slay

Forget glue-on dial feet. Unless you have a feet-soldering machine, the right size dial feet and know what you're doing, get dial dots. Dial dots are fantastic, anyone who says they aren't a worthy replacement clearly has never used them (or got cheap crap from China). 3 or 4 dial dots will secure any dial sufficiently - no wiggling. Dial feet come in various lengths and widths, you need to find the right ones for your movement, shorten them, position them correctly (which is a huge pain in the ass unless you have a template), abrade the area on the dial where you want to glue them etc. etc. If the feet are just slightly off position, the dial won't be centered. You don't need to do any of that shit with dial dots. Trust me, get dial dots!

Sead tried several times to get parts for me (I wanted an ETA movement ring for the watch), but he eventually gave up and said he tried all he could but is not getting any.

3D printed?

I'm sure many of you are familiar with the Cartel maker (aka JKF) who released a load of decent Vintage Rolex recently. I saw on Ryans site that he now offers a second "Best" version that appears to be from a different maker. I don't know in what way it should be better, it's just called "best", so I'm going to keep referring to it as "best" to distinct it from the JKF/Cartel edition. I personally prefer the "best" version's insert. Crown guards appear to be bigger, which isn't a bad thing if you're a modder. I personally don't care about the dials, since I would never wear either one of these with the stock dial, but I assume there are plenty of others who intend to keep the dials. Below is a side-by-side between JKF/Cartel (always on the LEFT) and the "best" version (always on the RIGHT). I'd be curious if the 1680 "best" version takes gen dials (the JKF does not without mods! Gen dials are about 0.5mm too big) Rolex 1680 Red Sub (JKF vs. BEST): Rolex 1665 Double Red SeaDweller (JKF vs. BEST): I have not taken a loupe to compare them pixel-by-pixel, but here's what struck my eye. Better on the new "Best" version: Bezel Insert (Fatter font & already slightly faded color) Bezel Ring (Slimmer, Groves not as deep) Better on the JKF/Cartel Version: Clasp (rolex coronet is slimmer) Endlinks (they are both wrong, they shouldnt have holes for a springbar tool, but at least the JKF has the correct number -580- on the otherwise wrong endlinks)

The dial is fantastic, but those crown guards look ... a bit fat Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

400-600 per case just for CNC? That's ridiculous! If you have the file, you can easily find a vendor on Alibaba who charges 5-15$ (depending on tolerances), but the minimum order quantity is usually very high (> 1000 pcs) The reason why phongs cases cost so much is because they charge so much, because we are paying so much and because there hasn't been anyone else who thought it would be worthwhile to compete on price. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ah sorry, I missed that on my phone. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Can you ask how much they would charge for a scan like this and whether they'd do any volume discounts (e.g. Scanning 5 different cases) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I prefer dealing with Jensen over Phong, at least when I asked him, Jensen always send me qc pics before. Phong on the other hand - never! same story: I explicitly asked for qc please pics and he just disregarded my request and send it anyways. 1200$ is absolutely ridiculous. Considering the hard parts that you cant so by hand are still far off (case back engravings - like for a Comex or DRSD). I looked into scanning one of mine and having it CNC'ed in China, but the MOQ is often 1000 pieces (of the same case!). Even at 10$ a case that's $10k investment. I have no interest in selling min. 100 cases to make that back and I have even less interest in turning this into a business. So I discarded that idea. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks, will do

Wow, I don't know much about these knives (aside from what I remember from the cave-men documentaries that I watched as a kid), but it looks stunning! How do you (or how did the eskimos) keep these sharp when they used them every day? Do you take little nick little pieces out as it gets dull with use (do these even get dull?)

I'm looking into re-plating a few old chronographs of mine, most of them have have lost their original plating on many spots. Some where Nickel plated, but others Gold plated. Has anyone here ever done Brass/Nickel/Gold or Silver plating? I'm prepared to invest in a proper electroplating rectifier (I have at least 15 watches that I'd like to re-plate). However, a lot of solutions I found are cyanide based (gold+silver) and highly toxic if handled improperly, so I am obviously wary about this. I know there are also solutions without cyanide (or with very little Cyanide, like those sold at OFrei), but before I pursue this any further, I'd like to hear hear your thoughts!

Here's my Frank 6538A Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

a few upgrades

My franken Rolex 1665 DRSD MK2 w/ JetBlack Insert I love this watch so much +) ... Vietnam Case, perfectly modded CGs, Gen Movement w/ Silver Datedisc, Tropic 39 Superdome, CWP Hands, Whoopy MK2 Dial, Fat font insert aged to jet black (!) It doesn't get much better than this (if you've seen a better one, please tell me so I can keep pace )

Yes I think I saw the notification email while I was on vacation I'll get back to you tomorrow evening when I have a bit more time Thanks Make sure you experiment with cheap (or already damaged) hands I believe I used purple gatorade in the mix, which may have given them that dark color. I can't say for sure though, I made these hands almost a year ago and then used them for this build

My goal was to build a 5513 that aged like it's seen the world. It's not about beating-up a watch, but making it believable that it is 50+ years old. I guess I'd call it "giving the watch it's character". It's the little details that make the difference on your wrist! I absolutely love the way the dial, hands & case turned out on this one. The dial in particular is absolutely gorgeous and the way the GILT Rolex letters reflect the light alter certain angles is unmatched by any cheap printed dial. There's a reason why a GILT dial alone on a gen Rolex adds about 30.000$ to it's price. Doing these build properly takes a lot of time, I often start work on a watch and then abandon it for weeks until I have an eureka moment about something I could do to get the look that I want on the dial, hands, case, and so on. I also lost count on how many hand-sets, bezel inserts and dials I wasted due to experimenting (so don't feel bad if you ended up damaging parts while trying something new :)). What I used: CASE: 5513 from Sead BEZEL: Phong Fat Font Insert BRACELET: Yuki 7206 Folded Bracelet MOVEMENT: Replaced w/ a low-beat 2813 DIAL: Tropical GILT dial from Vietnam HANDS: Clark's GILT Mercedes Hands CRYSTAL: Michael Young (CWP) Tropic 19 CROWN/TUBE: Athaya 700 What I did: CASE: The stock case was too round for my taste and the stock lugs slightly too thick, so I completely reshaped the case from all sides and angles (including the lugs from top, bottom & side). I re-defined & polished the bevels/chamfers several times to make them look like they would look on a watch that has been polished (but not extremely over-polished) the years. Crown guards were trimmed on the inside and re-shaped from the outside. After getting the case in the correct shape, I aged it & polished it several times over and over to give it character. Last but not least, I drilled the tube hold, tapped new threads and drilled a cut a countersink to install the 700 tube properly (without the countersink, the tube and as a result the crown will stick out too far and look hideous). DIAL: I aged the lume of the gilt dial & gave it a nice patina as I'd expect it on a watch that has gone so tropical. I also aged the dial itself a little to give it some patina that goes well with the tropical turned brown color - not full-blown radium dust like I did on another build recently (since this represents a tritium watch), but a little to make it believable that there was some radioactive substance, sun-light and other corroding factors present. HANDS: I used several steps involving different mixtures made of various minerals & chemicals and even soft-drinks to get this look that resembled old gilt tritium hands. BRACELET: The 7206 bracelet from Yuki looked like it was brand new, especially the inside of the bracelet (which was brushed) bugged me, since I own a few genuine folded rolex bracelets and a bracelet this old shouldn't be brushed on the inside anymore - even if has been restored at some point. I aged & polished the inside of the Yuki bracelet to mimic the look of my well-taken-care-off gen folded bracelets. BEZEL: It's a phong fat font insert that was aged, browned, re-coated and pressure-fit into the the bezel ring. - Note about my Vintage Builds: I often receive PMs from members asking me if I could build a specific watch for them, but I declined all of these requests for the reason I mentioned earlier - doing these vintage builds properly takes time and passion for the work. I don't think you can do this on a "contract basis". I end up selling many of my watches, but even if I start building something with the intention of selling it later-on, I build each one of them as if I'd build them for myself. So if you like some of the watches I build so much that you want one, I appreciate the trust and I'm definitely flattered, but I'd ask you to not PM me and ask me to build a specific watch for you. I'll put up whatever I decide to sell in the Sales Section. Eye-candy:

For what it's worth, the stamping inside the case back of any case is not like GEN-like gen is much thicker, embossed almost like military dog tags. The Vietnam cases are all skinny font embossed or engraved. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Very nice! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not sure if I had raffles or WSO (raffles is 15$), but it was identical to what I got from Phong. The 6541 handset I initially got from Phong was the same as WSO (=[censored]) and when I asked him about it (because it didn't look like anything in the pictures on his site), he said he isn't making all parts himself and is getting some from other vendors. The cases look very similar to me, but the finishing is different (like someone mentioned). I don't think either Minh or Tonny makes these cases, it must be some supplier in Vietnam. Perhaps they hold the same case supplier to different standards, I dont know. What I can tell you for sure though is that my 6538 Dial from Minh has different fonts than Tonny Dials. The lacquer also looks different to me, the gilt effect is slightly different. If they are using the same dial maker, I would assume they each use their own templates and may ask for the maker to use different dial plates and/or lacquers to make these dials. For example, the depth rating: Tonny has a long squarish looking 6 and my Minh dial is using a round 6, very similar to the red 6 below.

Looks fantastic I agree, MQ, NDT and Tonny seem to have the same supplier. Not sure about Phong though, his parts are better but also worse in some aspects. How much did you pay for the case & dial? Don't get the red triangle insert from Phong/Jensen, you can get the exact same insert for 20$ from WSO (I also only found out after the fact). Some of Phongs parts are the same as WSO (like Phongs Hand-Set for the 6541, which sucks!)

He charged me 365 EUR, which is 411 US$ (the same price other members who got in touch with me were quoted or paid). I nicely pointed out some of the visible flaws before he send the watch (gap between insert & bezel) and he still messed up. You wouldn't got to the same doctor either if you saw him scratching his butt crack before operating on you and after he forgot an instrument next to your appendix. You are free to spend your money as you like and with whomever you like, I'm not trying to convince you or anyone to do otherwise. What I am doing though is warn people to do their homework and know that they are paying top dollar for a lot of hot air. While not perfect in terms of timeliness & communication, Neckyzips does significantly better work for a lot less money. On another note, I can highly recommend this short tale: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperor%27s_New_Clothes

400$ _EXCLUDING_ parts! I'll gladly pay 400$ for complex work that takes time, patience and special equipment (e.g. re-cutting fat chamfers on my 6538), but not to get a watch back that didn't change much compared to the stock MBW. I'm by far not the only one that was [censored] off, I vaguely alluded that I was unhappy about some work in a random thread on RWI and 2 or 3 members PMd me telling me they had similarly bad experiences and said they can't fathom how RA gets so much praise.

Like I said, aside from trimming the CGs from the inside, the MBW 1680 looks exactly like this, straight from the shop in Thailand. I'm not saying the watch looks bad, I'm saying that there is no justification to charge 400$ for (mostly) invisible "mods". For 400$ I'd expect the case to show that the watch had some history (even if it looks well taken care of) and not like someone left it in a drawer for 30 years.

Sorry, I didn't wanna ruin the watch for Beone21, but before other members send their watches to the butcher shop.... please tell me what has been modified on that case? I happen to have the exact same watch and the only thing that was modified on this case was the crown-guards (from the inside) and (hopefully) the lug holes. Anyone can do that with a diamond file, sandpaper, cape cod and 30mins spare time. The lugs, the bevels/chamfers and the bezel look exactly like my they looked on my MBW when it came from Thailand. The hands are polished like a mirror and all edges between the lugs appear to be razor sharp. Is that realistic for 30 year old watch? Sure, if it was left in the drawer for many years. But you don't need to spend 400-500$ on "mods" to get that look on your MBW. My experience was.... A case that was supposed to be re-shaped and vintagized, but wasn't reshaped whatsoever and looked like a new watch, not a 50 year old watch (much like the one above) All edges were still sharp, like a new watch. There were visible dremel skid marks on the watch. Finish and shape of the lugs was [censored]. Bezel insert was not flush with the bezel: on one side it had a finger-nail thick gap. Movement stopped sporadically after RA touched it (was running perfect before). The stem was cut too short. There was a 1mm gap between date wheel and dial.