ubiquitous

Sweet! Need to check the calendar, but this sounds like it's gonna be lots of fun!

Heh, heh... Thanks, P... But for what I need to do to get the bracelet to fit Mrs. Ubi's wrist... Well, I don't think that could be done on temporary terms But the offer and thought is appreciated!

You know... It's kinda funny that you mention that. She expressed interest in the red/cream white exotic dial... I suppose it might be rather fun to do. If I can find a good example of one...

I realize that most of my projects likely wouldn't have even seen fruition if I wasn't a compulsive buyer, but lately I've been picking up things for watches that I had no intention of ever buying or building. Wouldn't be much of a problem, except now I need to find a watch to match with this; just one of the items among many that I've managed to accumulate lately... All in due time I suppose, as I have a couple of projects on the books that I need to finish up first. What I'd really like to know is if there's a 12 step program to enroll in? A $100 insert shouldn't be the motivation to pick up a $5k watch, should it? Or maybe I'm looking at this from the wrong perspective...

Thanks, gang for the kind words! Mrs. Ubi loves it... But has yet to wear it. I offered to get a croc strap for it, but she wants an oyster, so it looks like I'll be on the hunt for a clean one (though I'll have to whack a permanent link or two from it to fit her wrist). A wristie will definitely be in order! But maybe I need to swap the dial to something a little less... Ostentatious? Hmmmm....

Looks great! Nice to see it completed!

Mrs. Ubi got this as a Christmas present from a very dear and close friend of ours; a beautiful exotic dialed 2 reg. Mystery Movement DW 6263 with gen 25-21 crystal and a 24-703/24-7030 installed (not to mention a replication of the 3CROC so-called Mayer dial *snicker*... One of DW's earlier dials...). Interestingly enough, the movement is signed '234' under the balance (which I need to grab some pics of the next time I have it uncased). This was one of DW's first 6263's from several years back; I had originally purchased this in 2006, and it then went on to my friend who had owned it since. I had recently completed my own 6265 franken project, complete with V72, gen dial, hands, crystal, etc. which Mrs. Ubi had been eyeing since completion so I offered to start collecting parts to do another V72 for her when my good friend had stepped in and offered the DW as a Christmas gift. What a present! When it showed up, Mrs. Ubi didn't know what to say! So, here it is... Just a few pics for now. When I have more time, I'll snap a few more and post. I figure this might bring back memories to some of the old school guys that had these 'relics' as well And with my V72 franken... A sincere thank you to my pal, W.E.! Cheers and best, //ubi

Just thought I'd share a little MBW transformation I did for my friend Gabus. He had sent me this 5513 back in Nov, along with a bunch of parts for it; I didn't really have much time to do anything on it until the New Year's weekend, 2am when everyone in the house was asleep There were a few tricky issues with the watch from the start; notably a caseback that had a ding on the inner lip that kept it from wanting to unthread along with a stem that didn't want to release from the keyless works, the result of a prior repair he had done, along with the stock MBW spacer ring that came stock with the watch (which needed some notches filed into it as the ring was too tall, thus placing too much pressure/tension inside the case and causing the movement to sit a little too far inboard towards the caseback). I didn't take as many pics as I would have liked, but here's what I have I started off by tearing this one down to just the mid case. The MBW tube is removed, and the threads re-tapped. This is why I re-tap the threads... Looks at how much metal was actually removed from the threads. Even after tapping, the tube was still a little snug, but fit much better than before the tap was run through: Clean threads: Next is to address those CGs. Stock guards: In prog: Finished: And Triplock tube installed: Gilt dial goes on next... But I had to modify the stock MBW hands to match the gilt look. Overall, not too shabby: Case it up: And ready to go: The only thing I would suggest doing at this point is fitting a gen 703: The crown that's on there is an improvement over the MBW crown, but still a little too tall. A gen Triplock would suit this one nicely. Thanks for looking, and thanks to Gabus for the privilege and pleasure on working on his watch. Cheers and best, //ubi

If you go the route of using a 2846, I think you'd be better off keeping the gen dial as-is and finding an aftermarket dial to use for your project instead.

Nanuq- Do you have any pics of the bezel you purchased? As for fit- If I recall correct, I think you have a 6536/1, right? It could be possible that your bezel is for a 6536 (no /1) or 6538 (should be the same between these two refs)...

Hmmmm. I dunno. The highlighted section of the crystal here looks like it has a rounded/polished edge:

AP- If you are going to build a gen movement franken, it would be best not to use the MBW case for that particular reference. The rehaut/dial opening is too small for a 1680 and will be an instant giveaway to anyone that knows what a 1680 should look like. As for whether it's worth it to do such a build; that's a purely individual decision. A franken will never be a gen, but to me, my builds are worth so much more to me on a personal level. Anyone can buy a gen... But not everyone can build their own, however.

Looks pretty good! The factories have really been stepping up their game lately. That's always nice to see...

Fantastic build, buddy. Looks great!

Sunday- 3717 franken:

Congrats to ChiMan12! I'll be sending the bezel up to you this week And thanks to everyone for the interest in this! Sorry to make the topic public, but I wanted this to be as transparent as possible for all involved. Cheers, best and Happy Holidays to all. //ubi

Thanks for checking in, T! Very kind and generous of you to pass it on to the next in line I hope all is well, and best wishes in your new venture! Happy Holidays to you and yours! Okay, up to ChiMan now... Cheers and best, R

Okay- Stilty, Chi and Andei have been made aware of this post. I'll give stilty until tomorrow evening, say 5:00pm Eastern to confirm if he wants it. From there, it will be up to Chi, and if he passes, Andei and so on...

Red- There was meters first and then feet first for 5513's; meters first came earlier in production and feet first then superseded. 5512 is a chronometer rated no-date model whereas the 5513 is not. That is the major difference between those models. most 5512s have a dial that indicates the Chronometer status, but earlier examples (like the gilt dials) may not (some do).

Dear fellow vintage Rolex fans I have the following part to offer the forum as a freebie- A 1675 aftermarket bezel and insert to anyone working on a vintage GMT project. This part was, I think an old watchology part; it does need a retention ring and washer, but is quite usable for a build. I faded the insert from a deep black to the bluish/grey tone seen in the pics below. I've had this part sitting in my watch bin for a couple of years, and I don't have any plans for it, so I would rather it go to someone that will be able to use it. The following members have first right of refusal in the following order: -Stilty -ChiMan12 -Andei3000 If the above members all decide to pass, it's up for grabs Shipping will be on me Cheers and best! //ubi

If you have a local competent watchmaker near by, swing it by to have him open it. Chances are, the caseback gasket has turned to sludge and has acted as an additional adhesive to the sealing I've opened up watches from the 50's and 60's era where the gasket was pretty much a stickey, tar like goo. Could be the same issue here...

If you buy the 1655 from Jos, it should have the correct datewheel overlay on that watch as-is. So, for that project, you can just re-use the case and movement w/ date overlay; swap in your dial, a correct 5.3mm crown/tube, GMT Merc hands, 25-116 and bezel assembly. Drill the lugs... Should be a pretty neat 1675 all said and done

LHOOQ has an amazing eye for photography! Great lighting and his images are better than many of the professional shots featured in published media. Definitely a great pic, but that's just one of the many he has taken