freddy333

Possibly not. See if you can slide a razor blade or thin, sharp (UNserrated) knife between the bottom of the bezel and the top of the case. Unless the glue you used was metal epoxy, you should be able to gently coax it back off. Once removed, you will need to clean all of the glue off both the case and the bezel. Depending on the type of glue, denatured alcohol (mineral spirits) should work. DO NOT GET ANY ON NON-METAL PARTS. Once everything is clean, you DO want to use glue to attach the bezel insert to the inside of the bezel. Do this with the bezel OFF the watch and be sure the glue is completely dry before you refit the bezel on the case again.

I have one which is almost 3 years old that keeps perfect time. The second hand has twitched from the day I got it, but it keeps running. I have a second one that stopped 2 days after I got it about 5 months ago. After being overhauled, it has been keeping perfect time ever since. Neither watch is worn often, but both are wound weekly. These secs @ 6 chronos are probably not going to become (working) family heirlooms, but they do seem to benefit from being overhauled.

Another interesting little factoid came out of my DRSD caseback adventures. Here is an easy way to tell if your 'Rolex Patent' DRSD caseback is gen or MBW (I have never seen a non-MBW caseback that was accurate enough to pose a problem for most RWG regulars). On gen casebacks -- If you draw an imaginary line between the top of the last 'T' in PATENT across to the top of the 'E' in VALVE, following the curve of the caseback edge, it will dissect the spacer dot which is nearly equidistant between the 2 words. On the MBW 'Rolex Patent' caseback -- The spacer dot lies slightly below that line and closer to the word VALVE. Note the dotted red lines (you can ignore the other red markings -- I borrowed this photo because it shows both casebacks)

I doubt my fingers could take much more of the same But if I do get a blaster, yours will be the 1st watches in the box.

I agree. The 5513 is THE Sub.

Avitt -- I guess in theory it would work, but it seems like overkill & I think there must be an easier/less expensive/less messy way to achieve the result I am after. But, like they say, you have to break alot of eggs to come up with a new cake.

FX - That is what I thought it was. I used to rebuild engines as well and we often use sand or glass bead blasters to hone cylinders and bores, but I do not think that would work in this case because I would not want the adjacent surface area to be beaded (only the bottom of the letter groove). But, still, an interesting idea for adding a unique patina.

Since I had already searched every inch of my work table (without luck), I wonder if this one is yours? Just kidding and if I had an extra spring, it would be yours. Hopefully, someone else can help as I have a feeling the springs may not be sold as individual items.

Thanks FX, but what kind of equipment is required for 'glass pearl bead blasting' and how do you confine the blast to the inside stroke of each letter? I assume this is similar to sand blasting, which is not something most people can do in their homes and is also not very precise or able to be directed to nearly microscopic spaces. Or is this different?

Nanuq -- Thanks. After reading your comments about that coin bag in another thread, it is definitely on my to do list though I am mixed as to whether I want to go for the full patina or the 'just serviced by RSC' look. And I have a few more tricks (1 being Mojo's idea of the fiberglass pen) to try before I am quite ready to roll out the surrender flag. But I have a bag and lots of quarters.

Mojo -- Thank you. Except for the fiberglass pen (sorry, I do not have one of those, but an interesting suggestion that I will look into), I did pretty much what you described -- each letter was individually (and painstakingly) sanded & polished both by hand & with a pencil-style eraser -- sharpened & tipped with varying grades of emory paper (I also tried coating the tip with pumice, but that did not do any better). (I will be posting an interesting & related update involving the eraser soon. Watch this space.) After it became clear that I had effected as much of a change as I could by hand, I switched on the dremel and went at it with several sanding & buffing tools. I mean I sanded & polished the hell out of that thing. If sanding & buffing was going to do it, I would have done it. But, unfortunately, no amount of sanding & polishing will widen the stroke width (thickness of the lines) of each individual letter to match the lettering on the gen's caseback. I considered sanding the lettering down to the point where they were nearly flush with the surface of the caseback and began to disappear, which I think is what PolexPete did on his. Pete's lettering looked a bit better than mine, but it still looked (to me) like a modern engraving that was sanded & polished (and more difficult to read, which is not what I was after).

You may recall that in my original thread on the subject of DRSD caseback modding (The Big Question) I compared photos of an untouched caseback to a gen (taken from doubleredseadweller.com). There was no question, even to the casual observer, that the lettering on the sharply etched MBW caseback differed from the softly rounded & sunkin gen (to the knowledgeable observer, the MBW was engraved using modern equipment & methods, while the gen was stamped using state-of-the-art technology available back in the 70's). Ok, I am now a partial believer in the sand-and-buff approach to gen-itizing the MBW DRSD caseback. I say partial because after honing my caseback sanding & buffing skills on 3 scrap casebacks and spending hours intricately sanding both the entire surface with a dremel as well as each individual letter by hand, the final result on my MBW is both compelling and lacking. The 'ROLEX' is the definition of perfection. If I saw a picture containing only the ROLEX, I would be 100% sure it was gen. However, the rest of the lettering, though much improved over the OEM MBW lettering, still look (to me) like a modern engraving that has been intricately sanded & polished. Comments? _________________ As a postscript -- You may also recall that my last set of relatively simple mods (He Valve mod, superdome, etc.) ultimately became a nightmare when I ran into keyless works problems and ended up losing a click spring and 2 screws that caused me to have to rape 2 other 2846s in an effort to get 1 working movement back into my watch. Well, just minutes ago, all 3 missing parts magically re-appeared from the Bermuda Triangle. The most amazing find is the diminutive click spring, which is the thickness of a human hair and only about 1/4" in length. After spending nearly an entire evening on my hands & knees searching for these parts, I am stupefied that they would not only be found, but that they were all found right on my work table (which I had searched numerous times in vain). Here is the (just found) click spring about to be reinstalled in 1 of the pillaged 2846s So, now that all 3 missing parts have been found & returned to their original homes, my record for lost parts returns to an incredible 0.

If buying another case (or watch) is out of the question, three options 1. Use a larger (2.2mm dia or larger) springbar in that set of holes (yes, you will probably have to enlarge the opposite hole to 2mm). I seriously doubt anyone will notice unless the watch is being inspected at close range. 2. Have a watchmaker or jeweler weld new metal into the hole and redrill. After sanding & buffing, the 'patch' should be almost invisible. 3. 2 steps -- 1st step -- Fill the hole 2/3 of the way to the outside of the lug with 2-part metal epoxy. Be sure to leave about 1/32" at the outside for the second step. Let it cure. 2nd step -- Top the remaining 1/3 of the hole with 'Liquid Steel' (a type of epoxy that looks like steel when it dries -- it is not as hard as metal epoxy, which is why you are using it only as a cosmetic cover). Let it cure. Redrill. Good luck.

Hopefully, Ubi will comment since he is probably the most knowledgeable on the 16520, but anywhere from $7k-$12k would be within reason for this piece. Again, assuming the descriptions & photos the seller provided are 100% accurate. It is a beautiful watch. Good luck.

I believe they use a riveted pin. The pin slides through the holes and is then flattened at both ends to form the head that keeps the parts together. I think most watchmakers & jewelers should have the tools to fix it.

b16a2 -- Good eye and you would be correct for the current Daytona (11652x). But the earlier (1652x) model had seconds at 9. Based solely on seller's description/photos, the number of 100% positive feedbacks he has received in the past 12 months (109) & his 5 years as an ebay member, it looks like the real deal to me. The only minor reservation I would have is that he does not accept Paypal. Some honest people have legitimate reasons for not liking Paypal, but nearly all dishonest people refuse to accept Paypal. So I would contact the seller and do your best to feel him out. Like the seller said himself, buy the seller first, then the watch.

Their 'VIP' Daytona (for private members only) is the same mediocre watch (with fat CGs and rounded index markers) that some of the collectors here have. And if I am not mistaken, this gang sells through spam, which is never a sign of quality (or honesty). I have to side with Phoband on this. I would hold off for now.

I have reservations about the Watchmeister datewheel overlay, but, other than that, once you get the hands to match (or just tell people Rolex replaced the original hands at the last service) you will be looking good.

Congratulations on the new Daytona and welcome. I had a similar problem with my 116509 (silver dial) -- after 2 days, the watch stopped running & and crown was very hard to turn. I suspected a problem with the main spring and the seller had me return it to his watchmaker in China. The watch was returned to me 3 weeks later. That was about 4 months ago and the watch has been running +/- 2 secs ever since. I wind the watch once every week, but I rarely wear it, so my experience might not be the same for someone who wears their Daytona every day. Good luck and enjoy your new watch.

I think the pearl helps to complete the picture. The old pearl was the only thing that did not appear to sparkle like a new Sub. I prefer vintage Subs, but I have to say that your modern one is quite a head turner.

Yes, I probably should have said 'flatbed' scanner, which, as you said, scans progressively from one end of the scanner bed to the other. Depending on the speed (dictated by the size and quality of the scan), it can take anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes to scan an entire image. Since the second hand is in motion throughout this time, the scanner accurately records its location at each point during the scan and that is why the second hand appears to bend (sort of Einstein's theory of relativity in action) . An update on the Watchmeister overlay (the 2nd of 2) -- Although I had the 4 almost perfectly centered in the date window 6 hours ago, I think it may already be shifting ever so slightly north & east of its previous location. We may be heading for another showdown (I was unable to get the 1st one to remain centered either).

hahaha No, the superdome is not quite that bad. The picture was shot using my scanner (batteries in the camera were dead) and what you see in the photo -- the bending of the second hand -- is the amount of time that passed while the scanner scanned the watch. It is an interesting effect if you do photography with a scanner or with a VERY slow shutter speed, but it confuses alot of people.

That is what I did last night (or was it this morning). But the paper kept getting caught under or in some of the guides, so I removed it (though I did not have the patience to test different types & gauges of paper). I wonder how much of the inner diameter of the overlay can be removed (cut off) without being seen through the date window? But that question may prove to be academic because (regardless of what the vendor promised) I am more worried about that adhesive breaking down over the next several months to a year, which would then allow the overlay to slide out of position again. I hope I am wrong.

New pearl?

Following your guide above and after a 2nd round (and nearly 3 hours) of datewheel wac-a-mole, I think I finally got all of the 31 numbers more or less centered in the date window However, I discovered something that does not bode well for long-term reliability of either the Watchmeister datewheel sticker or the datechange function on any watch fitted with the Watchmeister -- the adhesive on the bottom side of the sticker is migrating onto the datechange gearing. All over it in fact. What some have reported as the date sometimes 'sticking' due to the tight spacing below the dial may, instead, be the datechange mechanism getting gummed-up in the adhesive. When I removed the datewheel to readjust the Watchmeister sticker, I immediately noticed the adhesive all over everything. I dismantled & cleaned the mechanism with denatured alcohol & then reassembled the datewheel with the readjusted Watchmeister sticker, but I have a strong feeling that the sticker will either slide back out of adjustment again or, worse, gum things up so bad that the datewheel gets stuck requiring another disassembly. In any case, I would definitely keep an eye on it as I suspect a more permanent datewheel will ultimately prove to be a necessity.