GMT2 bezel construction issues

[marcovelo]

first, i wished to introduce myself (yes this is my very first post)

I started to interest in so called rep watches while on holiday, about 20 years from now (well before the internet era, made available to the public at last).
When in a bazaar in turkey, the vendors are usually agressive (motivated), and getting a rep watch or just copy wear is a local sport among tourists. Turkish cotton is very famous.

They have a well developed fake industry there, and with my experience they make some pretty good watch repairs. You can have a complete automatic watch overhaul for 25€ (yes with 3 different oils).

At that time i was on hols for a fortnight, and i had a sort of luck because the watch (a GMT) broke within 3 days, so i could shift for a simplier Sub. This watch finaly lasted about 8 months untill the movement collapsed.

Now that WWW is widely available, of course it's simplier to search for better models or even watch you couldn't even think about (old discontinued models such as Paul Newman's own - not the salad dressing !).

I always loved the GMT pepsi model (which is an immediatly recognizible icon few meters from by many people), so when i found the recommended seller list here i went for a SS GMT2 with modified ETA (released around Y2K - no ceramic - no hole).
I hoped that in the $200+ figure i could expect something reliable. Which was not the case.

This watch was very precise, but again, a bit dissapointing in the end.
After a heavy summer rain (while biking hands on bars) i noticed some kind of moist inside the crystal.

Then few times later the crystal popped off !  I was very carefull about the watch but i just realized the construction is very insane, when i started to try fixing the sapphire glass. Probably if you are not in the $500 figure (1:1 construction ?), you end with a vaguely waterproof case that doesnt whistand a shower...
It's hard to believe the makers scratch their heads to make such a poor construction (wouldn't have it been easier just to copy the exact model, i mean with a gasket on crystal ? at the same cost ?).
You'll find a picture of the bezel which is secured onto the case with a steel wire.

To add to confusion, the pepsi insert is then glued on the bezel, which make it even harder to remove (also it would be hard to replace with an OEM part as it seems different from the genuine).
So speaking about the crystal itself it is also just glued on the case with a tiny small surface of contact.
I think the best thing to do (for changing insert) is to remove the movement and place the top of the case upside down into a recipient filled with acetone.

I have to asked for a 1:1 GMT case, but as far as i know, most "trusted" sellers do not sell separate part, and if they do it's quite pricey (better pay for a complete NEW watch). Also to mention, on the GMT2s non ceramic, there is definitively NO REHAUT on the original !

Yes, after some experience, I've undertsood that waterproofing is a very important issue on which sellers do not really focus on. But on the evryday live it does count (as for the spring bars, but i should post about it oneday if i have time).

Now my GMT2 / ETA watch is sitting somewhere in the wait of (a friend or myself) going to another holiday in turkey for repair.

In the meantime I wanted a cheaper option than the recommended "trusted" dealers here. So i had a ceramic Sub from East Artwork and the price seems very perfect as for contact in a good english and shipping. You can trade in direct (because they have a listing in the CQout bidding website - with good feedbacks).
I did not wanted to trade with Aliexpress or DHgate because pictures seems not to be original, and also their communication in english seems a vague google translation.

I was registered on the RWG forum mostly to hear and learn from others, but i wanted to share my little experience. So East artwork should be tested and see if they can enter into the recommended sellers / links.

[marcovelo]

here after are my own pictures of the Sub 21 j ceramic from East Artwork. Paid 68€ + 10€ shipping.

The dial is a bit faded, the lume is nearly non existent but the movement keep some good time (around - 15s/day).

The whole watch steel and band is antimagnetic, sapphire crystal much probably (not glass !).

 

 

[marcovelo]

oops I forgot pics of the GMT2 as you can see there is about 1 mm between case and crystal. But no gasket whatsoever in between.

Crystal is just applied with cement onto the case and a lot of luck ?? No way !