madasboot

Just my small contribution: The 12 and 6 numerals are off-centered (misaligned with the smaller numerals around the bezel) and that one is, IMHO, a fatal flaw for this much expected model.

Please PM. I will help you.

I will be also producing some 3646 crystals. I will spend my next monday doing some for my vintages! I believe I will have other surprises soon....

@RiverwindMDS: Those are hard to answer. 1. I am not claiming that mine are more accurate than Davidsen's. I am just more happy with my version (for some reason I decided to produce a crystal). IMHO Feels and looks better when installed. 2. I think the originals (at least some) have bubble back. 3. Please take a look at the pics of some gens and draw your own conclusions. PS - I am not sure if the one on the upper left is a gen or not. Pics were collected a long time now...

Anyone interested?

and my work in progress... @kruzer: I will be also producing some 3646 crystals soon and will let you know.

Back shot of the bubble plexi and RXW and fiddy cases side by side.

Comparation to Davidsen plexi. Davidsen´s plexi installed on my 6152 rolex brevet crown (left) and new crystal on fiddy case (on the right)

Ambivalence. RXW case on the left and fiddy case on the right.

Received the prototypes today. Thick and gorgeous! Lets see: 1. Plexi installed on a polished fiddy case (my 6152 project with the cal. 618 had finally started). Front and bubble back plexi.

And Tourby believe me they deserve every penny for their work... especially Finepics whose work I know closely!

hi marco, you say the davidsen crystal needs a new gasket. can i also order a new gasket for this crystal from davidsen ??? and is that a crystal or a plexy glass ??? thanks for your reply rolli

I am not a mind reader however if you can tell a little more about it shoot me a PM. Cheers, marco

If you are going to vintageize your 6152 - like mine - here goes some tips: 1. Dial numerals: You can either do the patina on the numerals with watercolor (Winsor & Newton's Raw Sienna) or a coffee wash. Watercolor technique is quite simple as you apply the diluted color into the numeral slits (not on the surface of the dial or you will have to wash it later!) and let it dry and repeat the process until you get the tone you desire. Wait overnight and then with a wet soft brush (water only) you drybrush the numerals so the patina will be more discreet and subtle as it concentrates on the recessed parts of the numerals. The coffee technique is quite an experiment and had proved some major results (problem is I did it on a Davidsen engraved dial whose numerals are too fat and I like the results but not the dial!). First you do a strong black coffee (concentrated) and then you add 1 tea spoon of brown sugar to a soup spoon of coffee. Be sure to use the mixture when cold or you may damage the dial. The rest of the process is quite similar as with watercolor the difference will be in the results. Sugared coffee gives a ambar / satined finish patina when dry, looking like the real mccoys. Just do not forget to let every coat to dry before applying the next one and I am pretty convinced you will like the results. 2. Hands: You can age the luminous hand material with either of the techniques just do not forget to age the metal first. You can achieve an old look by submerging the hands on heavily concentrated salt water for a week, let them dry for a couple of days and then repeat the process but instead of water use vinegar (white and not red wine vinegar). 3. Crystal: The crystal that comes with the 6152/1 (Trusty/Andrew) is very reasonable but I insisted on having a taller and ordered one from Davidsen. Davidsen's Crystal is quite good but needs a gasket since its diameter is slightly shorter than the bezel. Ageing can be done from the inside - yellow tinted applied with an acetate marker around the inner edge of the crystal and then whashed with alcohol wet cotton. This has to be done with care just to prevent the paint to clot (you will want subtle reflexes and not yellow camouflage). Just do this around the edges and not near the inner face of the crystal. On the outside use scotchbrite to scratch the plexi (I advise you to get a test dummy crystal first so you do not blast the correct one!) and then use toothpaste (highly fluored is the best) to buff it. Finally get some Duraglit Metal Polish Wadding to a final buff. This stuff works wonderfully on metals and... yes... on plexi also! 4. Case: Some xtra-fine sandpaper, a scratch or two and Duraglit. Ditto! Cheers, Marco

No. They will be produced by a portuguese specialist on watch crystals. Specially tailored and specially made. I will have the prototypes next friday and will post some pics of it. Cheers, marco

I wonder if any of you fellows are interested on a PlexiGlass crystal for 6152 / 6152-1 projects. I am getting some front and back crystals done by a specialist who will produce some prototypes during next week. I provided him the shape, profile and thickness and left there 2 cases so he could mount the crystals on my cases (front and domed back crystal on a fiddy case with a non engraved clear caseback / front crystal on a RXW case). I will post some pics of the results at the end of the week. Since I can consider producing a small batch of crystals I would like to know in advance if anyone will be interested on some. Cheers, Marco

Let me check under "military" calibers with my watchsmith. He told me about a guy who had 2 military rolex some time ago. Cheers, Marco

My first reaction is that he is asking too much but in fact the value of money is always cheaper than desire... Even so I would not go for it. I find it expensive. Keep your eyes open for pocket watches from Canadian watchmaking companies from the 1930s / 40s. I have read about a fellow who fished a cal. 616 Rolex from an old canadian pocket watch (I do not remember the company name) Cheers, Marco

Hi Marco. He can ask you from 800usd to the stars... BTW does the seller knows what he is selling? Saw one recently sold on the bay for 1300usd. Cortebért are, however, less expensive. and as durable as the rolex counterpart. In fact I am amazed with the sturdiness of Cortebért mvmts. Cheers, Marco

I am now working on a case (thanks Chris! ) to accomodate this beauty! I am going to pay a visit to my plexi "tailor" tomorrow for front and back thick plexis. Cheers, Marco

Rolli, you are the classiest of us! Your aesthetic sense is a blessing for sure. Cheers, Marco

I remember drinking "Grölsch"... or was it "Kölsch"? and Kostas, one advice: take a steel bracelet instead of your leather straps. The humidity there is destructive!!! Enjoy your vacations! Marco

Hey FF, consider yourself lucky if your preference goes for a cal. SF240. Tourby is right, the one you "missed" is equipped with a cal. 190. Someday someone has to explain me why the speculation around the Angelus mvmts... I am very suspect but under the matter of vintage "common" mvmts, nothing beats the cal. 616 or 618 from Cortebért. These bastards are really "little" powerhorses and is quite easy to find spares for them if needed. If you are really after cal. SF240 I will keep you informed if one crosses my way (however Finepics has priority over it). Cheers, marco

Too shiny for a vintage. Too much coffee on the numerals! If you want I can PM you a recipe. Cheers, Marco

I still cant believe it and I would like to share my happiness right now... A guy to whom I bought some watches called some days ago telling me he sourced an unidentified 16 lignes Cortebért. I took it to my watchsmith who congratulated me for buying a cal. 618 (rarer it seems than its Rolex counterpart! and cheaper). In almost 60 years of practice he had not seen one of these and had to confirm its identifcation straight from an old stock parts catalogue. Thinner than the average cal. 616 it has 17 rubis and is unbranded and sporting the grandfather of a swan neck regulator. For me is the end of the quest for the 618 and the start of a very special project. I am also starting to produce some decent thick plexis. Cheers to you all!!! Marco