aeromatic

If you do want to send it for repairs and service, can I suggest STS (Swiss Time Services) in UK. They are the official Omega service centre in the UK and the chief watchmaker is a guy called Simon. He is totally sympathetic to vintage pieces and can be trusted to not alter the integrity of an original watch. Talk to him about what you want done; more particularly what you don't want done.

I've sent you a PM and would be happy to advise - vintage Speedmasters are my 'thing'.

Thank you PAMman i appreciate your advice i intend to keep the watch as original as possible i dont want to end up with a new looking watch! all i want to do is replace the missing push button even the bezel insert looks much better since i have cleaned the watch the insert i think is slightly out of line? does not line up at 12 oclock how can this be corrected also what would be the best way to send a watch for service im worried that the watch/ package could get damaged or worst.

well i have been sneaking off neglecting my guests today trying to improve the bracelet i tightened up the midlinks using a pair of plyers with cardboard taped to the jaws to avoid damaging further the midlinks all of the midlinks were stretched then i rubbed the bracelet with wet n dry paper to try and remove the deep scratches it looks a lot better now but 1039 bracelet on this second edition mw is not a very good quality this is 19mm not the 20mm of the later speedys i was thinking of fitting a JB champion bracelet as worn by nasa astronauts aldrin and armstong i have seen this for sale for 200usd expensive strap i notice that a lot of speedys are on black leather any advice would be apreciated!

oh my god that is a great deal. That is a pre-professional speedy even before they moved to the white hands. If you don't feel like spending the hundreds and waiting months to fix it up, I'll buy it from you for a good price with significant profit for you

Hi whitestripes im trying to find out exact date of manufacture the strap bucklet is stamped > 1 - 68

but from what i read on the internet it dates between 1962 and 65 (im not an expert on vintage omegas) but i have seen photos of speedys

which say are from 1962 with white stick hands so if its a 65 speedy was it fitted with later bracelet any advice from you omega experts would be appreciated are there any other ways to date the watch back case is stamped 2998-6 movement 321

I dont have it in mind at the moment to sell the moonwatch i have been looking for a mw for some time now i was looking for nasa backcase speedy but i will keep your offer to buy in mind! aeromatic!

Thanks i would like to keep the watch as original as possible if i cant find a replacement bracelet then i was thinking about a black lousiana alligator strap i will also order a nasa replica strap for summer use as i will be wearing this watch regularly i will try and replace the crystal and insert of course i will keep the original items the watch seems to have all original parts missing is the bracelet adjusting mechanisum

For me this is what the speedmaster moon watch is all about ! and also its connections with space!

Thanks FxrAndy! how are you? do you know what is included in an omega service i wonder how much approx for a full service

Aero!

One guys trash is another guys treasure! when my friend Andy (watchmaker) called me to say guess what a guy as brought in to his shop my reply was a moonwatch? then my friend said yes how did you know? my reply was man you are joking!

Anyway the guy wanted to offload this gem or sell it, i made a crazy offer would he like to swop for a replica seamaster couldent believe that he would accept so my 300usd rep became his and the speedy was now mine!

the watch at first glance seemed in bad shape the strap is very raggety and stretched the crystal was so scratched

that you couldent see the dial the case has some dents and scratches but it is over 43 years old

the movement is in excellent condition and very clean but will get a full service everything works but one of the push buttons is missing

i started with cleaning the watch which was covered in gunge (grease) then carefully rubbed the case with fine wet n dry paper then polished the crystal apart from a couple of airline cracks it came out ok

do any members know where i could get a new pusher button please let me know also im looking for an o-ring set

and a better bracelet this watch is fitted with the 1039 bracelet thank you in advance Aeromatic! oh almost forgot can any member please let me know which parts of the watch should be brushed and polished?

One of the best o.o.t.b. Rolex reps!

It cetainly is!

Wearing this today!

And why wouldent i? just fitted the new (watchgrecko) shark bracelet i least now i can sized it up correctly!

Much better than the factory bracelet!

aeromatic :

Thanks, I did check with Yuki web page, but not know their adaptor only support 2824 or also support 2836-2...

ubiquitous :

Thanks, very clear and I have a clue now to go next step.

Actually I did put a 2846 in my gen 1680 case with a adaptor ring, AND I cut the aftermarket 1680 dial feet glue on the 2846 movement. But the date window just a little bit lopsided not even notice. If somebody interest...I can post the photo.

Thanks you guys

Adaptor is ok for both 2846 and 2836-2 but far more important is that yuki sells the adaptor with a dial made for an eta so no cutting of dial feet or glueing but email yuki about a queries with regards dial/movent holder!

Hello,

Does anyone can tell me if the ETA movement 2836-2 may fit in the gen rolex 1675 case? I'm not worry about the diameter as I can put the adaptor. But the thickness might be the one of major problem.

Thanks

Jay

hello biker should be ok with a adaptor have a look on yukiwatch adaptors to see info on rolex cases

Wearing this in the morning! james bond sub!

And this in the afternoon! (I defected to this soviet military diver)

vostok amphibian from the early 70s rated at 200m

What conclusion we got from this thread?

Rep buyers are extremely wealthy people. When you go to the gen watch forums and browse for similar threads, you'll see much more modest cars.

The mystery is: why do people who drive BMW, Mercedes and Porsche top models bother with cheap and unreliable Chinese knockoffs?

That is a good question! then again who would suspect that an exotic car owner is wearing a relica watch or is it that they dont see any point buying the gen when goodlooking replicas can be had for little money!

my cars? much more modest

Looks amazing, great job!

Could you please share some more pictures of this 1680 meters first? Where did you get it? PT? Are the CGs modified?

Here is some quick photos

the 1680 can be used as it is mabe some ageing (the case is very shiny) or makes a great base for a 1513/2!

I think, the CGs look pretty good! You're right about the crown though. I'll order one of these and mod it a little, really fell in love with MF 1680s lately!

the 1680 case i think is better that the new 5512/3 1680 lug holes are good too no need to drill them bigger the springpins are great too for the 1680 and you get a great slow beat 2846 eta so you can leave the watch as a 1680 or do what i have and buy two and covert one to a 5513 i reshaped the crystal on the 1680 (tophat) to a curved one although i think it would have been better slightly taller but this can be replaced with a tropic 19 generic crystal

the 1680 can be fitted with a 26mm correct size dial without work on the rehaunt but i dont think the new 5513 on sale will fit as the dial is around 27mm to 29mm can anyone confirm the dial size on the new 5513/2? i know that the older comex style 5513 cases are 29mm.

did you see my dial ageing experiment i used the 1680 dial from this watch it turned out extream but looks like a 40 year old dial.

Hi aeromatic,

Just been reading your post, very nice indeed.

Is it not possible to shave the crown and shorten it, as JBM has done above? Would this not work better for you? As you are almost there. I don't think I would put a new crown on then.

Great post by the way, Well done with the watch it does look superb! Marc.

Hi Marcl

Thanks for compliments yes it can be shortened this will require shortening the tube too and the stem which needs someone

who has don this type of work before although i read someone somewere who shortened only the crown an tube

aero! i am planning another build for a 5513 but with a tall tropic crystal so this will be fitted with a yuki 7mm crown and tube 60usd i think this is a good price for a crown not sure about the stem though!

Looks amazing, great job!

Could you please share some more pictures of this 1680 meters first? Where did you get it? PT? Are the CGs modified?

Hi i will post some photos later got it from puretime for 198usd with 2846 eta the crown guards are not to bad but the crown is too wide the case finish is good but the case printing is laser etched

i purchased two a black dial and a tropic dial one of which i converted to make my 5513 as we have a gen 5513 from 1965 (see photos) i found that the case shape of this 1680 was the closest i have ever seen on a rep out of the box for a low price

and decided the use it for the 5513

the crown guards were modified to replicate a pointed crown guard similar to yukis 5513 pointed guards but i dident like it so the rounded the guards off to look like the gen 5513

Hi thanks the rehaunt does look deeper but the high dome crystal will exagerate the depth i think!

the tropic 19 is more like a tophat but with curved edges and more flat at the top

this is a gen tropic 19

I think that the tropic 19 is one of the best crystals ever and makes a 5513!

some 5513s are domed and superdome! but these to me distorts the dial too much even when viewing the watch front on the tropic 19 only distorts when viewing the watch at an angle which i like! Aero!

i agree about the CGs but i have to wait until i get a gen correct crown i was thinking of shaving the CGs from the inside

as our gen has more of a gap between the CGs and crown dont you think?

Who has the best generic tropic 19?

I've just ordered the 5512 and 1680 from josh. I'm going to mod them as cheap as possible. So I was looking at a way to make the crown smaller without changing it.

I thought if I shave the inside of the crown and then re-shape it (round it off back to the way it should look) Then take a little off the tube. Would this work, or am I being stupid?

Kind regards, Marc.

Hi check out my post (5513 project almost finished) i have trimmed up the crown without shortening it by grinding it at an angle at both ends to make it appear slimmer it was put in a watchmakers lathe

Update that wide crown is just huge so until i find a gen what can we do? well lets see the plan was to make the crown

look slightly smaller without shaving it and having to also shave the tube and stem .so the idea is to put the crown on a watchmakers lathe and taper the inside of the crown (part that sits on the case) and to grind the taper that already exists outer part of

the crown this produced less area of the ribbed part giving the crown a narrow slimmer look the crown was not shortened in any way

here are some quick photos!

as can be seen this gives a smaller look the the crown without any issues a tempory fix until a new correct sized crown is found

As said already the 5513 project was made out of a 1680! thanks too george loiz for pulling out his lathe on a friday night!

I owned a genuine 6538A a few years back and have a few comments after reading the threads on 6538 projects:

1...Mine had lived a rough life but it looked to have never been polished and did not have any case corrosion...unusual in my experience.

2...The space between the lugs at the 12 o'clock end was a little over 20mm and the other end was about 19.7mm from being bashed or something but there was not a mark on the case. I used a USA rivet oyster on it with the hood on one end ground down a bit. Springbars are the same as 5513 etc.

3...The plated bronze alloy bezel was in excellent condition and was held on to the crystal retaining ring with a shaped spring wire...not snapped over the retaining bezel like modern 'bezel dropper' rlx watches. The red triangle insert was in very good condition but the pearl was mia.

4...If you get in a hurry removing the bezel, it would be easy to break a chunk out of it as the metal is brittle.

5...The 8mm case tube and crown were Ok and all that was needed was a new set of gaskets. The case tube threads (in the case) are not the same as modern watches (bigger OD).

6...A new domed tropic 19 was installed along with a new set of hands.

7...The 1030 was cleaned and oiled, everything was Ok including the sometimes troublesome rotor axle bearing.

8...All in all they are nice watches but nowhere near being worth today's prices imho.

So...if I wanted a 6538 replica, I would:

1...Start with the closest to genuine case possible without paying a fortune for a 'designer case'. Same for the dial.

2...Try to get one with a good 8mm crown and if not, get a high quality case tube and crown set like discussed on various RWC threads. Not genuine though, they cost too much now.

3...Try to get a case that will accept oem spec crystals, this is very important.

4...If you find a righteous case...buy a spare one.

5...Go with a slow beat Eta of some sort. I would stay away from genuine rolex 1030 movements because:

A...They cost too much.

B...Parts are a real hassle.

C...They were not that hot to begin with imho.

D...You can't see through the case.

6...Use a rivet oyster of some sort. Mine came with a stretch oyster and regular clasp but it was shot.

7...Try to make it water resistant down to 50 or 100 feet so it will not get flooded.

8...Age the watch, crystal, and bracelet by wearing it.

9...Let the sun bleach the dial, hands, and bezel insert.

10...To speed up the aging process...loan it to a wife or girlfriend and get 20 years of wear in 6 months.

Or...if you want a genuine example of a famous 1950's/1960's dive watch (bronze bezel and all) for a fraction of the price...get a Zodiac Sea Wolf.

Nice write up automatico! i agree with you 1030 are expensive mine cost me 1350usd although i havent had any problems with it

so far but if i was building again i would put in a eta 2846!

Glad that somebody likes these watches, even though they are not my cup of tea quality-wise.

I know that the reissue are tinny but my vintage vostoks are over 30 years old and are still ticking and are heavy watches with solid stainless steel (except the bezel of the amphibian is brass chrome plated) the only thing i dont like are the finiky crowns you have to screw the crown down every time you want to change position! the vintage vostoks have stood the test of time time keeping is spot on! the vintage movement are robust if a little noisy! dont forget that these were made for the military to be used in harse conditions! most of there movements were made using old obsolete swiss toolage

That looks like the same movement that powered my original POS 5514, which I picked up a dozen or so years ago. Although I replaced the movement 4 years ago with an ETA2846, I just wound the original & it is still working.

It looks almost like a gen to me.

2813 s then were only slow beat movements these are fast beat but the slow beat is the one to have for a vintage sub

its a workhorse movement and simple and reliable sometimes i wonder why we spend so much on etas although i do like 2846 eta

the vintage reps are getting better and better!

Great writeup Justin and nice mods!

I ordered the same watch a couple days after you...should be here soon. I've been buying parts to mod mine too.

I wonder how hard is it going to be to put an eta in this?

Been told it fits ok and can use the same movement holder(im not sure about the movement holder) but the eta will fit!

These watches have options for eta , asian eta and the 2813!

OP - great project some comments and observations....

On the original pictures its interesting to see the difference in rehaut depths between the gen and rep. The gen looks quite deep? Never noticed that beofre - could be camera macro lens distortion?

Also that gen crystal profile is great.......do you know what it is? If T19 it seems to sit high above the bezel?

Latest CG pictures - well done so far, but now be brave and maybe take some of the outside face to thin them down and point them off a little from a side elevation - gently , gently, a little at a time.....

Congratulations......

Hi thanks the rehaunt does look deeper but the high dome crystal will exagerate the depth i think!

the tropic 19 is more like a tophat but with curved edges and more flat at the top

this is a gen tropic 19

I think that the tropic 19 is one of the best crystals ever and makes a 5513!

some 5513s are domed and superdome! but these to me distorts the dial too much even when viewing the watch front on the tropic 19 only distorts when viewing the watch at an angle which i like! Aero!

i agree about the CGs but i have to wait until i get a gen correct crown i was thinking of shaving the CGs from the inside

as our gen has more of a gap between the CGs and crown dont you think?