alligoat

That white dial looks good- reminds me of my recent white dialed DayDate build- I used an aftermarket imitation fluted bezel, but it worked out ok. Movement was the 1556 and the case was the 16000 case which was specially turned by Phong to accept the Rolex movement. With a DWO you should be in good shape- good luck.

YG Presidents are pretty rarely traded because most people don't mess with them. The reasons are: 1. The gold plating may wear off if you wear it too much- a dead giveaway to it being a fake 2. The gold color may not match that of a true YG Rolex D-D. 3. Young people look out of place wearing a $10,000+ watch. You can buy a used one (gen) for as little as $5,000-6,000 if you shop around, but it will be the 1803 model which is 30 years old+. Why not just buy a new one from Josh or Andrew- they both have decent selections and are trusted. I'd personally stick with a DD in stainless which mimics the platinum or white gold models- they're more subtle and the gp won't ever wear off! People hardly know it's a DD.

The dial, bezel and insert will fit all three models- 16800, 168000 and the early 16610. It will also fit the late model 16610, but the dial and the bezel are early- pre 2000.

Yeh, I bought a 16800 from Jared and it was ok- somewhat worn and I put a new crystal on it and had it serviced- doing fine now. You just have to decide if a beater is what you want or are you willing to spent another $500-1000 for a cleaner example. Jacek would be the next step up- just a little better quality most of the time.

If you can find a watchmaker to do it for $50-60, it's not a bad deal. But, if you want to learn, invest the $65 on the tools and go for it. It's not that hard, but part of learning is screwing up- I've busted a few case tubes in the process, but I've done 5 or 6 of the swaps at this point and it gets easier. JMB might be a good person to contact about doing this- he's always been fair/decent/excellent with me.

maybe you could go with the a21j movement, or who's to say you couldn't build a DJ w/ a 2846- if it'll fit in J's case.

I'm with you on this A! I love these white dialed 6542s Here's one I ran across- maybe it's a 1675- some of the early ones in gold didn't have cg's, dauphine hands are early, black bezel insert is maybe later, but the white nipple dial looks cool!

Beautiful watch, A! Hats off to Joey on a great build and I love that lume shot!

I agree- anytime you're installing a tube in a case, you need to first tap the case hole with the correct tap- in this case the 3.0mm x .35 tap. Then use a little threadlocker or other type of glue when you install the case tube to make it watertight as you seat it in the case.

I've done this on the 16610 bezel also- sand the inside with some 400 or 600 wet/dry sandpaper and then see if it will fit over the crystal retaining ring. Like Nanuq says, just go slow and keep test fitting regularly.

The only way to fit a 2824-2 in a 16000 case is with a Stilty spacer ring. Like Tomhorn and Preacher62 say, the 2836-2 is best in the 16000 case. It also accepts the datewheel overlay easilier. A 16200 case will take the 2824-2.

Subdial spacing is also different from a Daytona- running seconds at 3, it's a Dubois Depraz chronograph module coupled with an eta 2824-2.

I checked and the T-12 is corrrect for the 5500 case- you may have to get another crystal, maybe from another mfr.

Rolex used that dial in the 16610 thru 1998. Of course, that model still had lugholes in the case. My euromariner has the lugholes, and a noob dial (Swiss Made)- it's the one on the bottom in this pic

I'll check my crystal list at the office. I've got both the 1500 and 5500 cases which are slated for Explorer builds in the future. The 1500 will probably require a new bezel since it's loose on the current no cyclops crystal that I have on there (jmb does this for a fair price- just send him the parts and he turns a new bezel). Sometimes you need to try a couple of different crystals/mfrs to find one that fits right. Your polished crystal looks good. If you want to age the dial and hands, maybe a light coffee/tea stain would do it. Just dry the dial and hands afterwards so that it doesn't mess up the lume.

There is no sapphire for the 1500 case, it's plastic or nothing. Same with the 5500- they're old!

I would doubt it myself- it's not a TC sub, TW Best, WM9, etc.

I like my folded link 7836 from Josh, but for the 6542 the 7206 is going to be more correct and with the 80 end links you're good to go!

Try not to get too anal about it- yes cg's do vary-here's a gen that's been DLCd And another: This is a 16800- same idea as a 16610

The dial looks pretty good! A while back there was someone who got a 1680 DW case and it didn't work out at all. Also, I know some other people have had issues w/ DW lately- he's taken some money and then not responded. But a few others have had recent success. The pictures of the case look pretty good, I wondered if it wasn't a gen, except the lugholes appear small and the case tube wasn't installed all the way, which isn't important. I guess I'm saying be careful, don't spend more than you're willing to lose!

+1 c. 62-63, with white print and pre tritium- T < 25

Looks like a noob LV to me- it's ok for the price- but you get what you pay for.

I used a 2824-2 when I built my Explorer I with a DJ 1601 case- but the dial was flat But with a pie pan dial, I would think the movement would be shifted up in the case- I wonder if a 2836-2 would work better since the stem is lower than on a 2824-2 I wonder who else around here has built a 1600 DJ franken w/ the pie pan dial....

The case tube that measures 2.43 on the bottom can only go in a 2.5mm hole, so it's a 5.3mm case tube. The tube with the 2.84mm bottom can only go in the 3.0mm hole, so it's a 6mm case tube A 1603 does take a 6mm case tube and crown- crown would be the 24-600-0. Case tube is 243-6000-0. Last 0 denotes stainless steel. On a 1500, I'm not sure, but it appears you have a 6mm assembly

Are you sure the parts you have are 5.3mm and not 6mm parts? Your case tube that's too big is probably 6mm which takes a 3.0mm x .35 tap and the 5.3 tube takes a 2.5mm x .25 tap. A set of taps would be a good purchase. Also, if you're buying used crown on ebay, you have to realize that some sellers have no clue what they're selling.