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See a couple 1016's this morning. I will continue that trend.

1016 today on a B&S strap

Our thoughts are with the French tonight after the Paris attack. :(

New entry...

New retaining ring is a perfect fit! Getting closer. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My understanding is Ivan does the best dials. But you are looking at 4 figures and will require a reference.

Let's keep this Explorer mojo going!

Thoughts and prayers for France. Hard to put into words my thoughts about attacking innocent civilians without being offensive.

You should go with an asian 2836-2. It's 28,800 bph, and will fit in your case. You will also need to get a set of milgauss hands, as the ones on your watch will not fit the eta. You're looking at a total cost of around $125 if you do it yourself.

Yes it can, the date wheel can be removed.* *Advise given is from a non-tinkerer and could be wrong!

Let me start with this one ... it's appropriate for Friday the 13th, considering its frankenstein existence already survived. Now I'm tearing into it, hopefully to emerge alive and kicking on the other side. It's an old, old handmade rep 6204 from Vietnam, and I'm at least the 6th owner.

This is indeed a terrible tragedy. All the more tragic because all of the victims are innocent people who were unfortunate to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Folks out for a nice Friday evening, dining, listening to music and watching a Soccer match, only to have the evening end in a terrible, tragic manner. My heartfelt prayers and condolences go out to all who were struck down in this senseless and shameful attack. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thanks! The d-blue is very rare here in Canada. I was surprise the AD has it when I randomly walked into one and asked for it. Put it on my wrist and I couldn't resist to take it off...I know I was not thinking straight when looking at the gradient blue/black dial. Since I already have a few gen dssd black dials sitting around, I was thinking maybe I could get a d-blue, and when I get bored on this blue dial, I could change to a black one for some fresh feeling... I also have a franken bk dssd, and a 2015 bk dssd...there are totally 4 black dssd slip thru my hands not including this gen... This is another gradient blue/black look under the daylight...

Yes, but here is about the journey as much as the destination. Enjoy researching and building something special. I'm building (well not me but SSteel) my Grail. I've wanted the watch for years and he is making it happen. *Micky, hope it's going well!!!!

I was the same way. Just thought they were OK, not something I really thought about buying. Last time I was at the AD I was trying to love a modern Rolex but ended up liking the Tudors better. The thing that makes the BB nice is the way it wears. The case back is recessed so it sits flat on the wrist and is super comfy like my gen 1675. So out of all the watches I tried on that day the BB fit the best. I really went in there to buy a GMT BLNR and in the end the watches left on the tray were the Pelagos, BBR and the BLNR. I walked out of the store that day but when the black insert came out, bought one a couple of days later. I really like it. Makes for a great daily beater.

Monza again

Trying the BB on the fabric strap. Wears nice and comfortable.

Me thinks that there are some deeper issues here… Dude… its just a watch! Life has so much more to offer. Most of us here have grail watches that we dream of as well. But we're not consumed by them. If life gives us the opportunity to acquire them, then it's "gravy"! I have my watches already picked out for when I hit the lottery. As a matter of fact, I've already spent all the money and filed for bankruptcy!!! [emoji12] Some of us have a mix of gens and reps. Some choose to Franken the B'Jesus out of reps. Some can afford gens and choose to wear reps. Whatever the case, at the end of the day, it's just a watch! I guess what I'm trying to say is… don't let a watch get you down! Keep your priorities straight!!! Stick around... this is a fun place! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Because of the tiny tolerances involved, bezels and retaining rings made in separate facilities can result in imperfect matches. Even as a retaining ring is removed and reinstalled as crystals are replaced, the metal will stretch. To ensure crystals remain secure, Rolex used to make plexis with slightly wider diameters for older watches. But, Rolex does have a tool (ref 1006) that is used specifically for reducing or enlarging the retaining ring and bezel diameters: Even with sapphire retaining/bezels (eg 16610), you can get mis-matches too. The tool above costs about $5k if you can find it. I sure would like one!

I knew a fellow who was the head mechanic at a rolex AD for over 20 years and he said when rotating bezels fell off of 5512/13/1680 etc (a common occurrence) he always replaced the crystal and complete bezel assembly because mixing the parts (genuine parts) did not always work. There is a lot to go wrong and he spent a lot of time screwing with them in order to get the 'right feel' and he kept a small box with inner and outer bezels for these old watches handy. I have the od of a genuine inner bezel written down and it is 35.50mm on average...measured one way it was 35.49 and another it was 35.50. I always go with the larger size on the od of the inner bezel and smaller size on the id of the rotating bezel. The case neck has to be the right size, the od of the crystal after it is fitted on the case neck has to be the right size, the crystal retainer bezel has to be the right size (id) plus the right size (od) after being pressed down over the crystal, the spacer has to be the correct thickness, and the id of the rotating bezel has to be the right size. After fighting snap on bezels for years, there is a lot to be said for spring wire retainer bezels, they have enough slack to take care of sloppy fitting parts and they are hard to knock off...also hard to r/r though. When was the last time anyone lost a spring wire bezel from an F520117 noobmariner? You can't even blast one off. Imho, with replica 5512/13/1680,1675 etc, you are usually better off to use quality replica parts and just match them up or modify them to fit. Adding genuine parts into the mix does not always work, costs a lot of $$, and sometimes makes it worse. There are three or four different crystals for 5512/13 in the GS line plus Sternkreuz and a dozen others, sometimes you have to swap crystals around too. I do not use genuine crystals on Frankensteins etc because I have had good luck with various mix and match aftmkt crystals. Sometimes you need a 'misfit' to make it all work. Let us know how it goes with the genuine parts. Hope it all works out.

Calling the ISS! Calling the ISS! This is NASA observatory. We have observed an unknown object travelling on a near miss course towards you, entitled WT1190F. The best resolution images we have seen appear to show the object as "rattle shaped", and it is closely followed by a "pram shaped" object that has the name "Mrs Blade" on the side of it. Please take all possible precautions until these objects have safely passed beyond the moons orbit. NASA out.

First you have to note that the 5513 has been the longest submariner in production, and they were a lot of variation, bezel teeth, in case shape, dial, print, Crystal crown and tube and so on, so of course all the retaining ring doesn't have the same size, as I said I had gen sealed parts and didn't fit together. This is why rolex recommend to install them themselves at their RSC because they got tools and can install the need retaining ring. If you have the money you can buy 2/3 gen retaining ring and try which one fits, easy to find on eBay or Chronoshop(but expensive there) this is why a complete bezel assembly avoid fitting hassle.

Yes absolutely.

On this Veterans' Day I want to take a moment to thank those who have served on our behalf. Thank you. Old Man and a Bucket of Shrimp It happened every Friday evening, almost without fail, when the sun resembled a giant orange and was starting to dip into the blue ocean. Old Ed came strolling along the beach to his favorite pier. Clutched in his bony hand was a bucket of shrimp. Ed walks out to the end of the pier, where it seems he almost has the world to himself. The glow of the sun is a golden bronze now. Everybody's gone, except for a few joggers on the beach. Standing out on the end of the pier, Ed is alone with his thoughts...and his bucket of shrimp. Before long, however, he is no longer alone. Up in the sky a thousand white dots come screeching and squawking, winging their way toward that lanky frame standing there on the end of the pier. Before long, dozens of seagulls have enveloped him, their wings fluttering and flapping wildly. Ed stands there tossing shrimp to the hungry birds. As he does, if you listen closely, you can hear him say with a smile, 'Thank you. Thank you.' In a few short minutes the bucket is empty. But Ed doesn't leave. He stands there lost in thought, as though transported to another time and place . When he finally turns around and begins to walk back toward the beach, a few of the birds hop along the pier with him until he gets to the stairs, and then they, too, fly away. And old Ed quietly makes his way down to the end of the beach and on home. If you were sitting there on the pier with your fishing line in the water, Ed might seem like 'a funny old duck,' as my dad used to say. Or, to onlookers, he's just another old codger, lost in his own weird world, feeding the seagulls with a bucket full of shrimp. To the onlooker, rituals can look either very strange or very empty. They can seem altogether unimportant .....maybe even a lot of nonsense. Old folks often do strange things, at least in the eyes of Boomers and Busters. Most of them would probably write old Ed off, down there in Florida ... That's too bad. They'd do well to know him better. His full name: Eddie Rickenbacker. He was a famous hero in World War I, and then he was in WWII. On one of his flying missions across the Pacific, he and his seven-member crew went down. Miraculously, all of the men survived, crawled out of their plane, and climbed into a life raft. Captain Rickenbacker and his crew floated for days on the rough waters of the Pacific. They fought the sun. They fought sharks. Most of all, they fought hunger and thirst. By the eighth day their rations ran out. No food. No water. They were hundreds of miles from land and no one knew where they were or even if they were alive. Every day across America millions wondered and prayed that Eddie Rickenbacker might somehow be found alive. The men adrift needed a miracle. That afternoon they had a simple devotional service and prayed for a miracle. They tried to nap. Eddie leaned back and pulled his military cap over his nose. Time dragged on. All he could hear was the slap of the waves against the raft...suddenly Eddie felt something land on the top of his cap. It was a seagull! Old Ed would later describe how he sat perfectly still, planning his next move. With a flash of his hand and a squawk from the gull, he managed to grab it and wring its neck. He tore the feathers off, and he and his starving crew made a meal of it - a very slight meal for eight men. Then they used the intestines for bait. With it, they caught fish, which gave them food and more bait....and the cycle continued. With that simple survival technique, they were able to endure the rigors of the sea until they were found and rescued after 24 days at sea. Eddie Rickenbacker lived many years beyond that ordeal, but he never forgot the sacrifice of that first life-saving seagull... And he never stopped saying, 'Thank you.' That's why almost every Friday night he would walk to the end of the pier with a bucket full of shrimp and a heart full of gratitude.