alligoat

Looks good. A smaller crown would definitely help, and it wouldn't hurt to square up the inside edges of those crown guards a little.

I agree with everything preacher says. Although my build was a little different, I used a 1601 case to build an Explorer I, I did use a 2824-2, but I had a stilty ring which I used as a spacer. But everything went together smoothly. I also picked up a NOS 24-600-0 crown which fit the tube perfectly Pie pan dials are tough to come by, but maybe a DJ 16000/16200 dial would fit. Like preacher says, a 2836 might work if you have a pie pan dial- I've never seen it either.

www.cousinsuk.com might not be $16, but it should be reasonable http://www.cousinsuk.com/catalog/12/0/2473.aspx just enter DG2813, and it should come up for 9.95 pounds- which I guess is around $16usd

What I like about the PT1680 is the Swiss 2846-2 movement. If you trim the cg's, and install a gen crown, you have a pretty decent rep. Better yet if you install a gen insert. And you can always get it serviced and then it should be fine for 5 years or so. The Josh 1680 is OK, but you're taking your chances with the asian 21j and the cg's are stubby, but if you trim up the insides of the cg's, you'll get by. I guess you have to look at it from the point of view of how long you're going to wear the watch- a few months, get Josh. A few years, get PT.

Looks good to me Marty. I've got the same ETZ DW which I plan on putting on a 2846 and sticking in my MBW 1680 if I can ever figure out what to do with the red sub dial. ByTor has got me to the point where I can't stand to look at the MBW red sub dial!

Like dutchguy says, you can build a conversion with the 1655 from Josh, but it's not cheap. There's supposedly a good 1:1 rep coming out, but we haven't seen it yet. Keep your fingers crossed.

No, based on the back of the dial, it's for a 6542, but it's a service dial which means it came out later. That would be sometime after 1963 when they started using tritium. Or it's an aftermarket dial. But based on the price, not according to the seller and no one's screaming over at VRM, so maybe it's OK.

25-17

FWIW, I received an email from Jewelryandwatch- Phong, he has a 6542 for sale for $4500. 1030 movement, so the same question, is it a true GMT movement, or did it receive a Phong/Vietnamese mod? http://jewelryandwatch.com/index1.html Of course, as is the case, I'd figure most of the parts are aftermarket at that point.

My beater 16800 gen has a circa '98 tritium dial replacement and hands from Rolex and they still glow very nicely. Lugholes in the sub cases went out around 2003. The 93150 bracelet gave way to the 93250 around maybe 2000 which was when Rolex changed from tritium to luminova (1 year) and then to SL. So you could find a sub from 2001-2003 with lugholes and SL which is the best lume.

Don't forget, the MBW 1680 sub dials are 26.2mm. A gen and regular aftermarket 1680 sub dial is 26.5mm. So you either have to trim the dial, or enlarge the MBW case, neither of which is an easy task as far as I can tell. That's why my MBW red sub just sits, ByTor has taught me to hate the MBW red sub dial and I haven't figured out which way to proceed. Certainly and Ingod dial would be the cheapest, and if you screw it up trimming it, you haven't broke the bank.

Quit worrying about the date mag. Even Rolex doesn't obsess about it like you do! Your date mag is fine. I agree with sneed, I think someone is selling you a pile of $hit on the 31j clone movement. But we'd love for you to show us one, and prove us wrong!

Interesting, I thought it had the gmt module. Especially based on your second picture.

Well, it looks good, but I'd forget about the Rolex clone movement, it's not worth it and you can't put gen Rolex hands on an eta movement. If you find a better bezel assembly, we'd love to hear about it. But it sure looks good OTB!

I wonder about using a 2824-2 in lieu of the 2892. Of all the 16200 builds I've seen, a 2824-2 was used, as I recall.

I noticed that JulesBorel list hand sizes for the Miyota at 150/100/17- just like the 2813. $39.95 each. I have a set of silver DJ hands I'm not using- I think they're still in decent shape, you're welcome to them, PM me if you're interested.

Donerix, you need to jump on that 1065- at $1200 BIN, you can't go wrong. Even though the guy says it's perfect, you'll still need to factor in $200-300 for a service. So you're still at $1500, a bargain, IMO! Plus you already have the case. You could end up with a great original franken for a great price.

Freddy is your man on telling you about a mod/build, but I'd certainly snap up a complete movement if you can. Finding parts for the 50 year old 1030/1060 movts is about impossible. There was a 1035 GMT movt on VRM last year for $1500- a bargain like that only comes around once in a lifetime.

First off, there is no corelation between a Silix 6538 and the genuine article, so I don't even know if a Sternkruz T-17 will do you any good. Next, you need to get a decent set of digital calipers, like the $10 ones at Harbor Freight. Measure your Silix crystal and maybe compare it to the CousinsUK Rolex crystal chart and see if it's similar to any of the popular crystals they sell. I doubt they sell a T-17, because it's very rare and outdated. Keep in mind that the chinese crystals are just made for these reps so they rarely have any Rolex equivalent. If you follow some of the people who mod these Silix type reps, the key is to accept what you have and try to age it accordingly. Age the bezel insert, install a decent pearl, soften the case and scratch it up, age the dial and hands. Check out what Donerix did here: http://repgeek.com/showthread.php?t=144934

Nice job Justin! Who would think someone would go to all that trouble to rep a snowflake! Enjoy.

You've got the wrong inserts! The 5513 insert is smaller and the ones you have are the 16800/16610 inserts. The 315-5513 will fit the 5513/5512/1680/1665 watches and the 315-16800 is for the later model sapphire date subs. There's also different inserts for the 14060 and the 16660/16600 SD's.

Send the pic to Josh and see if he can get you that watch- he has others that are close, smooth bezel and oyster band, so all you'd need is the blue dial.

Looks good, simple Rolex elegance.

Sometimes the stem is glued into the rep crown and a little heat will help at that point. Just don't burn your fingers!

Excellent job B! Now you're a certified member of the frankenjust club.