madasboot

Raffles dials are not gilt dials. they are printed in light brown. The 6530 “honeycomb” has an overprint, largely incorrect: My point is it gives the same amount of effort to do it right or to do it wrong and suppliers like rffls and others have been doing it wrong for decades. They mass produce them so price is as cheap as the quality. that is the reason I started doing my own, time and production are quite a high toll but they are correct. @JSebWC, if you find them expensive try to do one yourself if you are happy with rffls i am not, but i am happy for you. in the end it is an hobby but each one of us has our own standards. having different standards, we also have different results… this is an example of a true gilt dial, carved explorer, first generation, self made, self lumed: 320c6e52-812b-46f2-b474-ddde9706d6ff.mp4 perfection has costs and that is why i do them for myself. best, M. PS- I am not comparing a ferrari to a ford, i am just saying that if i cannot afford a ferrari, i prefer walking than driving a ford.

No. I had 6 made. I could if I would produce 100. My price was the one I told you a while ago. I kept two dials for myself and sold the others. same is happening with case sets. i am selling most of my surplus and duplicated explorers. best M.

Thank you J. Here is my second of four 6530 my point is not price. I like to make at once so I prefer investing time and maximizing money value. Under a production point of view i still think it requires the same amount of effort to do it right or to do it not so right but looking like. Perfect results may not be achieved with 35 dollah a piece but one can for 100… and 100 is what one spends in a dinner. I know its possible Vietnamese cases (made in the North) Drop me a line and I will send you the contact of the casemaker. If you prefer 34mm I have genuine 5500 enclosure sets. Best Marco

34mm 5500 Exp self made super precision glossy gilt dial gen case 36mm 6530 Exp True gilt carved dial 1:1 and modified case

a true gilt 6610. 31972304-d919-4882-bbd6-a64d7d54974b.mp4

Here is mine for reference if it can help somehow. Dial surface sheen is one of the main characteristics, recessed chapter, true gilt (not printed). For the ones not familiar with gilt dials I will post a third video. 3e0eeeb1-e00a-4ea4-be18-a144fc8492d3.mp4 879d554d-097d-4201-b85b-a70154b272e2.mp4

Thank you for sharing. The 6350 dial is being made in 28.5mm and not as a 27.5mm as per original and it is not being done proportionally, being the difference (0.5mm) added to the edge. This makes the dial unusable in a gen case and in a rep case the chapter is too far from the rehaut. Regular explorer cases are also not accurate for this model. The chapter on a gen dial is recessed and lower than the guilloched surface to create depth and a shadow line around the rehaut (mine in the attached picture so you can compare). These dials were not printed either, and what you read in a gen is bare brass. That makes this one of the most difficult dials given the surface is not flat and legibility is a key. 35usd may sound as a friendly price but in the end what one will get is proportional to the 35 bucks. A last thought regarding the hobby; most people try to replicate without knowing what they are replicating or handling an original. Same applies to ageing; ageing without knowing how a piece ages and the feel of it makes the process run in a thin line separating art from butchery. Accuracy takes time, patience, and art. it takes the same amount of effort to do it right and do it wrong. Do it right involve more time though. That, and what we learn in the way, are what makes it worth. best, M.

In a vintage rlx gtg, I saw a guy with a 6538 and got a closer look and this guy turns and comes by. A couple of glances to the watch and a chat, and he tells me he is sporting an aged vietnamese replica like most of the attendees given the genuines are in safes. fair…

Not a proper wristy but very close to it the ugly sister

Hopefully

Explorer 5500

my modest weekly contribution:)

a small one to contrast…

All gen except movement

Saturday here

@Buddhabar @automatico Got so excited with my case sets that started a building spree Gilt galore https://streamable.com/fx4ca3

Thanks R.! I had not been posting much lately but got hold of a lot of oyster cases from the 50’s and early sixties and I have been assembling like mad will post more later. best M.

34mm military explorer 6150 with low bezel and brevet crown. All gen except dial (self made) and movement (hand winding ETA). Enclosure set is a transitional bubbleback from 1952. . one more shot…

@ZigotoI have several 20mm riveted bands; a couple of them with straight endlinks the others with fixed caps. I can let one or two go. if you are interested drop me a PM for details. best M.

self made

as the title says…

One from my last batch. notice the surface texture and the preserved sheen. best M.

Nice work, but in my humble opinion the dial is the major teller. these dials were gilt, not printed, so surface ageing doesnt have a realistic expression, mostly with paint blotches over the “oyster perpetual”. best M.

RWG was the place to be during the early 2000s. Market shape, services and internal dynamics changed a lot since then. some of the old timers are gone (ones for better reasons than others) and the constant are the so called TDs, most of them still around because more or less crowded business is still business. I come every once in a while to find the forum as a deserted warehouse, an echo of what it used to be. I hope that it may change but I really doubt it; as an informative and technical platform it assisted the pioneering efforts in builds and mods when the info sources were scarce and part supplying centered in a couple of sources. Today, one can find almost anything available so building became an IKEA like thing and modding less and less valued for three reasons: - base material / parts have better quality and easy acessibility; anyone can assemble a watch. - information became available but knowledge irrelevant so people still use pictures as reference and build according to what they see in a picture and not over what they feel / experience with a genuine. Like a beauty contest… - Modding takes time and demanding (time, tools, finance and the capacity of accepting unsuccessful attempts and the fact that in trial and error, error usually takes advantage. best M.