alligoat

I don't know about the case clamps, but I would think that a 2836-2 would fit better in the 15000 case as far as stem/crown alignment goes. The rule of thumb is the 3035 cases accept a 2836-2 best and the 3135 cases accept a 2824-2 best. But there can always be exceptions to the rule. It seems like there has to be a groove or ridge in the case for the 3035 movement to be anchored to- if you thinned the Raffles time ring, would it help. Stilty rings are generally thinner in my experience but they do the same thing as the raffles time ring- center the movement in the case. A pic of the inside of the 15000 case would help

Nice job Andy and your lume job looks good. Congrats!

Your pearl was no big loss- it had the small metal surround which is incorrect for the 6538 sub. I don't know if an Ofrei pearl would fit in there or not. I bought a wholesaleoutlet990 insert for my 5508 which actually turned out to be good http://www.ebay.com/itm/BEZEL-INSERT-FOR-VINTAGE-ROLEX-SUBMARINER-5508-5510-/310304841369?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item483f9c1e99 But since the Silix case isn't gen spec, it might not fit in there. Is raffles-time selling cheaper acrylic pearls?.... The lume job looks nice as do the hands, a good pearl would be excellent!

That watch caught my eye last week- it was in one of the advertisements here on RWG. Looks like they run around $1700-1800 usd here in the US. Nice Swiss watch company, is it a 7753 movt? Couldn't figure that out. I'd like it more if it had a date feature around 4 o'clock.

A 2892A2 won't fit in a case for a 3035 movt w/o a spacer ring and even then I'm not sure. Stick with the 2836-2. I have no idea what you mean by a 2.0 and 1.8 sapphire- all 295-C crystals are the same, but the gaskets are diffferent- 1 and 2. DJs take a #1 gasket and subs take a #2. I'd figure all crystals have an LEC these days if they're gen. JMB would be the one to talk to about a DWO- he's been making them. When I got my 16800, it had been serviced by Rolex and it had the new modern replacement DW- talk about small and puny. Luckily i found a NOS old DW- it made a big difference. The dials with the white gold surrounds are gloss dials. The early matte dials w/ no WG surrounds are the only flat dials. Old 703 crowns have the tall crown emblem on the crown, just like the 702 crowns. Newer 703 crowns have a squatty crown emblem. The tube for the 702 is 24-7020-0. They're tough to find, but marsupilami made some copies 3-4 years ago. I think the 703 is a better assembly and if you could find an old 703 c rown, it would be great.

I borrowed this pic and it looks like an equilateral GMT hand But it's certainly not the kind of detail I'd worry about. The PT GMT hand w/o any lume is worrisome for me though.

Cool Joey! Appreciate your efforts, thanks.

I have a gen 16800, SN 8,1xx,xxx and it has a tritium marked dial that still glows. But I figure it was a service dial that was installed around 1998 when Rolex was switching over to luminova- they actually had some dials marked 'Swiss- T < 25' and they lumed them with luminova. When those ran out they started on the 'Swiss' dials with luminova. My crystal also has an etched crown- so it's a service item also. Now a tritium dial can also be relumed. So the last of the tritium dials were used in the 16610 around 1997 or so- the dial for a 16800 and the 16610 are the same BTW. A tritium dial from '97 would still glow but not that well- 1/2 life of tritium is 12.5 years. The first 16800's might have had a 702 crown- around 6 mill SN. But the 703 would be used for anything after that. The same is true for the silver DW- early 16800's- 6 mill SN. 7 and 8 mill's would have the white DW w/ open 6's and 9's. Are you trying to build a 16800 with an eta movement or a 3035 movt? I used a silver DW in my 16660 build- it came from my old Paul's DRSD- it had the correct round top 3 and open 6/9 and a true eta movement.

The 1655 rep uses a 6.0mm crown, so you need the 3.0mm x .35 tap. Look around, because someone mentioned a place to get the tap for around $10- just can't remember the name of the place.

I can't tell you which DRSD dial to get, but what I'd do is look at www.doubleredseadweller.com and compare. Then make your choice and go for it. I like my PT Sea-Dweller, but I put an MBW dial in it- great white- and it wasn't an easy mod for me. But if you don't do too much, or nothing at all, it's OK. And it has the 2846 which is a nice slow beat movement. If you leave the crystal and bezel assembly alone, you'll be fine. What I did was: nice G&S T-39 high dome crystal custom jmb crystal retaining ring- this brings it up close to gen spec and is WR. MBW great white dial trim the crown guards gen crown and aftermarket tube It's been a great beater for me and a little more low key than a DRSD which is kinda rich for my blood Here's a fuzzy pic

I've never seen a full gold replica 1675 with the nipple dial. I'd certainly figure replica-dig as a scam site- take a pic of a gen and sell the you know what out of it. If it were true, someone would have bought one by now- hell, everyone would have! I haven't even seen a full gold 1675 from any of the trusted dealers.

I've been using the wholesaleoutlet tubes lately and they measure 6.2mm long. Had good luck with them. With an MBW case, the key is to run the tap thru the case- hopefully the hole is big enough- I busted a tap in a 16610 MBW case- hole was too small! Drilling with a 2.65mm drill bit would help, but it's an uncommon size.

Interesting find, woof! He doesn't say what the upgrade to eta clone costs. But I think I'd have to [censored] can the red bezel insert.

The 1530 and 1560 were 18,000 bph as were the 1030/1060 movts. So you could build an early - pre 1965- sub or other vintage with it. The 1570 and 1520 came out around 1965 and were 19.8K bph. early 5513/2 5510, 5508 early DJ- 1600, 1601 1500 Date- early again 6536/or 8 sub 6200, 6204 sub

Yeh, I've never seen an 'engine turned bezel' on a rep either. That's probably a 20 year old watch and the rep makers are more up to date than that. Building a franken with a gen case and dial would be the only way to go, or keep an eye on the sales forums for one. You could probably buy a gen for $1500 or so if you're patient.

Isn't it the smaller tube and crown- 24-503-0 and 24-5030-0? I know the 600 series crowns and tubes weren't used on the GMT. GMTs also were only rated to 50 meters early on, but that may have been the 6542. But it seems even the 1675 was first 50m and then 100m at some point like in the later 60s.

That case is looking pretty good, fidhle, now all you need is a 93150 bracelet with 501B ends and you'll be travelling back in time. A tritium dial would also be great- then it would be an early 16610.

I'm not sure exactly when Rolex switched to the 703 crown, but I'd bet the crown on that SD is a 703. The crown in Freddy's second pic is definitely a 703- remember the 702 tube didn't have an external gasket. And 702s and 703s are in no way compatible- change out the crown and you're changing out the tube. I've seen an early 16800 with a 702 crown and tube and I've seen late 1665s (1982-3) which still had the 702 assembly. Did early 16800s and 16660s come with 702 assemblies? I just don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me.

You can also order a #2 movement ring from raffles-time over in HK for about $7- I would think it would work. I have some spares and can check tonight after work- most fit an eta 2824/2836 on the inside and then it's just a question of getting the right OD.

Rolex used the same dial from 1984 till 1998 in the 16800 and 16610- tritium. Same insert, bezel assembly, crown and tube, and hands. Like genzo says, the big difference between the two is the rehaut of the case- the 16610 is deeper- because of the different movements.

When the 16610 came out in 1988 it had a tritium dial- 'Swiss- T<25' with the white gold hour marker surrounds, drilled lugholes and a 93150 bracelet with 501B end pieces. First SN was an Rxxx,xxx. Tritium dials went away in 1998-9, replaced by 'Swiss' first and a year later by 'Swiss Made' SEL bracelets came out shortly thereafter Lugholes in the case went away around 2003-4.

Not me. The white gold surrounds came out maybe around 1984 and I would figure that's what the service dial for a 5513 is at this point.

I use the #55 cobalt drill bit from Snap-On Tools. Like Praetor says, this ain't off the shelf stuff.

The 93150/593 is gen- well worn and it came off another gen 16800 where I installed an MBW 93150 w/ 593 ends.The datewheel is older with the open 6's and 9's- hard to find these days although jmb might be making them.As has been mentioned, noob crystal is not gen spec and neither is the bezel assembly. Fitting a gen insert in there requires filing the insert OD down to a smaller diameter- i.e. you're wasting it. BK's old trick of a jewelryoutlet555 insert with a WM pearl would give you the correct older 4 in 40 on the insert- the noob insert has the modern 4, c. 2004 or so.

I'm all for reluming these vintage reps, it makes them more fun!