JoeyB

As already said, grip the stem. A pin vise is good, I use a surgical clamp. Anything that won't damage the stem will do. While holding the stem turn the crown counter-clockwise and it should come right off. But some are glued on, so if you get any resistance stop turning. You can break the stem off into the crown. I've run into a few that were glued on. If it is glued just heat the stem up a bit and then turn the crown. The heat will melt the glue.

This one says the dial is repainted http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rolex-6542-GMT-Master-no-crown-guard-Circa-1958-No-Reserve-/320890513191?pt=Wristwatches&hash=item4ab690a727

I see, and that also explains the difference between the Cyclope 115 and Cyclope 116 crystals.

I was thinking the other way around, having a 6542 serviced by Rolex after the 1675 was introduced. The GMT hands are the same size for both movements, but would a 1675 dial fit either of the 6542 movements?

It will fit. However, and someone may correct me on this, but if a 6542 was sent in for service and received the 'new' dial and larger 4th hand, the perspex insert would have been replaced too with the gen you already have. I believe your watch to be accurate to a 6542 that was factory serviced.

A gen thin case! It's beautiful!

Well done! What case is that Tudor in?

That's what I thought too, but it can. The very first one I shipped was to freddy and it was broken in shipment. However, it did take the United States Postal Service to break it!

The 1st run made with acrylic is sold out, so it's on to the next batch, this time made using Lexan. Lexan is used for outdoor sign making, and the bullet-proof glass on fighter jets. The Lexan has a better 'feel', is a bit more dense, and substantially harder to work on! Shaping, sanding and finishing takes more elbow grease! The difference in look compared to the acrylic is subtle, but noticeable when side by side. The Lexan looks more expensive, a tad less shiny but more polished. These are made using Lexan, engraved, lumed and polished. Individually made, hand finished by me! Made in the U.S.A. Outside diameter is approximately 37.5mm, inside diameter approximately 30mm, and approximately 1.3mm thick. I will be listing them on Ebay in the next few days or so at $250 usd, buy it now. For members of this site, RWG.cc only I will discount to $225.00 usd. For paying VIP and Platinum members here (not reciprocating to admin or mods from other sites) the price will be $200.00 usd. So, if you're not a VIP here, become one and get a discount that saves you money on both! All plus shipping, please PM me if interested. Please bear with me and my miserable picture taking skills. I'm getting better. Please note the correct font, and the 'grainy' look to the numbers. They are lumed and do glow for a bit (not super lumed) but I can't get that pic to save my life. Being translucent, the red and blue do get lighter and darker depending on the light you are in. I found that fascinating, as the blue will range from Navy to almost a Royal, and the Red from blood red to a hint of orange in varying light. A member recently bought one and specifically wanted it Navy /Blood Red. I explained how the light does change the look. After receiving it he wrote back "The colour tones and lume colour are perfect. Absolutely perfect."

I stopped wearing my watch in the shower when I over-wound it...

I've checked as many as I could find, and on the alternating red/black datewheel on 6542s the one with the open '6' in the number 26 is the genuine. Wholesale Outlet has the closed 6 on their red/black also. I would assume the same for yours.

DG2813, new, clean and with a guarantee. http://www.ofrei.com/page1119.html

A water-slide decal will pass that inspection. And to be honest, a good picture and a little practice would pass a macro-shot too. If I recall an older man had a 5508 on Ebay that he didn't know what it was worth. It came in around $70K. So, would you spend $35K ? It seems to me the thing about this hobby that is most captivating is the complete range from a Canal Street knockoff to a fully modded by members here. You can add as many genuine parts as you like to a full blown all genuine as freddy did with his white dial 6542. And anything in between. It is totally and completely up to each individual how much to spend and how far to go. Including going genuine, as By-Tor did. And there are no rules. We make our own. There is no taking away from anyone who sources the genuine parts, finds the 'needles in the haystacks', scores the 'Holy Grail' and builds a drop-dead gorgeous franken. When finished, as with any modded watch, it is a work of pride, a labor of love, and a work of art. For me it's replica all the way. I prefer sourcing the replica parts and modding them to look genuine. Just about everything we get from the far East is 'off', can we make it 'on'? The 6mm Brevet+ crown from RafflesTime is a good example. It needs work. Making it look genuine is a source of pride. Making the 6542 insert is a source of pride as well. Making the small GMT 4th hand? Not so much! But I'm working on it. My 6542 has 'passed' inspection at my jeweler, a local Pawn shop who is a friend, and at arm's length, the AD himself on Kalakaua in Waikiki. I joke, but do take pride in stating 'No genuine Rolex parts were harmed in this build'. And that's the thing that seems to be the 'governing' factor. Our fellow members. If our work passes inspection here, then NO ONE can tell otherwise, not Authorized dealers, not even the people on gen sites. It is all us! And truth be told the only person that gets close enough to see any flaws at all says she isn't interested in my watch. As to 'profit', yes, I do profit on the insert I sell. It is marginal here, but I do OK on Ebay paying for my own inserts and other toys!

OK, so who has a genuine 1675 that can measure the mid-case for us? That would solve it all, and give modders the right number to go for. I know freddy has the mid-case measurement of the gen 6542.

I may be wrong, but I think the contention is that the mid-case is thinner on the older GMT, not the entire caseback to crystal measurement. I thought, ever since reading freddy's comparison back on his phase one, that the mid-case was what we were talking about when discussing the thinner case.

Thank you.

Frank, Pardon my ignorance, but where are those measurements taken? When I measure the thickness of a case I get 5.1mm.

Thank you! I checked the mail, no joy. But UPS is due later this afternoon. I can't wait to see the present you got for me!

Thank you all! The dial is refinished by me. The camera didn't pick up the aged gloss with spider webbing, but it came out nice. The Red Lettering is much more visible and crisp in person. I think it might be the crystal that interferes with that. The crystal is a major disappointment. It is a NOS GC replacement for a 25-115, and the cyclops is totally distorted, along with waviness in the face. It lined up so perfectly with the date window too. Really disappointing. I'll replace it with a Clark's 25-116 until I find another 25-115. freddy's got good eyes! The GMT hands I'm working on having made didn't come in time, so I slapped this one together. I had only one broken acrylic insert out of the last batch, so I used it here to disguise it a bit. But freddy caught it right away. I beveled the bezel on the bottom, but not the top until I have the final insert fit to it. Once beveled on the top it will look as a 6542 bezel should. The case came from an Ebay seller from Hong Kong, I think the same one JMB bought one from. onlinestorehk had a 'Bond Submariner' case with 3 NATO straps, crown, crystal, caseback, bezel , insert springbars and movement ring at around $80 or best offer. I made an offer and told him I only needed the case, caseback and bezel and he took it. It looked just like the case Ken at Rafflestime has. I reworked the case, beveled the lugs, thinned it out and drilled the lug holes. I like the way it came out. It has the ETA 2846 slow beat I serviced, and that several of our members helped supply the GMT parts needed to convert it. Special thanks to Librarian, curlflash and RolexAddict! It has my red/black date wheel overlay and the 6mm Brevet crown from Ken at Rafflestime that I reshaped a bit. So, it was rushed to post a bit, but for a fun reason. This is my birthday present from me to me. I wanted to post it on my birthday, April 7, and see if anyone would catch the serial number being my birth date and year, 471951. When the case turned out to be pretty good, I had it engraved to be 'special'. I think those few finishing touches and it'll be a very good one.

He advertises on some of the genuine sites too.

I'd have thought that the serial number would be the give-a-way.

I've pressed a few with a vise, very carefully after I broke the 1st one - and that was a sapphire crystal. Some sealed, some didn't because the gasket was slightly pinched. For the occasional user like me, I think the press that Harbor Freight sells is a good idea. It comes with the nylon dies so that you are applying the pressure evenly. Used carefully, you can hear the crystal pop into place. At $12.99 it's a decent price, and they run 20% off coupons all the time which gets it down to a little over $10. And the dies can be used to hold or set other stuff too, like glued inserts. http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=watch+press If you have a friendly watchmaker pressure test it. Some say the mall has that service available at one of the watch stores. And the home made one is really neat to build to have your own.

I think you do have a leak, likely the crystal gasket. Get it pressure tested, or build your own. http://www.rwg.cc/topic/75389-build-a-pressure-tester-for-30-dollars/page__hl__%2Bbuild+%2Bpressure+%2Btester__fromsearch__1

I took one out to make certain. Straight from the plastic movement case it came in, not a sound.