Nightwatch

Amazing technique and results:)

1962 “El Corniño” pcg gilt 1675 We watch collectors admire and fantasize over the minute details of vintage timepieces, particularly Rolexes (or Panerai): brownish tropical dials, creamy, puffy lume, yellowed tritium, perfectly faded bezels exposed to harsh seawater and burning suns. We dream of finding that vintage, gilt, tropical 5513 Submariner with some faded caseback engraving of historical significance belonging to a Special Forces or Comex Diver, still stored away in an old metal box. We imagine that gilt dialled 1675 with the faded Pepsi bezel, that belonged to the PAN AM Captain of a Boeing 707 and has been all over the World. Maybe it belonged to an Africa Explorer and Photographer and accompanied him on his solitary National Geographic missions in the beaten up Series II Land Rover: deep into the wild Congo and up the Zambeze to the Victoria Falls, following Livingstone´s epic journey. We imagine us wearing it, dig to discover the story behind that comes with it, visualize all the places it has been to and the events it was present to. On the hard side of real life we also wonder, if it will work at all and possibly worry about the gen parts being truly gen. Than one day RWG comes along, with all the fantastic builds around and, after a while, You realize it might be much simpler to collect some gen parts, maybe get a 1655 rep (there are the 1675 and 16570 options), have it´s caseset reshaped by RolexAddict and everything nicely fitted, so it will be exactly as You wanted it to be. So this is a link to what I was looking for: http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=352553 And another: http://www.hqmilton.com/watches/1963-rolex-gmt-1675-pcg-gilt-chapter-ring-dial-with-box-and-papers And a review I used for research and this text: http://www.woundforlife.com/2015/03/13/under-the-loupe-rolex-gmt-master-1675/ And after seemingly endless reading, researching, digging, dreaming, hoping, with some luck and persistance “Never give up, never surrender” this is what I gotJ: The argentinian 1962 “El Corniño” pcg gilt 1675 First let me say, that this is one of the most iconic and beautiful watches I have ever owned. Not just any 1675. Between all of the variations GMT-Master, it´s this early successor of the bakelite- bezeled reference 6542, that speaks to me the most. It has been a grail watch for a long time, so sometimes You just have to walk that extra mile to get it. First introduced in 1959, this is the pcg, gilt 1675. Nicknamed the “El Corniño” by collectors for its horn-like appearance (from El Corno in Spanish meaning the horn or the Bull´s horn, with the diminutive added “Little Horn” like Little Bighorn, Custer´s Last Stand) it features a curved profile that points towards the crown. The Corniño lasted only from 1959 to 1965/1966, making it a rarity in today’s market, while the 1675 would be produced for 21 years until 1980, a testament to its real world functionality and timeless design. The combination of blue, red and gold against the black, discontinued, Yuki gilt dial works amazingly well. RA´s caseset reshaping is just fantastic. The drilled lugholes add to the flair and with the beautifully, naturally faded gen Pepsi-insert/gen GMT bezel assembly/gen plexi/gen crown, it looks truly as if it aged magnificently. If I was a one watch guy this would be it. I´ll let the pictures speak for themselves. Plexiglass with cyclops and black hole effect 5.3mm twinlock crown Aged, yellowed dwo Small, red GMT hour hand GMT bezel assembly (necessary on the 1655) faded, semi-ghost Pepsi insert Drilled lugholes, gen-spec lugbars Gold (gilt) dial imprints, no hyphen between OYSTER PERPETUAL, even earlier issues of the 1675 had the rare OCC (OFFICIAL CERTIFIED CHRONOMETER) lettering, while this 1962 issue reads SUPERLATIVE CHRONOMETER OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED, the SWISS <T25 instead of SWISS only makes it looking like an early argentinian issue Calibre 1565 (stamped 1560 with added GMT function); this had to be replaced by a 2836-2 with GMT function, contrary to gen the GMT hand can be set independently being more functional Correct handstack for the 1675 Flat caseback 7836 stamped folded bracelet with 358 end links (this would belong to a 1969 GMT 1675 from my research). On the hunt for a 62510 Jubilee, the 62510H/550 would fit as well. For all those wondering: Is it worth it? Yes, just do it, You will be amazed. It´s not for the faint-hearted, nor for those in a hurry, it´s very rewarding once You´ve got it. Someway it took me 2 years to get here. Thanks all for reading and thanks to past and present members for reviews, hints and tips, pictures and the history of it:)

1675 today

“El Corniño”, happy as a kid in a toy store rocking the early sixties:) This has always been kind of a "grail" to me. I´ve been hunting, waiting, researching, looking, doing my own buget-builds and just needed to know what the fuss is all about with these unique builds. Feels like I am in the 7th watch-heaven now:)

Hi and welcome to rwg. A whole different world to discover.

There is almost nothing as nice as a puffy, creamy, off-white relume with added 3d effect on a former flat dial. Once I have it, can´t stop looking at it. Kenny on the other rwg does it (he´s EU, not UK but within the same economic zone) and a fine address. Just checking if other suggestions pop up.

Beautiful, I dream of this with the roman numerals and built by Mymanmatt:) Wear it well

Excited like a kid before X-Mas eve. Read about the gen, read about the rep, research accessories, dials, inserts, bracelets. Once You´ve been through it all, the last few days, the suspense will build up to unbearable levels: was it the right choice? Will it live up to the expectations you´re trying to keep low because You already know the drill? Will it be nice on the wrist? After months of research and some "do-it-Yourself", low budget vintages I decided to go rogue, throw build-cost worries over board for once, see what it´s all about, go for the difficult and I´m in the final stages of tracking my "out-house" RA-built, early sixties grail, pointed crownguards 1675 with lots of goodies. Very happy, all the excitement is still there:)

Hi, it´s from cheapestnatostraps.com, i´d recommend them for very good prices and fast shipping. Might add it was a lucky pick, can´t tell if it was a dark chocolate or vintage military or other, try to look for those that are different on the outside from the inside.

Hi, by far the best 5513 insert I have (with a "double-domed" pearl or whatever it´s a pearl covered with acrylic), is this one (not the cheapest) from WSO: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BEZEL-INSERT-FOR-VINTAGE-ROLEX-SUBMARINER-5513-1680-PLASTIC-ACRYLIC-PEARL-12-/310977055461?hash=item4867ad4ae5 It just looks great and different from all others, it has kind of an inner glow and 3D look:

Soft and weather-tested leather NATO, it´s so comfortable it jumps from watch to watch

Was hoping on another gmt pic:) I´d suppose You have to start off with a red one or one of those red and gold to get a cocoa effect later on (like starting with a blue one to get a bluish fading tint). In the "don´t do this at home - category" I imagine hanging it on a piece of metal and pushing it in and out of a toaster together with the bleaching might achieve something (or not). Pls. report progress:)

Cool pics, specially those with less colour/ tinted ones are awesome. Not really a gun in the modern sense, but here You go:

Hi, fine pics, clean watches, well lighted and sharp. Nice contrast between sharp and fading on the Omega as well. Idea: Instead of the light tent white I´d try placing the watch onto something: piece of wood/ book/ piece of leather/ metal sheet/ plate - things You have at home. It adds more colour and makes everything more interesting:) Contrary to general belief imho You could also fill the light tent with whatever stuff/objects You have at hand and organize some foregrounds/ backgrounds, leaning the watch against things/ on things, filling it with backgrounds (that may than well be unsharp on the pic). It´s all about trying out different sets of lighting as well, main thing is to have fun.

There are lots of uncertainty factors involved in early and cost-intensive states with up-front money (like when deciding if the batch should run 100, 500 or 1.000 pieces). If another factory places a model with better acceptance, or an unknown flaw is detected before the investment is recouped, it might get tight. I´d suppose a single TD does not have much influence (except if upfronting production cost) but if a group of TD´s keep referring and asking for a specific brand/model or upgrade one of the factories will pick up the chance. Baselworld new releases sure get checked as well.

Ruined my love for Breitlings. Took me over 12 hours to get it back:) More qualified info and less brabbling and whining would be fine, the watch would be repped by now. The Seawolf V2 has a gen spec bezel assembly, it´s a super-rep.