Nanuq

1680s aren't hard to find, they sit on fences next to Big Crowns.

Pffffffft it's Snopes! Who ya gonna believe?!

"Need" power tools?! Ohhhhh baby, you got that right! No such thing as too many, here's my newest, I can frame a wall at 100 yards.

Nah.... I still have a scabby old orange diver.

The dial glows orange, as do the numbers on the insert... and they look great against the blue numbers!

Love that orange one!

Seattle.... I have a lot of old school watchmaker friends there, and lots of great memories. Welcome aboard!

Gorgeous!! Now send it to me and I promise I'll produce a good photo, some time in the next 10 years or so.

Holy smokes, now we're into the tropical dials..... My heart!

Holy smokes! Gorgeous photos.

Dang there's some nice Sea Dwellers here! More pics!

I prefer the earlier gilt dials....

This place is amazing. And it's only amazing because of the quality members we have. Well done, gents.

This is how many vintage builds go, first you find your dial, then you find everything else. Patience.... with a case this nice, take the time to do it right.

Davids that's a GREAT tutorial. Thanks!

That looks amazing! Very nice. To install the bezel catch some of the spring segments under the retaining ring then push down the opposite side of the bezel, while you turn it. It should be easy to turn when installed, if it's very tight then all the spring segments didn't click down over the retaining ring. Press and turn some more. I don't know if the 2846 will fit where the 1530 should be. The stem heights are different. Will you cut your dial feet or get the right dial for your movement? Cutting feet can make the dial work on the movement but then it might add thickness from the glue or dial dots. That will change the stem height. It will take a lot of trial and error to get it just right but it will be worth it.

May your Crowns be large, and your Problems small.

That's the beauty of this place, we have plenty of serious WIS, and no ego problems. Boy is that refreshing!

Pfffffft, buncha crybabies. Nothing on the road vibrates as much as my mtn bike hammering down a rocky trail. I've never had trouble with a watch getting trashed or losing time offroad, but a heavy watch like a 1665 willl beat your wrist to DEATH from the pounding. I used to wear a MBW 1665 to hockey practice and an hour of slapshots never hurt it, but if I was overly aggressive I'd find the minutes hand had rotated around -15 minutes on its pinion afterward.

See if you can unscrew the caseback with your thumbs. If not, unscrew the crown and pull it completely out to the time setting position, then set it in the hot sun so the dial faces the sun. It will get VERY hot, and that increases the pressure inside the case (Boyle's Law) forcing pressure and moisture out the crown tube. Put it back in the shade (same dry outside air) and let it cool. Repeat. Every time you heat and cool it, the excess humidity inside the case will escape out the crown tube until the humidity outside matches the humidity inside. I flooded my Big Crown in Hawaii and did this... a few hot/cool cycles dried it out. PS: you are in a hot climate on vacation, right?

I don't think it's a MQ case, see the machined o-ring groove around the movement opening? My MQ is flat there. This should be described as a 6536 or 6536/1 since it's a small crown, and has the 1030 movement. A 5508 would have the small crown too, with a 1530 movement.

Hah!!! Ain't that the truth! Wait, are you sure that's not the "noon" picture?

Here's the look you'll get with a big dome. This is a gen Superdome T39 and I cut down the sidewalls a couple mm to lower it. A T19 dome will be about the same.

That case profile looks great! Here's one for comparison: