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The vintage dials always fascinated me and since there is a gap in sourcing accurate dials for our projects I finally decided to produce them myself, first researching and then re-designing them including the different kind of fonts and the subtle variations of logos. This “burford” is just the first of a batch of accurate variations of sub dials (no date) I am currently making. It is in its final shape, lacquer finished and also lumed by myself with resin lume suspension as done before the luminovas and such. I will update new pictures as other versions are produced. For now, enjoy this one and later some more as I will be using this dial myself for my 6538 milsub. And finally, for me, this is a goodbye to yukis and riyis and ill spent dollars in stuff that could (but its not) perfect

just WOW !!! you did a great job ... Mine says hello ... I built it 2017 if I remember well home made Burford dial, fixed bars and 2 parts steel/german silver bezel ... a long journey ... it's been a box queen's for some years but now I've seen yours my wrist ask for it ...

Hi R. precisely my case… Adrian sent me two of those beauties and some months later I got stem adapters and then found out that I had all except drills and taps. Followed your suggestion with practice but metal (or holes) are not my element… will persist though:) that will be the cherry on top. for now I am finishing some gilt dials all my best Marco thank you! here is my latest, built from scratch

Looks great! i’m a big fan of vintage watches [emoji1369][emoji1369] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you! do let me know if you want to try it:) I had built a few spares best M.

Absolutely stunning ! Nice work !!

5513 spider Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

4-18-22 I decided to list a few various GMT hand hole sizes because of all the hassles I have had trying to match them up. No guarantees because there might be an error..or three. No sizes listed for a 24H hand on the Seiko because they do not offer a GMT model that I could find. The 24H hands on an ETA 2893-2 are listed at 1.8mm and 2.50mm. Might be depending on the watch brand? The 24H hands on an ETA 2836-2 with Asian non adj GMT conversions can vary but mine are 1.8mm. Accurate aftmkt hands for a 1655 with rlx 1575 GMT movement are very hard to find. For example, WSO has them but they are silvertone where the genuine hands are white and the lume slots are too wide and too long. Their '1655' hand set for an ETA 28xx is much more accurate but still the wrong color. Btw, I have some nos genuine 1655 hands and the 24H hand arrow is RED, not orange. ?? My 'shortcut 1655' has a very good WatchLume hand set but they are out of production. After chasing these 'lost cause vintage projects' for many years, I would advise anyone without a bankruptcy wish to go with a cartel 1675 or 1655 and detail it best they can. For movements, I vote for ETA 2836-2 or slower beat 2846 with Asian non-adj 24H mod first and the DG 3804 next. I have a GMT and exp II with DG 3804 and they have been Ok for 8 or 9 years but they probably only have about 6 months running time on each one. For a high $$ late model GMT project...maybe go with an ETA 2893-2 GMT but they cost $300/$400 now. Or...you could greatly simplify it all with a 5512/5513 ETA 2846/2879 project. No 24H hand, no date, no major problems, no major $$. Otoh, my 'shortcut 1655' is still running fine and I am pleasantly surprised. DG 3804 clone ETA 2893 – Horology student (horology-student.org) Rolex 15xx GMT 24H 1.9mm 12H 1.2mm Min .80mm SS .20mm with long tube ETA 28XX 24H 1.80mm Asian mod 12H 1.50mm Min .90 SS .25 ETA 2893-2 24H 1.80mm 2.50mm ?? 12H 1.50mm Min .90 SS .25 DG 3804 etc 24H 1.95mm 12H 1.5mm Min .90/.95mm SS .20mm +/- Seiko NH35 H 1.50mm M .90mm SS .21mm

52 years old and still keeping chronometer timing.

"...I have two Adrian’s brevet crowns and even the correct tap but i am not good enough with metal works (yet) to redrill and re-tap the tube hole in the case. And where I live I cannot find anyone to do the job for me." Having the correct tap is one third of the battle. My last case tube drill/tap job was drilling and tapping a JMB '1016' case from 5.3mm case tube size threads to standard 6.0mm size threads. Standard 6.0mm and 7.0mm (twin/triplock) case tube threads are 3.0mm diameter by .35mm pitch and take a 2.5mm drill bit. I do not have specs on 8mm case tubes. The next third is drilling the hole in the case to the right size before tapping it. Look up the metric or number size drill bit to use for the tap size you have and buy a few bits. Carbide is best but high speed steel (aka HSS) bits will work if you keep them lubed while drilling. Since the case tube hole is already drilled in the case before you re-drill the hole, the new hole will almost always be straight. I underlined almost because things can go wrong. I use a small milling machine with a homemade bracket to hold the case while drilling spring bar and case tube holes to size but a small low cost table mount type drill press will work just fine. My small drill press was $49USD on sale and I use it for all kinds of small jobs. The small milling machine is not necessary but since I have it, I use it and besides, it is inside where it is warm in the winter and the drill press is out in the garage. The last third is very critical because the tap has to be started straight in the hole or it can get in a bind and break or not cut good threads...this is usually the hardest part of the whole operation. So...what to do? After you locate the proper drill bits, practice drill a few holes in a spare steel watch case, piece of steel strap metal etc about 3mm or 4mm thick and tap the threads to get a feel for it. This will demonstrate how easy it is to start a tap out of true and how to keep it straight. I will admit it is not easy but after a few practice runs you will be able to tell if the tap is starting straight or not by the force needed to turn it to cut the threads. Keep the tap lubricated and blow or flush the metal chips out every half turn or so. I flush the chips out with WD 40 etc in a spray can. After the hole is most of the way tapped you can remove the tap and clean the threads and tap before finishing it up but if you remove the tap before it cuts a few good threads, it will be hard to get it started. Very hard sometimes. Tips: I use a pin vise to start the tap because it is easier to 'eyeball' the trueness of a pin vice than a T handle tap wrench. Once the threads are started you can change over to a T handle if you want to. After you drill the case tube hole you can 'cheat' when starting the tap if you mount the tap in the drill chuck and lower it very lightly into the case and turn it by hand (power off) to get it started straight. This only works if you have a precision case mounting set-up and a good drill press with no slop in the drill's spindle bearings etc. Do not try this at first on a case, try it on scrap metal etc. Practice, practice, practice with a little patience added is the key. Good luck!

Oh, not to diminish your efforts in any way, your result is fantastic!! Knowing your attention to detail, I figured you’re like me, get the piece to a “finished v1.0” state then wear it, all the while thinking of what comes with v2.0 I’ve thought of taking Adrian’s crown and scribing lines on the inner surface to mimic the “steel folded over brass” look. That wouldn’t require retapping and it’s really the only thing that makes it look unlike the original.

Very very nice. Congratulations! We’ve had many discussions over the years about the bezel construction on an a/6538. Some say they were 100% “German silver” and others say they were 2 pieces, made of stainless lower and German silver upper. I’m not sure that was ever resolved. Mike Wood has some pretty compelling pictures. https://rwg.cc/topic/182962-ref-a6538-6540/

and here it is

Beautiful dial! I ran across this discussion from VRF (18) The Early Rolex Military Submariners. - Vintage Rolex Forum (tapatalk.com)

Great build! Do you recall where you got the dial from?

From... 3-10-2022 I have some 'obsolete' 55xx cases from a few different suppliers and here are the suppliers and approximate dates purchased...DW (2011), MBK (2012), Yuki (2009 and 2012), IG44 (2012), and JKF (2017). The best for the $$ in descending order when I bought them imho are Yuki, IG44, MBK, DW, JKF and all except JKF are no longer selling watches or cases. Never had a Vietnam case that I know of. Yuki?? Maybe yes, maybe no. They had to be ordered with a 4 to 6 week delay and I never heard where they came from. All these cases have a few flaws and the Yuki cases (5512, 5513) are probably the best of all the cases I have. Members have reported problems with earlier Yuki cases but mine are fine. DW cases are pretty good and all are 1680 spec inside and this means they need a 26.5mm dial and either a rlx 1525, 1565, 1575 date movement or ETA 2836/46 type movement. The case sides are slightly rounded and not flat like OEM but this is good if you want the watch to look polished/aged. The engraving/stamping ranges from very good engraving to ratty engraving to laser etching to none at all. Case backs also come with two thread diameters (one OEM spec, one smaller) but this is Ok unless you want to exchange case backs. The case necks are a hair too small on all my DW cases so this must be an across the board defect/problem. You just have to dig through aftmkt crystals until you find one that fits. They also have 'spring wire' rotating bezels so you will need a bezel kit (crystal clamp ring, tension shim, rotating bezel, bezel insert), I used Clark kits. MBK cases were the 'cheapo choice' for higher grade projects but they have almost disappeared from the scene, probably because no one wants to sell theirs as replacing them with something of equivalent quality is expensive now. There is a LOT of info about them on the forum. OEM crystals and case tubes fit fine, at least all of mine did. All my MBK cases are made for a rlx 1525, 1565, 1575 date movement or ETA 2836/46 type movement and all are made for 26.0mm dials. You can make a good 5512/13 but the stem has to be centered in the case tube when using a rolex 15xx movement by using a date movement without the date works. There is enough metal to enlarge the dial opening to accept a 26.5mm dial for a 1680 project. You can find the ins and outs about all this on the rlx forum. Yuki cases were the top of the line starting out because they were just about all there was at the time besides 'Phong' (Jewelry & Watch) and his cases were much higher $$. Yuki 55xx cases had case tube thread problems starting out and this really did a lot of harm to their brand but they made improvements and sold them for a few years with very few complaints. I traded into an early '1680' Yuki case and it was fine but some buyers had problems. IG44 had fine dials and very good cases but their offerings were limited because IG44 could be hard to get in touch with. I have a '1680' case and it is very good but I have not seen one for sale in years although you might see a dial now and then. JKF cases are fine for ETA/Miyota clone projects imho but it seems some sellers are not selling 'genuine' JKF watches. Who knows? My JKF case is Ok but the lug holes are a bit too high on the lugs and this is not good when the holes are enlarged to accept OEM spec spring bars. It is on spec for crystals and case tubes. If you get an actual JKF case, they are a bargain in today's market. Things to look for imho: 1...OEM spec case neck and case tube threads. Hard to tell until you get the case though. 2...Holes in lugs with room above and below so the holes will not be too close to an edge if they need to be enlarged. This is hit or miss because the watch or case you get may not match the one in pictures. 3...A groove machined inside the case for case screws and/or case clamps. 4...Crown location not too high or low. This does not bother me very much but it shows. 'Repexperts' will spot it every time. 'Genuine Rolexperts' probably not. If any of this bothers you...wear a long sleeve shirt. Ha!

@automatico I am constantly amazed by your depth of knowledge and how willing you are to share it here. We are all better off because of your tireless efforts to spread the good news about Rolex custom projects. Keep up the good work mate!