freddy333

They are not listed in either the parts or service books for the 6542 or 24-600 Twinlock. It cost me $200, so I will clean it up & use it on another project (or, if I am able to make it reliable, it could make a reappearance here ).

Yes, that could be it, too. Or some other part that came loose & wedged itself between the bottom of the rotor & some part of the case &/or movement. If the OP can remove the caseback & take a look, either of these should be immediately obvious.

Most likely, the auto-wind module requires cleaning/oiling, as does the rest of the movement. The movements in rep watches are, for the most part, used &/or unserviced, so it is quite common to see problems out-of-the-box. Options are (in recommended order) contact the seller for instructions, have a local watchmaker overhaul the watch or, if you have the required tools/skills, fix it yourself.

Probably, less to worry about with a modern part like a 703 (assuming it does not have any damage) than with a 50+ year old part. The other common vintage parts that comes to immediately mind are those gen superdome crystals, which, even as NOS, are now likely reaching 20+ years of age (assuming the 1 you get came from the final production run & not from an earlier 1 ). Plexiglas, especially, has a tendency to age & become brittle & this is not a good thing when you are swimming or bathing. This is why, although I picked up a gen T39 for my beater a few years ago, I decided against replacing the brand new superdome from Clarks, which looks almost indistinguishable from the gen & provides far more reliability & peace of mind.

I just missed the proverbial bullet with my Phase II 6542 - After washing my hands, I noticed fog on the inside of the crystal. Of course, this means moisture has found its way past the case seals & into the case. So I removed the movement & replaced the crown/stem onto the tube & dropped the case into a glass of water (of course, this is not a good pressure test, but it will reveal gross leak points into the case). Sure enough, there was a small leak around the crown cap. Even though the seals in the tube & crown cap were new & properly lubed, they were not water-tight. So I r&r'd the tube with a new gen, replaced the seal in the crown cap & retested. Same again - still leaking. So I swapped the Brevet out for a NOS Twinlock 600 (the crown most 6542s were originally fitted with) & retested. Dry as a bone. Although it looked & screwed-down ok, the Brevet cap was obviously not sealing. So I went over the inside of the crown cap with my 10x loupe &, sure enough, there was minute pitting & wear along the threads & inside the crown that had escaped my original inspection with my 4x loupe. Something else I noticed - Although the Brevet felt fine, the NOS Twinlock feels so much more silky & sure that I think I am going to leave it on there (unless I can locate a NOS 6mm Brevet, which I have little hope of finding). I guess the moral of the story is that while the rarest vintage Rolex parts may add a bit of icing on the cake, they may also be incurring a handicap in the feel & reliability of your watch. So, sometimes, Rolex may be right in demanding that we replace these objects of our RIS affection with more modern parts.

In a word, yes. The process is virtually the same as grouting tile - Clean the metal to remove oils/debris (I used denatured alcohol) Apply paint into the engraving with Q-Tip or your applicator of choice While wet, moisten (not soak) a soft, lint free cloth or paper towel (I used Viva paper towels) with paint thinner (denatured alcohol) & wipe LIGHTLY across top of metal. 1 wipe ONLY. With a fresh paper towel moistened with thinner, repeat above step. Use once & throw paper towel away. Repeat until most of the paint from the surface is removed. Slight blemishes will be removed when you polish the metal once paint is dry.

As long as the engraving sinks below the surface, there is sufficient depth to hold paint - lume or non.

Apply the iodine only to the backside of the lume. Get as little on the hands as possible. It will not damage them, but can leave stains that are not very authentic looking. The iodine provides enhanced patina (be careful not to apply it too evenly - a bit of splotchyness is good) & baking gives the parts some age. This is an art, not a science, which is why most of this requires experimentation to get the look YOU want.

I agree about the straps (no). Apply a bit of iodine (for color) to the backside of the lume & then bake the hands in the center of your oven. (I usually place them, shiny side up, on aluminum foil.) As far as temps & times, you have to gauge it by eye. Start at around 300 degrees for 5 minutes. Then, pull them out & have a look-see. If they match the dial, you are done. If not, put them back & increase the temps 50 degrees for a few additional minutes. Be careful not to go too high or too long, because dessert can go from tasty to overdone in less than a minute.

Looks good as-is, but I think the hands could use some enhanced patination (a few minutes of baking time) so they match the rest of the watch. After that, I would call it done.

I have no experience installing ETAs into Yuki cases (which are made to fit gen movements), but I would expect they will accept an ETA with 1 of Yuki's ETA adapter sets.

My Phase I watch was constructed around a Silix vintage Cartier Sub rep case (you can search out the threads for specific details), which allowed me to fit a proper 6542 bezel/insert. However, due to the construction of the case, I was unable to fully seat the insert into the bezel without compromising the case's integrity. This was 1 of the reasons I began sourcing parts for the Phase II watch even before Phase I had been completed. As far as I know, because the plastic 6542 insert is not concave (its bottom is flat & meant to seat all the way down into the bezel), only a case/bezel combination made to fit it (in other words, a 6542 case).

The insert looks to be the same 1 (minus the lume) that I have (the bezel in my Phase II watch is gen, but the Phase I watch is aftermarket). Glowing lume, on the other hand, may look cool, but it is inauthentic for a 50+ year old Rolex watch. On a vintage watch, I would steer clear of anything that glows

Yes & it looks even better the black dial, which is especially nice for those who like the look of PVD-style (blackened) cases. A black insert was my backup plan in case I was unable to source a plastic insert that met my requirements.

Like they said, no rep (that I have seen) available. Definitely, a roll-your-own project - made much easier now that aftermarket 6542 cases are available, which was not the case when I constructed my Phase 1 (at right) Suggestion for anyone embarking on a 6542 project - Consider using a solid black bezel insert instead of the normal red/blue plastic insert. I have seen pics of gen 6542s (I assume Rolex replaced the original Perspex with the black insert after the Perspex material broke) that look very cool.

Ditto Paralizer. Do you mean paint the engraving? If so, I posted a brief description of the process I used to repaint my gold 6239 Newman's bezel numbers that you should be able to search out

Thanks. I got it just before I joined RWG, but I cannot which seller I got this from, but I am pretty sure Josh sells (or used to sell) the same watch. It is stock except that I modded the 3/6/9 index markers (reshaped like the gen's) & swapped the rep crown/tube for gens. And, as expected, the siren's song proved stronger than my willpower & the white beauty has found her way back onto my wrist for dinner. Oh, the horror of it all

No. It is about 4 years old, but does not get alot of wrist time due to its bling factor. But it is 1 of the most beautiful watches I own & sometimes it just calls me & I fall for it. But, right now, I am eyeing my Phase II 6542, which is equally attractive. So I may end up turning this around & putting it back on later.

Out for a drive late Saturday

Not sure about the later models like your 16710, but I think 55x links should fit most standard-sized case Rolexes with 20mm lug widths. My gen 6542 case accepts a 6510H Jubilee with 55 end links without any problem

The insides of the CGs look a bit odd (edges may be too sharp & angles not matched/too steep), but, otherwise, nice work.