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Movement holder for Rolex case


stilty

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I thought I would share some pictures of this custom-made movement holder to retro-fit an ETA 2892-A2 movement into a genuine Rolex 3135 case.

I have been thinking about and working on this project for a while. And thanks to another member who motivated me to get it done, here are the results.

The holder is CNC milled out of brass to exact 2892-A2 casing specs and measurements from a Rolex 3135 movement. The holder seats the movement perfectly in the Rolex case with perfect stem alignment.

Here is a picture of the movement fitted in a genuine Rolex 16200 case

movementin16200casehz4.jpg

Here are some profile pictures of the 16200 case to show the perfect stem alignment.

16200sidewk5.jpg

16200alignmentux8.jpg

Here are some shots of the movement with holder and dial installed. Note the precise milled steps on the holder, which perfectly match the grooves in the Rolex case for an exact fit.

movemenetprofilele2.jpg

movementsideyw8.jpg

Here is shot of the top of the movement with holder installed. Notice the lip the holder creates to allow for a genuine Rolex date disc to be used as an overlay. The lip raises the dial from the 2892-A2 dial seat allowing clearance for the thicker genuine disc.

spacerwithoutoverlayai7.jpg

Here is a shot with the Rolex Date Disc installed. Notice how it still sits below the lip of the holder. When the dial is installed, the extra clearance allows the genuine disc room to advance freely.

spacerwithoverlaytq5.jpg

And seeing as the holder is milled to exact 3135 specs. It can also be used in a 15200 case.

15200sidegr0.jpg

I have a few extra, so if anyone is interested, fire me a PM. Unfortunately, custom milling work like this is not cheap.

Please note: This holder is made for use in a genuine Rolex case that takes a 3135 movement only!

It has also been built to the ETA 2892-A2 specs, so I don

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Impressive work Stilty! I started fiddling around with this same idea about a year ago but lost interest after time. I'm glad to see you had the fortitude to carry the project through to completion. The franken with genuine case, dial and 2892 is a great watch for a fraction of the cost of a genuine movement.

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The franken with genuine case, dial and 2892 is a great watch for a fraction of the cost of a genuine movement.

Yes, for a fraction of the price, you can have a very high quality franken with the use of the 2892-A2 movement.

Here is a review of the 2892-A2. Some of you may have already read it. It is interesting that the author states the 2892-A2 can go toe to toe with the Rolex 3035 and 3135.

But the 2892-A2 is about 1/8 the cost of a 3135.

Review of ETA 2892-A2

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Also, for reference, here is a shot of a genuine movement and dial to show the similarites of the holder.

not the greatest picture, but the closest I could find to a profile shot of a genuine movement and dial.

ex1movementsa0.jpg

here is the shot of dial and holder for comparison:

movementsideyw8.jpg

thanks for looking!

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  • 1 year later...

Just thought I would mention that if anyone is interested, I still have a few holders available.

2892-A2 to fit in Rolex 3135 case. (162XX case)

2824-2 to fit in Rolex 3135 (162XX case)

2824-2, 2836-2, 2846 to fit in Rolex 3035 case. (160XX case) (These can also be modified to fit in 1570 case, ie 1680, 1601)

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Hi,

do you have any adapter to fit a eta 2836-2 into a 1680 that had a 1570 movement?

Thanks

Mike

Hi Mike,

I have a 3035 adapter and the stem position is the same. I have used the 3035 adapter in a 1680 case, but it does need to be modified.

If you look at this picture for example, there are two different steps with two different diameters. The larger diameter step fits in the groove in the case. But the smaller diameter step will need to be reduced in order to fit in the 1680 case. On the 3035, it is 27mm, but the 1680, the diameter needs to be 26.2mm. So it needs to filed down in order to fit. It takes 15-20 minutes to file it down.

movementsideyw8.jpg

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  • 2 years later...

I apologize for raising a zombie topic years later.

Is it possible to fit a 2892 in a 1570 cal case like a 1601? an adapter like that would really help me out.

If it is possible, I anticipate it's the same problem as fitting it in a 1680.

Edited by vmarks
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Hi Stilty, great work on the movement holders as always ...

Do you have a holder for a ETA2846 into a 1500 datejust case (1570) or its useable equivalent

Cheers

Peter

PS Tried to Pm you but guess your mailbox full for requests

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  • 1 month later...

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