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The Twilight Zone


freddy333

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100% Genuine Rolex Stainess Steel Datejust 16014

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  • NOS Hands
  • NOS Crystal
  • Silver Linen Dial
  • NOS 600 Twinlock Case Tube
  • NOS 600 6mm Twinlock Crown
  • 555 End Links & 20mm Springbars
  • 62510H Jubilee Bracelet (dated to 1993)
  • NOS 3035 Movement with NOS Datewheel
  • 16014 Datejust Case with WG bezel (dated to 1986)

Here are some before & after shots (I did my best to maintain the same perspective in both pictures)

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And some wallpaper

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I will need to replace the case tube as I stripped it during the final installation & the crown will not screw down completely (this is one of the early Twinlock tubes that does not have any splines inside the tube that mate with the Rolex case tube wrench).

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Very nice. How did you restore the bracelet that good? Nice job!!!

Thanks All. The process is not very complicated, but it took a bit of time & alot of elbow grease.

First, I spent a few hours tightening & realigning all of the links with jeweler's pliers (no teeth in the jaws), a rubber-lined hobby vise and a small screwdriver. Then I masked off the polished sections of the bracelet & end links with masking tape and went at the brushed sections with a Bergeon 5444 polishing pad (I also tried steel wool, Scotchbrite & a fine sanding pad, but the Bergeon was the only thing that produced the original brushed appearance)

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(The Bergeon is available from ofrei.com)

Once the brushed sections were done, I removed the tape and masked the newly brushed sections and went at the polished sections, first, with my dremel (lowest speed) and green rouge, and, then, by hand, with Mother's Mag & Aluminum wheel polish

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(The Mother's is available online or from many auto parts stores)

Finally, the bracelet, end links and case were run through 3 long ultrasonic cleanings. This was needed to remove all of the Mothers and rouge. If you look real close, you can see a few tiny scratches because I stupidly wore the watch last night before I snapped the pics today. What you cannot see in the photos is how that WG bezel glistens when light (even low light) hits it. This is one of the things that a rep with a steel or gold plated bezel cannot replicate. Polished steel just does not glow like WG.

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Thank you, Alligoat.

I probably should have taken some photos of the bracelet refinishing process, but I had to do most of it outside due to the mess from the rouge (which is like floating permanent ink when the stuff gets airborne) and it was too much work to set up the camera. But, as anyone who has ever done any trick painting knows, the quality of the final result is in direct proportion to the quality & amount of prep-work you do. As long as you are careful & diligent in placing the masking tape (and re-taping as the tape wears away during the polishing process), you should be able to produce clear, distinct lines of separation between the brushed & polished sections. And I think that is why it turned out so well.

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Wow, is all I can say.

Wonderful job you did, and great follow up on the bracelet refinishing. Great watch, too bad those red reversing wheels have to be hidden behind that caseback.

Wear it well.

RG

A 'Wow' from the Master is all I need to hear. I guess I done did it right then..

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Thank you Manuel.

It is a very comfortable watch and it has been getting alot of wrist time since I completed it. Surprisingly, for such a simple & classic model, I have gotten more compliments on this watch than any other watch I own (except for the Flytimer). Not sure why, but definitely a keeper.

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If you really like the Datejust, then the movement is not too expensive (if you are patient, you can occasionally pick them up for as little as $900). The first 'Swiss' rep I ever bought (in the early 80's) was a two tone Datejust with a gold linen dial powered by an ETA

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I always loved the Datejust design (especially the linen dial), but I was never really comfortable wearing yellow gold. And it sure is nice not to have to worry about fitting datewheel overlays or drilling lugs or modifying clickstops or matching crystals, etc. So this one is alot more comfortable (since the only gold on it is the bezel and it is white gold) and it should last for a few years

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Thanks. Reshaping a few of the bent parts was a bit difficult (it takes a bit of ingenuity & alot of patience), but most of the work just takes tape & time. Even without tightening the loose parts, you can achieve 90% of the final appearance by polishing the polished parts with green rouge & a dremel and brushing the brushed parts with the Bergeon pad. Those two things produced the most noticeable improvements.

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