JoeyB

Can you tell me if the Tiger-Concept 5508 mid case you have is the current V3 with the mineral glass crystal? If it is, is it a gen style mount using a pressed on retainer ring, or is the crystal/gasket a glue-in style?

Gen case or aftermarket, as long as it is the gen style crystal mount using a retainer to hold on the crystal, the case doesn't matter to mount the bezel. The bezel clips by the spring to the retainer ring. So, if the retainer ring fits the crystal, the bezel will fit.

He has to call it "ugly". It's not genuine Rolex. That's in the by-laws of VRF. I don't have a 'Samu' in my records, but I have shipped more than a dozen inserts to the Hong Kong and Singapore.

According to this http://www.gmtmasterhistory.com/gmt-master_ref_16750.html during the 16750 run, sometime after 1986.

It did, but now we have Viagra.

Unfortunately the closest I can get to my birth year is 1953 (2 years shy, though publicly I will only admit to 1976), so I will keep my replica 6204 and 6542 rather than buy the gens and save $100K or more.

Thanks. Had I known I'd live this long I would have been more careful.

My 20th anniversary in the military was in 1990.

I think you nailed it!

Atmospherics. This is a common problem with acrylic crystals, particularly in colder temperatures. When the internal pressure per square inch exceeds the external pressure per square inch, the result is an expansion of gases thereby causing a breech in any closed area. Caution is advised.

I would think that back in the early 1950s, so soon after the war, small companies like Rolex weren't sure they would be able to stay in business. The economy in Europe was not nearly as good as in the U.S. Near as I can tell from reading and seeing pictures, a good portion of a Rolex was hand made. That made for variances (mistakes), and individuality (more mistake), which yielded the long term advantage to replica builders 60 years later.

Or a couple of Tequila shots... I tried it by hand using a diamond tip scribe. The depth and width looked close, but I haven't got the talent to make the nimbers and letters right.

I think it depends on when. The early 1950s 'Brevet' look almost hand scribed in pictures, while the later 'Registered' 1950s look lightly engraved. I think the two you show are quite close to being correct for the later 1970s, `80s and since. 1954: 1959: 1675: 16710:

Would you give us more information and details on your selfmade chs please? I see at least 3 pieces to it, the two pinion gears and the 3 gear stack at the date wheel.

Please do. I built my 1675 to that year and model, and I'd love to see if I came close.

I could be mistaken, but I think the bezel on the 1675 two-tone was 18K solid gold, and not plated. That's likely why it's missing, and same with the original bracelet. WSO will have a plated bezel, but for a genuine gold one, it might be hard to find and expensive.

With the 'nipple' dial and two-tone bracelet, I'd say it looked like this when new. It's likely a 'root beer'. I don't know if Rolex used plated bracelets, but it could have been replaced over the years.

The 6538 I received from MK was the case and caseback, no bezel or insert as I have those. The issue, as I said, is that the 6538 does not use the gen style retainer ring mount. My bezel won't work on it.

I just talked to MK at Helearou. The 5513/5517 case with crown guards does have the retainer gen style mount, but not the 6538. I have not looked closely at the 5513 case, but that might be an option for a 1675 build.

How would my bezel look on a Sub?

I paid $158usd plus shipping for the case, caseback, movement holder, crystal gasket, 2 spring bars, and sterile crown/tube. No bezel or insert. If it had been a gen style retainer mount, it'd be about $500usd for a case set with coin edge bezel.

I just received the 6538 case from Helenarou. It is NOT a retaining ring/gen style mount for the crystal. It is set up for the gasket/miineral glass crystal. Looks like a Tropic 19 acrylic crystal can be glued in after shortening it, as we've done in the past. with cartel cases. The rest of the case looks really nice. The curve of the lugs is more gen-like, and the bevel is nice. It can be easily thinned out to work. The rehaut looks deeper due to the glass crystal gasket seat. I'll contact MK and see if a gen style mount is available.

I was about to take offense and demand that anything my ex claimed could never be trusted, but decided to google "shrinky dink" first. They have such a think for inkjet printers, shrinks in the oven. I don't know how you get the right size with little control of the shrinkage.

Gary Clark will stand behind anything you buy from him. Just let him know what happened, and ask him for help. That said, we are working with copies of 50+ year old watches. 50+ years makes for changes in specs, and we are using copies of those. I've had many gen 6542 owners tell me my insert snaps in the bezel perfectly, and a few others with the high end replicas say they needed to shave a bit. My retaining bezel/ring are made to gen spec, and fit the Clark's 25-116 as it's supposed to. But when I took one apart to work on something, putting it back together the retainer was loose enough on the crystal that I could finger push it to seat flush. The acrylic crystals do have some 'flex' to them, and temperature makes for some contraction/expansion. And that crystal may have had a bit of 'wear' in the first press. The bottom line is that, especially for those of us building/repairing replicas, the need for slight adjustments should be expected. If it fits together perfect the first time, I likely did something wrong!

Oh, wow! That is a GREAT marketing idea! Thank you so much!! 'JoeyB's Amoeba Inserts' $25usd each.