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HA! Where did you get that picture of me? That 1016 mk2 was something I whipped up for a member next door. raffles case with acrylic crystal swap ruby mk2 dial ruby hands - aged lume to match dial Ruby bracelet asian eta 2824 and a subtle amount of aging to the case desk diver safe queen . On my last order I thought I would try out one of his new tropical brown dials. was not disappointed. (stay tuned for the sub build ) New raffles case with acrylic (apparently they are glued it - caution advised) enlarged lugs. soften case with some ageing raffles dial and aged the lume with some brown air brush paint to break up the evenness of the lume tone. raffles gilt hands -- aged asian 2824 with date wheel removed and setting lever modded to 2 settings. Silix rivet bracelet under bright direct light the dials pop and have a bit of an rootbeer colour leaning towards orange. under overcast skies in natural light it does take on a chocolate tone. the finish does have a bit of a metallic effect to it , but subtle , I want to give it more age and depth but deciding which way to go as they are a semi gloss finish and I think dulling down the dial will reduce the metallic effect which I dont want . open to suggestions. I must say that Raffles has really upped his game the cases he offers are very good quality great machining and quality. the dials are miles ahead of what they used to offer. crisp text and the details are way more accurate than they used to be , now he offers albino and tropical options also. the quality and durabiilty of the finish is top notch. I have worked with Vietnam dials from ruby , mochacha and mq and honestly they dont compare as far as finish . I've had lume fall off a mq dial , paint chip off really easily on mochacha dials . ruby is good but they are getting slow on the communications I hope they are not going under cause they are the best value for a Vietnam parts. But Raffles is really coming in strong and for a 10the the price!!+ I hope they continue to expand their offerings.

To those have posted on these here fora I would like to extend my thanks, for I have been quietly gleaning information from your posts over the past months that I might build a watch for work. I like the simplicity of the oyster case and the explorer dial so decided to go that way...sans branding as I just wanted watch that would stand up to daily use of shovels, chainsaws, and every other unsavoury job the council can throw at me. I stripped an old Ollech und Wajs that had seen better days and salvaged a couple of other bits and pieces from a couple of other watches, these parts I put together in an unbranded Raffles case with dial and hands from same vendor. Raffles 16200 case Raffles dial Raffles hand set Eta 2824-2 Elabore unmarked jubilee bracelet from ebay. Shitload of patience, tweezers, and large magnifying glass...and very sore knees from crawling about on the wood floor looking for all those damnably horrible wee screws I dropped. Please note that I was not trying to emulate a Rolex so didn't give a toss if the whole thing isn't correct...it works and suits me, twenty one seconds slow in the past seven days is good enough. Regards. Ps, yes that big scarred mitt with the calluses all over it did actually manage the task. Had not done this before, it was interesting.

Nice job on the builds. you seem to have been bitten by the bug haha careful or you will end up with a watch box full of them I hope your daughter loves her new Tudor! I recently just bought the tropical dial as well but went with a bit more of a safe queen look before I decide which direction I want to age it further. I did age the lume on the dial and hands lightly with a brown air brush paint . I like how your dial turned out with your aging technique. it gives it a well worn look.

Bored, so dropped in a Soprod Newton PO92, a Raffles Tropical dial and a new swiss pendant tube plus gasket. Went for old and knocked about look. I shall put it on the Timegrapher tomorrow. On the plus side I got to utilise the set of Bergeon screwdrivers my girls got me for Christmas...really nice change from the cheap Chinese set I have been using.

"I like how it's coming together." Thanks! "...you may need to enlarge the ID of the bezel slightly." I have a few generic T-11 (GS PA459-37) with rounded outer edges and that is what I am going with. Seems like the Raff bezel will fit. Later T-12 crystals have sharp outer edges. "I would go with the gilt gloss yuki dial AFAIK all matte dial 5500's are rep..." I have not decided for sure which dial will be used but the dials with goldtone letters have better detail. Otoh, I am not a big fan of steel watches with goldtone markers...but I see quite a few steel 16xx, 160xx DJ, 6694, manual wind no dates etc. with goldtone markers on the 'net. I have also seen a few 5500 AK/1002 'explorers' on eBay with goldtone markers and most of them had gold bezels and crowns. The 1002 also came in a tutone version so an 'explorer' dial with goldtone letters would be quasi-legal along with gold bezel/crown. Sorta. The jury is still out. I need to save the best goldtone letter dial for a 5501 AK and the gloss and matte dials are about the same in detail. I read that almost all of the 5500 AK with explorer dials were sold in the UK. True or not? Probably true. I do not remember seeing them at watch shows when I attended shows in the 1990s, mostly in the southern and eastern USA. Burley Bullock (rip) and a few others changed the wristwatch landscape during this time with radio ads, formation of the IWJG etc. Then the internet, eBay etc. changed it again. "Did you do the movement service?" Yes, c/o, mainspring, rotor axle etc. and a friend put a new balance staff in it. It took 2 or 3 weeks soaking the main plate in white vinegar to melt all the rust away so the stem would come out of the plate. I painted over any critical steel parts pressed in the plate with nail polish every few days. The main plate screws that hold the various bridges to the main plate were rusty and I replaced them with near identical stainless steel screws from an assortment of stainless case back screws. A few others were also replaced. I have original screws but did not want to use them on a 'battleground movement'. The three blued screws that hold the autowind assembly to the movement were still Ok. All in all, it is a pretty good movement, it just looks bad, and it runs much better than it looks. It is a lot like the movement in my '1016 explorer' project with a movement made out of a combination of well used ETA 2824/36 and 2846 parts. It is one of the best running ETAs I've owned. One other ETA that runs like the 'explorer' is in a 1990s/early 2000s Marathon CCG SAR. Marathon Coast Guard (broadarrow.net)

Good news as my lass will be home later this week and can pick up the watch...I really am looking forward to seeing her. On the watch front, it has been just over five days nine hours and the watch has gained just under 7 1/2 seconds so I am guessing that it has settled to a gain of under 2 seconds per day. Yes I am pleased.

I set this yesterday at 1 second fast, shews less than 1 second (faster) variation in 24 hours. Not real scientific but I am pleased as punch.

She is down in Ballarat at Uni so has only seen pics, I finished it last night and shall send it down during the week. She does like the pictures.

That is the old O&W case. I have since picked up all I require for a watch for my daughter. A 34mm Raffles Tudor case, Tudor dial and hands, and a Eta 2824-2 top grade. Just waiting for a 5.3mm Rolex crown and a leather Tudor case to turn up before I start. I have already installed Rolex pendant tubes and chased out the threads in both cases.