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I don't have the insert installed yet. But it fits over the crystal fine.

Thanks for the tip! The o-ring I put underneath the retaining ring was 29-317-8. I tried a slightly thicker gasket but did not see any improvement. The bezel, friction washer, and retaining ring all work well together off of the watch. Any other ideas? Thanks!

Hi Guys,

I am in the last stages of my 5513 build and have hit a snag with the bezel. I have the crystal installed and the retaining ring set, but the bezel will not turn when installed (even when friction spring is removed). I bought the bezel and crystal new, and crystal retaining ring used. I am 100% certain that the bezel is genuine as it came in the packaging. The retaining ring came from VRF so I would like to say it is genuine. I think that the crystal came from eBay but was in the little white envelope packaging. I am not where the problem lies. I am wondering if either the crystal or retaining are aftermarket. I know it would almost be impossible to tell for certain. Would an aftermarket crystal deform the retaining ring enough to not make it work? Thanks in advance!!!

I am by no means an expert but may be able to offer a little help. Where the hairspring attaches to the balance [censored] is called the stud. You typically don't want to move that unless you have a timing machine. If you move it without one, you run the risk of putting your movement out of beat (uneven tick tocks) and ruining positional timing. The two movements you pictured are regulated by moving the arm with the curb pins (two vertical pins that the hairspring rides in). They act as a means of changing the active length of the hairspring. The shorter the hairspring, the faster the watch will run. The longer the hairspring, the slower it will run. It isn't necessary to stop the movement when regulating but be very careful not to apply downward pressure or kink the hairspring. In order to regulate the ETA movement you pictured, you would have to remove the automatic device first which is held in place by two black screws. Hope this helps!

Thanks gents for the replies. The case that I have is a 2.2 mil serial and am just trying to figure out if it is the lugs. I still need a bracelet so I might pick up another set.

Thanks for the reply. Just to be clear, are you saying that you think the endlinks I have are good and unaltered? Thanks again!

Hi Guys,

I have a set of genuine 580 endlinks and don't remember if they have been worked to fit a previous case. I have a genuine 5513 case and the space is a little big between the lug and endlink. I was hoping that someone could measure an unaltered set for me. Mine are about 19.95mm. The space between the lugs on the case is about 20.16mm. Just trying to figure out if I need a new set of endlinks or if I need to live with it. Thanks in advance for the help!!!!

I am going to say not gen since the rehaut engraving doesn't line up. I am going to say not TC since it has a beveled case. I would then have to say it is a Sean case, but your bevels look much better than the ones on the case I received.

Thanks for the tip. So you have dial feet secured to the movement and soldered to the spacer ring? Is that correct? I don't have any experience with soldering. I may try the Yuki method on my junk dial or try your method on some extra spacers. Thanks again!!!

I have pretty much decided to go ahead and use the 2846 instead of buying a 1520. I thought about it over and over again and I just don't want to spend that on this project right now. I would probably spend at least $1000 on a 1520 movement and would probably also need a Phong case since my case houses a 2846. I would rather save those funds and go for the genuine 1680.

Anyway, all of the hands seem to be fitting 2846 without modifying the hands at all. I need to work a little on the cannon pinion a little more, but the hour and second hand fit perfectly. Since I am using the 2846, that means that the dial feet must go. I am using a dial spacer between the dial and movement to get the hands at the correct height. I have a junk NDT dial that I have been playing with. I have used dial dot to secure the dial to the spacer ring and that works pretty well. I was wondering if anyone had any great ideas of a way to secure the spacer ring to the movement. I have a pack of dial feet and was thinking of retrofitting the dial feet back on but have not done that before and don't know if it is possible. I am just looking for an easy way, that is not harmful to the movement, to secure the spacer ring to the movement. Thanks in advance!!!!!!!!!

I know that it has been done before but does the case need any modifications before fitting a 1520? The case I have has an L serial number.

I decided to go with a genuine dial and hands because I found a matching set for only a couple of hundred dollars more. It seemed like a logical step to go genuine at that point.

You guys are killing me. Not even one vote for the eta :) . Looks like I'll be looking for a 1520. If anyone has any leads on a hacking version, let me know. As always, thanks for the opinions.

Okay guys. My original plan was to do a budget 5513 with an eta movement. I have a nice genuine t<25 luminova dial and hands on the way and was planning on clipping the feet off of the dial and fitting the hands onto the 2846 movement. I think that I have the cannon pinion and fourth cut to size, but I need to do another hour wheel because I am a bonehead. I had my measurements off from somewhere. I have been thinking about it waiting on the dial and hands to arrive, and I just don't like cutting off dial feet.

So far, I have an older MBW 5513 case, genuine T19 crystal, genuine dial, hands, insert, and I also have an extra genuine retention ring. My original plan was to use the eta movement, MBW bezel, and MBW bracelet. Would you spend the extra money on a movement or just put it together. I could probably swing a genuine bezel prettily easily and would probably add a genuine 93150 at some point. I am "supposed" to be saving up for a genuine 1680 but my ADD keeps me distracted

So....would you get a 1520 or just use the eta? I guess the real test will be to see if the hands fit my movement. Thanks in advance.

Thanks for the help guys. I have a few sets of Clarks hands but they are easily spotted. I was really hoping to keep on budget and use an ETA movement. I will keep this thread updated if I find anything out. Thanks again!!!

That may be a possibility as well. I can't say that I have seen any recently though. Do you know of a source? Thanks!!!

That is definitely a possibility. I would rather modify the ETA parts if it is possible since they are cheaper and readily available.

Okay guys. I have decided to go ahead and use a glossy 5513 dial on a 2846 movement. I have no problems cutting the feet off of a glossy dial. My problem is what to do with the hands. All of the rep hands don't look accurate and wanted to use genuine hands. Has anyone had any luck trimming an ETA movement to fit Rolex hands? ETA hands are 90/150/25 and Rolex hands are 80/120/20. The hour wheel, canon pinion, and fourth wheel would all need to be trimmed. I have a lathe and think I can do it but was wondering if anyone has done it before. Thanks!!!!

I'll take 3

Thanks for the quick reply. I know exactly what you are talking about. My Sean case has the same over polished lower right lug as yours. I tried to even it out but there is just too much material taken away. It must be the way the cases are set and polished. All of your subs look very nice by the way. Thanks again!!!

Hi Eiderdaus,

If you don't mind me asking, why do you think the Sean case is better than the TC case? I am asking mainly about the mid case only. The bevels on the Sean case that I bought were very strange and did not look good at all. There was too much material removed. In the end, that is why I went with the TC case. Your impressions and opinions would be appreciated. Thanks!!!!!

Great looking watch!!!!

Sorry about the bad pictures. I should learn not to take pictures under my fluorescent bench light. Here are some better ones (except for the dust). Thanks to all for the opinions. It seems like number is is the leader right now.

Both dials are luminova and glow. The T<25 is the first run of luminova dials. Slightly rarer and much cooler.

Hi Guys,

I am planning on buying a genuine 1680 in the near future, but want it to have that NOS feel. I don't see many of those for sale that often, so I started gathering parts for it. I have two luminova dials to choose from. The first is the T<25 version and the second is Swiss. The T<25 dial seems to have some "texture" to the dial. I don't know how else to describe it. It bothers me a little bit but looks pretty cool under a crystal. The Swiss looks matte black like it should. Without looking at the dials I would say T<25 hands down as I prefer that writing to the Swiss variety. But looking at them, I can't decide. Here are the dials.....

If you had to choose, which one? Thanks for playing!!!!

I don't doubt your opinion at all Watcher, but there are just some things that I can't wrap my head around. The watch looks like a mixed bag of parts to me. The font of the insert looks okay to me but the pearl looks like a WM pearl. It looks as if the insert is not seated into the bezel though in the side shot showing the tube. I also don't like that you can see the LEC in the picture without any magnification (as Duke said). The case back does look good except that it has 16610 engraved instead of 2160. I would expect a Z serial sub to have the newer style case back. I have seen the 16610 case back on older subs with lug holes. Which brings me to my next gripe. I would expect a Z serial sub to be engraved 16610T instead of 16610. Rolex changed that designation when they went from a lug hole case to no lug holes.

I have an etaswiss case that has a high crown tube like a genuine case.