alligoat

Well for starters, the hand stack is incorrect- the hour hand should be on the bottom, GMT hand next and the minute hand above it- but that's typical of these reps and the movement is more reliable than the correct handstack movements which tend to fail. But you're paying a premium for the Rolex markings on the movement and that's really a waste of money IMO. Plus these modified look alike movments aren't very reliable either- you'd do better to stick with a plain jane asian clone eta movement. BTW, I doubt this is a swiss eta modified to mimic the rolex 3187- it's an asian clone probably. You might look for the same model for less money in the asian clone movement and have enough money left over to buy another rep.

You might check his site- they probably are still available. I bought this one 5-6 years ago- it's a 5513 case I put an aftermarket dial in it, it's the one on the left in the pic below The one on the right is Paul's DRSD with the working HE valve- I got rid of that case and used the Swiss eta in another build- a 16660.

I like Red's example. I'd personally stay away from a champagne dial, but it's really up to you. My 16014's dial has faded from silver to an oyster beige- that was common on Rolex dials in the 60s and 70s The watch over in Munich says silvery, but it looks pretty white in the pic, but the contrast of the dial and the gold sticks and hands is nice.

Looks like a gen insert w/ a chunk missing at 10! Gen crown and tube also? Rep.

Yep, sounds like a rep dial. A gen 1680 dial is 26.5mm and a 5513 is maybe 26.2mm or less. A 1665 dial would be some where in that range. So then you're looking at a rep case, I guess. Maybe you buy a cheap Josh type 5513 and see if you can make it work- or just go with a new rep- sometimes you can't win....

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!