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Here is my 6265 built. We all know the pros and cons of this DW daytos, but leaving aside the few flaws, I like to focus on the strong points.

Is it only me or Tapatalk, but the threads are not in any chronological order, first thread may be from July 20 th, next from 16 hours ago and the next from 3 hours ago. This repeats all through the forum, no order to the posts. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

As some of you might be aware, I parted out a phong-based 6538 a few months ago. It was a very enjoyable build but it was always intended to be one part of the process. Although i have built a few 6538's for other members since then, I have had to be patient to complete a new 6538 build that, in all likelihood will be my final complete big crown build. I've always been drawn toward the early red-depth 6538's with the minimalist dial and exaggerated bevels. Given the recent red-depth 6538's that we've seen from cc33 and droptop (i contributed a little bit in the latter), I felt it was time to build one for myself. The star of the show in any of these high-end builds is always the dial. The dark lord's skills are unparalleled. Attention to detail is truly amazing. The no-glow lume that he applies is amazing, but I treated it to a slight aging to give it a more period-correct look, which to be honest, is a scary task..but I think it turned out reasonably well: I was fortunate enought to score some genuine 6538 hands that were skeleton and a bit beat up. The hands were cleaned and lumed to match the dial. Heres what they look like after I slightly aged the lume: The negative relief gilt always amazes me: The midcase is from phong and his recent efforts are much better than early versions IMHO. The lug tips swoop beautifully, but of course, the case sides are poorly finished and the bevels are a mess. I completely rewored the case to straighen the sides and recut all the bevels to make it age-appropriate for an early red-depth model, which tended to have much larger bevels than the later big crowns: Of course the crystal is a gen T17 and the crown and tube are gen 8mm as well. And yes, the movement is a gen 1030. The final reason to build this project was to showcase an insert that could be one of a kind. Not only is it a "kissing 40" long 5, but the 50 is also kissing!. This is the fattest font sub insert I have ever seen. I dont beleive a fatter one exists anywhere... Of course, it was priced accordingly!.. But I just had to own it. Here is the insert compared to a "regular" long 5: The Phong bezel was treated to remove some of the nickel plating to reveal the brass. I also created some micro-pitting which is present on most 60 year-old bezels. At some point, I will replace it with a gem bezel if I ever find one. : Some profile shots: Completely assembled with a gen 7206 rivet bracelet that I recent had restored by Michael Young. Gen 80 endlinks of course: Nearly forgot the obligatory wristshot: Given my recent commitments, Im not sure I will ever build another one of these again. This will be a keeper for sure. I have a gen pearl that I will be installing at some point, but for now, its good to have a big crown back in the rotation. I should add that the hands are the early genuine 6538 hands that were slightly curved at the tips of the sweep and minute hands. I would not have built this if I didn't acquire these amazing hands:

I think I'll immolate myself for the sake of science and the progress of mankind ;). I'd have ordered an additional set anyway.

Guys this has been resolved. PS Here we all know each other small close knit group so you know 90% of us are bullet proof shippers if you go off board ask packing method.

I've had a watch shipped to me in the same manor, from Singapore too, not that that matters. Fortunately, mine arrived in working condition (until I dropped it doh!). What really annoyed me was that it was a trade. I sent the other party several photos of my watch (a 47mm Pam from AJ) wrapped in several layers of bubble wrap and of it going into a padded envelope (Sorry Mike!). My packing was bombproof and the watch arrived just fine. I was first to send as he was at work so couldn't get to a post office until later in the day, so he saw how much care I'd taken in my packaging. The Rolex Explorer II that I received was just dropped into a non padded envelope without any bubble wrap or any protection. How it survived all the way from Singapore I'll never know but it did (until I dropped it). Your seller AJ is 100% responsible for his actions. Yes, once it's left him then it's on you, but he has to give the watch a fair chance or reaching you in good working condition. IMHO if he's been sending watches out packed like this then either he's been incredibly lucky in the past that they've arrived ok, or his buyers have just bitten the bullet and taken the hit themselves. Tottaly agree with with the comment that sellers should be responsible for packing the watch sufficiently well so that it arrives okay.

Look in your tapatalk settings. You should be able to set it to newest post in the timeline for any section. Check the refresh setting too manual versus push. Funny every version seems to get worse but I still spend way more time on the forums via tapatalk than on my computer.

Welcome back big guy! Yeah prices have got to where you can get a reasonably good gen for not much more... less in some cases. I just paid $126 shipped for a like-new Orange Monster.

MEGA necropost resurrection! Hey Rolexman, I dealt today with this 2813 bastard too The secret here is just to take away the balance! Once done and aligned best you can all the wheels, then you put the bridge on top, aligning it with the reference points and, while with a pair of tweezers you keep it in place very gently, with another pair of tweezers you can reach the click (otherwise covered by balance bridge) and moving it make the reverse wheel to go in position and therefore also the main bridge Then you can put back the balance and it's magically done!

Crap I put a leather strap/s in a box, as AJ can tell you. I am tempted to contact heads of all the boards to incorporate this into all our sales rules. Something like" If you ship a watch it must be in a box : Styrofoam or cardboard (no soft envelopes gents) or YOU are responsible for lose or breakage." By the way love those little styrofoam ones I get from China, .

Wow, that is unbelievable. Sorry to say but a member sending whatever in a regular envelop wrapped in toilet paper, really? And admitting it ?! In my books, he owes you the 200$. Wrapping the item in bubble plastic, then into a carton protection and finally in a bubbled envelop is the minimum. When it comes to a watch, I would wrap it like described here above and add tape all over the envelop edges just to make sure the alleged indestructible envelop doesn't fail the journey. Simple advice to the sellers here: if you do not have the proper wrapping material handy, delay the sending and buy some. Your buyer will prefer to get it's purchase intact 24 hours later rather than nothing at all. Cheers Stephane

I'm putting the tools down now. Just finished installing a tritium pip that I think is a reasonable match. I can now say that it's done.

Dbane aging a case....

It's not a gen serti dial. The odd shape and kerning of the "S" is the same as you see on all of the aftermarket dials you see on the bay. Also, the diamond and sapphire surrounds are too thick. I was lucky enough to get a gen serti dial for slightly less than $1,000.00 and that was about 500 less than the going rate for a gen dial. Finally, a number of places buy these dials and remove the high grade Rolex gems and replace with lower grade gems/stones. Gen diamonds can still be pretty low grade. That said, they are pretty passable at wrist distances and a decent value. If you did buy a gen one you need to either put it on a gen 3135, a Y3135, or an A3135 to have the dial feet fit. Otherwise (shudder) you would have to cut the dial feet on a gen serti dial. I've seen aftermarket dials with feet for both 3135's and for ETA so you should check based on what movement you are using.

I have pinned this in GD for now and will move it to the scam section after everyone has had a chance to read it. Ken