rafi717 Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 This watch has been a love of mine for a long time. It started as a purchase from a fellow member on the forum and turned into a never ending upgrade. I recently completed the stocking of some gen parts and took it to a local watch smith to put together. Let's just say the guy isn't an IWC craftsman. He returned the watch with tiny hairs and dust particles inside the case as well as dirt marks on the dial. My cleaning attempt resulted in blemish on the 9 totalizer wheel... Oh well. So know I will most likely have to get a new dial and learn how to do the work myself! The setup:gen dial and hand setgen case setETA 7750rep bracelet I have seen a lot of frankens and gensteins around, but never a write up on the advantage of a gen case vs the rep. Here are a few tremendous differences.gen case has a perfectly finished and polished inside of the case including a glove tight movement holder with inner chrono pushers (they are hard to notice and fall out easily!)The brush of the case is very precise. One big difference is the "bazel" on the gen case it is brushed with a high polished ring underneath it. On the rep both the bazel and the ring are polished.Above also applies to the curves around the lugs. The space between is perfectly brushed with high polished edges giving is a beautiful contrast.Crown detail.Case back engraving and polish.It feels to me as if the case is made of stronger steel all together (I might be wrong on this) This is the general feel. I will weight the gen and the rep to see the exact weight difference but Im pretty sure the gen in heavier. The lugs on the gen case are smaller than the rep thus presenting a problem when fitting the rep bracelet. The end links simply dont fit into the lugs. I sanded them down with thick sand paper taking off even a little too much. The result is a minute gap between the end links and the lugs, and a quite tight grip of the end links against the case. I also rebrushed the bracelet with the Bergeon brush pen. Im posting some photos for your viewing pleasure. Thanks to Hugo for the parts and to RWG for the immense knowledge base and support! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gran Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 :wub: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobster Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 Stunning. You're absolutely right about the case quality Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gimme Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 awesomeness Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafi717 Posted April 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2012 Ok, just received the right tap 10 .9mm stem. Its too long. Does anybody know where it needs to be cut down? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafi717 Posted April 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2012 By trial and error the lenght of the stem should be around 13.85mm. 5mm down from the original 18.85mm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
permabull Posted May 2, 2012 Report Share Posted May 2, 2012 Putting a rep bracelet on a gen case is just wrong! Stick to the leather IMO. Good luck with the build, the 3717 is one of my favorites too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiman12 Posted May 2, 2012 Report Share Posted May 2, 2012 Love it and great write up! I recently purchased a 3717 and must say that it is starting to be one of my favs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafi717 Posted May 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 I love the bracelet it is one of the most comfortable things I have worn. I didn't do the best job modding it to fit the case so its not 100%. It still looks great thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
permabull Posted May 3, 2012 Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 I'm sure those gen bracelets come up for sale on TZ or the like from time to time don't they? Wonder what price they go for. Would be a worthy addition to your project IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooky driver Posted May 3, 2012 Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 Great looking watch... one of my favorites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgtguk Posted May 3, 2012 Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 Really nice build love these watches Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafi717 Posted May 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 Thanks for the comments. I have a new dial incoming that I will need to swap to make this piece complete. Perm, I have seen gen bracelets being sold and its not something I would spend my money on. The cheapest I've seen was $1400, which for me is simply ludicrous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Daytona1984 Posted May 21, 2012 Report Share Posted May 21, 2012 nice :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ray0244 Posted May 22, 2012 Report Share Posted May 22, 2012 very nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
concepta Posted May 22, 2012 Report Share Posted May 22, 2012 Never seen a rep bracelet on a gen case! You did a great job buddy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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