ubiquitous

Excellent work! Sorry I did not get you the pics to show the process of removing the retaining ring- None the less, it looks like you got it done regardless

BTW- Here is what I use to press my rings back on...

The case is an old Omega Sea-Master (176.007). Fits the retaining rings and crystal perfect!

Well Ubi I do have a 1680, That I did some mods and joe did some other, I want to put this dial on the 1680.

I will assume that the dial is fake because of your comments, is that right?

Ivanoso- If you have a 1680, then that's a good one to use! I do believe that the dial in question is legitimate, and at a very good price!

Maybe the best is to change the movement with a nicer looking one.

You could also make friends with a watchmaking student and 'volunteer' your plain 6498 to be the student's work piece for his/her course I've seen some incredible transformations of UT6497/8 movements, complete with redesigned bridges, decorations, skeletonizing, etc. by students...

I especially like the decorated reshaped bridges and balance with microstella adjustment on tourbillon's 6497/8's! Very nice touch...

Hey Ubi I found this one is this any good. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...Y_BIN_Stores_IT

Looks much better... But you'll need a vintage 1680 for that dial

Keep your eyes on eBay- Every now and then a nice genuine 16610 dial will pop up for bid by a reputible seller...

Here is mine- Retaining ring only. Does this help?

I've tried without the insert, and it is loose even without the insert. I'm still not understanding what creates the resistance for turning and what prevent the bezel from being displaced axially. Maybe my bezel has too large of an inner diameter (the one that seems to interface with the outer diameter of the retainer ring)?

Well, it's the tension from the retaining ring's o.d. and the bezel's i.d. that provides the tension to hold everything together- The washer acts like a spring to provide resistance to keep the bezel from moving too easily- To turn the bezel, one must theoretically press the bezel to the case to flatten the washer to eliminate the tension in order to turn the bezel...

Everything prior to disassembly fit fine? Nice and tight?

...Only thing I can think of is that perhaps in the process of removing the bezel, the bezel got bent slightly out of round. If you place the bezel on a flat tabletop, do you notice any high spots where the base of the bezel looks like it might not be level?

Hmmmm. You do indeed have everything accounted for, and present. That bezel should snap right on; the insert should have nothing to do with the actual hard parts going together...

Might sound like a dumb question... But, are you pressing the bezel on hard enough? It does take a little effort to make it snap on....

Hmmmm... The bezel assembly should be in 4 parts-

-bezel insert

-bezel

-bezel washer

-retaining ring

The retaining ring is a very thick ring of metal that is seated around the crystal to create a seal for water resistance. Since you mention flipping it, I'm assuming you mean the bezel washer (very thin metal awsher that is in place to provide enough resistance to the bezel to prevent it from turning easily).

The washer is at the lower left.

Try fitting the bezel on without the insert.

BTW- I meant to ask... What happens when you try to fit the bezel to the case without the insert? Like this?

What is supposed to hold the bezel down - simple press fit or tension? If it is the press fit that holds everything in place, then is it possible that I took too much off the inner diameter off the insert?? Maybe I have a bad insert? Or retainer ring?

The tension from the bezel fitting to the retaining ring is what holds the bezel on. Should be able to press it on with your fingers; the bezel should snap on with a slight bit of effort with a reassuring click.

Just to confirm, you only removed material from the bezel insert only, right? i.e. the bezel and retaining ring have not been trimmed in any way?

Fascinating posts gentlemen. I myself have no real preference on the matter... I don't bother paying much attention to the s/n myself, and as long as it's in the correct general range for the proper year/era that it should be, that's all that matters to me.

While the above is my general opinion on the subject, I do think it's rather neat when the factories decide to do random numbers for the maltriculation.

Fitting genuine Rolex dials to ETA based watches is no problem. I've done it many a time, and with no problems yet (My MBW 1665, 7928 and 16234 franken projects all have dials meant for genuine 1570's and 3135's fitted to ETAs).

Here's a link to the dial being sold on eBay I'm in contact with this seller

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

BTW... You might want to keep looking for dials. The ones being offered by this eBay seller are terrible.

Finding a watchmaker who will service an Asian 7750 is not an easy task. Best to stick with Ziggy- He's overhauled more than he probably cares to remember, and knows these movements inside and out (literally).

I hear Howie is a bit of a germ-o-phobe?

Ming's photography is also worth checking out. A very talented individual behind the lens...

Ming Thein

Worn, hollow link Rolex bracelets tend to look that way. Tight hollow link Jubilees tend to look that way as well.

I think the watchbuckler had some 18k PAM buckles... Don't recall if they were WG or YG, but I do believe he had both tang and deployant.

I kinda like the smiley sun...

Very nice! The 5053 is an excellent choice, my friend!

Some pics to illustrate...

Supersize me...

Those are the threads that strip...

ryyannon-

It's the tube that is attached to the exterior case of the watch that is the issue. It's completely external to the movement. I'll take a pic of the item in question here in just a moment...

As for what Radiomirs are exempt from this- difficult to say. I've only experienced the Radiomir that I have, which was one of the early PAM183/210 cases from River. Granted, I've been careful in threading my crown down (so the threads still work) it is easy to see how they can strip with little effort.

Indeed- It's an issue isolated with the crown and tube... These parts are rather soft and can strip out easily. No worries on the movement. The Swiss ETA 6497s are built like a tank!

Ubiquitous - that one on the right is a beaut. Where did you get that one?

They all came from DW. The PN (on the left) and standard black dial (center) are 1st generation DW's... The silver dial (right) is a 2nd generation...

Obviously, I meant 'out of the box', Ubi...

I've been familiar with your project for a while, and am still GREEN with envy.

But this dude won't/can't go this route, so my advice to him stands; stay away from Asian 7750s running seconds at 6, they just don't work.

Ethan- I must concur 100%! 7750 Russian Roulette can be an expensive game to play