freddy333

Get a stainless steel Rolex Datejust with bar markers (no gold, no 'gems'). For understatement For a more sporty look Pateks, VCs, JLCs, etc. are all beautiful watches, but are more likely to seem out of place unless you wear well tailored premium suits and travel in high income circles. The Datejust is the perfect watch for someone (in a suit) who wants to project an image of success in just about any environment without having the validity of his watch (or himself) questioned. People who see it will think 'Oh, he cannot afford a gold Rolex', but they will not think it is a fake.

Has anyone used one of these to make their stock WM/MBW DRSD caseback look more like this I was in Sears collecting parts for the upcoming He valve mod and, on impulse, decided to pick up one of these Dremel engravers. I had previously bought two diamond engraving bits for my standard Dremel, but the tips of both bits were about twice as wide as the width of the lines in the lettering on my caseback. I had an extra caseback from another watch that I used to practice on, but the bits completely overwrote (by a wide margin) the original engraving, which messed it all up. This new engraver comes with a more narrow tip that looks like it might actually fit into the existing engraving. But before I open the package I wanted to see if anyone else (who successfully re-engraved their caseback) used one of these tools. If you have, can you tell me how you used it? I am wondering whether you start the engraver and then place it into one of the grooves of the letter and start moving, or do you place the tip into the groove first (with the engraver off) and then switch it on and begin moving?

Beautiful watch and great wristshot, Stephane. Glad to see it made the journey safely. Wear it well.

JoJo -- I wish you had posted a few days ago. I found a 93150, but I still need a pair of gen 580/585 end links (with the soldered inner hoops that fit the 2mm dia springbars) in case you have these and are willing to part with them.

Mojo -- Unfortunately, I do not have my watch with me, but assuming the crystal o-rings (gaskets) are the same as the case gaskets, Ofrei.com has them 3 for $5.25. Here is the description -- Generic Gasket to Fit Rolex 29-325-10, pkg. of 3 $5.25 ROL-29-325-10 Fits Cases: 1019, 1655, 1665, 1675, 1680, 5512, 5513, 9401, 9411, 16550, 16660, 16750, 16753, 16758, 16760, 16800, 16803, 16808, 94010, 94110 Here is the page link (about 3/4 from the top of the page)

That makes sense. Since most of the insulation is due to the press-fit of the crystal to the case, I wonder if the type of o-rings sold in hardware and plumbing supply stores might work if matched in size for the case? Once you coat it with silicone, I would think that might do the trick, at least as a backup option in case we are unable to locate a source for the OEM part. Pug (or anyone else that has the OEM o-ring), any chance you could measure the inside & outside diameter of yours so we might be able to source a generic o-ring?

Pug -- I have a WM/MBW 1665 that also came without that o-ring for the crystal. Can you tell me where you got yours and what the part number is? I will be disassembling my case again (as soon as I locate a drill press vice for my mini-drill press) to finish an He valve mod and I will be replacing the crystal at that time too.

I will second that.

Nanuq and all -- You guys are killing me.. If DW makes another appearance, please keep me in mind.

Ryan -- Ubiquitous, who is probably the most knowledgeable person here on the subject of Daytonas, is the person that posted those comments. But I would disagree with him on this one point. I think the 116520 I have is nearly indistinguishable from the gen, while the flaws on Ubi's, although not terrible, are more serious & apparent than mine. It is always best to familiarize yourself with the gen model you are interested and then compare that to the various reps that are available for that model. (There are almost always multiple versions of the same model available from different sources. Each rep will get some things right and some things wrong. The more you know about the gen, the better able you are to choose a watch with the least errors, or at least the errors that are the least objectionable to you.)

TWS -- Do you mind if I beat this dead horse a bit more and ask what the dremel bit you used was called or if it had a size on it? I did not have anything in my Dremel toolbox that looked useful for engraving, so I picked up two Diamond Point 'Cutting/Engraving' bits from Sears. One is 5/16" & the other is 5/64". But looking at the width of the lettering on the DRSD caseback (very thin), it looks like the points on both tools are alot larger than the width of the letters. For example, I think if I try to run either tip on either of the two " (quote) characters that appear on the caseback (one to the right of the word OYSTER and the other to the left of the word ROLEX), it seems like the bits are so wide that they will merge the two separate lines into one. So I am just wondering how you did this? Do you just start the dremel and then place the engraving tip into one end of each letter and slowly drag it along the length of the letter to widen the existing lines? I apologize if this seems silly, but this engraving thing is the first mod I have attempted that has me feeling a complete pratt (butthead).

Avitt -- Yes (almost) exactly. I say almost because I would prefer a black dial, but I would easily suffer with that white one. Do you know if those are still available?

Beautiful watch and nice work. I would like to find a non-Oyster (non-screw pushers) myself.

I am not sure about the symmetry of the pushers -- they look asymmetrical in one photo, but symmetrical in the others. Impossible to tell from his photos. The subdials also look a bit small and too far apart, but that may be the photos.

TheWightStuff -- If you locate that technical sheet, could you post a copy? I would love to see it. I think you are right about the rep bracelets being inaccurate. I kind of thought it should have the extension, but wanted to be sure. I want to try to engrave the lettering on the caseback of my DRSD. I think I remember you said you used an engraving tool to do yours. Do you mean an engraving bit for a dremel or did you use a separate engraving tool? I was in Sears yesterday and they have both, but I wondering what you used?

El -- This is one of the very few cases where the crystal on a rep is actually taller than the gen. If you reshape the CGs & replace the hands/crown/tube/bracelet buckle with gens, it would be very difficult to tell the difference. As it is, I am sure it would fool any 'civilian'.

Hi Nanuq -- Makes sense and thank you.

Avitt -- Just what the doctor ordered. The reference page shows any of 3 end pieces -- 285/580/585, and it also looks like both bracelets were fitted to the 1665. So my remaining question is (and repaustria probably already answered this, but I would not mind a second opinion) did the DRSD bracelet have the diver's extension?

Repaustria -- Thank you for the quick reply. Can I also ask what the difference is between the 9315 & 93150 bracelets? I have a box full of rep bracelets and they are all labeled 93150, but some have diver's extensions and some do not. I am wondering which would be correct for the DRSD? I also have a couple of end pieces labeled 501B, but I have a feeling that is wrong for this model. I have seen these with 280, 380, 580 or 585 end pieces. The Patent Pending page of doubleredseadweller shows 380s, but I have seen all of the others fitted to DRSDs on Timezone. Could all of these end pieces be correct (fitted either originally or during servicing)?

And did the bracelet on these vintage Sea-Dwellers have the diver's extension?

Thank you and I look forward to seeing how successful you are in recreating that sunkin appearance of the lettering. You do good work. Here is another photo that may better illustrate the sunkin appearance of the lettering on a gen DRSD caseback As you can see by the way light is reflected around each letter, the surface of the case appears slightly 'pressed in', which I now understand is caused by the stamping process (at the factory, the stamping was probably accomplished with the use of a heavy press machine). The area around the lettering on our rep cases, even when properly sanded and polished, is still noticeably flat in relation to the same area on the gen caseback. But I think that once we can find a way to replicate both the stamped (pressed in) appearance as well as the more rounded, worn look of the lettering on the gen case, we will have a winner. Edit -- More and more, I am thinking that TheWightStuff had the right idea to use an engraving tool to widen and round each of the original engravings as a first step. Using his procedure prior to whatever tool or procedure we can devise to replicate the sunkin texture, followed by Pete's sanding/polishing should result in a near perfect vintage caseback.

PP -- I appreciate the input, and your work looks very good, but still obviously done with modern engraving equipment. The main question I am trying to solve is how to recreate the sunkin appearance of the lettering on the gen caseback, which was originally stamped (not engraved)? I can sand & polish out the sharp edges of the engraving, but no amount of sanding and polishing will duplicate the sunkin appearance of the lettering on the gen caseback. And that is the part I am trying to figure out.

Good point. Once I receive the stamp, I will toy around with a vice to see if there is a way to press it into the caseback with that. The factory seemed pretty certain that there would not be a problem with a hammer, but I am going to do some pre-testing on scrap cases and hopefully I will be able to work out a successful scheme. The stamp numbers I ordered are 1/4" in size. From the sound of it, the tool will resemble a narrow nail tap, but with the numbers in place of the point at the business end of the tap. But I will have a better idea once I receive the tool in a few weeks. I never built an amp from scratch, but I used to do a bit of rebuilding & modding of old valve (tube) stuff. I guess some of us have modding in our blood.

I have never seen a model like that and everything about the posting screams scam. Not the greatest quality, but you can find some repainted Tudors here.

Euno -- hahaha Just my luck - the only reasonably priced Daytona with asymetrical pushers and the guy is a crook. But if it comes to fisticuffs when you find him and any of these 6263s happen to fall out of his pockets, please grab one for me (since he will probably not be in any condition to need it after you finish with him). Oh, and watch your brisket.