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I enjoy working on perfecting these DWs. I really think that version of the PN is the best dial he did. Here, I reshaped the case totally. Lugs top, sides of the case and bezel. I sanded the acrylic insert so it's absolutely leveled with the metal of the bezel. Dial was textured and aged. It now has that rough texture you can see on Mazzariol macro pictures. Of course: gen coronet installed, gen crown and gen T21.

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PAM 332 on Bond toad strap

I thought I'd get the ball rolling Another with the Agave

The 16800 I've been thinking about this for quite a while yet and thought I would do a little tutorial on 16800 builds as the one I did on the Bluesy builds. Since there are NO reps of that model, you HAVE to build it to have it. So first things first.. The 16800 Basically it is the model between the 1680 and the 16610 (168000 actually but are we counting this??) It is a pretty unpopular Rolex in collectors eyes so far but I am totally positive that will change drastically over time with the rarity of the Pallettoni dials and the special spider dials that are popping up in those pieces, there most likely is a great potential in those pieces. Improvements compared to the 1680: - Saphire Crystal -> no more acrylic - Rolex Cal 3035 -> no more 1570/5 (-> added QuickSet function and now high beat) - Unidirectional rotating bezel - Waterproof to a depth of 300m -> 200m on the 1680 - New crown - 703 (trip lock) -> 700 on the 1680 - 93150 Bracelet with 593 end links -> 7206 or 9315 on the 1680 with 580 end links Now let's get to the building. Of course you will want a decent case as a base for your build. I also have to say this is probably one of the hardest tasks in repdom. Find a correct case... There are not many to choose... Only ones I know about that are usable are: - 3035 ST case (old and super rare) - Phong 16800 case ($$$) Sure you could use a TC case too but that wouldn't have a shallow rehaut and just be incorrect, also you will have to drill lug holes. It's up to you to decide if you can live with that flaw or not. Imho it's not too much of a biggie but I would still hunt for a correct case. Once you have a case, move on with the sourcing of a crystal, crown and tube. I personally would go gen on all of those. - nonAR 295c sapphire crystal - 703 crown and tube After that, I would go with the decision of the bezel assembly and the bezel ring. Your choices are: - Genuine - Phong - ST - TC (if you go TC case) Bezel insert HAS to be gen imho so there goes that. Now we have almost everything except for movement, bracelet, hands and dial eh? Yeah exactly. Now it is yours to choose if you want to go matte dial (Pallettoni) or gloss dial (with WG surrounds) Special dials would be the Spider dials (also $$$ if proper one) Spider dial: The matte dials are pretty expensive to buy if you can even find them in an acceptable condition. They are really hard to come by. The gloss ones although are out there like sand on the beach, you can find them literally everywhere and also score pretty good deals on them To be periodic correct there are several Marks for the dials.. Matte dials: Mk1: Mk2: Rare dial, can usually be found on watches with serial numbers from 6.1 to 8.5 mil ('84-'85) The hyphen in the wording 'Swiss - T<25' is perfectly centered with the '6 Marker whilst on the Mk1 it was placed more on the right. Also in the depth indication the tail of the letter 'f' almost touches the tip of the letter V in 'SUPERLATIVE'. Mk3: Even rarer dial than mk2 The two hyphens of the '=' in the depth indication are staggered - not aligned to each other Mk4: Now the Mk4 is a special dial since it is a dial that was around at the early serials. It is unique for the font of the 'ft' and the inclination. Gloss dials: Mk1: Mk2: I think the difference between gloss Mk1 and Mk2 are obvious, so I will not get into them now. Bicchierini Dial the Beyeler dials with WG surrounds that came out in '84 and lasted for a year or two. These dials would have the same printed font as the matte dials and were supposedly gloss dials but a lot of them have lost their gloss over time. This is a Beyeler dial- circa 84-85. (taken from alli, thanks, I forgot it) If you have found a dial you like, go and buy a hands set, you should use: - genuine - TC LN v2 and age them to match the Patina of your dial. When it comes to the movement, the question is all about your wallet. You can go: - genuine cal. 3035 - ETA Now last but not least, we're having the bracelet.. For that you can choose between those: - genuine 93150 - PT 93150 - anything else aftermarket However I would suggest at least getting a genuine clasp for it. Please also keep the dating of the clasp code in mind so that it mates up with the rest of your build specs. After you have sourced all of those parts, send them out to the watchmaker of your choice and have him build the 16800. Happy building! I hope this can be of use for you guys, I thought why not post it here too since I had it on RWI. There's another one of the 16613 Bluesy ready if it is wanted.

Thank you, these how to tutorials are really great. I would agree that it is only a matter of time before the Matt dial 16800 start to rise in value.

Great shot mate!

One of these... 0a0dbde2c7abe9ece9cc2527fe402e03.jpg

Thanks for sharing this Bart! A 6538 project is definitely in my future, so the review on Tonny's 6538 offering is much appreciated. Just trying to understand, the 2 different versions he offered you. So version 1, sans the crown was a lot worse compared to version 2 with the crown. Version 2 was a "complete" build - what else does it come with, besides the crown?

It's not bad. Gen crown/tube alone are worth $700-1000. the lug holes stress marks are probably a result of too slow drill speed or too dull of a bit or a combination of the both, but can easily be buffed away. They dont look too big to me. congrats

Congrats part, the lug holes seems a bit big (maybe the angle) and the hole opening seems to have some metal residue from drilling. The chamfering seem pretty good but I thought is a bit more wider towards the end so u can actually see it on parts eye view - maybe I am wrong but looks great. How did he do the bezel? Was it nickel or he some how made in gold ish colour? Sent from my SM-N930F using Tapatalk

202/a

Beautiful build by two gentlemen!

Email is the best way to go mate. It should be in his section in the dealers. puretime.billing@gmail.com Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

If any customers are trying to contact me through email please be aware that my computer has been hacked and my Hotmail email account is currently blocked. I took immediate action and had all hacking tools, trojans, malware etc etc removed from my computer so no one should be in danger of dealing with a scammer, the problem I am currently having is making MSN believe that I am the true account holder and not the hacker. Just a note to anyone who wishes to make a future attempt (this is the 2nd for me) there is absolutely nothing to be gained, there is no links to my factory or banking details at all, the most that can be gained is a link to my sales rep and she is 100% faithful to the business, she would tell me immediately. Ken

Bezel is more like sub C design, with same like crystal securing ring Hard to take it off, but with patience and good tools possible Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk