Ronin

Work In Progress

Excuse the poor lighting, and the case has since gone through the ultrasonic and is clean with no gunk.

Almost finished... Updated photos near end of this post.

All genuine parts except JMB's Bezel.

Dial/Hands came from a collector in New York.

NOS Trituim Hands match the dial.

Donor...

1570

Fight the Power!!!

High Resolution Crops

More details to follow, including Bracelet updates....

I have one on order from Andrew as we speak.

Have you tested its Water Resistance?

Good discussion. Something else just came to mind. (As stated, I am not a fan of 'current' Rolex corp. However, I am going to take their side, and play a bit of devils advocate.)

First, a personal experience, and perhaps some wisdom that only comes as one gets older and priorities change. Back in the 90's, I was a pretty serious SCCA Auto Racer. I progressed from Stock Classes and Improved Touring to Open Wheel Formula's, with a smattering of exotics thrown in (Lotus, Porsche, Viper). Back then, I could not for the life me wrap my head around the fact that the Auto Makers were making progressively heavier vehicles, with disappearing (non)-options. As a racer, I wanted the essence of a vehicle-- No extra doors, no Air Condition, no Power Windows, Cloth (lighter) instead of Leather (heavier) seats, etc...

Fast forward. Now those weight adding creature comforts make total sense to me, and the auto makers were simply responding to the market. We were the minority. Enter technology as well. The few extra grams of the power window assembly was more than compensated for my better engine management and horsepower. Finally, when purchasing a vehicle, do I really want to go down a list of options and seeing the $$ added to the sticker -vs- the all-inclusive price these days for a solid feature set. No.

So where am I going with this. Somewhere within the hallowed halls @ Rolex, they know that guys on Oil Rigs are NOT using their dive watches. There are no more Cold War scientists in need of a Milgauss. How many spelunkers actually use an Explorer II instead of a Garmin/Suntuu wrist computer. That said, modern Rolex's are essentially on par with our comfy BMW's, Mercedes, etc, and the average/current (White Collar) consumer of their products.

Rolex knows their market, and it is not (most) of us. I am cool with that...

Final thought. The "I'm not in the watch industry comment", real or not, is really just a way of saying "Rolex is a Luxury Good's" maker.

Here I come to save the day--maybe!

Putting a Yuki 7206 onto my 1601-based Space-Dweller was as close to a perfect fit as I could imagine. Gen bracelets are a different story--especially Oysters, since I don't think they were an OEM option for the 1601. x58s should be the best fit, but these will likely be a bit loose around the lugs. Rep 455Bs won't help you, since they're way too big...

If you like rivets, I'd go with the Yuki option. Alternatively, a Jubilee with x55s should be perfect. I think this is what ubi did on his build.

Superb dial, by the way. That didn't come from Italy, did it?

Thanks, and no not Italy. I would prefer the Rivet option, and had high hopes for the C&I 7206 equivalent. Debating on selling the C&I or modifying the end links. Looks like Yuki is back ordered.

Thanks for finding that Akira. Looks like a leather strap is order until I modifiy endlinks or find some other bracelet solution.

LHOOQ-- Speak to me ...

I have said it in many posts here before, but ONLY in the Rolex world do I see this level of craziness. While I fully support true collectors with their safe queen's of providence, they represent a small portion of Rolex buyers IMHO. I would rather have 5 GEN/Geninstein's missing B&P instead of 1 GEN Rolex as the budget would allow.

Like the automotive comparisons, stuff wears out and breaks. That said a healthy aftermarket is a GOOD THING. I would love to see dozens of broken Rolex's retrofitted with ETA Style movements. It sends a big fsck you to Rolex, and people who think Rolex transcends a "regular watch". I would love to see indie watchsmiths advertising "Rolex Movement Swaps" right next to their "Battery Replacement" signs. (There is technically NOTHING ILLEGAL or CRIMINAL about this. It is your personal property. It is no different than dropping a VW Bug engine into a Porsche 356. If there is no attempt to defraud, it should even be legal on eBay if fully disclosed.)

One thing I like about the Panerai crowd is their willingness to change to aftermarket straps as if it is a badge of courage. In the Rolex world, you could use a $30 legal/non-infringing aftermarket Oyster bracelet, or cool strap, which is probably better quality than its 30yr old counterpart-- but because it is missing the coronet on the clasp, your otherwise GEN watch is branded as fake by Douche' McDouche' who paid $1100 at the AD for his replacement 93150. It's cockeyed....

I love, love, love vintage Rolex aesthetic. How I satisfy my itch is up to me. I have NO LOVE for "Rolex Corporation" these days.

I have been MIA lately, but now that summer craziness is slowing down time for some projects.

In Ronin style the watch will be nearly ALL gen except the JMB Bezel. I am using a DJ 1601 case, and it will be powered by a 1570.

HELP. I have a GEN C&I 7206 Rivet bracelet, that does not seem to fit the DJ case very well.

I wonder if this is a C&I thing, as the endlinks are unnumbered. -or is does the DJ case vary from the 1016 case.

Can anyone advise on bracelet fit for a DJ Case (converted for 1016) with drilled lugs.

THANKS!

Dial Porn:

Looks great. 1016 build on my bench currently.

Since Daytona's have been around over 40 years now, I say anything goes. While you might not win the heart and minds of Rolex purists, it is definitely a modder's delight.

Looks great, wear it well.

Hey gang, been away for a bit. To clarify-

Does this movement:

Fit gen dial feet locations

Fit gen cases

Use gen hands

Thanks

I keep a large .txt file with all of my ImageShack and Photobucket images tagged and ready for quick cut-n-paste in the forums. Most are under 1024x768.

They WERE fine for years. About 6 months ago ALL my photos on ImageShack experienced a quality loss.

That said, looks like all of these guys are tweaking their compression settings. I even wondered if it was time based-- based on last access or number of hits.

The pisser is, things like tutorials or builds that have been posted look like crap now.

Ahhhhmazing.

Wow. That is the best thing I have seen all day.

When doing a build, I usually assemble the case minus the movement, and run it through a quick cycle in the dishwasher. Mostly Rolex builds. Make sure that heat drying and additional heat the water options are turned OFF, and no soap. This only works with screw down crowns, or PAM CGs.

This is precisely why I'm not going to be ordering any Rolex reps (despite how much I love the Submariner). I figure Rolex is the only high-end watch most people can easily recognize, and reps are so common that the "Fauxlex" has become a cliche. I sort of expect everyone's first reaction would be to assume it's a fake. I feel like people would see right through me unless I arrived in a Bentley. I think the average mouth breather on the street probably isn't very aware of the rep market for other brands, so they're unlikely to think much of it if I have a nice Tag on my wrist.

Sigh... This whole logic of it is a Rolex and therefore must be fake is the stuff of myth if you ask me. A Genuine Rolex can be had for the price of fully loaded MacBook Pro. Quality Vintage Date/DateJusts for well under $2k.

Where I live, and travel, the MAJORITY of Rolex's I see are Gen. Rolex makes on average 750,000 watches a year. That is 2885 per day or 360 per hour. DO THE MATH.

As for Rolex, id counter that they are so common and accessible (affordable) that they are the best to rep(wear).

Yup.

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!

Big welcome. At current count I am up to 5 Doxa's.

Someone needs to hit up Clark's to start making the t38. I would have no issue using an aftermarket in this scenario, especially a Clark's.

Somehow I missed this on the first pass.

Zig, a couple of questions for you:

1.) Did you use something like one-dip on the hair spring / balance, or something else?

2.) Did you remove the jewels prior to parts washing?

Amazing work!

People buy into the FB hype because Zuckbg and team do a great job marketing it to clueless companies and naive 20-30 something marketing people. They blow smoke up their ass about their data mining and target marketing intellegince. (selling your data is really what the business is about. It is not some altruistic free service for users to social network, that is the facade)

The problem with FB going public is they will need to serve and satisfy THREE masters. 1.) The Users who privacy they steal 2.) The advertisers and marketing clients. 3.). Shareholders.

At the end of the day, the FB walled garden is another AOL. We all know how that ended up.

With PayPal, "gift" is an absolute NO-GO indeed for buying goods. There seem to be some "private sellers" asking for that, I´d never buy anything this way.

I´m using PayPal since quite a few years for various offers, never had any issue. In fact, I like the easy process.

The only other option I ever used was Moneybookers, but this is a bit like Western Union imho. No "safety" like PayPal. Oh, and of course, credit cards.

Given their are just as many BAD buyers as sellers, I see no issue with the gift system. PayPal is a one way street, it only protects the buyer. The gift option, levels the playing field. However, you must buy the seller, and the seller must pick the buyer.

At the end of the day PP gift is no different than a bank transfer. It is all a good faith transaction.

You should NOT dispute rep purchases with PP until exhausting all options.

Jomashop.com is my "grey market" vendor of choice. If you need warranty work it usually needs to go back to them.

Keeper if you ask me.

BMW R60/5 - “Great Escape”

Stop it, I thought I kicked the Bike habit when I sold my last BMW... This makes me want to start riding again.

Awesome. 1016's are the new Black. It also helps that Don Draper in Mad Men was sporting on in season 3 and/or 4.

P.S. I have one of those awesome "banged out" bezels on my bench too.