dbane883

That’s a funny lookin Rolex

I believe only in the earliest ofthe explorer dial 5513’s. I could be wrong. But pretty certain the all red depth era 6538 explorer dials had the numeral depressions. That’s one of the reasons I never pursued a build like that; having a gilt Dial made in such a fashion wasn’t economically prudent.

Keep in mind that the 3-6-9 dials had the brass plate “carved” out I believe, to hold the luminous rather than just being applied to the plate on top of the lacquer. If you want it done right, that’s the way to go.

Just dusted this off from storage.

lol. I don’t lurk often, but when I do, I prefer RWG

Very nice. Well done

Shane Ede Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi guys. Been awhile. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Apply a thin layer of matte varnish on the back of the hand as if you were luming it. That will typically stabilize the cracked lume

Retaining ring, tension washer, bezel, insert. That's the way the assembly should be layered when finished.

Never thought there'd be so much excitement over spring bars. Lol The bars come in packs of 10, so my suggestion would be to place orders in those increments so@sputim doesn't need to repackage. Anyhow good luck boys.

99% sure you have a 702 crown there.

Hey guys. Thought I'd drop in to say hello. Also wanted to share some analysis of 20mm spring bars I've "discovered". For the past couple of years, I've sworn by ST (Startime) spring bars. Unlike most rep and aftermarket bars, the springs don't crumple, the ends are nicely rounded, and they are made in Switzerland. They really are terrific. But I have an account at a part supply company called Beco-technic in Germany. I've ordered stuff from them a few times, but never thought of trying their spring bars until my most recent order. To my surprise, they are superior to ST bars and I suspect genuine Rolex bars are made by the same factory. Side by side, the ST bars are nearly identical to the Beco-Technic (BT) bars. The ST bar ends are rounded, and the BT bar ends are conically tapered: Now here is a comparison of the BT bars (on the left) and gen bars (on the right). Both ends are conical: Keep in mind, that these observations are based on a random and very small sample size and no two spring bars are identical . Now here is a shot of all three together (ST on left, BT in middle, Gen on right: Conical or rounded, I don't think anyone will care. But a more important contrast is the strength of the internal springs. I've always found the ST springs are "noisy" when compressed. The BT and gen are much quieter. Further here is some VERY unscientific measurements of the force required for full compression (using a kitchen scale). The gen bars, are not new, but measured 506 grams on the scale; equivalent to 4.96 Newtons (if my math is correct. I have a Physics degree but I don't remember jack [censored]): The brand new BT bars measured a whopping 580 grams (5.68 N): And finally, brand new ST bars averaged 380 g (3.72 N): Had the gen bars been brand new, I imagine the springs would be slightly stronger. At any rate, I think my go-to bars from now on will definitely be the Beco bars. If you try to order from them, keep in mind you will need to be approved. Also, I had a lot of trouble accessing their website recently (www.beco-technic.com). I'm in Canada and could not load the page for unknown reasons. So I changed my IP address to Germany and it worked fine. Odd. Frankly, I think 20mm ST bars (or equivalent) are just superb for any watch that accepts them. But the BT's are as close as I have ever seen to what you would get from RSC.

Awesome. Congrats again. Wear her in good health!

Hi. Congrats on the build. I don't mean to rain on your parade, but that is not a gen dial. Possible redial, but definitely not original. If it was advertised as such, and assuming you paid any more than say $500, you should contact seller for a refund

I've bought crowns/tubes from Phong before and none came in blisters. I think the pics of the blister packs on his website are for reference only and/or dramatic effect. Also, these old crowns were made of a brass core and then wrapped in stainless. So the mere fact that you see yellow is not an immediate tell in my books.

the crown will NOT fit the tube until AFTER the tube is installed into the midcase.. the internal "splines" need to be removed with a proper broach/cylindrical file. once the splines are properly removed, the crown will seat properly

Bracelet screws, genuine or otherwise, should be secured with loctite 221 that is readily available at most automotive parts stores.

Not sure what's going on with the designers at Rolex these days. Maybe they need new crayons. But I think the rumored lineup for 2017 is a bit of a head-scratcher. Blue text on the SD4000c? I could possibly see it as an homage to the first Single Red 1665 from the late 60's, but why make the minute track blue as well?? Not sure that makes any sense. If used as a tool watch, I think the blue minute indicators would be harder to see than the white. Odd. Perhaps the most sensible decision is coming out with a SS version of the coke GMT. I could live with that. Oh, and the DSSD to be discontinued (thank god as I was never a fan). http://rolexpassionreport.com/20205/rolex-news-for-baselworld-2017/