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NDJ

VintageWatchmaker.com - anyone deal with them?

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NDJ

Does anyone know if this seller is trustworthy and if the watches they build are worth the premium they charge over the the much cheaper replicas offered by the trusted dealers?

The prices are crazy!

Their 6538 submariner and GMT would have to be nearly the real thing and with real gilt dials to warrant the prices they are asking!

 

http://www.vintagewa...com/default.asp

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Diver Dave

It's the high end of the Vietnamese watchmaking industry in Hanoi.

 

 

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RepGuy

Stick with the Trusted Dealers. If you were to get scammed/ripped off by these people, nobody here could help you. Most likely they are selling very poor quality fakes and lying about mods done to warrant that price. They do this because they know there will be no repeat customers, so they need to make as much money off of a few people as possible before they shut down.

 

You could trick out a high quality rep with the help of a trusted forum modder for far less than they are charging.

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trailboss99

That's Phong's son, quite trustworthy.

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Genius

That's Phong's son, quite trustworthy.

Ahh makes sense was looking at the website thinking it was similar to what's on J&W

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greg_r

That's Phong's son, quite trustworthy.

 

.... and similarly expensive. ;)

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RepGuy

That's Phong's son, quite trustworthy.

 

.... and similarly expensive. ;)

 

And here I thought it was a common scam site. Has Phong's son taken over, or just split off into a separate business?

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NFleischer

Link not working here

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greg_r

That's Phong's son, quite trustworthy.

 

.... and similarly expensive. ;)

 

And here I thought it was a common scam site. Has Phong's son taken over, or just split off into a separate business?

 

Split off - J&W is still in business.

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Diver Dave

^^ To the OP: This is a well known high end maker of replicas, considered to be the best case and build for things like Daytona builds. Phong has been the go-to source for years for Rolex cases that are considered the best reps available. His Daytona builds are only detectable by the most sophisticated people. This is Phong's son, who's doing the 'assembled watch' part of the business. If you want the best other than a Gen, here it is. You get what you pay for.

Edited by Diver Dave

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Left Coast Guy

Just out of curiosity, what are the prices? I clicked the linked, but looks like you have to be a 'member' to see pricing.

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Diver Dave

Just out of curiosity, what are the prices? I clicked the linked, but looks like you have to be a 'member' to see pricing.

 

Full Daytona build is going to push $10K....

 

Yup. You read right. Last quote I got was $8K + and that was a while back.

 

 

.

Edited by Diver Dave

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BadPickle

Just out of curiosity, what are the prices? I clicked the linked, but looks like you have to be a 'member' to see pricing.

 

Full Daytona build is going to push $10K....

 

Yup. You read right. Last quote I got was $8K + and that was a while back.

 

 

.

 

 

:daffy: NO WAY!!

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Diver Dave

Just out of curiosity, what are the prices? I clicked the linked, but looks like you have to be a 'member' to see pricing.

 

Full Daytona build is going to push $10K....

 

Yup. You read right. Last quote I got was $8K + and that was a while back.

 

 

.

 

 

:daffy: NO WAY!!

 

 

Yup.

 

These are WAY past being "Reps". They are more like a... well.... counterfeit. The difference is that a Rep can be "told" and these are only discernible as "not genuine" by true experts, AKA Rolex themselves. Your local AD isn't going to be able to tell. I'm betting that more than one person has bought one for "$xx,xxx.xx" thinking it's Gen.

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RepGuy

Just out of curiosity, what are the prices? I clicked the linked, but looks like you have to be a 'member' to see pricing.

 

Full Daytona build is going to push $10K....

 

Yup. You read right. Last quote I got was $8K + and that was a while back.

 

 

.

 

 

:daffy: NO WAY!!

 

 

Yup.

 

These are WAY past being "Reps". They are more like a... well.... counterfeit. The difference is that a Rep can be "told" and these are only discernible as "not genuine" by true experts, AKA Rolex themselves. Your local AD isn't going to be able to tell. I'm betting that more than one person has bought one for "$xx,xxx.xx" thinking it's Gen.

 

Unless these are fitted with gen movements, a decent AD should be able to tell

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Diver Dave

 

Unless these are fitted with gen movements, a decent AD should be able to tell

 

 

They are. That's the scary part. For the vintage Daytona they use vintage Valijoux 72's and make plates to convert them to 727's. The work is fine enough that perhaps Rolex SA can tell, but your AD isn't going to be able to. I mean, how many vintage Daytonas do you think your average AD has actually seen before? Remember that there was really nothing special about the older Daytona movements. The changes from the 72 to the 727 are darned little. You need a microscope, and more importantly need to know what to look for *exactly*.

Edited by Diver Dave

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NDJ

Just out of curiosity, what are the prices? I clicked the linked, but looks like you have to be a 'member' to see pricing.

 

Full Daytona build is going to push $10K....

 

Yup. You read right. Last quote I got was $8K + and that was a while back.

 

 

.

The prices are $8500 for a Daytona with one model currently offered at the special price of $7950.

GMT 5642 with Bakelite bezel and Rolex movement for $5500

Ditto for 1655 Explorer II

6538 Big Crown and 5512 Submariners are $4500

 

The cheaper options are eta powered models staring at $1350 for Tudor subs and $1650 for Rolex

 

One of the more tempting models is the Tudor Monte Carlo at $2350

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Redbeard88

I'm just a working fella, I can't afford a 5k+ rep, if I could. I would buy a gen

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