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RXW by Ken Trading (Pam/Rolex Homage specialist)


ThinkBachs

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Got this many years ago and just kept it in the drawer. Don't know if it's worth anything but it's interesting non-the-less. ;) I'd have to get a few links for it to fit, or maybe just sell it for a bigger watch! :D

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After finding this, I started to do a little research and found this post on "another forum"...

My wife speaks Japanese and I have done a bit of home work for those who are interested in R.X.W watches and the history of the company.

R.X.W (Rock Excel Watch) is a homage watch brand by Ken Trading in Ginza, Tokyo Japan. The brother company, Ken Trading Brain, was established in late 1980s as a trading company specializing in importing/exporting food and spice. Their homage watch business commenced in late 1990s under the brand name of R.X.W. The products are mainly homage watches of Rolex and Panerai; see the following links:

http://www.antiwatchman.com/search.php?NAM=R.X.W

http://timex.homestead.com/zeromaster.html

http://forums.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?t=253605

In 2006 Ken Trading lost a court case and agreed to pay about $140,000- to Rolex for compensation. The company obviously stopped selling homage watches and the same people who used to run the business is now selling vintage watches in Ginza under a trade name of 'Blue Ginza'. The brother company Ken Trading Brain is (or was) also a vintage watch dealer in Shibuya in Tokyo....

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Hate to burst your bubble, but that is not a Ken Trading RXW. It's a knockoff of a knockoff.

Ken Sato of Ken Trading, as your post mentions, was an homage specialist. But for the most part, his forte was homages of rare and exotic models. Among the exceptions to this were a Yachtmaster (Sailmaster!) and modern Explorer II (Expertimer), both in black and white dials. You'll notice none of your links show a Daytona; that's because he never made one. He also never made an LV Sub. He also put a lot more, borderline nonsensical writing on his dials. On the other hand, he would never put "Date" on a dial that had none. He also never used the word Oyster on a single watch.

Here's a snapshot of his offerings from 2003...

http://web.archive.org/web/20031202030710/...collection.html

By 2004, Panerai really started putting the heat on him to cease and desist his homage operations, and he eventually succumbed, losing a court battle against the Vendome group. Some time later, he introduced a "Hummer" line of watches that mimicked AP Royal Oaks, but their success was limited.

About that time, maybe around 2005, rep factories in China/Hong Kong picked up on the cult status of Ken's previous efforts and began producing their standard rep fare emblazoned with the now defunct RXW logo. Among these were myriad straight copies of current watches, like the modern Daytona, the LV Sub...watches Ken never made.

True RXWs are fairly rare and increasingly collectible. The Chinese versions are inexpensive, found everywhere, and as mentioned in this discussion, on par with another straight copy label, Alpha. Fake RXWs used to litter ebay, but they've cleaned up the cheap ones, because they were blatant rip offs of Rolex. The models that don't get yanked are generally the "real" Ken Trading models. Ken was clever enough to change his designs just enough to thwart the Rolex lawyers (but not enough on the Marina Militares to keep Vendome away).

mcdj

Edited by mcdj
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I don't think the watches origins are really that important, but more so the actual case construction itself :)

Have a peak here: http://www.rwg.cc/members/Kind-t21659.html...franken+daytona

You can see some really sweet franken Daytonas from our resident expert ubiquitous, and you will also note that this case is very similar indeed to those in the other thread. I think the crown position on this watch is a bit lower, but a gen crown and tube could fix that maybe? A little crown guard trimming too of course....

So for someone looking to put a project together, this case may be a very good starting point. Although I freely admit I am no expert, but I am sure there are others here that could point out the more finer details and where I may be wrong ;)

Cheers! B)

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Hate to burst your bubble...

Boooooooooooooo! <_<

I don't think the watches origins are really that important, but more so the actual case construction itself :)

Have a peak here: http://www.rwg.cc/members/Kind-t21659.html...franken+daytona

You can see some really sweet franken Daytonas from our resident expert ubiquitous, and you will also note that this case is very similar indeed to those in the other thread. I think the crown position on this watch is a bit lower, but a gen crown and tube could fix that maybe? A little crown guard trimming too of course....

So for someone looking to put a project together, this case may be a very good starting point. Although I freely admit I am no expert, but I am sure there are others here that could point out the more finer details and where I may be wrong ;)

Cheers! B)

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! :p

What a great game we play!

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Ken trading was also responsible for bringing the "Plasmir Milgraph" chronograph to market. A uber-cool looking watch which came in two register seagull ST-10 hand wound and three register 7750 versions that also bear a resemblence to Panerai watches. These also show up on TZ and Ebay and are quite collectible.

Cheers B)

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I don't think the watches origins are really that important, but more so the actual case construction itself :)

Have a peak here: http://www.rwg.cc/members/Kind-t21659.html...franken+daytona

You can see some really sweet franken Daytonas from our resident expert ubiquitous, and you will also note that this case is very similar indeed to those in the other thread. I think the crown position on this watch is a bit lower, but a gen crown and tube could fix that maybe? A little crown guard trimming too of course....

So for someone looking to put a project together, this case may be a very good starting point. Although I freely admit I am no expert, but I am sure there are others here that could point out the more finer details and where I may be wrong ;)

Cheers! B)

Thanks for the kind words, MP! Unfortunately, this case would probably not fit an EP400 properly- There are some fundamental differences between the case pictured here, and a reproduction 16520 case specifically for the 400/3019/4030. The crown/stem height being the first issue, as it is indeed too low. The pushers are also an issue as they are spread too far out. I cannot venture to speculate further, but the rehaut opening looks as though it may be a bit too large. Difficult to say, as it could just be that the dial markers are more inset to the center, rather than the outer edge. Without seeing it in hand, it's nothing more than just a guesstimate on my part :)

Overall, it's a nice looking case, and it could have some potential. I am just unsure as to whether one could build a EP400 Daytona out of this (I kinda doubt it can be done), or really what one's options would be for this particular case.

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Hmmm... Very interesting! Is this new movement 7750 based?

Yes it's a A7750 based movement, so no doubt it will still be too thick, but at least it is reliable when compared to the secs@6 paperweight version :p

Francisco did a fantastic tear down of the movement here, taken from the new Omega chronograph: http://www.rwg.cc/members/Review-Omega-Chrono-M-t95511.html

The subdial spacing has been moved inwards, so it is now correct for the pre-2000 Daytona, and apparently it is just a matter of timer for the Daytona to appear.....

Cheers! B)

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  • 3 weeks later...
Hello,

I am interested in buying a RXW MM20 and also a Rockx suppromarine. can somebody advise about a source. Is southerncross-time.com save to do business with?

Thanks and regards

Jens

You're talking big money for the RXW MM20, around $1700-$2000 from what I've seen on the net so far...

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