dieselpower Posted September 26, 2012 Report Share Posted September 26, 2012 I would like to ask the experts to nominate their combinations of parts or additions to complete watches that end up creating a highly convincing good quality value for money Rolex rep. I'm not talking about having to scour the 'bay and VRF for impossibly hard to find gen parts then sending the bits of to half way round the world on numerous occasions to get a bespoke piece created, oh no I'm talking readily available bits that can be purchased easily at reasonable cost and when assembled with little or no modding produce a credible result. So, come on chaps, get your thinking caps on and make suggestions...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielv2000 Posted September 26, 2012 Report Share Posted September 26, 2012 I think BK and TC watches are great out of the box. I haves owned several of BKs and they pass the sniff test. TC, I have only purchased loose parts but his reputation is excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praetor Posted September 26, 2012 Report Share Posted September 26, 2012 It just has to convince yourself, not others. Try this: when you look "defects" in your watches, what part do you tend to see first? Me: I'd first look at the dial> insert > crystal > crown > case shape > hands > lug holes >the back, in the order of importance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted September 26, 2012 Report Share Posted September 26, 2012 MBW, 1680, or 1665 GW TC hands Clarks crystal a bit of case work Gen crown and tube Gen insert Gen style spring bars Nato bracelet Maybe a rail dial for the 1665 What is not convincing about this GW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieselpower Posted September 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2012 Andy, that's the kind of thing I'm talking about but I'm not sure the gen insert passes the VFM test!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted September 26, 2012 Report Share Posted September 26, 2012 Thats not a gen insert thats why, but at arms lenth you would never even question it, You would judge the person first, on demenor, dress, status, shoes ect in a second with out even thinking about it and then you would look at the watch and even if it was a gen but your mind told you the guy was a skint chav from first impressions then you would look for fault and even find it even if it was all gen brand new, you would find a fault in your mind, just like the guy the other day who wants his spring bars to stick out like a very over polished vintage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klocklind1 Posted September 26, 2012 Report Share Posted September 26, 2012 The GW is a really nice watch indeed:) When I was at ny watchmaker the other day he had a genuine GW that looked to be in mintcondition with no aged tritium dial at all and he was wearing it on a orange rubberstap with a genuine daytona foldingclasp. It was for sure nice looking:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted September 26, 2012 Report Share Posted September 26, 2012 I think if you put an ingod dial in a decent case you have a pretty credible Space Dweller. But, then again, maybe the real ones are too rare... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielv2000 Posted September 27, 2012 Report Share Posted September 27, 2012 I think if you put an ingod dial in a decent case you have a pretty credible Space Dweller. But, then again, maybe the real ones are too rare... They are as rare as the individuals who would even know they are rare. I sometimes wear my cheap Comex and no one thinks its anything but a Rolex. I've never had anyone look at me oddly. That's what is convincing me to build a really nice 1665 Comex. Just another SD. On my list is a space dweller. Thanks to LHOOQ for putting that bug in me! I doubt anyone will ever know how rare it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
japanic Posted September 27, 2012 Report Share Posted September 27, 2012 16200 franken datejust. 16200 case Gen dial TC datewheel ETA 2824 or 36 I've been told they can be had for less than a grand. Even less if you don't go with the gen case. But a gen dial can make it seem quite authentic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieselpower Posted September 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2012 @ japanic - now that's a cracker. Gen dial and case for lees than a grand, is this possible? Where would you source the parts ebay? I've got a 2836 in my parts box, tempting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
japanic Posted September 27, 2012 Report Share Posted September 27, 2012 The bay would be the place to start. But be aware that vendors selling case parts have started selling the case without the crystal, bezel and crown/tube; as a way of increasing their profit margins. But there are plenty of used DJ dials for sale in the 250-400 dollar range. A 2836 driven franken is a classic, but you could wait for the much anticipated SA3135 v2 to be released. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomhorn Posted September 27, 2012 Report Share Posted September 27, 2012 Tougher with the 162xx case ... much easier with the 160xx case. By shopping around a little, you should be in the $800-900 range. Dials are the tricky part. They are priced all over the place. You can find basic silver or linen dials for less than $100, but you'll also see them listed for several hundred. Easier (and cheaper) would be to go with JMB's 2824 case and put a gen dial and gen Tudor hands in it. Not sure if a gen bezel works on his case, but if it does, even better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted September 27, 2012 Report Share Posted September 27, 2012 This is a really reasonable franken: Rep case Rep bracelet Clone 2824 Gen dial Gen bezel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
automatico Posted September 27, 2012 Report Share Posted September 27, 2012 "16200 franken datejust. 16200 case Gen dial TC datewheel ETA 2824 or 36 I've been told they can be had for less than a grand. Even less if you don't go with the gen case. But a gen dial can make it seem quite authentic." I made up a few of these except mine were tutones rather than all steel. Here is what I use most of the time: donor replica watch with ST6 that will accept genuine crystal...around $100 used genuine or aft/mkt 14k or 18k bezel...$125 to $200 StarTime sapphire crystal and gasket...$35 or $40 genuine dial for around $100 or so but mostly use the replica dial from the donor watch because they are fine for these projects replica date wheel from donor (black on gold for gold and black dials, black on white for white, silver etc dials Aftmkt case tube...$6 gaskets/case clamps/springbars etc...$15 Used genuine crown...$25 average used eta 2836...around $50 + a few bucks for a mainspring and c/o it myself total around $500, $100 +/- more with genuine dial If the donor watch bracelet is used, the cost stays the same. Where I lucked up was buying a bunch of first class replica tutone DJ 8 or 10 years ago. They were the same as what came with swissetas and sapphire crystals but they had Seagull ST6 and MG crystals. The dials had two sets of dial feet and they clipped the eta dial feet off. The bracelets were supposed to have 8k centerlinks (gold was a lot cheaper back then) but I seriously doubt it is true. I never had one wear through and they have 'gold' caps soldered over the hoods like genuine though. My guess is they are heavy gold plate over brass centerlinks. The fluted bezels were gold plated stainless steel, oem spec. They test to 3atm+ every time after they are finished. I also made a '1016' using a 16234 case, rolex 1520 and dial from who knows where (can't remember). I later snatched the 1520 out for a '5513' project and stuck a 2846 in it. It has a GS PA464 64C crystal and homemade bezel with drilled lugs and shortened submariner springbars. After I c/o the 2846 and put it in the '1016' the movement would stop every now and then and I could not figure out what was wrong because it ran fine out of the case. I finally found that it was the case clamp screws...they stopped the watch when tightened up. Loosen them and the watch ran fine. I swapped them out with another set the same size (?) and the watch never missed another lick. DJ and 1016 are easier to make than 1680/5513 and no one ever spots them as replicas. Everyone knows all submariners are fake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieselpower Posted September 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2012 Fantastic stuff automatico. It's amazing what can be achieved with knowledge such as yours. If only I had a small slice of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
automatico Posted September 27, 2012 Report Share Posted September 27, 2012 "Fantastic stuff automatico. It's amazing what can be achieved with knowledge such as yours. If only I had a small slice of it." Thanks but I'm not a good as I talk... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest idraw Posted September 27, 2012 Report Share Posted September 27, 2012 Gen Datejust dials are easily found on eBay, and a transplant into a rep is pretty straight forward. The problem I find is sourcing a nice bezel. The reps aren't bad, but it lacks the right finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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