speedbird100

PM replied! It's yours! Boom!

I have a rep rivet you can have. Shoot me your mailing addy and she's all yours.

I really wish they'd make fat font insert. Gen FFs are so damn pricey. So far so good. Everything is running well and the watch looks the part. I think the 7836 bracelet really ties it together. I've found some 380 endlinks but not sure if I want to put more money into parts. Especially something no one can see.

Thanks Seafoam

Thanks everyone!

Oh yeah, but it was cheap and far far better than the cartel dial

So this build from hell is finally over. Had a few issues but once they were sorted it went like butter. Parts list: Cartel 1675 mid case Cartel 1675 crown WSO bezel ring and spring Parts bin bezel insert, aged DG3804b low beat GMT movement Eta modified brass movement spacer ring Custom fabricated brass movement clips Clark's crystal Modified endlinks 7836 rep bracelet with correct markings Gen dial (supposedly, but I'm completely positive it's an aftermarket) Raffles Time case back Raffles Time hands (more on this) Cartel DWO Cartel gen construction spring bars The watch came to me with the Clark crystal and WSO bezel already installed. I chucked the awful rounded Submariner style case back and replaced it with one from Raffles. This CB has the flat back and is intended for a Sub but it looks nearly identical to the 1675. The only minor issue is that it is a few microns too thick. It's really nitpicking but I thought I'd throw it out there. However, it fits the cartel case perfectly. The dial was sold to me as a gen from ebay. Well, it's aftermarket but a nice one so that's fine. Price was good though and I had it in a couple of days. Can't complain about that and I knew what I was getting into. The hands are extensively modified Raffles Offerings. The GMT hand was from a previous 1675 all-red GMT hand build with the all-blue military bezel. One of the rarest 1675 variants. If you want more info on this watch, PM me. They do exist but are so uncommon I figured a rep of one would be a huge tell. At any rate, the only 1675 hand Raffles sells which is the right size triangle is the all-red so I removed the paint from the triangle and soldered it to a new ring to fit the 3804b. Most gmt hands, including the Cartel lacks the equilateral triangle. The hour and minute hands are DG spec. I tinted the lume to match the dial plots. The datewheel overlay was taken from the Cartel and looks fine. No open 6s or 9s but my gen 1675 had a service DW and it had closed numerals. I have an open DWO but it was just a few microns too thick. I'll save it for my next build. The movement has an Eta spacer and custom fabricated brass clips designed by me. The dial is attached to the movement in a strange way. I attached a ring to the movement and used spacers to attach the dial. This way the dial rests on the outer ring but secured from underneath using the spacers. This keeps the datewheel free when everything is assembled. I'd had issues with this before. I used my airbrush to blow any dust out of the case, and dial, then assembled the watch. The bracelet was a silix 7836 sourced from a great member and friend, Michael, aka Jerkstore. A gentleman and scholar he is! The endlinks are correct looking but are marked 455b. Not exactly correct... I'll source a pair of 280s or 580s eventually. I drilled the lug holes to accommodate the cartel spring bars. They have a gen construction but are thinner. I had a par of 1675 fat 2mm bars on hand but modifying the endlinks and bracelet just wasn't worth it. Overall I have the gen look with a ton less work. Any questions, please let me know! So we started with this, pre mods Aaand wound up with this:

Very excited to hear if there are updates on this one

The Clark's crystal is already installed and the gen dial has the same width as the cartel dial so I think I'm safe in that regard. I went ahead and ordered the raffles time case back. Same thread dimensions as the cartel. Little thicker but it's the price we pay I guess

Ya know, I completely forgot about raffles. I think his caseback will work

Since I sold my last 1675 build I've wanted another and recently decided to dive in with a full-scale attack. So far I have a cartel 1675 case, lugs drilled, 2mm spring bars, nice bezel insert, Clark's crystal, WSO bezel, and a gen dial. The datewheel overlay is coming from the cartel eta clone and a new low beat GMT is on order. Here are some pics Mockup I did for fun. Cartel dial relumed by me is going and a gen taking its place So I'm in need of a few things yet. I have the bases covered but the two parts I need most are a better case back and bracelet. I'd like a 7836 or 78360 or a nice rep jubilee. The one 78360 I have has markings from some other planet. If I'm taking it this far I'd like a rep with correct markings. Any idea where I can find these? Yuki has a great 7836 but at $200 it's a bit dear. Might have to suck it up I guess. The caseback is a big priority now. I know a sub CB is a bit too thick. How do I solve this boys?

I love my 176K. I have it on a rubber strap now but have a few others.

It's a 5701 and they're not too common. $1000 is a great deal. I see most go from $1500-$1900. Sometimes more. However, the AK was NOT the "entry level" Rolex. I hate that term but it applies to the manual wind 34mm series of watches, ie the 6694. I own a gen 5500, the cousin to the 5700 series. The 5701 Introduced in 1958 had a Cal 1525/1535. Yours has a 1525. Cal 1535 movements are marked "Super Precision". Some came with SS bracelets, some with TT. With vintage Rolex, the customer could specify all kinda of options and bracelets were one option the dealer could and would often swap. The AKD was mostly sold in the commonwealth nations.

Thanks map. Honestly I'm shopping a 16700 at the moment. GMT functionality with sapphire. Can't beat that. The prices are pretty good on the used market. If the right piece comes along I'll do it, until then my little build will do. I'm at a point where I can afford a couple vintage gens. However, Rolex has priced me out of their new market. Boy, $10k submariner and gmt master are now almost a reality. I have no idea why the average joe doesn't buy used. I thought the rep builds might be fun to try as most of my previous stuff was out of the box. I'd consider building them for a forum member if they asked because I think I have a pretty good handle on what needs to be done. I think a custom build from a 1675 Trevor watch can stay under $400 for a good one. If you want the yuki dial, add a bit. Either way you go with this it isn't going to be perfect but it's still fun

Hey Map, If I were to do it again, I'd go the 1655 route. The Trevor 1675 is an okay place to start but I didn't save any money and probably had more hassle. Let me lay it out. With the Trevor 1675 you get a case that is okay but the CGs are wrong, caseback is wrong-ish depending on the era. Hands are wrong, dial isn't perfect, bezel insert is waaaay wrong. If you opt for the jubilee bracelet, the clasp is wrong. Also the bezel ring isn't quite right either. You have to drill the lugs and if you don't have the correct equipment, this will not be easy You're going to have to source, beg, borrow, and steal these parts and some of them aren't cheap. A WSO bezel ring and insert is over $80 and you still have to decide to replace the movement with a more correct low-beat. All in I have $400 in my build and for the same money I could have gone the 1655 route and probably come out ahead. The only parts left from the 1675 as-shipped are the dial (modified and repainted), crystal (because of the Clark fit issues with the wso bezel, I opted motto change it), mid case, case back, crown, and the jubilee sans clasp. Internally the only thing I kept was the ring. I had to machine new clips to hold the movement as well. Once I decided to build the 1675 all-red it was clear I had to change the hands entirely and ended up having to build a gmt hand from 2 parts. It's not an easy process. You also can't easily replace the crown with a gen part. The rep crown isn't horrible so I kept it. So, to answer your question in short: A gen 1675 in okay shape is $3500. I spent 1/10th of that and with pretty good results. The Trevor base and the 1655 base are simply 2 ways to get the same result. At the end of the day I think the 1655 base will be a bit more accurate.

Not all of the UAE 1675s had the blue bezel but some did. Also, the blue bezel was given away during service in the late 70s by Rolex. These went to the general public.

The rarest combination is the all-red with the UAE all-blue insert.

Red hands were seen from the late 60s to about 1973 or 1974. They ARE oem parts but it's unclear if they were all-red from the factory or if they were repainted. Some people believe they are from the factory like that and that is my camp. It's a fact Rolex RSCs all over the world have serviced all-reds without even a hint of an issue. If it wasn't Rolex oem I bet someone, somewhere, would have had an issue. Waaaay too many of them out there to be faked I think. It's like fairies, you have to believe.

I've reconsidered and changed the lume color on the dial and hands. Looks better I think

Never noticed that. The fresh white is kinda rare anyway. It'll stay as-is

Hey guys, Changing out the crystal isn't something I'm willing to tackle on this since the WSO bezel insert was modified for the one I already had. It'd be nice but way too much work. If you're interested in the All-Red http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=75710 The All-Red was seen from the late 60s to early-mid 1970s. The rarest combination is the all-blue service bezel with the red GMT hand. If you're not familiar with the blue military bezel: http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=52069 Lots of interesting GMTs out there

My 1675 build ends I learned a lot from this. I have so many hours invested it isn't even worth counting. I also went way over budget but the results aren't half bad if I do say so myself. Parts List -Cartel 1675 from Trevor -WSO bezel assembly -DG 3804b low-beat GMT movement -Gen spring bars -DG hands -New clasp for the jubilee -Dial reprinted by myself This is the first rep I've ever seen of an all-red GMT hand 1675. For those who aren't familiar, the all-red is a very rare version not seen too often. There are enough out there, however, to make it something worth repping. It's believable I guess you could say.

So here is what I've done so far: Drilled the lugs for gen spring bars Replaced the clasp on the jubilee with a really nice gen-like piece Sanded the spring bar loops on the end links and jubilee ends Disassembled the bezel ring for the WSO (on order) Disassembled the dial indicies, masked and reprinted the dial (more on this) Sealed the dial with a matte finish. So yes I reprinted the dial. Tritium this old doesn't glow anyway so I'm not worries about that. I went with whit because I like the clean, new look some 1675s have. There are 2 different paints used here. The first was a thicker cream acrylic used to paint the rectangular and triangle indicies. The other is a thinner mix used to paint the hour plots. I don't think it looks half bad for being free. Sure takes care of that puffy look the original dial setup had. I might go for a yuki dial eventually but this little project saved $130 so it was worth it. This is my inspiration: My all-red gmt hand is on the way as well

WSO bezel assembly ordered. I've also decided to build an all-red gmt hand 1675 and I was able to source one for the eta movement. I'm going to stick with the stock dial and crystal for now. Keep costs down a bit. Inspiration http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=119605