alligoat

Before you even find a modder, you need to start checking ebay and see if you can't pick up the parts. 1. Crown- using a 24-703-0 crown will be the easiest 2. Case tube- PN 24-7030-0, but most people use the aftermarket tubes and do just fine. I've bought the last 3 from wholesaleoutlet990, but Yuki has one out for $12, haven't tried it yet 3. Bezel insert- these aren't cheap for the tritium vintage ones. A lot of people use the PMWF insert and a pearl from Ofrei 4. I heard Kent Parks is hard to get a hold of (Everestwatchworks?), and Ziggy is even harder, but you just have to keep trying. An old 1680 won't have any glow left in the lume, so if you don't relume, it's OK also. 5. T-127's are around- you just have to keep your eyes peeled- you should be able to pick up a gen for under $50. clark's has a decent aftermarket for a good price also. Once you have all the parts then you can find a modder. Welcome aboard.

Actually, Chi, I think stem position for the 2834 and 2836 is about the same, they both are day/date movements. The 2834 has a larger OD though because of the way the Day is positioned on the dial. I used a 2834-2 in my 16800 franken, which is housed in a noobmariner case.

Beautiful job, Chi. I'm a big fan of 1500 Dates- own two of the gens My gold shell has a white faceted dial and a white datewheel with the flat top 3's etc. Hacking 1575 movt- it dates from the early 70's. It's a model 1550. The ss 1500 is from 1966, datewheel has closed 6's and 9's and round top 3's- I don't know if the DW is original or a later replacement. BTW, it looks like you have a 2834-2 in there from your mmovement pic. But, I'm excited, I have an extra 1500 case, now I just need to come up with a dial. Thanks for sharing.

I guess we're thinking along the same lines, aero! I've got this watch in the back of my mind And maybe this dial from Paul- it doesn't say 'Date' at the end of Oyster Perpetual. Thanks for the pic of your 6538 movt- I certainly can't remember back to your original post!

Yes. As long as it's a 2824-2 in there.

Nice spot biffa! Looks like a brevet and a coin edge bezel to me. Sure would like to see a better pearl and maybe a slow beat 2846-2, but it looks like an improvement over the old Silix/cartel offerings, with a few mods it could look pretty good- that and a good dose of judicious aging. Nice 6538, Aeromatic- I assume it has a 1030 beating inside.

Interesting, but I'd figure them as CN copies of the gen crown. These copies have been out for at least 1-1/2 years now. That yuki crown is a bit pricey to boot, I've been buying used gen crowns for $20-30 on the bay. But didn't I notice Yuki having a 24-7030-0 tube for $11? May have to try that one out. Also, a pic of the inside of the crown would be cool. Even though the gen crown is a 'wrap'- metal inside wrapped with an ss cover, the walls are very thin. Rep crowns typically aren't as thin. But it's good to see the rep crowns copying the gens finally! Thanks for posting, Luna.

Nice job, JB! It's always cool to see how a 'pro' does it!

I would think the bezel would hold up fairly well- it doesn't get that much use. My Euromariner is similar- MBW/MBK case, close to gen bezel construction. I can't remember if it says Orig Polex Design between the lugs on mine. Mine is the V3 w/ lugholes and an A S/N.

Looks like an MBW/MBK to me. Just out of curiosity, what is the serial number?

Congrats! Nice looking pair of watches. I especially like the reluming- part of the fun of a vintage rep, IMO. The PMWF insert and Ofrei pearl is also a nice touch, and the 1680 is my idea of a great beater rep- not too expensive, but great looking. Good job.

Hewlio, I think it's time for you to enjoy your new watch. Maybe you keep you eyes open for a vintage tritium insert. Don't worry about the crown, it works. And leave the hands for now, I've seen lots of vintage Rolex watches where the hands were a different color. I bought a matte dial 16800 a few years ago and it was by no means in the greatest of condition. But I had it serviced and found a better tritium insert and now I'm just enjoying it. Mine has an aftermarket crystal in it, and I guess I should get a gen crystal, but I'm not going to worry about it right now. My hands are original, but they show the typical corrosion the early 16800 hands were prone to. Sometimes 'original' isn't that pretty. BTW, my 16800 only sees light duty these days, I'm trying not to tear it up. A lot of people figure these matte dials are only going to go up in value. Luckily, I have a franken for when the going gets tough If I tear it up, I can always build another one! You could do it w/ the gen, but it would be a whole lot more expensive!

I have a 1680 re-dial, it measures 26.51mm, it's a red sub dial that was in my gen 1680 for a while 'til I went back to the white dial. I didn't measure the white dial. I also measured an MBW dial, 26.20mm- they are smaller than the gens, of course. These measurements were made w/ my chinese calipers, so the measurements could be off a little. Nice job on the Ranger dial, Slarti.

+1, Especially the aging part, looks great.

Beautiful Freddy. A great watch to wear when you're painting the town!

IMO, you just have to get a vintage tritium insert, a better set of tritium hands and an old 703 crown. I bought a good old tritium insert from sheartime- Andrew Shear on the bay- $60-70. Check VRF for old hands- guys have the old tritium ones from time to time. Hands for the 16800 and 16610 are the same sizes and as long as they're tritium, you're fine. The old 703 crown has a taller crown emblem on the side- newer ones are more squat. Rolex would change out those parts in the course of servicing anyway, maybe your bezel is new also.

I disagree with the 'L' always being centered under the coronet- a number of the 70's vintage Rolex dials had the 'L' left of center But I don't like the narrow 6 and 9 markers and the yellow lume isn't to my liking either on the PT Gw 1665 dial. I put the MBW GW dial on my PT sub, and it turned out OK, with one exception, the PT DW sits slightly inside the MBW date window. The problem is, both watches have their faults, but the PT does correct some of the faults and is quite a bit more reasonably priced. The PT GWSD has a better insert, better DW, a 2846-2, and a good 93150 bracelet, albeit w/ 580 ends and not 585's (minimally acceptable- some early DRSD's came w/ 580 ends). I installed a gen crown and tube on mine- rep crown was too big, and I still need to trim the crown guards some more. The important thing to remember is, 'a rep is always a rep'. Even if you buy an MBW and spend another $300-400 fixing it up, it's still just a rep. You could build a franken for $2000-3000 and it's still just a franken. So you just have to decide how much do you really want to spend. For the $350 I spent on mt PT GWSD, it's not bad, but it's never going to be perfect, but I also don't want to spend $10K on a gen!

ewatchparts is the same as wholesaleoutlet990/jewelryoutlet555. Also watchbandman50 is in the same group as far as freddy and I can tell. It's ok if you want to gamble on $10-20, maybe even $50 parts. But on a 14kt bracelet, I'd keep looking.

try google or bing, they're your friend. here's one from the bay- early w/ butterfly rotor: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270494042657 1560/5 came out in the late fifties along with the 1530, 18,000 bph, followed by the 1520/1570 around 1965, 19800bph.

Contact bklm1234 about a WM V3 dial or send your noob dial to Kent Parks for a relume.

I'm seeing a pic of the movement on the ebay auction. It is a V72 w/ Wittnauer on the bridge. With the thinner caseback, it would look better. It's a nice franken, worth $2500-3000, or whatever anyone is willing to pay for it. Probably nicer than a J&W franken if it's been serviced and running well.

A white gold bezel and ss body is a 16014- definitely need a white DW I also saw a 1601TT w/ black dial- white DW- maybe at Becker's up in Dallas, on the bay of course, last week.

Plastic crystals vary some, but the dimensions of your case and retaining ring sound fine. At the most, you might have to sand the inside of your retaining ring. Look at all the various T-19 crystals Ofrei stocks. So you can figure having to play around w/ 2 or 3 to find one to fit is not unusual. http://www.ofrei.com/page419.html

ETZ used to be the source for the correct DW's- flat top 3's, open 6's and 9's on a silver background. Not knowing what's happened to him, my next thought would be trying to get one thru one of the other dealers who deals w/ MBW's- PT and Paso come to mind. These new DW's which we see on the PT 1665 (and maybe the new Josh 1665 and 1680) sit slightly inboard of the MBW date window, so keep that in mind.

Anything's possible. ETA used to have a factory over in China, maybe around the Hong Kong area. These watch movements are still available, they're just not as readily available as they once were with ETA's new policies of limiting sales to non-ETA companies.