set up was on this one - that looks like the lower quality 93150 hollow mid link with the open 580's? That crystal sits quite high and domed - what do you think of it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted February 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 I'm not real wild about the crystal. I suppose it would probably look a bit better if it was "lowered" a bit so that the "dome" blends into the insert but I'm not really a big dome fan. I'll probably eventually put a T19 on it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ueno Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 Hi This is my 5513 from Josh. What do you think? It's modded... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 That looks like the same movement that powered my original POS 5514, which I picked up a dozen or so years ago. Although I replaced the movement 4 years ago with an ETA2846, I just wound the original & it is still working. Hi This is my 5513 from Josh. What do you think? It's modded... It looks almost like a gen to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 You know J, I'm wondering if you shaved a little off the outsides of the cgs if it would make them look taller Here's a gen here's my 1680- skinny cgs coming up 1/2way on the crown I think the problem with the rep cgs is they're too fat! Trim the insides (if required) and skinny up the outside edges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted February 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 Yeah, you are probably right. Next time I have it torn down maybe I'll take a file to it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiman12 Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 Great write up J! I just don't know about those stubby CG's, but there has to be some magic you can perform on them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiman12 Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 Hi This is my 5513 from Josh. What do you think? It's modded... T...that is an interesting background! It reminds me of the watches that are on 10pastten.com! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhooq Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 Looks like great value, J, but I'm not used to seeing such hulking timepieces on your wrist! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted February 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 Yeah, M, it is quite a monster compared to an Air-King or Prince Oysterdate! The vintage ones just feel rounder and smoother than the modern ones and it wears pretty comfortably. Oh, and the insert snaps in, no glue. I'll probably give it a little Gorilla backup but I think this is the first rep I've had that didn't have a glued in insert! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhooq Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 T...that is an interesting background! It reminds me of the watches that are on 10pastten.com! pbdad's elaborate little joke, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woof* Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 Great writeup Justin and nice mods! I ordered the same watch a couple days after you...should be here soon. I've been buying parts to mod mine too. I wonder how hard is it going to be to put an eta in this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted February 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 Clip the dial feet and stick it to the movement... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 I'm not real wild about the crystal. I suppose it would probably look a bit better if it was "lowered" a bit so that the "dome" blends into the insert but I'm not really a big dome fan. I'll probably eventually put a T19 on it... That and the CGs would be my only bugbears as well. As you say though, a spot of weld on the CGs and a T19, and you'll be good to go As for not being a big dome fan, they do grow on you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jsuperman17 Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 yeah that cg is bugging me as well... i looked up numerous photos of the gen and it should be a tad bit longer... i guess it looks different on the wrist.. does anyone know who can modd the cg with some welding? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 yeah that cg is bugging me as well... i looked up numerous photos of the gen and it should be a tad bit longer... i guess it looks different on the wrist.. does anyone know who can modd the cg with some welding? JMB is your man when it comes to weld work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krpster Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 Nice work j. Looks pretty good for a budget piece. I think others are right, if you take some meat off the outside of the CG's they will probably look taller. Alternatively you could just dress them in vertical stripes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tgchrono2 Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 So DG 2813 movement is reliable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 So DG 2813 movement is reliable? I've adjusted them to run at + 0.2 seconds over 24 hours, and always been happy with their performance in my own watches Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted February 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 This one, out of the box, is +3 sec over the past 24 hours... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeromatic Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 Great writeup Justin and nice mods! I ordered the same watch a couple days after you...should be here soon. I've been buying parts to mod mine too. I wonder how hard is it going to be to put an eta in this? Been told it fits ok and can use the same movement holder(im not sure about the movement holder) but the eta will fit! These watches have options for eta , asian eta and the 2813! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 This one, out of the box, is +3 sec over the past 24 hours... Well within the allowed COSC timing variance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeromatic Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 That looks like the same movement that powered my original POS 5514, which I picked up a dozen or so years ago. Although I replaced the movement 4 years ago with an ETA2846, I just wound the original & it is still working. It looks almost like a gen to me. 2813 s then were only slow beat movements these are fast beat but the slow beat is the one to have for a vintage sub its a workhorse movement and simple and reliable sometimes i wonder why we spend so much on etas although i do like 2846 eta the vintage reps are getting better and better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcl Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 After looking at the several reviews of this watch I decided it was probably worth that much in parts! My ultimate plans will probably put a 2846 and Snowflake dial in this case but in the meantime I'll just "age" it for a while. For the most part I don't buy reps anymore. If I want something I scrounge the parts and build it and this is in fact the first rep I've bought in about a year and my first purchase from Josh. Normally "budget" watches have plastic movement spacers and other corners that have been cut, not so in here! I was pleasantly surprised to find the DG movement centered with a brass movement ring and secured with case clamps/tabs and screws. The case clamp screws had extremely shallow slots, so much so that it was hard to unscrew them, so I replaced them with better screws upon reassembly. Case back has very smooth threads and unscrews/screws in smoothly and the groove for the case back O-ring is machined into the case back instead of the case. The band is reasonable, with hollow mid-links and the usual sharp edges and loose screws. Every screw was at least 1/2 turn away from being tight! My biggest gripe with the case is the short CGs, not much can be done about them other than putting a spot of weld on the tips and re-working. I suppose the CGs could get like this on an old well used watch that has seen a lot of buffer action. Even putting the crown on a diet doesn't help much. One other thing I thought odd is that the case is marke as a 5513 and I ordered a 5512 but I suppose it wouldn't be unheard of for the factories to use the same case for both. The crystal retaining ring, it's great! The crystal retention ring is machined like the gens and MBWs I've copied with an angle cut on the bottom edge instead of a "step" like the PT watch. The tension washer looks to be stainless steel instead of brass which might account for the somewhat less smooth rotation I am experiencing on this. The movement displays the DG logo/mark and appears quite clean. I put it on the timer and it was at about +3 sec/day face up and a beat-rate error I can live with. I had intended to just wear this for a while but you guys are such bad influences I could only take about an hour of the tiny lug holes so it hadda come apart! I de-cased the movement, drilled the lugs to proper size, blended, and re-polished the case sides. I then drilled out the band and the end-links. When reassembling I replaced the standard spring bars with the more correct ofrei units. I then planned on replacing the crown but found I was out of "good" 7mm Trip-Locks so I chucked the fat crown in the lathe and took off about .010" or so then milled off the top of the tube a corresponding amount. The result is a much better looking crown but the unfortunately, as mentioned before, it did little for the CGs. OK, 'nuf jackin' my jaws so here's a couple pics after the two minor mods: Here it is right out of the box, notice the itty-bitty lug holes. Here's what it looks like under the hood. A good close-up of the crystal ring. Put back together. At least the clasp has everything spelled correctly! Hi JMB Could you tell me, if I file down the crown to make it smaller and file the tube to match, do i need to shorten the stem? Kind regards, Marc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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