ubiquitous

LMAO!

Oh, you'll most definitely want a different crown; Palp has the right ones- Nice and thick with the correct ridges and bevel on the edge. T'is a very worthwhile upgrade! The cannon pinion looks pretty good on that one though...

Good thing Marco had some pics! I have nothing collected in my database for Bubblebacks....

Just swap to a genuine dial. Fixes all of your problems at once for a lowly cost of $280* *Typical cost

Don't make me weigh my Special Edition Weber Panerai Edition charcoal grill with propane reserve and running thermometer @ 9:00!

B16A2 head with a B18B block?

Do you have lug holes exposed on the side of the case, or is it solid? If there are lug holes: Insert your springbar tool of choice into the exposed lug holes and push the springbar end in. While the springbar end is compressed, give downward pressure to the top of the end link with your thumb. Repeat on the other side, and the end link will slide down and off the case. If the lugs are solid: You will need to approach this from the bottom of the end links where there are notches cut to expose the springbar ends. Insert your springbar tool into the notch, and compress the end by pressing on the [censored] of the springbar. Again, apply downward pressure to the top surface of the end link with your thumb, which will pop the springbar end out of it's hole. Repeat on the otherside, and you're done.

Wow!! That is one fantastic find, Ludo! Especially for the money paid! Well done! If I said I wasn't jealous, I'd be lying through my teeth

Etched crown @ 6:00 started in the Y serial year for genuine Rolex.

The crown on mine is so faint that I had to get a loupe to really see it well. It's very small... difficult to see without magnifying 10x, and has the little S at the coronet base to signify a 'service replacement' The rehaut is quite decent. Thankfully, all of the most concerning aspects of the watch were pretty good. Things like the dial, the insert (which is actually printed with the '30' marker misaligned), crown, tube and bracelet are easily fixed and will be replaced shortly (waiting on parts to arrive). More to come soon...

I bet Aaron (HKTan) can make you something along those lines...

I do? *looks around* Where? A most odd symptom with your watch, Rico. What happens when you engage the chrono and hold the watch flat, but with the dial facing down? Does the stopwatch still work?

I'm not sure if the finish is more durable on the 904L or not. Rolex uses the 904L for it's higher nickel content as it's more resistant to corrosion; one of the reasons why they switched over to 904L in the mid-80's (they used 316 prior for their cases and bracelets). The genuine's finish is simply better because Rolex takes more time to finish it whereas rep factories don't. If you were to spend a little bit of time to polish and re-finish a rep Rolex (especially the bracelet), it would better match that of a genuine.

For one... There is very little difference between 316 and 904L visually/aesthetically. Yes, genuine Rolex stainless steel has the appearance of being a little bit brighter, but it is my belief that it's mostly due to the finishing of the metal, and nothing to do with the actual differences in the steel itself. Comparing the genuine 78390 bracelet from my Franken-Daytona to a rep bracelet, there is very little difference in actual color; finish, however is a bit smoother and the brushing is better on the genuine (no surprise there). It always cracks me up when people on the gen RLX forums (Timezone, etc) claim to be able to see a difference between 316 and 904L. I think it's all in their heads.

Ahhhh... San Francisco. So much to see and do Definitely visit the Embarcadero, Union Square, Ghiradelli, MOMA etc. Drink lots of Peet's and hit up Joseph Schmidt's for some tastey chocolates. As Robert mentioned... If you can, drive up to Carmel and Monterey to see the aquarium, or to the redwood forest if you have time And if you ride the Muni, be sure to carry some hand sanitizer with you!

How's this? Faint enough for ya? (never mind the crappy dial and insert)

Well, the great thing about the vintage dials is that the lume can vary so much with each specific example. Lots of different suppliers of dials, varying conditions that the watch was kept or stored in over time, etc. You have thick, puffy markers, uneven markers (from tritium swelling), flat markers, etc. 5513 Gilt dial: 1680: 1665 Rail Dial:

There are a ton of variations with the coronet, even within the same reference! You have, tall and spikey, short and fat, large opening, small opening, flat opening... A good example is with the DRSD 1665- There are 5 different dial types for this one ref, and each one varies as the dials were made by different sources (e.g. Beyler, Singer, etc). If you can narrow it down to a specific watch's reference, I can check and see what pics I have. You can either post as a reply here, or hit me up on PM if that works better for you...

They tend to vary, depending on age, reference, etc. Are you looking for modern, or vintage?

Zeiss- If you're going white font 1665, you'll want the flat T-39; Superdome is more correct for the DRSD (the white font didn't materialize until the mid 70's). So, if you come across a good condition DR dial, it may be worth some consideration given the scope of your project.

Whaaaa... You no likey teh mis-spelling? T'is part of the charm of the watch!

I've been practicing a little on some pics I've taken; thanks to Pug and BT, I think I'm starting to understand some of this photoshop stuffs. Some before and afters... Tanks for the help, fellers!

3135's come up every now and then, but they are usually quite pricey (over $1k). Plus, there is never any guarantee that the movement will even fit- Typically, when dealing with a 2836 to 3135 retrofit, the stem doesn't center up in the tube.

Mmmm... I see T-SWISS-T! Very nice!

I'd leave the dial alone for now until Chris can confirm if this is a go or no-go considering his recent posting. If the possibility is there to fit the dial to a genuine 1575, that is the thing to do!