- 9/7/12
- 24,594
- 22,726
- 113
Little bit of a story behind this watch. Purchased on RWI towards the end of November 2019, it disappeared in shipment for 5 months, to be finally delivered to its new owner in May 2020. Where it spent those 5 months will no doubt always remain a mystery.
The owner then sent it to me for some 'tweaking'. I found the dial & movement were moving around inside the case with the crown unscrewed, but the case back had been over tightened and I couldn't get it off. I epoxied a steel bar to the case back, waited 24 hours and was able to remove the case back.
Inside, the movement retaining screws were fully screwed down, when they should be screwed out - thus pushing the movement down into the case. The dial measures 25.9mm, and the dial aperture 26.3mm. No wonder the whole movement dial assembly is moving around inside.
It's not over yet.
The 'gen' crown turned out to be a Phong rep, and one of the 'fixed' lug bars could be pushed out of the case with minimal effort.
The seller says he replaced the case back gasket and greased it, but the gasket I find is dry and has a split in it (as does the gasket in the oroginal sales thread) and has been pinched in the threads (why it was so hard to unscrew),even the dirt on the case back is still there.
In the sales thread pics, there is no noticeable damage to the case back teeth, but on the case back now there are multiple scrape marks where he's slipped at least twice with his case back tool, so he damaged the watch after taking the pics and shipped it anyway.
This watch was originally listed for £3900, and eventually sold for £2300. It's condition was described as 'excellent'. The seller was of very little help when the parcel disappeared and it was up to the buyer to chase after the shipment, launch an investigation etc.
The original sales thread:
https://forum.replica-watch.info/fo...517-milsub-build-gen-movement-and-other-parts
The owner wanted a real tool watch look to this Milsub, signs of use, patina on hands, lume etc - authentic looking with character - something the watch was sorely lacking in.
Unfortunately there are no budget friendly ways of building a milsub, HR cases are terrible, the Cartel stopped selling their Milsub a long time ago; That only leaves Phong, MQ etc, meaning an authentic looking 5517 Milsub is out of many peoples reach financially.
Specs on this one:
Phong case.
Phong dial & hands.
Rolex T19 dome crystal.
Rolex 703 crown.
Rolex 1520 movement.
Jensen insert.
The owner then sent it to me for some 'tweaking'. I found the dial & movement were moving around inside the case with the crown unscrewed, but the case back had been over tightened and I couldn't get it off. I epoxied a steel bar to the case back, waited 24 hours and was able to remove the case back.
Inside, the movement retaining screws were fully screwed down, when they should be screwed out - thus pushing the movement down into the case. The dial measures 25.9mm, and the dial aperture 26.3mm. No wonder the whole movement dial assembly is moving around inside.
It's not over yet.
The 'gen' crown turned out to be a Phong rep, and one of the 'fixed' lug bars could be pushed out of the case with minimal effort.
The seller says he replaced the case back gasket and greased it, but the gasket I find is dry and has a split in it (as does the gasket in the oroginal sales thread) and has been pinched in the threads (why it was so hard to unscrew),even the dirt on the case back is still there.
In the sales thread pics, there is no noticeable damage to the case back teeth, but on the case back now there are multiple scrape marks where he's slipped at least twice with his case back tool, so he damaged the watch after taking the pics and shipped it anyway.
This watch was originally listed for £3900, and eventually sold for £2300. It's condition was described as 'excellent'. The seller was of very little help when the parcel disappeared and it was up to the buyer to chase after the shipment, launch an investigation etc.
The original sales thread:
https://forum.replica-watch.info/fo...517-milsub-build-gen-movement-and-other-parts
The owner wanted a real tool watch look to this Milsub, signs of use, patina on hands, lume etc - authentic looking with character - something the watch was sorely lacking in.
Unfortunately there are no budget friendly ways of building a milsub, HR cases are terrible, the Cartel stopped selling their Milsub a long time ago; That only leaves Phong, MQ etc, meaning an authentic looking 5517 Milsub is out of many peoples reach financially.
Specs on this one:
Phong case.
Phong dial & hands.
Rolex T19 dome crystal.
Rolex 703 crown.
Rolex 1520 movement.
Jensen insert.
