freddy333

Carhartt with an Italian suit?

Similar, but not the same. I replied to your PM.

The Thunderbird name stuck when the US Air Force started to award members of its acrobatic team, The Thunderbirds, with the mid-50s Datejust 6309 There is a webpage someone put together about the Thunderbird DJ, which does a pretty decent job outlining its history, but I cannot locate it just now.

The standard MBW dial is good, but far from perfect. There are many threads detailing the dial's issues that you can search out, so I am not going to rehash it yet again here. For the money, it is probably your best bet. If you are willing to spend $300+ for something better (though still not perfect), check out the dial offerings from here, here or here.

Like minds (TT)............. Gen & gen today

Dial/hands - click here Gen T21 averages around $200 (ebay, etc) Gen crowns (either 6mm Twinlock or 7mm Triplock are correct for the 6263) average around $200 (ebay, etc) Ofrei pushers - click here

You mean it isn't?

Late dinner update

If you want accuracy, you may have to build your own. I have not come across any rep 'Birds with the correct 36mm case like the gens. This is a gen 1625 (made between 1959 - 1977 & powered by either 1565 or 1575)

Beautiful diary of the work performed & the end result shows the talent/labor involved. I think the CGs could use a bit more rounding. They look a bit too squarish for a 5513, at least, 1 that has not spent its entire life in an AD's showcase.

Backup loss is actually not all that uncommon. I had a similar problem on a BSD server a few years ago (server got fried & main set of backups were corrupt). Glad to see that good old ingenuity prevailed.

'Shocking' is not a word that belongs in the vintage Rolex dictionary. Be prepared to see more like this in the future.

Thanks for clearing that up, Richard.

There was a smooth bezel 6541 posted on VRF recently, but very few details available. However, the 3 in your pic do not look gen to me.

Looks like a nice addiction you have there.

Ditto By-Tor. Incredible how 10 hours spent by a supposed professional with alot of lighting experience/equipment could result in such a mediocre pic. This old pic was taken with my 10 year-old 4MP p&s under normal room lighting (no light box) & it took a total of about an hour to produce the final shot

I would not be quite as horrified as Nanuq, but I tend to agree with him. Now, had you suggested a strap.

Ditto Alligoat's comments, but I like what you have done so far.

I paid $300-something for my faded gen 1665 insert a couple of years ago & in a couple more years that will seem like a bargain. When it comes to vintage Rolex, if you can't take the heat........

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Wearing my albino '42 today

Most likely, the seconds hand is coming into contact with something (another hand, the inside of the crystal or something on the dial), which should be pretty obvious if you view it with a magnifying glass or loupe. If not, then the movement requires service (the movements in most reps are used/unserviced & typically require a proper overhaul the day you receive the watch ).