dbane883

ahh the rare Albino tourbillon.

Gen 6538 plate is 27.00 mm

Thx. It's tough to capture properly in a photo. But it's fairly accurate in the above.

If I recall correctly, it's around 28mm Gen is 27.3mm I'm assuming you mean noob, BP and J12

its not generally accessible to the public. Minimum orders from Tritec is roughly about $1k which includes minimum quantity for the powder and binder. The binder cannot be shipped to CONUS as its a volatile material. Its not cheap. And yes, I have heard of SL Grade X1. Its a torch. If you see suppliers claiming they have Super Luminova Grade X1 in small quantities its most likely a knock-off. You can only get it through Tritec.

He also sells stuff on VRM. His handle "PDM92". http://www.network54.com/Forum/207673/message/1438425378/FS+-+Rolex+Submariner+93150+w+580+end+links+band+strap+bracelet http://www.network54.com/Forum/207673/message/1438425348/FS+-+Rolex+Submariner+5513+Mid+Case+1.2+mil+serial So if you see him on there posting, proceed with caution. PDM92=Baleinedessables

Decided to replace the 7206 with a 6636 spring-loaded bracelet.

as far as I know, there are only 3 builds of this quality... Mine, droptopman's and cc33.

^^^^Gorgeous!!^^^^ But what's with the leather strap cc? You never wear leather!

Looks fantastic. Misiekped did a super job as always. Congrats.

I'm putting the tools down now. Just finished installing a tritium pip that I think is a reasonable match. I can now say that it's done.

Thanks guys. As for the micro-pitting. I used a combination of tumbling in sand blasting glass beads, rubbing with steel wool and soaking in acid. Careful with the acid as if left too long, the brass could dissolve completely. Not to mention fumes. Then pulsated in an high power ultrasonic for an hour will also create tiny cavitation marks. Then a quick polish. The above steps were repeated 2-3 times.

Thank you cc. I should acknowledge that if not for cc33, this build would not have been possible. Thanks again for your help with the insert. My wallet is still bruised however!

As some of you might be aware, I parted out a phong-based 6538 a few months ago. It was a very enjoyable build but it was always intended to be one part of the process. Although i have built a few 6538's for other members since then, I have had to be patient to complete a new 6538 build that, in all likelihood will be my final complete big crown build. I've always been drawn toward the early red-depth 6538's with the minimalist dial and exaggerated bevels. Given the recent red-depth 6538's that we've seen from cc33 and droptop (i contributed a little bit in the latter), I felt it was time to build one for myself. The star of the show in any of these high-end builds is always the dial. The dark lord's skills are unparalleled. Attention to detail is truly amazing. The no-glow lume that he applies is amazing, but I treated it to a slight aging to give it a more period-correct look, which to be honest, is a scary task..but I think it turned out reasonably well: I was fortunate enought to score some genuine 6538 hands that were skeleton and a bit beat up. The hands were cleaned and lumed to match the dial. Heres what they look like after I slightly aged the lume: The negative relief gilt always amazes me: The midcase is from phong and his recent efforts are much better than early versions IMHO. The lug tips swoop beautifully, but of course, the case sides are poorly finished and the bevels are a mess. I completely rewored the case to straighen the sides and recut all the bevels to make it age-appropriate for an early red-depth model, which tended to have much larger bevels than the later big crowns: Of course the crystal is a gen T17 and the crown and tube are gen 8mm as well. And yes, the movement is a gen 1030. The final reason to build this project was to showcase an insert that could be one of a kind. Not only is it a "kissing 40" long 5, but the 50 is also kissing!. This is the fattest font sub insert I have ever seen. I dont beleive a fatter one exists anywhere... Of course, it was priced accordingly!.. But I just had to own it. Here is the insert compared to a "regular" long 5: The Phong bezel was treated to remove some of the nickel plating to reveal the brass. I also created some micro-pitting which is present on most 60 year-old bezels. At some point, I will replace it with a gem bezel if I ever find one. : Some profile shots: Completely assembled with a gen 7206 rivet bracelet that I recent had restored by Michael Young. Gen 80 endlinks of course: Nearly forgot the obligatory wristshot: Given my recent commitments, Im not sure I will ever build another one of these again. This will be a keeper for sure. I have a gen pearl that I will be installing at some point, but for now, its good to have a big crown back in the rotation. I should add that the hands are the early genuine 6538 hands that were slightly curved at the tips of the sweep and minute hands. I would not have built this if I didn't acquire these amazing hands:

Sapphire is stronger.. but I was just saying a glass/sapphire crystal is usually held in place with a nylon gasket.. where the plexi is held in with a metal ring creating tension.. I semi took apart a HR once and the bezel and crystal retention system is nothing "gen-like" the case itself is much larger/wider than a gen 6538 case. To be fair to Helenarou, it was designed orignally to be a modern "homage" to the 6538 and not neccearily a replica of the original. But I think some have modified the crystal and/or the case to make a plexi fit.. but certainly not a genuine T17.. that would be silly to spend $450 on a gen T17 only to shave it down so it could fit on at $200 midcase.

neither will fit... the HR case is made for a glass crystal. but will require some mods and/or glue to have a plexi to fit properly.

Is there a battery backup for the countdown clock?

Who is providing independent oversight to this contest? Price WaterHouse? We need assurance that the game is run fairly.

Isn't the last post the one that declares the winner? So the winner will be Admin!! This is fixed!! I demand VIPs for everyone.