Leaderboard

Hey! That looks familiar! Since you and I first met when I worked on your 5513, you have been nothing but patient and understanding. With any high end project that starts from the ground up, things just don't go smoothly. Something always comes up that further delays the project. While frustrating, overcoming these challenges/obstacles is an opportunity to learn something new. An example was my need to experiment with no less that 40 mixtures of substances to come up with the appropriate texture and color of the no-glow lume to match that of the dial. Not an easy task. For anyone considering builds like this, you should be prepared that there will be hiccups, and your budget for the build may increase beyond what you might think is reasonable. Hopefully in the end, it's worth it. So leave a buffer. It has been a pleasure working with you and I consider you a dear friend. Wear her in good health. We expect a nice wrist shot at the SeaHawks season opener!

First of all, thank you for tolerating the numerous posts regarding this build. The whole build process is detailed here http://www.rwgforum.net/topic/176345-6538-build-progress-movement-discussion/ When I joined the forum, I always thought certain vintage Rolex models were out of my price range. I have been wearing a Rolex since 1987, but just bought a new one every few years and traded in the old one. I found this place doing research for a new Rolex; this was near the end of 2013. So initially I was just looking for information about the new models and stumbled on this forum and figured I could try out some rep models for minimal cost and figure out which gen I would buy. So over a few months I tried about every modern Rolex I liked the looks of—found out I really do not care much for modern Rolex’s. One thing happened that I did not expect, I became part of the community and started participating in discussions and became friends with some of the members here. I really had no idea that I was diving into a new “full time” hobby. As time went on I became more fascinated with the vintage models that members were building and displaying. This led to a few of my own vintage builds. Made some mistakes and had many learning experiences but have been mostly happy with the results. My wife notices how much peace and joy I get from being part of this community and the hobby and actually encourages the “watch thing” as long as I do not go into details about builds as that puts her to sleep. She thinks it is funny that I am a WIS… No one ever really notices my watches. About once of year I run into another WIS and talk watches but really as most of you know this hobby is for yourself and these communities. One of the models that really grabbed my attention was the 6538 Big Crown Submariner, always thought to be too expensive for me to ever afford. Mainly I am talking about Nanuq’s, CC’s and more recently Dbane’s builds. My first real reading as a kid was Ian Fleming’s Bond series and 007 and his 6538 have been favorites of mine for a very long time. I tend to like watches that are simple with no dates and minimal text/distractions. So I did some research and figured out to do one right it would take some knowledge, a lot of help, and it could easily exceed the cost of a nice gen Rolex. Being that I had never worn one, I decided to start with a more conservative approach and bought a nice modified HR 6538 to see how she felt and looked on the wrist. I was pretty much hooked from there. Right away I started doing more research and developed some connections with some of the great members here who had completed these builds. Developed a build plan and a spread sheet to track costs, and then started sourcing parts. Dbane helped throughout this process as for the most part I still an unsure at times of the authenticity of parts and what part is correct for what model. I am learning but always good to have another opinion. It took a while to source all the parts… Dbane is really responsible for putting this together. He has helped me throughout this project. He did the case shaping, the beautiful bevels, lumed the hands, had the movement serviced and did the complete assembly. He is an amazingly skilled and intelligent person who seems to take great pride in whatever he does whether it is building watches or handmade speakers. I have nicknamed him the “case whisperer”. Thank you my friend! Thanks to CC33 and Nanuq who shared their knowledge and experience freely and whose builds were initially responsible for the inspiration. This project was only possible because this forum exists. Specs: Minh Quy case set (mid case, bezel, case back) shaped by dbane and custom engraved by NeckyZips—serial number is period correct but has significant value to me. Genuine spec real gilt dial—hand produced by the nameless one Classic Watch Parts hands lumed by dbane Genuine cal 1030 movement fully serviced Genuine NOS 8mm crown, tube and stem Genuine T-17 dome plexi Genuine MKII long 5 insert. Genuine 7206 bracelet restored by Classic Watch Parts . Thank you so much for being here and for all the help on this project. I really find much enjoyment spending time and sharing with you. This is really the culmination of all the years of collecting watches and my time here so far. Needless to say, I am very happy with the way she turned out. The dial and hands reflect light like no watch I have had. Truly a work of art. I think Mr. Bond would approve. Pics coming from my phone:

Loving the Pelagos.

1016 buid

Need to give my 5513 some love too. New bevels and gen 700 crown. Sent from my droptop using telepathy [emoji466]️

First off, you used the word "tolerating" in your opening sentence. My friend, we are all honored and blessed to be right there experiencing this masterpiece along side you. Seriously, reading all of the updates and seeing the pics of the various parts, reading about the process you went through to source them, and watching this all come together was very exciting for me and everyone else, I'm sure. I got a chance to live vicariously through you, and this really helps define the goal I have for my own grail. If my business were back to where it was pre-recession, I guaranty you I would have taken on this very same project. Without a doubt, this is on my grail list and I know for a fact I am going to do this at some point. I just wish it was now. Enjoy this beauty and please, please, please keep sharing pics of it. I will never grow tired of seeing this.

Asian

Looks like a dressed up ETA but put up pic with rotor shifted to show balance wheel.

So Mario (Orloff) came good again with three new straps made for me, one for my gen dialled FM Crazy hours and I am delighted with how she looks :-) Regards AJ

Wowwwwwww what an amazing result! That's one to be very very proud of. It's funny, but my whole collection is gen vintages and since I did the Gonzo it's the only one that gets any wrist time. There's just something about a Big Crown, and you knocked this one outta the park! Well done.

This black&white for today

absolutely amazing build and a great write up. One of the best frankens I've ever seen... ever. You need to take some wrist shots with the bond strap !!

That is a beauty! Incredible attention to detail. Input from the best on the boards. Enjoy it and wear it often. "No Mr. Bond...I expect you to give me your watch."

Sent from my droptop using telepathy [emoji466]️

I've just said to contact you here. I didn't mention any suspension. Hope it works out for you mate.

5513

Thumbs up for this! How many parts did you change? 18 or less? Some parts are easier to get than others, can you say how much was the damage of these 3185 parts all together?

Great work as usual! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sweet! GMT franken dream come true!

Fabulous work my friend and I know from experience!

always fascinating and cool to see these movement breakdown and builds. thanks for sharing

Mickey I don't come here as you can see this is my first post on RWG. RWI is my home and it will remain that way but you know my feelings towards you. At least I know where I can find you. I've only seen you as a good person and I wouldn't hesitate to send a watch to you.

Everybody, everywhere has history they wish they could undo. Stuff they hope the world doesn't uncover. All of us. Does that mean it's the end of the road? Does that mean we're forever stained with no hope of redemption? No. Every one of us has at some point secretly begged for a chance to start over again. We're all in the same boat. Nobody's better than anybody else. So what do we do with that? We extend grace. We swallow and look the other way. Or we grab the guy's hand, look him in the eye and take his measure. There's unspoken communication there, and an understanding. I know... don't do it again. And across the table comes back the same gaze... "Yeah me too." Mutual weakness relies on mutual honesty to build mutual trust. It's a flimsy fabric. But over time we keep looking each other in the eye and taking that measure. Some will rise to the challenge and others will fail. That doesn't mean we don't extend grace and keep looking each other in the eye. That's what communities are for, and where life happens. I sincerely hope I'm worthy of the trust people here place in me. And I hope each of you are worthy of the trust we've placed in you. There are no guarantees, but we can try to know each other and that's a pretty good place to start.