bones

Nice, cheers mark This afternoon on the folded bracelet.

Seems to be fine now, I fully de-cased it and left it all airing overnight. Took the time to remove a few dust particles on the dial and inner crystal. I also polished up the springbar tips and fitted a cartel folded bracelet this morning. Sits nice on that as well.

Grrr, I went out for a walk with the dog in the sunshine, came back and noticed some condensation on the inside of the crystal. So it's sat overnight drying out, i sealed the edges of the crystal with some UV glue, replaced the caseback gasket with a thicker one and hopefully that should do it.

Excellent, looks a lot more subtle. I will have to find some iodine as well. Guess the local chemist might have some.

What are those hands made of? I think that CWP might do a brass hand set for ETA. I will need to investigate.

Awesome, going to have to do some research on these I think. Much appreciated!

I was going for the corroded look (http://i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae293/ferdelance211/MONTRES%20SITE%20INTERNET/5510gilt.jpg ) but really struggled to get an even finish on the hands. Testing still ongoing shall we say In my work place health and safety regs don't permit me to wear metal straps. So I have to at least have options for work as well.

I think it's fair to say that I've built most variations of vintage Rolex over the past few years. The early pieces were basic, a lot of big crown pieces. I used them primarily as you don't have to spend the time re-working crownguards. Out of any task that is involved in building a vintage Rolex piece, the crownguards are the most tedious. Re-shaping them can be relatively quick, but re-finishing the sides and the case to remove tooling marks is possibly the bane of my existence. I'm continuing to refine how I work and the accuracy and build quality. I'm not afraid to say that there are pieces that have left my workbench that I'm not 100% satisfied with but that were worked to the best of my ability with the tools that I have or had at the time. The problem with my builds over the past few years is that I've not really connected with a lot of them. I will build what I think I want and then very rarely does one capture my passion. Some notable exceptions that I would love to have back in the collection would be my first proper 1655 Explorer II build, my blue no date Tudor Snowflake 9401/0, or Debellums 1680 MBK. Of course two of those were builds for other people, and the Snowflake left me to create some funds for my gen Pelagos. So where does that leave me today? Well, last night I finished up a build I've been working on for a few months. Something that I feel might be with me for a while (although I've said that before!). Of course by the title of the thread you might have a rough idea what's coming. I've always kind of thought that when it comes to vintage pieces they need patina. My early pieces looked like they'd spent a few decades being brutalised on front lines or abandoned at the bottom of an oil sump. Soon I learned that part of ageing is not always being used and abused. A lot of the pieces that I've created recently could be considered 'pre-loved heirlooms'. The wear is there, but it's subtle. The soft edges of the case and bracelet that come from decades of being worn against skin, the ever so slight cream colour to the tritium lume. These are things that appeal to me. Anyone can take a set of files to a case or bleach to an insert but making something look genuinely old is an art. I'm not saying I've achieved it, just that I aspire to it. This watch is an exception to that rule. I wanted over polished, I wanted faded, I wanted corroded and mis-used. I also broke from a generality of mine that my Rolex have to be on bracelets. I've found the tropic rubber strap to be infinitely more comfortable (although I do have a folded link bracelet being modded to fit the case). So without further ado, I present my 5512 Pointed Crown Guard, 4 liner, gilt Rolex Submariner. And yes, that is genuine rust on the hand set.:thumbsup:

It has threads that go all the way to the bottom of the inner crown, which would suggest its a 700. Kind of defeats the purpose of having a 700 crown when it has three dots. But oh well, i knew it would need broaching on the inside of the tube.

This was the reply I got from phong they are have both 3 dot is old style has been use for Sea-Dweller before and no dot newer style factory specs on tube 700 you have to use grind tools to install and use epoxy to seal or lock tight and after you install in use cutting burs to grind inside to 2.20mm to fit the crown. that factory specs. let me know if you are watch maker?if you don't know how to install let me know send to me I will do it for you just pay shipping Phong Sent from my HTC Desire S

Grr, i wouldnt even have minded if he'd sent me the 702 combo, but one of each really isn't helping the situation.

Not quite, it does have some bearing on it though.

I'm confused, firstly the crown does not fit the tube. Do I need to broach the inner diameter of the tube to fit? Secondly the crown has the triplock dots, surely this is very incorrect for the 700 which was twinlock?

The bracelet seems to be a bit of a mismatch. It's stamped 93250 on clasp and bracelet, hollow mid links, divers extension and 455b end links. I buy my Sternkreuz crystals from Cousinsuk.com, they are pretty good quality overall.

1665 Double Red Sea Dweller Cartel 1665 fully aged, repolished Low beat 2846 ETA movement Silver datewheel Yuki DRSD dial Yuki Tudor hand set relume Yuki plexi pearl re-lume Yuki 93250 bracelet heavily modified Gen 703 crimped triplock crown Sternkreuz Tropic 39 crystal Modded HEV Pepsi Bezel 1675 GMT Master Yuki cream lume 1675 GMT master dial Cartel base watch, fully aged then repolished WSO Bezel insert Relumed cartel hand set Sterkreuz Tropic 116 crystal Gen 6mm Twinlock crown

Same, as I said above. Josh recons 2 weeks, but he also said 2 weeks 2 weeks ago

Josh says the 5512's will be back in stock in two weeks maybe, not sure if the same applies for the 5513's.

Ok guys, version two is at the printers now. Comes with 2836 and 7750 hole positions.

From the crownguards and pearl this is not the same as the 'cartel' 5512 that everyone uses for modding. No guarantee on it having gen spec bezel construction or take a gen size dial. Crownguards at least give you plenty of metal to re-shape.

Silix used to have these with 21j movements for $65 or so.

The main hands are silver (white gold on gen) the seconds lightning hand is orange. The QC pictures colour will just be a reflection. I've never ever seen a rep with the wrong colour hands.

Kind of strange finding my photos here. Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

What crystal is on there? Looks like a 127. You should get a 123 for it.

Having done the conversion from MBW dial to gen size dial, yes, it is a pain in the ass. But if you have access to a lathe it would be pretty easy.

Pantograph, laser etching, hand engraving, lots of methods.