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Ubi, Ziggy, Nanuq . . . Is There An Expert In Da House


TJGladeRaider

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Hmmm... The DRSD looks like an MBW; the COMEX looks like... TWG, or Jos?

I spy... A genuine crown (and tube), aftermarket insert on the DRSD. The COMEX has it's original insert, unchanged rep crown and tube. Drilled lugs on both... CG's may be modified, but it's difficult for me to tell on my laptop's monitor. Crystal looks unchanged on both.

Nice pair... And the stingray straps make for a nice, unique look!

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Hmmm... The DRSD looks like an MBW; the COMEX looks like... TWG, or Jos?

I spy... A genuine crown (and tube), aftermarket insert on the DRSD. The COMEX has it's original insert, unchanged rep crown and tube. Drilled lugs on both... CG's may be modified, but it's difficult for me to tell on my laptop's monitor. Crystal looks unchanged on both.

Nice pair... And the stingray straps make for a nice, unique look!

Not saying anything yet -- By-Tor and Sherrington are bound to have opinions, but riddle me this. Would you use a CN Rep COMEX Crystal with a gen retaining ring and bezel assembly and then expect the CN Insert to fit?

Again, not saying yeah or nay, what makes you say one crown/tube is gen and the other rep . . . holding them in my hand, I can see no difference?

Bill

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Not saying anything yet -- By-Tor and Sherrington are bound to have opinions, but riddle me this. Would you use a CN Rep COMEX Crystal with a gen retaining ring and bezel assembly and then expect the CN Insert to fit?

Again, not saying yeah or nay, what makes you say one crown/tube is gen and the other rep . . . holding them in my hand, I can see no difference?

Bill

A CN insert will fit... Maybe not snap in fit, but it will still fit :)

As for the crown... I see a difference. If you've seen enough of these, it's fairly easy to spot...

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Nope, that's a new DRSD from MBW. Might as well give that up cuz everyone hit it which should have been easy since all I did was drill the lugs and replace the insert.

Bill

You sure you didn't replace the crown? :)

Looks far too short (in profile) to be the original MBW... How about a head on shot of it from the top?

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BTW... I think your last pic with the crown shot is mislabled as DRSD...

;)

Nope, that is a head on shot of the crown from the top.

This is a brand new DRSD, they may be using a better crown.

What caught me off guard was you aying the crown and tube on the COMEX was the original rep set it came with. I thought I had switched that out for a gen, but on closer inspection you are correct. I did not switch the one on the Comex - but maybe I did on the DRSD.

I get confused.

The thing I found most interesting is that the Chinese Comex was a perfect fit for the Tropic 19 - snapped tight right in place. The retaining ring fit perfectly - tight but press fit into place. The OEM bezel assembly turns freely and smoothly just like any MBW.

Ya think the Comex would look better if I installed a gen crown/tube?

Bill

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Hmmm... I was looking at the profile of the bezel in that DRSD.jpg; looked too thin to be the MBW, so that's why I mentioned something on the file name. Also, the crown on this image (which appears genuine to me):

172006-9318.jpg

Differs from the crown on this image (which is, in my opinion a replica):

172006-9319.jpg

:)

BTW... I think the gen crown/tube would look GREAT on the COMEX Sub. But more than that, it will function, and feel better, too! The gen crown and tube is one of my favorite upgrades because it's so functional. The aesthetic improvement is a nice bonus...

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Hmmm... I was looking at the profile of the bezel in that DRSD.jpg; looked too thin to be the MBW, so that's why I mentioned something on the file name. Also, the crown on this image (which appears genuine to me):

172013-9315.jpg

Differs from the crown on this image (which is, in my opinion a replica):

172013-9316.jpg

:)

BTW... I think the gen crown/tube would look GREAT on the COMEX Sub. But more than that, it will function, and feel better, too! The gen crown and tube is one of my favorite upgrades because it's so functional. The aesthetic improvement is a nice bonus...

Lord you are scary.

I looked at the pics, and looked at the watches, pics, watches, pics, watches . . . still felt that the pic from the side was the DRSD but then I noticed the orientation of the crown markings. Some detective I am, huh?

Since I had just taken the pics, neither watch has been adjusted so the crown etchings are still oriented the same as when I took the pics. The one I thought was the DRSD was indeed the COMEX and that, my Brother, reveals how YOU KNOW.

Those three little dots on the COMEX crown are big fat balls, almost in a straight line, and nearly as wide as the widest part of the (what do they call that crown insignia) but the gens dots are small, more V shaped and just slidely wider than the base of the crown insignia.

Bill

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There's additional details that tell all... But, yes. The crisp and very definied raised portions of the crown offer most of the story. Shape, size and other details that come with handling a number of these things also tell the rest of the story :)

Of course, there's other dimensions to it... Feel, for example. Gen crowns have a very distinct feel when unthreading, and of course, if you can see the tube, that reveals much as well.

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it may be because its late but im having trouble following this. was TJ wanting people to try to guess what watches he had or to just tell him their thoughts ref the two watches and which if any parts we think are gen,close etc?

i think we can safely score off the genuine watches from the list of possibilities anyways. i nice pair of watches thats for sure but no where near passing for the real thing to the anal amongst us

im on the fence regarding the crown on the DRSD. theres one pic where it looks like it could be gen but then in the others it doesnt at all.

these seem pretty much to be out of the box with the exception of the inserts. DRSD is standard ebay fare, comex is just as it came i'd suspect. if its a trusty time comex then the bezel and crystal ring has been replaced with generic aftermarket versions since these originally have the bent spring holding onto a crystal ring with straight sides. the MBWs bezels id seen were also similar to this so this could suggest a swap here too. i might have been inclinded to say WM for the DRSD but the bezel ring looks too thin

Edited by thewightstuff
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randy you need to get a job at tourneau......as a GM. you can spot all the reps a mile away. amazing... ;)

I suppose anyone could be an expert if they applied themselves long enough, but the thing that I note about Randy and several others on the forum is the willingness to help anyone who asks (Randy has spent a lot of time walking me thru things on the phone) and a positive, non-controversial attitude that plumb evades me even when I try.

We have some genuinely nice folks here.

Bill

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bill,

were you putting these up blind so to speak to try to find out what more was needed on these to get them closer or was it just a bit of fun to test ubi's powers of deduction.

i dont really want to start posting if its the latter however if its the former i will gladly give you pointers regarding areas you could consider for improvement.

ive looked at a gen 5512 most every day on my wrist for a while now and just added a 5513. it means that reps of the vintage models stand out immediately for me, the small details jump out rather proudly it seems in a way that looking against pics doesnt allow.

i often used to wonder how people could tell so quickly when i couldnt spot anything both on modern or vintage but i now realise that with experience of handling them it quickly stores to memory what should be.

agreed def ubi. his knowledge is of huge help and as you said, his attitude is even more so. he's a real credit to this board along with The Zigmeister

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bill,

were you putting these up blind so to speak to try to find out what more was needed on these to get them closer or was it just a bit of fun to test ubi's powers of deduction.

A little of both.

I enjoy these vintages and I like playing around with them. It's always better to have some input from others - for example, Sherrington does some of the best CG mods I ever saw.

I also wanted to see if the OEM replacement bezel set with a Tropic 19 on a Chinese Rep would cause any confusion . . . I think it took Nanuq all of two minutes to see thru that.

Bill

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