Leaderboard

Finally finished restoring a full gen 6694. I have to say I am really happy with the end result. It started like this: And it now looks like this:

Team, I ordered a new LV Hulk from Andrew at ttw8488.com and I would like your insight as to what to look for in the QC photos. Any known problems with this model? Specifically, I ordered the top of the line model with the SA 3135 movement. Drop a reply and let me know please.

Loving these long summer nights! Getting close to midnight and the sun is still high.

1675 had a pretty good scratch on the plexi that I couldn't get out by hand so took the bezel assembly off and worked the plexi with a dremel. Also needed to work on the old folded Jubilee I recently acquired. So cleaned up the bracelet, little brush and light polish to areas and worked the 55 end links. Took several attempts to get it right but now the fit is good. Forgot to shoot pics while she was apart. I love this old Swiss Jubilee. Super thin and light. Wears great and is super comfortable. Please note...no polishing of the case[emoji1303] Now that the 1675 is done. Time to work on the 5513. This is my birth year "Grail" piece. I am not a watch smith so it takes a little ahhhhh....[emoji51] courage to work on this. I have not taken her apart since acquired. Bezel was hard to rotate and also needed a good buff of the plexi. Thank the watch Gods, bezel came off easy. Before: you can see she is pretty dirty under the bezel. After some clean up. Once again no polishing of the case. All back together: My two favorite references together: Fun day with the hobby [emoji1303]

Great work! Now time to have a great cigar to celebrate.

Another home run sir Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Even better! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Decided to revisit this build and give the dial a puffy lume. The original Yuki lume was always tad too orange for my taste.

Either using cold (for thicker metal) or laser (thinner) weld to avoid case distortion. The exact recipe of the metal has to be found and tested (i.e. 316F or L) otherwise the filled hole will leave a surface gap between the old and new metal. Finding the right guy plus the time to master the technique could be pricey, the probem with rep cases is they are made of different type of SS... Also, the welded localized area as know as the "heat-affected zone" is extremely hard to drill through. Now my guy is working on something that combines both welding techniques to see if it can apply to our hobby.

Genuine gold pateks sell high because of the brand name but other 'high grade' brands can often be purchased for bargain prices. A friend bought an 18k AP manual wind time only watch about a year ago for $250. Hard to beat (unless you need parts for it). I bought an 18k automatic (aka 'Ipsomatic') Gubelin in May 2009 for $200 and another one in Dec 2012 for $300, both in heavy 'waterproof' style cases. Also hard to beat. I do not wear them, I bought them because they were less than the gold is worth and are fine watches. I have a shoe box full of gold watches from the past 30+ years and have not sold them because many would be scrapped for the gold value because they are worth more for scrap gold than as a watch. I have a soft spot for Hamilton, Gruen, Elgin, Benrus, and Bulova and do not want to see them melted down. I do not see nearly as many gold watches now as before gold went crazy in 1980 ($850) and 2011 ($1895). It went down for a while but is up over $1270 now. How did I end up with a box of gold watches? I have a few friends who buy gold and they let me know when something nice shows up. Have a 14k 1950s heavy round snap back Bulova case with a Mickey Mouse dial and quartz Hattori (Seiko) two hand movement that I wear now and then. It has a 'Blue Sky' dial from a Disney MM watch ref number MU1100 and a MM crown with mouse ears on it. It gets more comments than any watch I ever had and it makes people smile.

I'm very happy with his lume work. I just wish I had use him earlier. Would have saved me money.

Bane, Been away for some time. What an amazing build, as always. You never disappoint. From the bevels to the custom dial. Perfection. I was able to dig up some literature on the skinny 4 inserts from my old picture archive if you want to see them. Also interesting is that one of the literature is dated 1968... don't know if Rolex just used old pictures over and over.. but it's interesting none the less.

Loving this old folded Jubilee. Thanks to all those who serve or have served to protect our freedoms [emoji1303]