JoeyB

It's an old Bic... Thanks! Football is over, baseball hasn't started yet, basketball season is boring, March Madness yet to come. The BlackHawks are doing great, but like basketball, the playoffs are everything. So I went through my drawers (ahem) and made an easy one! I'm still a 'Pusshy Galore' fan (ala Connery), but the old Subs are beautiful too.

I thought it was a Ronson. Nonetheless, I only had a Zippo and retired that when I quit smoking. I thought the Bic was a nice touch, though.

...JoeyB~~

They are brass, not bronze, and then nickel plated. Aftermarket gen construction can be found, but as you said, they are fragile and stainless is stronger.

Very, very quite young. Really young. Way young. Not old......damnit.

Yep, me too. What I've learned and can accomplish thanks to all of you impresses me! One thing I haven't seen mentioned is being tageted for a crime. In 2001 my hotel room in Waikiki was broken into and my rep GMT stolen. If it had been real I'd have been very upset. But I'm sure that I was seen wearing it and that is what brought on the break-in. I know whatever watch I'm wearing is noticed, and certainly in a tourist area. I no longer wear my good reps there!

Yep, that's what I have used. http://www.harborfreight.com/watch-case-press-with-nylon-dies-91621.html It is 'light duty' but works well enough. The dies are key, and work in other uses as well. As said earlier, sometimes the cyclops and height make an issue, but then you can invent new ways. With a Harbor Freight 20% coupon it's just over $10usd.

I agree. That's my pride in my build.

It's all personal choice when you own and wear it yourself. What do you want? is the question. For me, the 21J movement is the smarter buy, but I feel better with a gen Swiss ETA. In terms of money, as already said, the market for a modded or fully franken watch is only on the rep forums. Regardless what non-Rolex movement is used, as soon as the case is opened most people will know. But on the vintage Rolex GMT the DG3804B looks more like a Rolex movement than the ETA does, and would fool anyone at a glance that is not an expert. And for personal use, both will need service in about 5 years, the ETA service anywhere to $250, the DG you just remove, smack it with a hammer, and buy a new one for under $30. But being 'called out' depends on many things, particularly you and what watch you are wearing. My Son wears a noobmariner I bought for him. He gets called out all the time, a college kid with a Rolex. But when he says his Dad got it for him it is accepted. I am older, drive a Mercedes, and never get called out. I've even been in the Rolex AD in Waikiki with my 16710, the owner held it in his hand trying to get me to let him change the insert to all black, or trade it for a 116710. He never questioned it. My vintage watches are even better, always getting the 'oohs and ahhs', and I make the dials myself. People assume a lot. Keep in mind that aftermarket parts sellers like Clark's sell substantially more stuff to gen owners and gen watchmakers than to the rep world. Many gen owners don't want to pay Rolex prices for a crystal when they can get a good quality that they'd never see the difference in much cheaper. Inserts, bracelets, clasps, hands, sell big for the aftermarket to gen owners. We are the only picky ones, likely because we know what we can do.

Omni lives on Maui, Lanikai lives on Oahu. I usually go twice a year, and around this time. Survived that last two tsunamis! This year it'll be in May to see my Son graduate from the University of Hawaii. @Chieftang: You should get to see a whole bunch of humpback whales. Now's the best time of year and Maui has the most. They are awesome!

Oh, this works very nice! I used a Clark's bezel, Clark's GMT click spring and Clark's crystal to re-case my 'retro'. This is the 4th (and last) case for this watch! The no etching crystal with the solid mid and end links allowed me to build the 'K' series I like the most. Very solid and high quality feel to it. The 'retro' was the very first watch I bought after coming to the rep sites, the 16710 'Coke' was my favorite. I didn't like the 'Pepsi' or the Jubilee bracelet back then. Things have changed a lot since, I didn't even know what a 6542 was! Now I've gone full circle. But I've come to love them all, the 6542 'Pepsi'/Jubilee, the 1675 Cornino 'Pepsi'/Jubilee, and the 16710 'Coke'/Oyster and the 116710 ceramic/Oyster. It's getting hard to choose a watch each day! Pretty straight forward build as BK shows. By-Tor advised me on the finishing touches to the crown guards and bracelet. Thank you BK, I sincerely appreciate it.

33rd is correct. 38 years military, but I'm fat and sassy now! Lots of sex. That was the 'cure-all' in high school and still works for me. And it works even when you're alone, so I'm told... The nice thing is that women have the same eyesight problems, so they get the same surprises in the bright sunlight as I do. And modern tech. When I was younger I thought I'd need to save some of my retirement money in order to travel to Africa to buy Black Rhino Horn powder. Then came the internet, and you could order it online, have it shipped! Now they have Viagra at the corner Walgreens, so the big game hunting is back where it should be - in the bars.

I might laugh with you, but not at you. Come April I will be celebrating the 33rd anniversary of my 29th birthday. I have reading glasses in every room I venture, two in the car, and the reason I sold my Breitling Navitimer World GMT is the same reason I don't own any Daytonas. I can't read `em even with my readers. But I can see with a loupe! The first dial I made was for my 6542 that is in my signature. I'd bet that has had at least 10 decals. As I learn, I improve and then I get the urge to make it better. My 6204 came out good the 1st time and has been in service for over two years now. It has actually aged and gotten better. And I like to have something not readily available, like my 1675 Cornino with the exclamation point dial. Next is a 6542 exclamation point dial. After all, it's just a dot in photo shop! If you decide to try, it's only a few bucks, and I'd be happy to advise if I can help. Oh, and the benefits are well worth the effort when you make a ladies watch with her initials on the dial for birthday or anniversary!

Make one. The vintage dials are, in my opinion, perfect for the water-slide decal. The finish gives a 'patina' that you can control using the clear-coat spray paint. All it takes is a bit of work using your photo shop type program, and some practice applying a decal. It is a bit more difficult with a date window, but the 5500 doesn't have one. The only problem is the lume, and even that can be done decently with some practice. The decal paper for ink-jet can be found at most hobby stores. I buy mine at Hobby Lobby for about $12 and then using the 40% off coupon printed on-line, so a little over $7.00 for the equivalent of 3 8.5 X 11 sheets. Your choice of clear or white, as inkjet does not print white. I use clear and allow the color of the dial (plain brass, white, creme, etc.) to be part of the finished dial. I use a decal setting solution called 'Micro Set' that aids in adhesion and forms the decal to the surface it's applied to, hobby shop about $3.50. I use Krylon Crystal Clear, comes in gloss, satin or flat, about $3.50 at Walmart. For the 5500 any old dial with no window will do, turn it to size using a drill bit as an axle and spin it on your bench grinder. You can print at least 108 dials with just $15 spent plus your ink. Otto Frei has blank dials for $4 if you need. I use a water-based acrylic 'glow paint' for lume, similar to what Rolexaddict uses on his luming. It gives that grainy look of tritium, can be colored or tinted using kid's water paint. I use a nib, but you can use anything to apply, from a toothpick to an oiler to whatever you are comfortable with. And if you screw it up, just wipe it off with a moist tissue, and do over. Yes, it takes practice, as everything in life does. But I think the rewards are great. Not just the money, but the accomplishment. Essentially find a good, round pic on the internet. Use your photo program to make it perfectly round, right size, and copy and paste the logo, lettering, markers, numbers - whatever - on it. Tweak and adjust as you like. Print and seal and apply. I made this one for another member, similar to the 5500 doing just that. I had never even heard of a "Commando". But what I'd do is download this pic, it's big for more resolution, use the paint tool to cover the name, and using the cropping tool copy and paste from a 5500 picture onto this. Position, play a bit, and done. The worst than can happen is that you don't like the result and you're out a little time and maybe $25 max.

Also, don't ask a Lady about the measurement after she's been told all her life that this is 6 inches...

Make certain the copper washer is there between the dial and pinion, it's all that keeps the GMT pinion in place. Check the gear under the GMT pinion and make certain it is OK. Then the very small, 3 gear stack that drives off of that gear up by the date wheel change. I've had that 3-stack gear setup fail once.

That is Demsey...

I built my pressure tester from this tutorial http://www.rwgforum.net/topic/75389-build-a-pressure-tester-for-30-dollars/ After I assemble the case, but before I install the movement, I seal all the gaskets with silicone lube per Rolexaddict and test. The twinlock hold fine, no failures yet, including the old style external 'O' ring tube with the 6mm Brevet crown from Rafflestime, and the UV glued crystals in the reps. I wouldn't dive with one, but it takes the worry out of being near water or getting it wet.

The hand stack for the 6542 and 1675 are the same as ETA 28XX movements and the DG3804B 21J movement, GMT/hour/minute/second. The change in hand stack came in 1981 with the 16750 to hour/GMT/minute/second. So the older GMT models are correct hand stack with the movements we've been using.

I just pressed a Clark's 16610 bezel on a Clark's 25-295c with no problem at all. Nice and tight, good click when it made the seat.

For those who dont like to click , The price, including buyer’s premium, was SFR 87,000 (roughly £53,000 ) YIKES The Rolex Octopus (Sommozzatori) Wow. So, how much is calamari by the pound over there?

Note the location of the holes: If you can live with that. that's the cheapest way to go. The 1655 Explorer II case can be modified to make a 6542. The lugs must be ground off, and the case thinnied out a lot. It uses the gen style mounting for bezel/crystal. You'd need to buy a coin edge bezel for it to be correct. I'm in the middle of that build now, just trying to find a correct looking aftermarket(cheaper) bezel.

The PureTime case (cartel) has the lug holes way too high. While you might be able to shave the rehaut, you can't move those holes. The case is horrid.

I believe your first insert came from Classicwatch. That's the one that had the crack in it, and I bought from you when you got the next from Yuki. My first 6542 was the Silix case too, following your lead. As you know, lowering the 'wall' for the crystal and deepening the bezel was needed for the Silix, but it had enough metal to work with. The Tiger case just doesn't. Best would be a gen style crystal/bezel set up, but even the $330 is a high price. All things are, of course, relative. And as I am relatively cheap, the quest continues!

As this project seems to never have an ending unless going the way freddy did, a bit of an update. The 'Tiger' (Rafflestime/Hong Kong) case has proved to be not a good choice. The bezel setup won't take the insert correctly, it is too shallow, and the crystal mount interferes. I can't take it down further. So it's 'eh', OK, but no cigar. So, I'm back on the drawing board. If I could get a source for an inexpensive gen style coin edge bezel I think I know how to get the rest correct.