Lo' Posted December 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 Good evening all, Soooo the watch just came through the mail today. As I said I've been sourcing the bracelet from it and I now sport it on my (gen) 1967 Tudor Sub. The rest is as follows: I've been putting the said Tudor Sub next to this rep and can affirm that this case has got some serious potential. The crown looks exactly like the original. Crown guards are ok Lugholes are ok General shape and sizes look like they are ok. Insert looks ok but it lacks a pearl. Bezel teeth are ok The rest is pretty much Sh*t. The bezel is as flimsy as can be and it turns with almost no friction at all, it feels very cheap the movement is pure and utter crap. Just by turning the crown to change date or time I feel that the whole stuff is a bunch of tin stuffed into a metallic case and fitted together with strings. Sometimes the second hand will get stuck upon passing over the minute hand... The crystal looks good but it sits too high. Cyclops magnifies well and the calendar wheel looks ok but it feels very fragile and unsteady. In short I tend to think that this thing has to be gutted of all the stuff it contains and filled back with a solid movement. The dial looks ok but as someone commented it looks too clean, too shiny and too flat. It needs reluming and vintaging... in short it need the work of RolexAddict... A few pics to prove what I mean: What do you guys think? Am I too optimistic or is there room for improvement? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lo' Posted December 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2012 I keep exploring.... The movement is not such a sh*t after all... perhaps it's just that the guy is not much of a handyman and he's been assembling the piece back so and so... here are a couple of pics I snapped about the watch's innards. I don't dare venturing further out of fear of not being able to put all the stuff back in place... I have been sending a PM to RolexAddict but so far he's not been replying: I'd like him to work his magic on this watch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lo' Posted December 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2012 Not that I have succeeded in opening this watch and have (apparently) been able to remove movement and dial from the case without causing any (apparent) damage I am unstoppable. This morning I have stolen some coffe from my wife's cup, a paintbrush from my daughter's schoolbag to try "painting" the dial with it. A few seconds under the hairdryer and voilà! The result are terrifying but at least I have understood how to proceed... Now I'm wondering whether putting the dial in the washing machine will bring it back to its previous state or note Since we're here: I have not tried removing the hands -and consequently the dial - from the movement in order not to risk breaking something. I have tried googling the matter but all I could come up with was that some sort of equipment is needed to safely execute this procedure. Is it not possible (safe) to do it with a pair of tweezers? Is it particularly difficult? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lo' Posted December 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 more news on my attempts at "modding" my watch: I have been bathing the insert in a glass full of bleach. I left it there a trifle too long and now it has almost completely faded off. The "ghost" effect is quite nice but not on this watch. I have used a paintbrush and some clear water to gently cleanse" the dial from all the coffee stains and now it's "pristine" once again. Looks like I'm back to square one with the difference that now I need a new insert and possibly a new bezel . I still am pending any reply from RolexAddict so I still do not know what will happen to this watch; that being said working on it has been funny and it has allowed me to test my "skills", so now I know that when my 1016 hopefully reaches me I will at least be able to open it and check whether it really contains an ETA movement as advertised. Thanks to all for the advices and replies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeromatic Posted December 9, 2012 Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 (edited) more news on my attempts at "modding" my watch: I have been bathing the insert in a glass full of bleach. I left it there a trifle too long and now it has almost completely faded off. The "ghost" effect is quite nice I never bother with bleaching i use rubbing compound paste or very fine wet n dry and get the faded results i just keep rubbing until i get the required fade im after but you have to be careful if you dont want the edges to fade down to the silver i myself think it adds to a used age look ! then i spray the insert with a good quality car wax those that give a quick shine it gives a well used shine and protects your insert from fading any further when used regularly! Edited December 9, 2012 by aeromatic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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