For any vintage Rolex sport watch collector, I believe there are 2 essential watches that should be part of the collection, a meters-first 5513 and its older brother; the venerable 6538 big crown. Having already built my 5513 grail some time ago, I finally committed myself to begin and finish a big crown project that I can enjoy for years to come.
First and foremost, I wanted the right dial. The gilt dial i chose was made by the Chuck Norris of dial makers who might be one of 2-3 people left on earth who can make gilt dials in the traditional way using genuine 1030 plates. Movement is a gen 1030 as is the tube and crown.
The mid case was a challenge. I finally decided that the Phong case would work best for me, but it's hit and miss what phong delivers you these days. I have dealt with him numerous times in the past couple of years, and it seems that the quality control is not what it used to be. As such, the case required a relatively high degree of reshaping to get it where I wanted. In fact, I had to completely recut the bevels...this is no easy task. The look I was going for was a slightly aged case that looks like it was worn sparingly over the past few decades. While I could have gone for a more weathered dial, I wanted to enjoy the gilt goodness in all its lovely glory. Perhaps down the road I will replace it with a more age-appropriate one, but for now, I enjoy as is.
I had a small issue with the sweep hand and the movement which was above my pay grade to fix. My watch smith rectified the issue and I finally got it all together today.
In no particular order, I would like make a special thanks to @lionsandtigers, @cc33 and @Nanuq for their input/advice along the way.
Specs:
Dial/hands: He who will not be mentioned
Movement: Gen 1030
midcase/caseback: Phongster
Tube: Gen 800-0
Crown: Gen 8mm Brevet
Crystal: Gen Tropic 17 superdome
Bezel: Minh Quy
Bezel insert: Gen "long 5" insert.. still looking for a matching tritium pearl
Bracelet: Gen 7206 with 80 endlinks
Gen 2mm springbars
Now onto the pics:
Very difficult to capture, but the gilt and the cellulose lacquer shimmer as it catches the sunlight:
Sitting beside it's younger relative:
Obligatory wristshot:
And on Bulang leather:
All photos taken with my iphone 6+ and unedited.