panerai153 Posted March 22, 2013 Report Share Posted March 22, 2013 The GMT IIC seems to be one of the most popular contemporary Rolex watches around, right behind the subs. There have been quite a few threads started on the various mods and how to make a IIC more gen like. I realize that until the CHS movements are reliable and commonplace the hand stack is a going to be the biggest obstacle to bulding a true "franken". The most visible flaw in my opinion is the insert. Several folks have tried to make their insert better by repainting the numbers with silver paint, which is somewhat of and improvement, but when you look at a genuine insert next to a rep insert, you will instantly see the inevitable, the rep makers have a long way to go on this one. I recently bought a genuine bezel assembly and one of our modders who's specialty is GMT IIC's is going to try to get it mounted on a rep case. Before sending my watch as well as the gen bezel assembly off to him, i took a couple of photos of the genuine bezel/insert next to a rep bezel/insert. I believe the photos tell the tale! looking at the photos, the two things that strike me first, are not the platinum color, but the difference in the size and boldness of the numbers. The second thing are the hour dots between the numbers, the genuine are bigger and further away from the inner edge of the insert. big differences. If someone saaw your watch from arms length, it would be difficult to tell at a glance whether or not the hand stack was correct, but at my normal focal distance, the insert differences are easily distinguishable. The genuine assembly just looks more robust, the 4's are very different. So all in all, i would say that compared to a gen, the rep insert is pretty flawed. Here are the photos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcagara08 Posted March 22, 2013 Report Share Posted March 22, 2013 nice awesome comparo bro! is it a direct swap to current GMTII-Cs today or it needs machining? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted March 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2013 nice awesome comparo bro! is it a direct swap to current GMTII-Cs today or it needs machining? Not sure however it will not work with the cases that have the retaining ring and grooves for the click spring built in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted March 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2013 I suppose all the interest in the GMTIIC's has gone away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCM Posted March 24, 2013 Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 I wear mine almost daily. I'd be interested if I found one for the right price, haven't seen many out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted March 24, 2013 Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 Seen in the wild on an otherwise authentic-looking watch, either insert would work for me. However, under closer scrutiny, the lack of the gen's (vapor deposited) platinum iridescence is a dead give-away Repainting the numbers with an iridescent or metal flake paint would, I believe, take things to the next level on these reps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielv2000 Posted March 24, 2013 Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 I love this watch. I've been tempted to buy the bezel assemblies as I've seen a few for sale. I just can't get past the ICHS. It will likely pass the test at a glance but on a close inspection, it's a dead giveaway. Still, a nice gen insert is that way to go. Great catch. Hopefully, you're modder can get it done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted March 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 My watch has been a work in progress for quite a while, it's been superlumed, gen crystal, movement serviced, and now hopefully the gen bezel assembly can be made to fit. The last step would be a CHS movement if and when a newer model that's more durable comes up for sale, either as a movement, or a complete watch. It's very difficult to tell from a photo, but the whole gen assembly looks more robust than the rep. As freddy says, the platinum numbers and hour dots are very noticeable, as are the thicker more distinct numbers. Probably for the average person, it wouldn't be noticeable, but to one who owns or is familiar with a genuine GMTIIC, it's a big tell. My photos don't show it nearly as well as Freddy's photo, but there is a big difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rek001 Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 I posted regarding my annoyance with the bezel insert on my recently purchased GMT IIc a few weeks ago, I too was asking about where to get a better bezel insert, not too many replies. I absolutely love this watch. But the bezel insert really kills it for me. As freddy suggested, I could paint in the insert markings with platinum paint, however, wouldn't that fill in the markings more, and decrease/eliminate the depth all together? The gen insert has shadows and highlights in the markings, which really gives it depth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vailcoast Posted March 28, 2013 Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 Panerai153, Would you share from whom you purchased the base GMT rep and who is the modder that will be working on your watch? Was the base watch represented to be a "one to one" with all external parts to be interchangeable with genuine parts? My plan is work with the two tone version and swap in a genuine bezel and crown. Have you noticed any problems with a quality rep bezel or insert in 18k plate as compared to a genuine 18k bezel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted March 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2013 Panerai153,Would you share from whom you purchased the base GMT rep and who is the modder that will be working on your watch?Was the base watch represented to be a "one to one" with all external parts to be interchangeable with genuine parts?My plan is work with the two tone version and swap in a genuine bezel and crown. Have you noticed any problems with a quality rep bezel or insert in 18k plate as compared to a genuine 18k bezel?Almost all of your questions will be answered by the modder,as my watch is finished, and he is going to write a post with photos probably tomorrow. Stay Tuned!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sneed12 Posted March 29, 2013 Report Share Posted March 29, 2013 Panerai153, Would you share from whom you purchased the base GMT rep and who is the modder that will be working on your watch? It's me thread posted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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