automatico

My 'official' rolex parts list shows all 1016 to have 25-22 tropic crystals. The 1018 has a 25-21 tropic with thinner side wall along with a bezel with a smaller inside diameter. The 1018 uses the same smooth bezel as a DJ.

All the number 22 crystals I have owned were flat tops but I have seen older 1016 watches with domed 22 crystals...at least they did not have sharp edges like a modern 22.

All 1016 had 6.0mm crowns and 25-22 tropic crystals rated to 100M.

All 1018 had 5.3mm crowns and 25-21 tropic crystals rated to 50M.

All 1019 Milgauss had 5.3mm crowns and 25-32 tropic crystals rated to 100M.

The 1016 has a round section case back gasket 31.7 x 1.0mm.

The 1018 has a flat section case back gasket...same gasket as an OPD 1500...29.2 x .75mm thick. You would think it would have the same (30.2 x .86mm thick) flat section case back gasket as a 1600 both being 36mm but nooooo.

The 1019 Mg has the same case back gasket as a 5513...32.5mm x 1.0mm.

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High quality aftmkt 50th anniversary dials and 'chestnut brown ceramic' bezels might be available for late model steel Daytonas but I have never seen them for sale. If you bought new genuine parts (assuming they would sell them...but they will NOT), the dial and bezel would probably cost more than a new steel Daytona including tax and a hooker (with good skin and teeth) for the weekend.

Many people know a guy who can afford stuff like this but he is able to buy stuff like this today because he never bought stuff like this in the past.  

My experience with the ST19 has been good with Alphas but the sub dial position at 6 does not matter much on an Alpha.

As for an ST19 in a Daytona type watch...the sub dial at 6 being too low can be a small distraction.

Few chronograph owners ever need an hour register because most timing is for a shorter duration. Freezing the 12 hour hand in place and not having an hour register is one less thing to go wrong.

Very few in the general population can tell a genuine vintage Daytona from a $125 Alpha and most of them never even heard of a Daytona...unless they watched "Stalker: Love is a Battlefield" last week.

Rolex freaks will assume all vintage Daytonas seen in the wild are fake anyway.

Chronograph rules:

Mechanical chronographs are usually Ok...until you push a button.

Quartz chronographs are much easier to live with.

Chronographs can not stop time

...they can't even slow it down

...because time marches on.   

"This one loses screws all the time"

Maybe you could remove the screws and tubes and install rivet tubes with rivets like used on bracelet hinges etc. I have some 1.0mm in diameter and a new Cas-Ker flyer has them 1.2mm in diameter up to 32mm long.

I have one of those hair puller bracelets like in your pictures but never tried swapping the screw tubes out. I have swapped them out on similar bracelets with good results though.

"I love a good oyster quartz."

Me too as long as it does not have a rolex OQ movement. I had a few in the past and every time I looked at one I would see visions of doa movements needing $500 circuit boards and step motors.  

It looks very good.

I have one similar to it...a 6422 made first quarter 1956 with serial numbered 1210 movement with Breguet hairspring, later models went to a flat hairspring and no serial numbers. The 1220 in later models is just like the 1210 but runs at 21600 bph with flat hairspring where the 1210 runs at 18000 bph. One is just as good as the other. Date versions are 1215 and 1225 and are slow set.

They are very good watches but like I always say...parts are a problem and it seems parts for the manual wind 12 series movements are harder to find than for automatic 1530/70 etc.

My guess is it will go for $1200 or $1300.

Wholesale...

I posted a couple times about a 'wholesale guy' a friend of mine knew in NYC who was in the 'wholesale business' and he came up with quite a few watches over the years and his prices were about half of what the TDs were asking at the time.

For instance, a '16610' with sapphire crystal, high quality case tube, crown etc with new swiss eta 2836 (not a scav movement like today) was between $100 and $120 depending on his mood. They were a little bit wokky and most had serial number F437091.

Today the movement is worth about as much as the complete watch sold for back then.

Another NYC liquidator/wholesale guy he knew had genuine nib Seiko 5 and mid size Orient for $38 plus nib stainless Oniss DJ styles with swiss eta 2836 for $65 along with hundreds (maybe thousands) of nib 'shelf pull' automatic Gruen with swiss Eta 2836 for $40 each. I did not have enough sense to load up on them but did get a few.

Where are the wholesale guys now?

'Wholesale guy' was busted a couple years ago with 70,000 (seventy thousand) fake pocketbooks.

Last we heard he was working in a deli in NYC.

'Liquidator/wholesale guy' went rip last year.

MBW 1680 cases are made for 26.0mm dials...not 26.5mm (at least the two that I have are made this way). The dial window opening is about 25.6mm iirc. Too much of the outer edge of the dial will be covered if you do not cut the reflector (rehaut) out a little. Then you may need to machine the dial seat to accept a 26.5mm dial as it is machined for a 26.0mm dial. The interior of the case is very close to genuine 1680 spec though. They are basically 1680 spec cases made for 26.0mm 5512/13 dials.

If it is the mainspring, repair shops can order just about any mainspring by thickness, width, length, and type (manual wind or automatic). Jules Borel, ST International, McCaw, Cas Ker and many others should have one. Do not try to order it by movement brand and model number as there are no parts for them in supply houses.

I am with Nightwatch except I will not consider new rolex.

With all the swiss brands cutting off parts and forcing owners to 'factory service', I have lost interest in modern watches.

I have never in my life seen a $6000 watch I would want to get stuck with. To me a $6000 watch is a watch that someone else will pay $7000 for the day after I buy it.

I do however have one $5000 watch (at today's insane prices)...a 1675 GMT Master that I paid $825 for.  

If it was me, I would decide on what watch I wanted, then shop for the best price.

Otherwise you might pay $6000 for a $2000 watch.  

Put $5500 in the bank and buy a new Bulova Accutron II Alpha 96A155, 98A136 etc.

It's bad but not extremely bad and the viability of such a project usually depends on:

1...Who does the work, how good they are, and and how much they charge.

2...Parts availability.

3...Your expectations.

4...Amount of dedication to the project.

5...Alternatives.

From experience:

Some projects are not worth the trouble and expense but you may not know this starting out but only after getting deep into the project.

Watch out for rusty chronograph parts (levers/special parts/screws/column wheel etc), rusty or tangled hairspring, and missing parts.

A $10 part 25 years ago is a $200 part today. I just paid $20 for a rolex 1210 pallet fork arbor, the last one I bought was $4.

At that rate he would only get two or three done in a month.

The Boss:

"Why are you taking that watch apart again?"

The Drone in the lab coat:

"I faughted."

DW cases make good 1680s.

Asian etaclones are, well....

Otoh the noob deepsea may have an etaclone too.

Guys new to rolex replicas usually want modern styles but the deepsea is a whopper to wear.

Deepsea parts are hard to find compared to 1680 stuff.

'Mature' submariner replica guys usually move to vintage models sooner or later.

It's a toss up.

Testimonials:

"I wore a deepsea replica for a few days and now my left arm is longer than the right." 

"After wearing a replica 1680 for a while, I developed a craving for cheap, greasy submarine sandwiches."   

Imho it has a lot to do with which '21 jewel' movement you get. The DG and NN Miyota clones are Ok but the Seagull ST16 is ahead of them in winding efficiency and overall performance. The ST16 has a magic lever type winding assembly similar to Seiko that keeps them wound up much better than the NN and DG Miyota clone reverser type setups.

I will agree with Nightwatch that the '21 jewelers' are tough and in fairness much of their problems are caused by careless handling and installation plus being dry of oil or full of hair, dirt, and ufos of every sort.

I even like the lowly Seagull ST6 better than the NN and DG.

What is an ST6?

You see the ST6 in a lot of watches and they are easy to spot because the works are smaller than usual and they have a large main plate to make them the same size as the NN, DG, and ST16. The autowind assembly is screwed to the top of the movement like an old Bulova etc and not integrated into the movement like the NN/DG.

Genuine Miyota 82xx are very good movements too but you do not see many of them in replicas.

Repairing this movement would be expensive if you have to pay someone to do it. You will also need to know someone who has a rolex parts account because many parts will need to be replaced and buying them from eBay etc will cost a fortune.

The case can be fixed with no problem...new case tube, crown, crystal, gaskets.

I have a 15053 that had been drowned in fresh water (salt water is worse) and all that I salvaged was the balance assembly, a couple plates, and the case. For some reason the balance, balance staff, and hair spring were like new but the rest of it was junk and all rusted together. I guess when it filled with water they laid it up and the balance just happened to be out of the water. The case turned out to be fine and I washed all the rust stains out with hot soapy water.

The baskets have a flat screen at the top with depressions in it for small parts (wheels etc) and there is not enough room to allow the parts to move around very much. Centrifugal force and the damping effect of the liquid keeps them from banging around in the compartments while being cleaned. Centrifugal force alone keeps them in place during the spin off. Plates etc are placed in the large part of the screen basket below the flat screen. Screws and other very small parts are usually put in a small screen basket about the size as a thimble. They screw together in the middle and are placed in the basket with the plates etc.

Also ot...

It evaporates quicker than a politician's promise.

I have an eight ounce brown glass bottle of OD that has a hard plastic cap with a wedge shaped soft plastic stopper and it lasts pretty good.

Bought some hs cleaner called 'New Dip' a while back and it was not too hot.

One Dip is dangerous stuff. It is basically dry cleaning fluid and not good to breathe.

It is for cleaning oil off of hairsprings/balance wheels and not for plates train wheels etc.

One Dip is not to be confused with 'Solo Lube' etc that is an additive put in rinse to supposedly lubricate the parts without hand oiling. Not proper procedure imho.

I use L&R or Zenith cleaner and rinse. My cleaning machine is an L&R Vari-Matic ultrasonic, it looks like something in the bowels of Captain Nemo's submarine.

There is a video of one in action on You Tube.

Got away...

All original 1959 6538 on swiss rivet oyster with tropical brown four line dial with no case corrosion...I paid $700 (seven hundred) for it and sold it before they were worth much.

Replicas...never wanted one back after it was gone.

Frankensteins...never sold one but they are starting to pile up. 

Sold more genuine tutone 3035/3135 DJ and SS 5500/14000/14010/14010M AK than anything and do not miss them.

Sold seven tutone 3035 DJ to one guy in one month 12 or 15 years back when tt was hot...he traveled around selling jewelry and watches out of his car.

Like to have the four Zenith Daytonas back....three SS and one tutone.

Like to have the Monte Carlo that I paid $220 for back, plus the 1675 GMTs that I traded off.

What kind of 'nugget' do I have left?

A 6430 Speedking that I bought new in 1972 for $115 (it's nos now).

...wtf?  

Imo Clark is a 1st class go to guy and wso990 is a 4th class last resort.

I have ran across a lot of those jiffy lube jobs and take them apart and run them through mineral spirits (aka Stoddard solvent) first time around and rinse them in Coleman lantern fuel (aka naptha)...then run them through L&R cleaner and rinse as usual. This saves you from wasting high priced L&R cleaner and rinse on oily parts.

L&R cleaner is basically Stoddard solvent and the rinse is basically naptha.

To save on 'One Dip' hairspring cleaner you can use commercial tetrachloroethylene automotive brake cleaner sprayed into a cup, then dip the h/s/balance wheel in it.

One Dip is essentially tetrachloroethylene (aka dry cleaning fluid).

Watches that have been drowned in oil will be Ok as long as the oil does not get on the dial...or hands with luminous filler.

Many repair shops who can work on rolex watches will no longer touch them because of no parts. This is a fact of life and going to get worse as time flies by. In order for me to work on one now, it has to belong to me.

A large part of what you pay an independent shop to work on a rolex is for sticking their neck out...loss, damage, mistakes, theft, parts, water leaks, warranty claims, putting up with lunatic customers etc.

Here is what it cost in parts to c/o my 15053 (parts purchased in late 1990s), low mileage watch, no polishing:

Mainspring...$11

Case tube 5330...$14

New 530-8 crown $35

New 25-145 crystal...$18

Case back gasket...$1

Two springbars...$12

Materials (cleaner, rinse, oil etc)...about $10 (purchased recently)

Total = about $100

Time...5 or 6 hours. I'm slow.

Today's retail price to do it all = $500 to $750

"So what, just get a rolex parts account."   

Yeah. Nothin' to it.  

I can understand.

In my case, I can work on them but they will not sell parts so I cut them off at the knees. I'll never buy another new one unless it is 25 cents on the retail dollar or less and if it was a gold prez, I would have to think looong and hard about it. I might buy a good used late model if it was cheap enough...a few hundred bucks.

Last one I bought was in May 2009...new leftover 14010M AK for $1200. Well...not really a leftover, it was a 25 year award watch (engraved on the back) that was refused.

I have a few genuine quick set models laying around (3035/3135) and a couple cal 3130 AK but am afraid to wear one because it might 'blow up' and need parts leaving me out of luck. Had a chance to sell a 15053 a while back and the guy wanted me to guarantee it for a year. I said "Ha, Ha, I might guarantee it to still be a watch but that's about it." No way.

I have enough parts left to keep my vintage junk and Frankensteins running so I still wear one now and then.

The metal hairspring is the bane of mechanical watches, always has been. I hate the sight of the damn things. Silicon hairsprings are a giant leap forward imho because they do not get tangled up, are non magnetic, can take much more abuse during, drops, handling/servicing.