Nanuq

Well not necessarily... you can saddle an ass and ride it into the sunset. Hmmmmm, I guess that goes for arse too.

Welcome, Gimme ... nice intro. You're right in that we don't "advertise", we just let the place speak for itself. Most of the members that are most active here are just like you, they stumbled across us and stayed. We are pitiless and absolutely merciless for scammers here. The expectations are clearly posted, and when someone sticks a toe across a line they are gone. Right now. If they're a newb, we'll often talk with them directly or send a PM, but we can sniff out a scammer from a mile away. Some of us actually relish blowing them off the board. *cough* This place is all about spreading watch information: how to build something, what parts work with what case, who gives good service when you need parts or whole watches, who's slow, who's fast, who ripped someone off, all that stuff. You will be amazed at what some members here have built from scratch. We encourage feedback from everyone for how things go with their transactions, good or bad. We encourage and welcome your input! You said "AFAIK, the more members there are, the more VIP's and the more money for whoever runs this place." While true in most fora, this place is run mostly on the generosity of its Admin. He works crazy hours and usually pays the hosting bills out of his pocket to keep the lights on. It's a labor of love. We encourage people to post sales and donate a percentage to run the board, but it's up to the seller. So no, there's no money flowing into Admin's pockets. I'm amazed he keeps up with the work, aggravation and expense, to be honest. But here we are, spreading watch information and watching each others' backs. We are a tight knit community with wide open arms. So jump in! Enjoy! Tell us what your interests are, where you've gotten good deals and good service, and post up some awesome photos.

There she is... a beauty! Nasty coronet and all. Wondering if MW snapped it up?

Back engravings on the Ebay listing were in a different format, and his had the circle-T dial. Plus, in the one ugly shot of his coronet, it's just nasty. I call fake!

And if I remember correctly, there were a handful of A/6538s made ... I believe 21 of them. Almost as rare as my Doxa!

The photos were still up last night, and showed what appeared to be a 1520 or 1530 movement (no butterfly rotor) and the caseback engravings he listed. It also had a bizarre Twinlock-signed crown, about twice as wide as usual, with very long shoulders leading down from the knurling. The tube was almost as big as the knurling. Perhaps a machined down 8mm? I'm certain it was not a Brevet crown. As with all vintage Rolex, it only creates more questions, and answers none.

I don't know precisely why this auction ended, but this is a mil-spec version of the 6538. It's engraved on the back and appears correct. The auction reads like the seller truly had no idea what it was, and his local jeweler told him it's worth "around £500." He gave that reply when someone asked him about a "buy it now" price. Now the auction is ended. This may be the Deal of the Millenium, gents. Rolex A/6538

The Clark crystal inside diameter may be a smidgen too small, or its outside diameter may be a smidgen too large, so it's taking too much force to press on the bezel. I'm usually in favor of a tight fit for water resistance, but too much of a good thing, in this case, may crack the crystal. As a comparison for "force", I usually use a couple hockey pucks, one frozen with a hole in the middle, and I make a sandwich and squeeze the retaining rings on with my bare hands. If I can't make it go on that way, it's too tight. If it goes on too easy, something's wrong. You might try reducing the thickness of the Clarks a fraction and see if that helps. Or try sanding the inside diameter of the bezel a little. Or try smearing a small bit of silicon grease around the outside base of the crystal, and a little on the inside of the bezel. That will slip them together better and when the excess oozes out it proves those parts have an interference fit, and are likely watertight. Good luck!

Ahhhh, I knew that was the reason for the Dauphine, no mystery there. I was just remembering back about a year ago you were sourcing all gen parts to allow you to build that 1036 up. I thought the wheel was an offhand reference to the "built (literally) from scratch" method to your madness.

(checks watch) Is it April Fools Day again already?

Well, besides Ken....... Just kidding! Just kidding! Quit hitting me!

Wahoo!! TJGR is back!! Stick around ya big troublemaker! "Who makes the best Sub" indeed!

Whooooaaaaaa there is some SERIOUS depth to the "vintage" bench in this ball club. You guys have some sweet pieces! Freddy, I've wracked my brain and can't suss it out. What's with the wheel in the photo with your Turn-O-Graph? I could see you removing bits to turn a GMT movement into an engine for the TOG, but you're also showing an A260, so that's not it. Spill please?

I couldn't agree more! Except for the part about everything trumping stainless, that is. A vintage watch must show evidence of being used, not just a safe queen. I say stainless steel watches are the work horses, hence more desirable IMHO.

I'll volunteer to draw the black line on the dial with a sharpie... I have really steady hands!

Oh, you do NOT want to see what knickers Andy keeps in his drawers.

Ahhhhhh, there's another very important "Submariner" that Freddy left out. The black-out dial 6204. Come on Freddy, you're slipping man!

The 6538 was produced from 1954 - 1959. The first two years it did not bear the "OCC" designation on the dial, and was not C.O.S.C. chronometer certified. The last 3 years of its production they added "Officially Certified Chronometer" to the dial. All years of production carried a depth rating of 200m/660ft. Curiously, nothing had changed to give it the OCC designation; it used the 1030 movement during its entire brief career. The 6536 also appeared during this time, with a smaller Twinlock crown and less extreme depth rating: 100m/330ft.

Ah, my friend, in the midst of a very hard two weeks, you have brought joy to the mountains of Alaska. Heark! Is that a bird singing? No, 'tis Offshore and his budding love for all things Doxa. Doxa is a Greek word, translated to mean dignity, glorious, honor, and praise. I'm glad your glorious Doxa has been repaired to tick once more! Let's see some photos when this beauty is put back together!

Good explanation, Freddy. It might be there is so much crud accumulated inside the bezel that the spring got jammed in there and it cannot "spring back out" to grab the retaining ring. When you pull the spring out be sure to clean everything thoroughly and that will help too.

Well done! And you're exactly right... the ring around the crystal is what's holding it on the case. Use a one-sided razor blade and tap it gently in beneath that ring on one side to lift it a little. Then work your way around the case, lifting as you go, until the ring and crystal come off. Reassembly is helped with a tiny bit of silicon grease (or vaseline) smeared on both sides of the crystal, in and out, at its very base. Set the crystal in place on the case, then press the ring back down until everything is well seated. A little grease will ooze out, letting you know all the nooks and crannies are filled, so that interface is most likely waterproof again. FWIW, I use a frozen hockey puck with a hole in the middle as my "press" to push the ring back on. They're only $1 each so you can build a whole assortment for the different sizes.

Ah, very nice segue into the simple desire to just buy another rep! While I can't fault your desire to buy another piece, I'm sure you can fix this one. Pull that 8-sided wire out of its groove and you'll find it is completely encrusted with 7 years of crud. Clean it off, scrape out the groove it was in, smear it with a little Vasline, and reassemble. Sadly, it will pop right on and work perfectly ... eliminating the reason to buy another rep! But we won't tell. Every one of us has been bit by the same bug. We go to extraordinary lengths to justify a new watch.

If this is assembled like mine, it's an easy fix. There's a piece of wire bent into a hexagonal shape that fits inside the bezel. If it's lost, make another out of 6" of spring steel. Easy. You can see how I bent the bumps into this one with needle nose pliers.

Ma Bruddah from anudda Muddah ... yeah I miss him too.

Oh, DROOL!!!