Mendota Explorer

Amazingly awesome!! What crystal does yours have? The stock crystal or did you install a gen or Prof? Do you have gen hands? So literally the only mods you have done are swap the movement and dial?? How difficult was it to find the movement and dial? Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

Do you know if she can also provide hands that would pair up with her dials so the lume is matching?

Gorgeous!! With vintage gen prices obscenely and absurdly high, this is exactly what I want to build! Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

Go vintage, and I'll tell you why. There is so much less scrutiny AND there is so much more interest in "old stuff" when you encounter a regular civilian. What I mean by that is if you are wearing a brand new, flashy, and shiny modern Rolex this is going to draw more comments of "hey, nice watch." Then you are left with the dilemma of how to respond. Do you just say "thanks" and leave it at that, or do they continue asking questions about it and share how they have always wanted one, or whatever the case may be. The lingering and nagging reality, no matter how freaking awesome the rep may be (50th anniversary SD43 or the latest Cameron Deep Sea) many of the general public will always have a gut feeling about "cheap Chinese knockoffs." With vintage, it flies under the radar with the average civilian, but with other watch enthusiasts it can draw the right kind of attention. You can talk about the build, you can talk about the history of the piece and what drew you to that particular one. Then you can share details about your build with them. How you tinkered with it yourself, or how you worked with a really cool watch builder wherever, or how you sourced parts for months (or years) to make this build. Honestly, every watch person I have ever talked to and every civilian I have talked to about vintage pieces has always responded VERY favorably when I share that I love vintage watches and I am building up the courage to assemble and build my own vintage watches. I use the vintage auto restoration analogy all the time because I think it is the perfect comparison. Not one person on the planet (besides maybe a hardcore auto show collector guy) would ever fault someone who restored and built a classic Vette using a mix of aftermarket OEM spec parts. They would all say "awesome Vette" and talk about it fondly. I think vintage watches are the same way with everyone except the most hardcore of the collectors. It's for personal enjoyment. Good luck! If you decide to go vintage, there is no better place to be than right here. The most brilliant minds in the horology world reside here on this forum and they are willing and happy to help in any way they can. I love this place.😀👍

Wow! Stunning!

Ha ha, no, I'm not kidding. :-) Your gen crystal is nice, don't get me wrong, but I think Rolex goofed by adding a cyclops. I think the watch looks a million times better with no cyclops. Just my opinion. ;-) Great work with yours. Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

You need a Prof double AR crystal with no cyclops. That would really make the dial pop.😀

That is fantastic. Enjoy it!

How much is Prof's crystal versus a gen crystal? I told myself I would never buy a modern Rolex rep again and would ONLY do vintage builds from here on out, but damn this is my favorite modern reference and this looks so damned good.

This looks great. How difficult was it to source the right crystal for it and where did you get it? Part of me thinks Rolex should have released this without a cyclops, to really pay tribute to the Sea Dweller history.

Man, the sky blue and cherry one is the bomb! Perfection![emoji106] Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

Wow! This is absolutely beautiful! A 1675 is top on my wish list. [emoji106] Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

That's a great looking 1675! I like the freshness of the new one. It could make the dial pop. I'm not an expert in inserts, so I can't help you in that regard, but I love the watch overall. A 1675 Blueberry with solid red GMT hand, and a 6542 are both on my "must have" list. [emoji106] Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

Beautiful! That lead off pic is stunning! I actually like the contrast with the blue. Reminds me of my favorite variation of the 1675 with Blueberry insert![emoji106] Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

Beautiful! Both pieces are amazing. Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

Who is the seller for your 16mm buckle? Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

Where did you find the 16mm buckle? It looks like a good one. Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

Very nice! Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

Beautiful! Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

Beautiful. Simply stunning. I say this every time, but your watch box contains every single vintage grail of mine. Every one. Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

Wow. Wow! Even the so called gurus and the top experts are engaging in shenanigans related to this vintage watch tulip bubble. Unbelievable. This guy thought it was on the up and up and he was buying from a world renowned expert. I would have had faith in Dowling, too. My guess is Dowling never in a million years thought this buyer would even look into it, or if he did he would just keep coming back to Dowling since he is/was so world renowned. Dowling probably mistakenly thought/assumed that he would have a lifetime relationship with this wealthy buyer and would have carte blanche to scam him whenever and however he deemed appropriate. A little here, a lot there, take the pieces back on "trade" and keep the cycle going. Like Bernie Madoff. Even Madoff started out completely legit. He just succumbed to his own greed and the ease with which he could take advantage of clueless millionaires. Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

Love it. I could look at these all day, or apparently all night where you are! Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

That looks fantastic. The dial on the Cameron d-blue really pops with the multi color. Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

Nice! He did a great job with it. Do you feel like he did case work to bring it into more gen proportions, besides the brushing and polishing, and adding new bevels? That's one thing I have been wondering about - does or can his process take the place of having to grind and shave case dimensions ourselves? Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

Am I reading this right? He's asking $75k for a franken he built? Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk