Nanuq

Hey now, don’t MAKE me sic my tender, delicate little tundra flower on you....

What?! That stuff is delicious! Step away from my muktuk and nobody gets hurt.

Hey now, don't be passing out my muktuk! Sure it quiets the noisiest rotor, but this stuff is hard to come by!

Hey isn't that the "Full Service" that RedBigJoe used to offer?

Welcome back! I thought I heard familiar footsteps in the hallway...

For a watch that age where is the bracelet wear on the back of the lugs? I wonder if it’s a Phong case?

Then there’s the inserts, with and without red triangles, skinny fonts, fat fonts, long 3s, hook 5s, service, kissing 40 ... that’s a whole chapter in itself.

Bezels for 6538, 6536 and 6204 6538 top to bottom: MQ, crap, Phong 6536 is Phong 6204 is handmade

They’re for an ETA 2836 movement I’m pretty sure, but that’s not a show stopper for a good watch smith. Now check Phong and MQ for bezels, and look at the tooth profiles.

Alright gents I went back through the frozen archives and found them. These hands are *spectacular* and yet somehow never appear in this guy's search listings. He has two sets left.... if you're doing a 6204 buy them. https://www.ebay.com/itm/162853809858

Yep, it seems when they were assembling these things they grabbed from the parts bin and usually got this kind of part, but once in awhile they'd put something else on and .... "hey look, that looks pretty good!" and away it went. Like that dauphine seconds hand ... almost all of them have the ball on the off end from the pointer. Some have the "long" hours hand, for who knows what reason. This is what makes Rolex vintage collectors lose sleep at night... that elusive one of a kind piece.

Ahhhhhhh see now we know that's just a photo of a car model, where's all the oil leaks? This is what a British engine is supposed to look like!

If I'm not mistaken, that's the ever-so-rare "Bart meets George Costanza" coronet.

Okay, get comfortable ... this is going to take awhile. The project will take some time, but in the end it will be worth it. I have a little over 20 years into my 6535/1 project and it was (is) worth it. Let me start with some photos: In the first photo look at the profile to the bezel teeth. 2nd photo, look at the ring that holds the crystal on, onto which the bezel snaps. 3rd picture shows what's possible ... there's my original dial and crap hands, and a better aftermarket dial with another set of crap hands. I have since found a REALLY good set of aftermarket hands (no photo). 4th picture is approximately what it should look like finished. Mine is all handmade one-off aftermarket from perhaps 50 years ago, and really doesn't deserve to be on the same page as yours. But it's the only reference I've held in my hands. You have a rare one there. Your case is superb, the crown and bezel retaining ring look original, as does the crystal. The dial looks original too, but damaged, and poorly lumed. The seconds hand looks genuine, it's the very rare dauphine piece. You can find one like it from 1953 on the Rolex Passion Report. The minutes and hours hands are ...... wrong. It's one hell of a good starting point. Where do you start? First, a huge thank-you to the person that gave it to you. That was incredibly generous. Second, don't do ANYTHING to it for awhile. Well, you might get the movement serviced. It should have the A260 movement and there are a few people here that can do that for you. I wouldn't hesitate to send them any of my vintage pieces for a service. Now you start the search. The bezel from a 6536 will fit, but not a 6538. There are several tooth profiles available, so hunt around for one that best matches pic #1. It should be silver plated over yellowish metal. Make sure the seller assures you a red triangle bezel insert from a 37mm case will fit. It should snap onto your bezel retaining ring snugly, if it doesn't we have a guy here that can machine you the ring and it will all go together beautifully. The crystal appears to be original tropic-16. If it was me I'd keep it, and start polishing the hell out of it with a t-shirt to smooth out the gouges. It's cracked but you're not going diving. If you want a replacement, GS or Sternkreuz have pieces that fit. You must make this decision before you attempt the bezel/ring/crystal fit to the case. The crystals have different wall thicknesses. See above. Okay bezel, insert, ring, crystal and case all go together. Now the hands. There's a guy on eBay that sells sets once in a blue moon and they're perfect. They're made in Rolex 1030 or ETA 2838/Miyota 9125 sizes. I'll try to hunt around and find where I got mine. Either size can be made to work, given a motivated watch smith. I did my 6538 like that ... the hard way. The dial. Holy smokes the dial. Pretty sure that's a poor aftermarket dial, so really that's a good thing. If it was gen you'd have a bunch of bigger problems. Hunt around for a good aftermarket dial, you'd be surprised what's available with the reverse gilt just like genuine. It will take a lot of "radium dust" aging. This is a "Tonnywatch" dial from when he was in business. Other aftermarket sources are out there, like Phong and MQ. They make good stuff (most of the time) but they're pricey. All the pieces are done, now find someone to put it together. We have lots of those guys here too. It will be a matter if "fitting" the parts together, not unlike working on old British cars. You'll want an artist, not just a mechanic. While he's doing that, find a nice black leather alligator strap for it, or a Yuki 7206 rivet oyster band. Then take lots of photos and show us how she turned out. Congratulations in advance!

Sorry, AFAIK what we see is what we got. There are some "themes" to choose from in the dropdown at the bottom of the page, but none of them are "Dark".

That's right baby .... "No L" 🎅

Hey we’re still in the Christmas spirit around here. (Wait for it..... wait for it..........)

OK, that seconds hand is much better. I like the hours hand but the minutes hand seems more like a "Maxi" minutes than the nice skinny hand that came in the mid 70s. Compare what you have with the photo of my Nastymariner. My minutes hand looks 2/3 as wide as yours. And what's with the spelling on your dial? Did someone skip the QC photos?

There was a fraudulent sale of a Doxa Black Lung last week and I raised hell with eBay over it, even for the seller accepting offers outside eBay, a clear violation of the rules. The result? Crickets. It ultimately “sold” for $4,700

Just don't let Lani pick the lunch spot. He knows all the local hideaways and the last place we went, they served stuff I've never even heard of. I think that was so he could have most of it for himself, but the eel was ono!

Stay tough, tiger. Sounds to me like you have 14 days to polish that watch collection to a high gloss, eh? And then.... PHOTOS!!

I wonder where he wound up? While we're at it .......

Hey big guy, it's great seeing you again!!! I have an idea, let's meet in Waikiki and we can get Omni and Lani to host it.

Okay gents, everybody BE CAREFUL and DO NOT BID on that Black Lung on the 'Bay right now. The photos are exactly the same as the one that just sold for $12,000 and they're only accepting bids from outside eBay. They state the Buy It Now price is $3,500 and that's utter insanity. I offered $4,000 and they ignored me. This is a rip-off. Don't fall for it.