freddy333

You will need to track down the article to verify, but I think the donor watch came from either Josh or Andrew. My original 5514 (likely an early MBW), purchased more than 10 years ago, came with a working Hev & was later reborn when I stole its mid-case for use as the platform of my current 5514. I am pretty sure Josh or Andrew are still selling that same, original 5514 rep with the working Hev. With pictures, yup. You will need to search the tutorial out (I am pretty sure that 1 of the links I provided contained links to the previous Hev articles), but that is the basic procedure. Drill a narrow hole all the way through the sidewall of the case (for the Hev's stem to fit through) & then countersink the narrow hole with a larger hole about 1/3 of the way into the case (for the Hev cap to reside). Sorry, I cannot help you there. I never swim with any of my gen-powered watches. Too risky since I do not have a pressure tester.

Nice find & if someone needs 1, that is a reasonable price

Dust? You will not find dust (or anything else) on my bench? To be serious - before recasing & after thoroughly cleaning the case/lens, I always place the case on top of something dark (I use a green Rolex leather card holder) which highlights any dust/debris that resides on the underside of the lens. If it looks clear, I case. If not, I clean & repeat. You rarely find anything that does not belong inside my watches.

Even when I drop packages off at a post office, it often takes 48 hours for updates to appear online & you have the added delay of a mailman & some holiday on Monday. If you do not see an update by Tuesday 9am, then start worrying. Until then, just enjoy your weekend.

Same again (on right)

I can verify that McCartney actually does wear that watch (daily).

Josh may a bit higher priced on some items than some of the others, but he is a reliable guy, ships quick & stands behind his stuff. Worth the slightly extra cost in my opinion. Contrary to the 'cartel' stories, I have only ever had good experiences with Josh. He will even tell you not to purchase a particular watch (once he gets to know you) if he thinks it will not be up to your standards. Cartel? Give me a break.

Thanks, Marty. That is what I needed. I see they eliminated the darkening around the lettering, but it still appears to be laser etched & mis-aligned. Oh bother.

Welcome to RWG. Please begin by reading this (pay special attention to item 5 under Posting:, this & then read this (you may need to research current web addresses & post questions to the Rolex forum).

I realize you are new, but please try to avoid re-quoting lengthy, picture-filled posts. There is no reason to force everyone to scroll half a page through a set of pics for a 2nd time. If you need something to reference, quote only the relevant text, or, if you need an image, just re-quote 1 pic. Thank you & welcome.

The 'deal' I got was simply being able to order the xtal 'over the counter' without having to send a watch into RSC or 1 of their official agents. The price paid was retail. You lost me?

If you can get this close (close enough to reveal the text on your bracelet), that should be close enough. The same letter in the word ROLEX should align with each of the hour markers between 7 & 11 o'clock & they should be engraved & not laser etched (letters formed by smooth steely engravings & not dotted laser etches, which often leave the lettering dark).

When viewed from the side, mineral glass (like most glass) has a green tint. Sapphire is white or clear, depending on the quality of the material & finish. As a double-check, I use the finger test (performed at normal room temperature) - mineral glass always feels cool to the touch, while sapphire feels like room temperature. Plastic/Plexiglas/acrylic just feels like plastic.

Lani, $150 less than what? The gen xtal cost me $90 delivered (I cannot get any more, before anyone asks)

& some of the numbers are misaligned. Sorry to say, but I think it may be a tosser.

Spot on (the article).

A beauty. Can you post a macro of the inner flange etchings between 7 & 11 o'clock. I would like to see how they are made & if the factory corrected (by any amount) the misalignment that has plagued all of the previous GMTIIC reps.

Yes & often higher, but there are some reasonable aftermarket 8mm Brevets floating around that some of the dealers may have access to.

As long as the dial feet are in the correct locations & they are long enough to reach beyond the point where the locks come in from the side. I have had more than 1 aftermarket dial that failed on either or both points.

In theory, yes. But, when it comes to aftermarket parts, theories are just that, theories.......at least until proven otherwise.

Ditto.

Great work on the case. Now get yourself a good dial/handset (NDtrading, Yuki, etc) or, at least, have the hour markers on your dial relumed to tone down the shine.

The project spanned a couple of years (beginning with the original mods & ending a couple of months ago with the addition of the gen bezel/insert/pearl combo), but I think the total cost (excluding my time/labor) was around $2,800. The Great White is certainly easier to wear since it is much less rare & I debated long & hard over whether the faded or non-faded gen bezel looked better on my 5514 or 1665. Ultimately, as you can see, the 'dweller won the prize. The working valve just looks more authentic than any of the alternatives I tried (or that I have seen on other watches), which is why I went the extra mile to make it work. Others have suggested that their MBW came with a working valve, but, as indicated in my articles, my MBW's Hev was engraved. I cannot recall which watch the valve came from, but this was explained in 1 of the articles linked to the article I referenced. I posted a mini-tutorial on the process that you can search out, but, as I recall, the only problem I ran into was having to trim some metal off the (replaceable) calendar ring on the movement to allow the movement to properly seat into the MBW case. Other than that, everything lined up as if the case was made for the 1570. But you might search out that article to be sure since it has been a quite a while & my memory is occasionally fallible.