alligoat

Looking good DB! That was a quick build, or maybe it just seemed to all come together quickly. BTW, that Yuki is kinda mislabeled. It has the separate end pieces, so it's really not a 93250 which has the SEL's (solid end links) which are permanently attached to the bracelet. So it's fine for your watch for now.

I don't think jsizzie realizes that this is the 'new' Submariner, the 116610, not the old 16610. Here's a pic of a gen w/ fat lugs and chunky cg's. Trevor's isn't that bad, IMO. Same fat lugs and chunky cg's!

Get the watch and then decide. I'm with kbh, these watches are so new, there are no aftermarket parts available and really you might as well just enjoy it.. Check out what BK does, I believe he does some mods to the new ceramic subs.

Go for it! Price is fair, it's got the asian eta and blue lume, it's as good a starting place as any.

With a bezel ID of 30.5, a T-21 should fit. Check Cousinsuk, they may not have their own T-21, but maybe they carry a Sternkruz. Cousinuk show the ID/OD of the crystals which is a big help.

I remember Nanuq posting about rep 9315's a year or so ago, but not a rep 93150.

It's at least medium stretch, but it is gen. I look at the flat top 3 in 93150, and the thinner coronet on the back of the clasp. The W6 on the inside of the clasp denotes a later production date- late 90's. Considering these run around a grand new, a used one like this will run$300-500, maybe more if the seller is proud of their stuff.

SL is 'Swiss Made' Luminova is 'Swiss'. Luminova was only used for about a year around 1999-2000. So modern 'Swiss' dials are rare. Dials were also marked 'Swiss' prior to 1963 when they were still using radium, prior to tritium. Looking at your case, it might also be for a sapphire crystal, which would be another reason to contact jmb. You just won't be able to get that bezel over a plastic crystal.

Well, our resident Explorer expert is LHOOQ, with his help, I was able to put together a very nice Explorer rep/franken. You're off to a good start, but your case could be your biggest problem. First off, does your dial fit in the case properly? Secondly, you've got to fit a plastic crystal. Try a T-21 and T-22 from Clark's and hopefuly one will fit snugly. If not, you'll have to get the calipers out and and at least try to find a crystal that fits snugly over the inside lip. At that point you could send the case and crystal to jmb and have him fab up a bezel to fit correctly. 6020 tube is fine, and you should really retap the case hole before you install the tube, 3.0mm x .35 tap. One of you crowns should fit. Then you need an eta stem which should come Tap 10, 0.90 mm. 2846-2 is a good movement. Your dial looks OK and the 'Swiss Made' would denote a more recent service dial, but you've got good lume and that's something I like on my reps. Hands can be also be bought from Clark's. Your hour hand may be ok, but if you just install a new set, you'll have good lume to go along with your dial. Hopefully you've got a spacer ring to use on the inside to keep your movement in place and at that point you should be good to go. If you're over in the EU, Cousinsuk would be the place to get parts.

Wow! Did you buy that gen bezel that Sheartime was selling?

You can use the same size gasket on the crown as the two that go in the tube. PM me your address and I can send you a couple of spares. When I screw the tube into the case, I just use blue thread locker (aka loc-tite) on the threads. I've quit fooling with the rubber gasket there or the thin metal washer/gaskets that you sometimes get. Thread locker works fine for me which is swimming to 20 ft. For scuba diving, I wear a $200 scuba watch. Check out automatico's post on crowns and tubes, very informative http://www.rwg.cc/to...889-crown-info/

Yep, the two small o-rings go in the tube. Original 702 assemblies had two in the tube and one at the inside end of the crown, hence triplock. The 703 assembly improves upon that with two in the tube, one in the crown and one on the outside of the case tube. Guess we could call it a quad-lock but Rolex just kept with triplock designation.

Shoot Rob, I like your new watch! But it sounds like you need a full service on the 2846. And maybe a new gear... I just got this watch from Silix for maybe $62 Looks a lot like yours, except for the bracelet. I'm afraid to open the caseback for fear I'll screw up the 21j movement!

Hont's watch could be an SSD. The key is to ask him if the SN is Z539117. That's the SN on the v2. V1 was F539117.

Beautiful job B! That is a home run!

Your datewheel looks ok to me. I wouldn't worry about it if it lines up ok in the date window. Trimming the cg's would help. Does yours say, Orig Rolex Design, 16610? That's what mine says! Damn those v2's, fix one thing, screw up another.

The plastic crystal for the 16000 series cases is 25-135. 16200 cases take the 25-295C-1 sapphire.

Great looking watch Akira. Congrats! I'm not sure about a 24-600 crown fitting a 24-5030 tube, wouldn't a 24-503 crown be the correct fit? It's still a 6mm size, or close to it.

I've always wondered about v_luu44 out in Phoenix/Scottsdale/Mesa, Arizona. Is he tied in with Phong of Jewelry and Watch? He seems to sell a lot of old v72 cases and we all know those movements went into Daytonas. I don't know if Phong does the 1655, haven't checked. If you wanted a gen dial, Shear-Time, Andrew Shear, up in NYC is the guy to watch. Here's a gen bezel: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Rare-Rolex-Explorer-II-ref-1655-Orange-Hand-Bezel-/200651675200?pt=Wristwatches&hash=item2eb7c59640 Marty, I think your watch looks pretty good already. Maybe you could age the orange GMT hand and tone down the color.

Good job and yes, the throw down dial is a great help when lining up the DW overlay. There's no doubt that the frankenjust is a great watch for $500. Ironically, that's what it cost me 5 years ago when I built my pair.

Ouch! This looks like you're going to pull the 1570 movement out of the OP Date and build a 1680 franken...

You're right J. The rolex datewheel sits inside of the eta DW so you can't swap 'em out. All you can do is overlay.

There isn't a better version of the 6234 unless you spend a lot more money and get a jewelryandwatch V72 version and I'm not even sure if Phong makes a decent dial for that model. I have Phong's V72 6238 dial and it leaves a lot to be desired. Check out Phong's site, www.jewelryandwatch.com. After that you can go to DW and maybe look at a 6239 with the 7750/60 movement. This is about the same price as Mary's 6234, maybe a few dollars more, but will have the correct assymetrical pushers, and be a little more correct. I couldn't find much on his website, http://www.dw-watches.tk/ , but maybe you can do better. Be aware of the fact that whenever you buy a watch with the asian 7750 movement in it, you may have to service the movement at some point. Here is the CONUS, this can easily run $200 or more. But at that point you should have a dependable watch.

Someone mentioned this earlier this week, the autowind mechanism is unwinding the mainspring. Don't know if it's a 5 minute fix or means a new movement/service the whole movement.

Give us the scoop Marty! NDT means it's got a gen movement????