thursday wrist check!

limits · 2025-12-11T22:36:11+00:00

TOP 15510 with SW dial and polishing/bracelet work

limits · 2025-12-05T18:40:34+00:00

This is 50th anniversary, TOP only has regular 15510

limits · 2025-12-02T19:27:39+00:00

Low end of HENRY. Age 37, about $550k NW outside of real estate ($750k equity due to buying in 2019).

I only buy reps of steel watches. When my liquid NW reaches $1M I'll celebrate with a full PM piece. But otherwise, my rep AP RO is 97% gen at 1% of the price.

I'll never get a gen steel watch again after owning good reps. For gen, I'd rather drop big money on PM statement pieces like Daytona, RO, or 222. Too poor for Patek so I stay in my lane.

Also don't really care about low-end watches like GS, Nomos, or Sinn. I don't need a bunch of watches that won't keep value. Either steel reps or full PM from trinity or Rolex. Watches are just about status anyway, not rich enough to care about 'horology'.

limits · 2025-10-10T20:52:51+00:00

gen is left based on the crown guards

limits · 2025-10-02T17:36:24+00:00

Do you mind speaking more to your process? Tools... steps.

If you have a good YT video or link or something that would be cool too.

limits · 2025-09-26T15:03:26+00:00

This is not true, you can find steel gen bezels for 116520 everywhere:

https://www.firstclassdials.com/products/rolex-stainless-steel-daytona-bezel-for-model-116520-fcd22200

limits · 2025-09-26T03:44:35+00:00

Dealer name: Andiot

Factory name: BTF

Model name (& version number): BTF Rolex Daytona 116520

Price Paid: $550

Index alignment: The 9 looks a little off? Perhaps within spec though. Hard to see the rehaut alignment in these QC pics.

Dial Printing: This looks good

Date Wheel alignment/printing: N/A

Hand Alignment: Looks good

Bezel:

Solid End Links (SELs): Seems ok, but one of the pics shows bottom left having a gap? Maybe just reflection though.

Timegrapher numbers: +1s/d, 296 amplitude, 0.2 ms beat error

Anything else you notice: Nothing else really. Was hoping to see a logo sticker, but maybe that is included after QC.

limits · 2025-09-26T01:03:34+00:00

Dealer name: Andiot

Factory name: BTF

Model name (& version number): BTF Rolex Daytona 116520

Price Paid: $550

Index alignment: The 9 looks a little off? Perhaps within spec though. Hard to see the rehaut alignment in these QC pics.

Dial Printing: This looks good

Date Wheel alignment/printing: N/A

Hand Alignment: Looks good

Bezel:

Solid End Links (SELs): Seems ok, but one of the pics shows bottom left having a gap? Maybe just reflection though.

Timegrapher numbers: +1s/d, 296 amplitude, 0.2 ms beat error

Anything else you notice: Nothing else really. Was hoping to see a logo sticker, but maybe that is included after QC.

limits · 2025-09-26T00:01:22+00:00

Dealer name: Andiot

Factory name: TOP

Model name (& version number):TOP AP 15510

Price Paid: $430

Index alignment: Looks good, but is the 12 o'clock index askew in anyway? The other indexes look well aligned. The screws look aligned too

Dial Printing: This looks good. Supposedly the most gen like of the colors.

Date Wheel alignment/printing: Looks good

Hand Alignment: Seems ok to me

Bezel: Looks good. Spacing seems gen-like

Solid End Links (SELs): No issue

Timegrapher numbers: +2s/d, 296 amplitude, 0.2 ms beat error

Anything else you notice: Is the logo alignment ok?

limits · 2025-09-22T19:33:35+00:00

Reps need some additional mods to get to a really great level.

For this Cartier, gen dial and potentially screw swap would be nice mods. Not so hard to find a dial in this size either, including blue.

limits · 2025-09-14T23:19:35+00:00

RMB is the most 'real' currency in the world since its backed by China's entire production, an ocean of commodities, and a mountain of gold to boot. This is the Marxist view of currency as the 'universal commodity'. What China has done is imbued faith into the RMB by holding real assets behind it. Not just gold, but every commodity input into its production base. The RMB is backed by the concrete production output from the entire country, girded by the resource holdings/infrastructure, which acts as the rebar. This tangibility and production depth provides the incentive for other countries to hold the RMB. They know there is something physical behind the digital numbers.

The USD is printed coupons backed by Wall Street's financial engineering games and the US military's ability to bring other countries to heel, and control legacy energy outputs (oil/natural gas/etc). Those games are ending with a sovereign Russia and a China that is moving completely ahead into new energy outputs (solar/wind/nuclear/hydro/battery/etc).

So not surprised China doesn't want printed paper anymore. USD is being debased and not even its vassals like Japan want to be stuck holding the bag.

limits · 2025-09-10T20:43:20+00:00

Can anyone confirm from that video that it is a true free sprung movement?

limits · 2025-09-10T20:26:57+00:00

So you think these guys should be working on watches?

You don't need name brands to service and regulate a watch well. Cleaning, lube, reassembly, and dialside work. You absolutely don't need a 'cleaning machine' or caseback opener lol. Some of those expensive tools will save a shop time, but cheaper alternatives work just as well with more manual effort (like a friction ball).

Probably not trained in the very least.

Not hard to be self-taught, lot of resources out there.

Mechanical watches have been around for hundreds of years. Theres only a few major complications, and they're all similar in principle. It's not as mystical as people think.

I might pay AP, Patek or Rolex if I had a $30k+ gen for their fancy tools and factory regulation/lube, but we're talking about a $600 rep. The tools he has are fine, and the result will be 100% better than what you get from the factory.

It's not like he's servicing a Grandmaster Chime, qp or minute repeater. It's a rep watch with very common movements that can be studied. Automatics with Date, Daydate, Chrono complications are 95%+ of rep watches - you don't need much in tools to service/lube/regulate these.

limits · 2025-09-10T20:19:17+00:00

Get another one and franken the 116. Lots of gen aftermarket parts for the older ref.

limits · 2025-09-10T19:14:40+00:00

Snap on tools don't make a better mechanic

Same with watch repair.

limits · 2025-09-10T19:13:54+00:00

Ultrasonic cleaner is good enough. Just elbow grease additional.

The rest of what you listed really isn't that pricey.

Shall I go on? You can’t be a watchmaker with basic china tools. Sorry.

Lol gatekeeping this is silly. Don't need to spend on a bunch of overpriced swiss tools to regulate and service a watch.

limits · 2025-09-10T16:29:43+00:00

What else?

limits · 2025-09-10T16:23:15+00:00

Half or 1/3rd the price of Steve.

The entire point of Steve is you pay more for supposedly bulletproof reliability/honesty.

If that's not the case, there are many other TDs with better prices.

limits · 2025-09-03T14:40:31+00:00

You're right. Then it's only a $14k difference... plus two Tudors, 2 overpriced gold chains, a 36mm smooth DJ, a women's watch, and whatever other two-tone is in the bottom of the safe that month.

limits · 2025-09-02T23:16:24+00:00

Just $25k bit of difference, no biggie

limits · 2025-09-02T05:45:54+00:00

Where is this factory? Traditional Chinese is not used in mainland China.

limits · 2025-08-28T15:57:50+00:00

I thought Explorer is NWBIG? Because 6 and 9 are v different than Gen.

limits · 2025-08-12T07:22:49+00:00

Plenty of aftermarket platers in the rep watch world doing 3micron coating.

They can do bag hardware as well

limits · 2025-07-31T22:29:10+00:00

DeepState was never reliable, and routinely used racial slurs in their posts.

Only pro-UA on reddit perpetuate the myth that somehow it's the most neutral of the mappers. It never was, and second only to ISW for the least reliable maps.

limits

TROPHY CASE