charliebrown 0 Posted October 16, 2012 This could become another addiction to things I don't need. I'm already collecting guitars and...nevermind. What the heck? Long story short on how I stumbled in here. A friend went to China 10 years ago and came back with a gift for me...replica Rolex Date Just, diamond markers, stainless finish. I left in in the box and tucked it away thinking, "this is a cool watch and I don't want kids getting their hands on it, etc." Well, I just looked in the back of the drawer and there it was - virtually untouched. Not knowing what it really was I though "I need to get a battery for this and see if it works. Handling it I felt something "move" inside the watch...heck, it's an automatic movement! Well, just a few seconds later, it starts running. I set the time and date, runs for an hour and then STOPS. No movement since, so I've let it sit. I decided to do some googling and ended up here. Not sure if I'll be able to get it running again, but this seemed like a great place to start trying. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungGPS 0 Posted October 17, 2012 and Try to wind it, at least 50 full turns, that should do the trick. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
charliebrown 0 Posted October 17, 2012 Thank you! I had done some reading regarding manual winding...tried it and got nothing. I layed it on its back, face up and decided to let it sit for a bit. After a couple of hours it still didn't run. So, I picked it up, rottaed it in my hand for a minute and IT RUNS! It's been 12 hours and it's keeping good time - to the minute. We'll see what it does as far as accuracy goes after a few days of constant running. I went ahead and adjusted the bracelet this morning so it fits well. All is good. Not sure if this means anything, but as it's 10+ years old, but still "new" - just unboxed - there is a green label on the back with a gold Rolex crown and the number "16233". Is this an identifier for the manufacturer/movement in the watch? Thanks again for the welcome! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greg_r 81 Posted October 17, 2012 '16233' is the Rolex model that it's replicating. The movement is mostly likely to be a Chinese so-called '21J'. They're very inexpensive and can be surprisingly reliable. They're also cheap to replace if they go wrong. The only downside is that a genuine Rolex second hand sweeps at 8 beats per second. A 21J is 6 beats per second, so the second hand looks a little 'choppier' when it moves. Alternatively, if you're really lucky, you may have either an ETA or Asian clone ETA movement in there - they're as smooth sweeping as the genuine Rolex article, but would have been more expensive (and, especially back then, that bit harder to find). Either way, enjoy your watch! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
parisianshut 0 Posted October 17, 2012 Welcome mate! Nice story, every watch enthusiast will end up here anyway! Ahahah My advise: Don.t bother repair it, buy a new one. But do you have photos of it? Could be worth it if it's a kind of ultimate version. Good luck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Electron17 0 Posted October 17, 2012 Welcome to RWG, enjoy your stay. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
charliebrown 0 Posted October 17, 2012 '16233' is the Rolex model that it's replicating. The movement is mostly likely to be a Chinese so-called '21J'. They're very inexpensive and can be surprisingly reliable. They're also cheap to replace if they go wrong. The only downside is that a genuine Rolex second hand sweeps at 8 beats per second. A 21J is 6 beats per second, so the second hand looks a little 'choppier' when it moves. Alternatively, if you're really lucky, you may have either an ETA or Asian clone ETA movement in there - they're as smooth sweeping as the genuine Rolex article, but would have been more expensive (and, especially back then, that bit harder to find). Either way, enjoy your watch! The second hand is surprisingly smoother than I expected it would be, but I can see what you mean. I remember seeing replicas 20 years go that were much worse than mine as far as the movement is concerned. This is a fun place. I'm probably going to enjoy myslef too much here! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
charliebrown 0 Posted October 17, 2012 Welcome mate! Nice story, every watch enthusiast will end up here anyway! Ahahah My advise: Don.t bother repair it, buy a new one. But do you have photos of it? Could be worth it if it's a kind of ultimate version. Good luck! I'll post some photos soon. It's defintely a nicer replica than those I was first exposed to many years ago. The automatic movement seems to have stablized now. Amazing how much weight it actually has to it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hnic 1 Posted October 17, 2012 welcome cool story read, learn & enjoy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Luthier 1 Posted October 17, 2012 Guitars, huh? Show me your collection. Welcome to the forum from Hollywood!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
charliebrown 0 Posted October 17, 2012 hnic, Will read A LOT...tons of info I'll try to absorb as I can. Amazing place you all have here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
charliebrown 0 Posted October 17, 2012 Guitars, huh? Show me your collection. Welcome to the forum from Hollywood!!! I'll get a photo link up soon. I'm down to only 4 now...had 20 at one time, Just getting a home recording studio set up presently. So far, so good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
onionbag 1 Posted October 17, 2012 Hello and welcome from Scotland. That was a nice wee story. So guitars and watches eh? You'll fit right in, there are some serious musos and instrument makers here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scorpion 0 Posted October 17, 2012 G'day Mate, Huan Ying, Velkommen, Welkom, Bienvenue, Willkommen, Benvenuto, Dzieñ Dobry, Dobrodošao, Vítejte, Bonvenon, Tervetuloa, Accueil, Fogadtatás, Velkomin, Selamat Datang, Powitanie, Bem-vindo, Välkommen and Welcome. My advice is to leave here right now, dont look back just go away and forget you ever found this site................. Or get your wallet ready for a serious spending spree!!!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dalboy 2 Posted October 17, 2012 Good to have you with us..good story .. Dal.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
baxter 6 Posted October 17, 2012 Welcome to the forum !! Show us your guitar collection and i'll show you mine ( then luthier will be along shortly to tell me it's all shit ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
