My tiny collection (Lots and lots of pics)

[rosamannen]

Alright, today I received a nice addition to my (small) collection.

First of all, this is what started it all. A Noobmariner from Andy.

I started looking around for a replica Datejust for my wife, and suddenly I noticed a couple of other interesting watches at Silix's website.

There wasn't much else to do but place an order. Today the package arrived...

Lets leave this pic out thanks...Ken

"Metal bracelet" - Well, that's at least a part of what should be inside. But the package is so small!

Stamps are good, let's open it up!

A box? Ok, I guess I have to open this one as well...

Bubble wrap! Oh the joy! (For my daughter, that is.)

The weight seems about right.

Look! Three... what ever that may be. But they're wrapped in aluminium foil.

Let's get them out of the bubble wrap.

Yes, that is aluminium foil. I hope they're not supposed to go into the oven.

That's much better! Now, what do we have here?

It's a lady's Datejust, SS, fluted bezel, jubilee bracelet and pink dial with roman numerals, a red Colamariner, and a blue sub.

Out of their plastic bags, but still covered with cling film.

Let's start with the blue sub, shall we?

I love how this is actually more purple than blue.

No, I haven't set the time and date yet. Magnification is a bit on the small side, but at $29.99 - who cares?

Caseback looks nice.

The crown is obviously not in the right position, but I don't mind.

I'm very happy with this.

Now, moving on to the red Colamariner. Coca-Cola is actually my favourite (non-alcoholic) beverage. About ten years ago, when I started working in the IT business, we had free Coke in the office. I could easily down six cans a day. That's two litres. Don't drink that much today, though.

Looking good so far.

The date wheel seems slightly misaligned. (If anybody knows how to fix this, I wouldn't mind a couple of pointers.)

Caseback is quite similar to the blue one.

Crown wheel as well.

This is also a very nice looking watch.

What I noticed about these two subs is that the mid links are solid, unlike the Noobmariner. The date font seems to be a bit better and the hands and dial markers are generally bigger. They all have decent lume, but the pearl on the blue one is definately better than on the red one. I wonder why, since they're strikingly similar. They were both $29.99 from Silix.

Now, moving on to the lady's Datejust. It was a bit more expensive, but still quite cheap.

It looks good, but it seems to me that the cyclops is too low. It's about a millimeter or so, which is enough to make it difficult to see the date when looking straight at it.

Caseback looks alright, as does the bracelet, which, by the way, has hollow mid links, just like the gen.

Crown position is alright, as far as I can see. Perhaps a tiny bit low compared to a gen.

This is where you can see the misalignment of the cyclops.

It's clear in this picture as well.

A question: Would you accept this watch as it is? I've emailed Silix, but I'm still waiting for a reply. I hope this can be resolved somehow. I think it's a bit too much of a misalignment.

Now, let's play a game of "Spot the Gen!":

Here's my entire collection of Rolex and "Rolex" watches. Which one is genuine?

Is it this one? No, we've already made it clear that it was just delivered from Silix.

What about this one? No, of course not.

How about this one? Stop playing around! You know it's not.

Could it be this one? Now, that's tricky. It didn't arrive from Silix, but it's quite clear it's a Noobmariner. In fact it says so at the beginning of this post.

Is it really that crappy Datejust? Yes, very good! You've spotted the genuine Rolex!

It's a 1989 Datejust with jubilee bracelet, blue stick dial and fluted, stainless steel bezel.

Thankyou for playing!

Oh, and sorry about the picture quality. I used my phone.

Edited November 10, 2011 by KB

[woof*]

Congrats on your new pack of watches!

Nice DJ too

[txcollector]

normally it's best NOT to post pictures of the packaging the dealers use or any details about how the items are shipped. You never know who's watching.

[rosamannen]

normally it's best NOT to post pictures of the packaging the dealers use or any details about how the items are shipped. You never know who's watching.

I see... That does make sense. Unfortunately I'm not able to edit the post, but perhaps a mod can be of assistance?

[rosamannen]

Update: Silix have offered to replace the datejust without any trouble whatsoever, as you would expect from a trusted dealer.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them again.

[rosamannen]

Thanks to Ken who kindly removed my attached image, portraying the customs declaration. Won't happen again.

Sooo... Being slightly annoyed with the lack of date magnification, I decided to take the leap and become a modder.

I found this - http://www.esslinger...magnifiers.aspx - and swiftly ordered five of them. 7x5.5mm seems about right, so that's what I've ordered.

Let's just hope that the magnification is better.

I'll keep you posted. Now I just have to wait for the package to arrive.

And of course I ordered watch crystal glue as well.

On another note: I've returned the Lady's DJ to Silix. The package is currently at the international terminal in China for sorting.

Edited November 15, 2011 by rosamannen

[maxman]

I see someone has been very busy...congratulations.

The bottom line is...are you happy?...If you are...thats all that matters.

Mike

[rosamannen]

I see someone has been very bussy...congratulations.

The bottom line is...are you happy?...If you are...thats all that matters.

Mike

Oh yes! I'm thrilled.

This is fun and exciting. I can't wait to open my first caseback. I'll probably start with the Colamariner, since the datewheel is slightly misaligned.

[maxman]

Oh yes! I'm thrilled.

This is fun and exciting. I can't wait to open my first caseback. I'll probably start with the Colamariner, since the datewheel is slightly misaligned.

Good to hear It...have fun.

Mike

[jmb]

Thanks to Ken who kindly removed my attached image, portraying the customs declaration. Won't happen again.

Hmmm, I wonder why I can still see it?

Oh, nice Blue!

[rosamannen]

Hmmm, I wonder why I can still see it?

You're absolutely right. Thanks for pointing it out. It was still visible at the bottom of the post. Now I've removed it from my attachments, so it shouldn't be visible anymore.

Oh, nice Blue!

Thanks! Yes it is. It's the one I wear the most.

[rosamannen]

First I was like

And then I was like

Well, goes to show what happens when you lack skill as well as proper tools.

I thought I'd be really clever and realign the datewheel on the red sub. Now the red sub is gone.

Since I didn't have the right tools, it turned out that I broke the second hand when trying to remove it.

So... I tried to glue it back.

That worked. For a while. Until the second hand got stuck in the minute hand.

Then it all just went wrong.

I tried again, but used too much glue, so the second and minute hands were stuck together.

Then, when trying to remove some of the excess glue with a needle, I naturally scratched the dial.

That's when I gave up and tossed the hands, dial and movement. So now I've got this great looking sub case with red bezel and nothing in it.

Edited November 17, 2011 by rosamannen

[rosamannen]

The upside of having an empty case to play with is that I have now submerged the crystal in chemically pure gasoline to dissolve the cyclops adhesive.

If all goes well, I'll install that crystal in the blue sub and attach a cyclops from Esslinger, which would give me correct magnification of the date.

And no, I won't do anything to the movement.

Edited November 21, 2011 by rosamannen

[rosamannen]

So, the Lady's DateJust has arrived in Chine, and Michelle has taken notice of the cyclops problem. That's good.

I changed the cyclops for one from Esslinger. See if you can spot the difference...

Before:

After:

That's right. Virtually no difference at all...

Perhaps the Esslinger cyclops doesn't have correct magnification after all.

Well, looks like I have to search elsewhere.