Mapman57

Certainly agree with Frank on the CG - I think the round shape , curved from the bezel causes them to look visually smaller. They are short and as supplied dont look at all good in my opinion. but with a little rework and a decent crown.............. The inside face rework on the sample shown here looks much better - I guess a 702 crown would really set them off - but that will cost more than the watch!

Thought I would pop this into a new thread. A well reknown Rolex expert kindly located and donated an insert from the same Silix 5513 case set. I have sanded it to recess it in the ring; bleached, sanded and polished to get that aged blue/grey faded look................had to pop the 'orrible pearl! How it looks now.... How the insert looked originally 'after the bike crash'..... and next to my 1680....... :munch:

Ken at Raffles time on ebay does Mercedes hands for modded Chinese GMT movements.....he might still be away. Do you want the 3 hand set, or the full 4 hand set? I have some 3 hand sets in the box? I think I bought his last 4 hand set................ Let me know if I can help.

Many thanks Freddy. I popped out the pearl (very poor!), shaved the insert to recess it and bleached it for 5mins to make it matt and a fraction less black. I think I will bleach some more to go a little more 'grey'. Got a new acrylic pearl lined up. I will be polishing that case next and keep the thread updated

Ha ha ha Frank - great result and great value.............love these latest pictures. That two tone kind of sets them in the 60's/70's time era I can now understand why you have had no time to go to the post office this past week

OK guys so I finally found an insert that would fit....courtesy of a much respected member - thanks I have needed to shave the back and open the inside diameter a little. So before I age it with a 'bleach' treatment, what do you think of it shiny and black? It appears to be the same factory fit insert that is seen battered on the earlier pics? The pearl is not great, but I can always pop that and fit a replacement? The insert is not fixed yet - it does seat down nicely recessed into the ring. I think it needs to be aged a little and faded ....ALSO does anyone know how to colour the pearl to match the patina of the dial.....opinions please? :munch:

ETA hands do not fit the Chinese movement. I may have a set of Chinese movement hands (4) that I will trade for your ETA set if you have a set and thats what you wish?

Yowser M and J - fine job on all fronts...........

Ha ha so happy he sent itback and then left nice feedback because he was just pleased to get his money back Some entertaining feedback amongst that '46' rating? My much maligned PT 1680 date window looks more aligned than this baby

This watch did actually come with aDG4813 - had one myself and sold it recently over on RG.....from what I undersand some of the so called Asian Clone versions were in fact high beat DG4813;s .....thats what happened to me. Either way it was / is a great watch, these pics do not do it justice

stay with your 1675 build and keep your cash in the bank........looks like 2 different watches? Also if you take a sequence of pics for someone, why reset the time 3 times?

They certainly offer both gen and aftermarket parts, some are advertised as aftermarket, so maybe this is a genuine mistake. Their feedback profile is good? However, sometimes I wonder how they get a constant stream of exactly the same parts, bracelets, or case subassemblies etc. I did try to buy a sub bezel late last year and it was not clear on whether it was gen, or aftermarket - only when I really pushed did they confirm in few words that it was aftermarket. Another fact is that on repeat sales of jubilee bracelets, they tend to use a stock picture for more than one post??? Personally I never like that - you must see what you is actually buying? Best thing to do is see how they respond...................good luck and pls keep us posted.

Thanks Dizzy, I am thinking of ageing mine a little more......

Heres a couple of GEN 5513 reference shots.....for me to aim for This is a gen 5513 ....interesting how the gen owner decided to remove the pearl?????? Before restoration...... And after restoration.........

and http://www.gmtmasterhistory.com/gmt-master_ref_16760.html

That is correct M - the 16760 Fat Lady has a sapphire crystal ........and a 78350/501 bracelet assembly. Some newer models have the 78790A/SEL bracelet set up. Really nice model......retaining the drilled lugs, kind of transitional

Yes, tried it again and it feels like the rotor is spinning when I wind the watch..............my watchsmith has said OK to post it back.

Ha ha ...why not? My problem is finding a dial - everything else is in the box incl a custom retainer ring for a Clark 116 and my bezel. Gen dials are so expensive to pick up...... Do you have a spare for me???? Dont know if a gen 116 will fit, but I would expect that there is a good chance that it will? Someone here will probably know - maybe star69? or Rolexaddict?

A Clark and / or a Cousins 116 will fit a Josh 1655 case. I am on the same project....

Thanks Ubi - it wound fine when first assembled and cased - sweet as anything I have owned - I was so pleased. After the power reserve ran down 36 hours later, after a timing trial, which was also spot on - I popped out the crown, tried to turn and it was completely blocked? Popped it in and then out and it would wind but with the resistance - you can feel and hear the gears spinning? Also the rotor seems louder when spinning now? Or that might be my imagination ha ha ha.... I have not dismantled the case yet. Thinking I might not touch it, if it is not an obvious issue - don't want the watchsmith to blame me for 'tinkering with my boxing gloves on'. I know nothing of movements! @Freddy333 - thanks , I posted the above as you were posting. That confirms it for me - back to the watchsmith! I don't mind assembling, building, case mods etc - BUT movements are not my thing! Thanks Guys. Much appreciated.

So many will know that I have just recently reassembled my 1680 SR project with a serviced and regulated 2846 movement. The movement is running as sweet as a top, not missing a beat but unbelievably I just hit an issue that might need the watchsmith!!! OH NO not again! HELP - Normally at the start of a week I will manually wind / charge my eta's with approx 20 turns before wearing and charging through movement. I did this upon return of this watch last Saturday and it wound as sweet as anything i own - perfect! I tested the power reserve over the first two days and when I tried to rewind the initial charge before wearing Monday, the crown/stem was at first blocked (would not rotate clockwise)??????? Then after a gentle wiggle / movement in and out, it wound BUT, it feels like there is a strong resistance against the motion - like a lot of connected gears/ rotors are spinning as you wind it? I ceased to try to wind it and have subsequently worn it for 60 hours - it is running fine and has not missed a beat again - timekeeping remains spot on and it runs through the night on reserve - but it is not correct? ANY IDEAS on this one before I take it back in to my movement watchsmith....could it be an easy self fix ;-)

Thanks Dizzy I'll be keeping a close eye on it - will be / have been wearing it since Saturday but not bathing it I found some well priced old NOS vintage G&S Tropic 127 crystals for sale - just wondering if one of these might be better suited - suppose its worth a try? Do you recall if anyone has tried these? It seems that they are popular vintage aftermarket crystals - especially in CONUS. Any views on that?

Had it under the loupe and cant see any cracks? There are some marks form the retainer ring going on and off; and some tiny white debris particles on the inside of the crystal at the top of the rehaut. It has scraped on the way down for sure. But from the outside looking at the crystal there are no stress lines, or cracks. Pressure tested again to 7ATM and can't see any leaks ....but we will find out sooner or later? I'll keep it dry for a little while and see if it stresses/crazes and changes over time. Thanks for the heads up on this issue - it sure is a tight fit - as we all know! I popped up some other pics in this thread that might show more?

Thanks J - I never thought about Clark for the insert/pearl

Thanks to all who gave their opinion on the choice of insert and bezel assembly.........it was quite a split opinion! So I am going with - Alligoat's idea to fit the bleached insert into the 'old' bezel.........and to fit the newer Gen insert into the new bezel - swap as I see fit! - and an even more popular view - get a vintage pearl (Yuki?)for the Gen insert and retro fit it in! I also had some feedback on the CG's and I will be lowering them a touch and taking a little more off the outside faces. This insert actually snaps in the bezel but has a little bend around the '40' marker as can be just seen - I might glue it down! And why do the gen lug pins always pop through one side and not through the other (internal spring compression I expect?) So here's a few shots of the reassembled watch .....starting with CG's and the Clark 127 profile.......with wristies and finally the 93150 bracelet, clasp and 580 end links.... Thanks again to Cuschochris and Mack for all their help during the project..... Happy days!!!!