Leaderboard

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi crazy watch lovers When I begun that build I made myself a promise that I would not create this thread before having a complete story to tell. But I'm too impatient so I have to post now ... and I will write and post eveything else later all along the builsing process. So what is this all about?... about an A/6538 ... a "Burford" one specifically Question was ... what should I do to wear this watch? 1st option was to become VERY wealthy and lucky enough to find one to buy ... 2nd option was to have some imagination plus a little patience and build one. Unfortunately, as far as I know, a correct 6538 case that already can receive a 5513 bezel costs about $800 to $1500 - totally out of my budget. Fortunately !!! I have A BUNCH of imagination and A BUNCH of patience. So here is what is already done : 1 - start with a Silix 6538 midcase ... $ 45 but NOT accepting a 5513 bezel assembly 2 - shave the rehaut and graft a new one ... "gen-specs" an "easy" mod as long as you know how to measure, design, draw ... and have a friend who own a lathe and is OK to provide some help 3 - build a Burford dial strating from scratch ... and while I was in the building a vintage dial I decided to make it "Tropical" So here I am now, with still a lot of work to do but the most difficult parts of that build (grafting the rehaut + building the dial) are already done. Building the custom bezel won't be easy but it's already in progress ... the rest will be a peace of cake So let's talk about THE CASE The Silix 6538 midcase have been rworked on a lathe and the original rehaut have been "shaved". A new rehault has been turned, on the lathe too. I did all the technical design but the lathe work has been done by my friend @mascob (not a member here unfortunately). @mascob sent me back the reworked midcase and the rehaut and I managed to make it all fit together. Here are some pics Silix 6538 midcase with the new rehaut already "grafted" + the T19 and the 5513 bezel assembly Same midcase with the T19 and bezel assembly on ... the bezel turns perfectly A "nice" insert (will change that one) and the home-made 26mm Burford dial that I'll put in that case About the ... BURFORD DIAL making Well ... that was "almost" easy I already had designed (for a nice forum member) a crispy Burford dial some months ago, using both Photoshop and Illustrator (dozens of hours searching for good pics + dozens of hours working on the design using a 5000ppi definition). That design was black and withe only and done for a standard Silix case using a 29mm dial so I : 1 - resized everything using Illustrator so the design could fit a 26mm dial (25.8mm exactly as the Burdford dials where supposed to be reprinted on on 6538 Gilt dials) 2 - spent about a dozen of hours (again) using Photoshop to design a "blank" tropical 26mm dial 3 - copied the white parts of the first design and pasted that on the "tropical" design 4 - printed on clear decal paper and protected with 2 coats of matte varnish 5 - prepared a 26mm dial with a "cream" paint ... randomly applied so that some areas where more or less clear or dark ... then sanded finely to get an almost smooth surface (not perfect) 6 - applied the decal on the dial and sprayed 2 coats of matte varnish ... each coat dried for about 24 hours 7 - sprayed a 3rd coat of matte varnish and used an hairdryer spo that the varnish dried faster on some areas 8 - sprayed a 4th coat of matte varnish and used the hairdryer again ET VOILA ... Now the next fun part of that build will be to put a 25.8mm dial in a modded 6538 midcase with a 26mm case opening WITHOUT holding it with a Gen movement It could be, theoretically, impossible ... But there are ways, you know, and I have a few more tricks up my sleeves and ... THAT is another part of the story that I still have to write ... just hope you liked this one

Over the years I’ve probably built around 50 EGI’s. Lots for me, lots for other people. I’m not sure why I love this PAM so much but it’s likely that it is because it is just so BADASS! It takes no [censored] from anyone. I’ve built everything from simple builds all the way up to full case modifications to fit vintage deco movements. One thing I’ve never done is share them with the community. I’ve always thought I would amass a large collection and share them all at once, but over the years I’ve been coerced into selling a few, some have gone thru dial swaps, etc. I’ve realized I will never have a complete collection to share, so I’ve decided to share my Egi build of the Past, Present and Future. Wish I had photographed all of them, but the best one’s are definitely below. Enjoy. PRESENT 1. ‘Stock Egi’ - something I believe everyone should have in their collection 2. ‘Garage Aged Egi’ - Custom NW dial, case aged over 6 months over the Winter thru temp changes and salt puddles in my garage for a natural aging effect. 3. ‘Blasted Gold Egi’ - Custom PVD coating, Swiss ETA Cortebert 6497, Custom blasted brass dial 4. Fully modified case for Vintage Swiss Art Deco mvmt, CG removed to reduce overall size of watch 5. ‘Blasted Champagne Egi’ - Custom PVD coating, Cali dial, Swiss ETA Hamilton mvmt. 6. ‘Champagne Egi’ - Custom PVD coated 7. ‘Summer Egi’ - Custom Military grade white coating 8. ‘Concrete Egi’ - Blasted SS dial, Swiss ETA 6498, Seconds @ 6 9. ‘Dark Egi’ - PVD coated 10. ‘Cali Dark Egi’ - PVD coated, Swiss ETA 6497, disassembled and PVD coated 11. ‘Gen RWC 47mm Egi’ PAST 1. ‘Ring of Ice Egi’ - Custom SS dial, widened lugs to 26mm, heavy duty Bandolier bracelet, Swiss ETA 6497 Random Past Builds FUTURE 1. Military grade Custom Camo coated PVD - WHAT! 2. Fully polished 3. Custom PVD coated 4. ? 5. Polished Gold w/ Gold Swiss ETA Skeleton mvmt 6. ‘The Grail’ - Set up for an Angelus 240, custom aged case.

Thanks Still no new pics to post because I'll wait for that watch to be finished to show anything more, but some build updates : - lug drilled - fixed bars and tubes modded ... still not on the case because I want to engraved it @6 before - engravement templates ready for the case and caseback - silix caseback modded so that it looks more accurate - handset selected and aged and ready for lume (will do that along with the dial) The two-tone custom bezel proves to be much more difficult than I thought to achieve - first one was a complete failure ... - second one was cool but didn't cliped firmly on the retaining ring - next one ... should be perfect ... at least that's what I hope Next week I'm leaving for a 3 weeks trip in Vietnam so I wont work on that build until mid April. If everything goes as supposed I hope I'll show something in May.

This might also work https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rolex-6542-Bezel-Brass-Or-Brass-Nickel-Plated-Complete/252641300072?hash=item3ad2984e68:g:zG0AAOSwiHpaF1-b And might be cheaper than Phong. But Phong is good also and stands behind his parts.

Thx! Indee a rare piece. The watch came from TheSociety and I was lucky enough to source a sealed gen T20 plexi which is incredibly clear and has an amazing curvature. Also added a phong insert which actually is the closest you can get. Getting a gen insert is probably out of reach nowdays. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Not mine, but I wish it was. Only with me for the new hands and pearl. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My old buddy the Little Gonzo. He turns 60 this year.

@XM195 Looks great. I’d take SSTEEL up on his offer. @SSTEEL I’m a student (of life), do I get the discount too?

And like most guys here, 40 watches = .75 days/ month [emoji6]