My Sub Project

[One4adventure]

Hi all,

My search for a great sub watch has led me to this great forum! I want to build up my own as this is part of the fun and will keep you guys posted with pics if there is an interest, basic needs are a watch I can Snorkel with that has great looks and decent lume, I am gathering from this forum the best case might be the one used in the Euromariner as it shares many components with the real deal.

I am pretty happy with the performance of the ETA movement so that willl be in the spec as well.

Is my best bet to buy an empty case or the base model Euromriner and go from there?

What are my options? Would love to hear about similar type projects.

Thanks,

One4adventure

[alligoat]

Maybe rather than starting with a Euromariner/ ETA at $475, you might consider the $100 noobmariner. Think of it as a beginner watch. Read around here for a month or two, buy some watch tools and try your hand at a few mods. Trimming the crown guards is a good place to start, installing a watchmaterial pearl in the insert is another. The watch is basically water resistant- should be good for snorkling. If you get ambitious, a gen tube and crown is a good mod, or maybe you send it off to bklm1234 for a better rep crown and tube- fairly cheap. If you screw up the watch, no big deal, you're not out a lot of money. If you decide you like this hobby, then you can move on to bigger and better things in due time.

Buying the Euromariner- you still need to trim the cg's- more so than on a noob, still need a better pearl. Crown and tube is pretty good on the Euro from what I've seen- a good copy of the gen.

No one sells just the case to my knowledge.

[b16a2]

It depends what you want. The Swiss Euromariner is the best you could go for, with a new insert and CG's slightly shaved you'll have the best modded sub out there for the money. Alternatively you could go for the Asian movement version and save a lot of money.

If you are after a daily wearer and aren't worried about it being the best out there, the Noob is the best out of the box, unmodded sub in a lot of peoiple opinion, and it is a very good price!

[Flashman]

I agree, the Noob is a great watch for the money, but if you are looking for something closer to the gen the euromariner swiss is a good bet. I have a noob and an MBW sub so might get around to merging the best of them together.

MBW case

Noob dial

Noob clasp

MBW swiss ETA movement and hands

Noob date wheel

I'm not so bothered about the crown yet, not sure how accurate the MBW is on that, but will keep my eyes open to some modded examples out there.

[pfran42]

Euromariner all the way! If the end goal here is to have the closest thing to a gen...just get the Swiss ETA Euromariner. Keep in mind the the best version (V2) of the Euromariner has that ugly ROLEXROLEXROLEX engraving on the rehaut. Chris said he is coming out with a new version without the engraving soon. You will get to play around with modding a little with the CG's and insert.

If you get a Noob/BKMariner, no matter what you do to it, the case dimensions and rehaut will be off.

...and yes you can get just cases.

Right here:

http://ndtradingcorp.com/zen/index.php?mai...c102ee10b3538b5

[alligoat]

LOL, pfran, a case from NDT is in a whole different league- won't take an ETA or asian movement, prices start at $950 for the 5512, they have no modern cases- like the 16800 or 16610 w/ sapphire crystal. And then you'll spend $1K for a Rolex movement..., oh, the dial, another $400, crown, etc. Clearly you're talking 5 times a $475 Euromariner, and it's a vintage franken to boot.

[JohnG]

If you get a Noob/BKMariner, no matter what you do to it, the case dimensions and rehaut will be off.

Noob case dimensions are correct EXCEPT for the slightly shallow rehaut.

I am dreaming of a Euromariner someday too, but though it is (I think) a better overall watch than the noob now - it is not without it's own rehaut problems too.

[alligoat]

Case dimensions may be OK, but the bezel is slightly undersized- that's why you have to file the edge of the replacement insert all the way around to make it fit. The good news is, you can fit a gen dial in there and the rehaut (depth) is perfect for a 16800- just have to get the lugholes drilled to make it correct. Oh, and don't forget, the crystal sits too low as does the crown- of course the crown is too low on all of the 16610 reps at this point.

[One4adventure]

So its a can of worms I see!

Well to narrow it down I was thinking get the Euromariner with the asian movement and then do some mods like;

Swiss movement

369 explorer type dial (Yao)

MOD hands from Yao

lose the cyclops

polish the rehaut clean

add fixed bars

pie in the sky I might even PVD the thing.

I will do the CG mod if it strikes me

So you see an exact replica is not required but the idea the case share components with the real deal makes me think I can shore up the weak points that affect the case being water tight to at least 50m.

I currently sport a CWC RN auto and can tell you that the fixed bar watch is the only one that will stay on my wrist for all my activities like swimming off road driving and recovery........i have lost plenty of spring bars on lesser watches as I alway use a nato strap.

[alligoat]

For what you want to do with a Yao dial and hands, there is no point in buying a Euromariner.

Check out MKIIwatches

http://www.mkiiwatches.com/

You could have them build you a nice watch, 3-6-9 Explorer type dial, good WR, Swiss or Seiko movt.

The only thing I don't know about is the fixed bars. Or PVDing for that matter, but it can be done- it's just not something I've looked into.

The Euromariner is good if you want to replicate the Submariner 16610, but you're paying a premium for that. Custom watches don't require that type of specialized components.

[One4adventure]

For what you want to do with a Yao dial and hands, there is no point in buying a Euromariner.

Well likely my project does not reflect the tastes of the average member here....but it is important for me to get the right look and most of the sub inspired watches just don't cut it, part of the draw is the perfect balance that rolex struck in the design of this model. Also I love the fact that the euromariner shares parts with the real deal!

[liquid-air888]

So its a can of worms I see!

Well to narrow it down I was thinking get the Euromariner with the asian movement and then do some mods like;

Swiss movement

369 explorer type dial (Yao)

MOD hands from Yao

lose the cyclops

polish the rehaut clean

add fixed bars

pie in the sky I might even PVD the thing.

I will do the CG mod if it strikes me

So you see an exact replica is not required but the idea the case share components with the real deal makes me think I can shore up the weak points that affect the case being water tight to at least 50m.

I currently sport a CWC RN auto and can tell you that the fixed bar watch is the only one that will stay on my wrist for all my activities like swimming off road driving and recovery........i have lost plenty of spring bars on lesser watches as I alway use a nato strap.

I was wondering if the money you had to spend on all the above would be better spent by getting a used gen sub instead. With the economy being the way it is, cash is king and you can bargain for a used gen like crazy. There are lots of independent watch & jewelry dealers selling used gen Rolexes for real good prices. You can pick up a used gen Sub (90s to 2000s) for about $4K (give or take a few hundred dollars).