droptopman

+1 Matt can source a nice presidential bracelet for the modern DD. Don't have a full bracelet shot here, but you can see the SEL fit and the tone.

We are working on one of the newer Yuki 7206's to adapt the end piece set up to be similar to gen and so that will accept 2mm bars. Also another issue with the stock Yuki is that the last link/rivets are too thick and hits the lugs on both a gen spec 5513 and 6538 cases. The way the end pieces attach to the last link does not provide enough clearance and also does not allow the bracelet to lay flat like gen. I worked on mine but lacked the tools and materials to finish the idea I had to make it work, so sent it to a friend who has more experience and talent with these type of mods. Once I get it back, I will write up the process....if it works. I ended up buying a gen 7206 but still thought this would be a valuable contribution to the community if we can get it to work correctly.

Messing with the macro lens Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Thanks for all the kind words. I was thinking that prior to getting this complete, the last few weeks was the first time since 1987 that I did not have a Submariner to wear. My 6538 project is still in the works and my 5513 was sent off to dbane for a "makeover" so I have not had a sub to wear recently. Kind of reinforces the fact that the Submariner is my favorite watch of all time. After wearing this a few days, I must say I really like it. I was unsure if I would like the green insert and non lug hole case. I have worked this bracelet a bunch and it is really smooth and comfortable now. With dbanes case work, the nice bracelet and a few gen goodies, I think she looks and feels very gen like. Thought about buffing out the scratches on the insert, but may just leave them. It is suppose to be a 10 year old watch.....

Very sorry to hear about your situation Micky. Prayers to you and yours. Really great to see the willingness of the community to support each other.

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Wow. Awesome work dbane. That is some serious modding with wonderful results. Dbane = the case whisperer @508 you really gotta be excited. You have really worked on this project. Cool watching it come together. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Thanks guys. That was only a couple of minutes trying the different lenses. @508 that is the same one I got. I already have a wide angle so just wanted the macros. Taken with iPhone 6+. Pretty easy to use. Went online and they have a nice tutorial. Key is to get the lens really close. I will mess around with it and bound to improve. Cannot wait to get some 6538 shots[emoji122]

[emoji183][emoji257][emoji383][emoji383][emoji383][emoji383] Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Ok, so I am sick of having poor pictures and really do not want to invest in a high end camera I will have to learn how to use. So I finally broke down and bought an Olliclip attachment for my iPhone and a really good loupe. Here are a couple attempts in my office using the olliclip. Cleary it takes some practice.......

Thank you for the kind words. I did not get any pictures of the movement on this one. I will ask Matt, but I believe the crown position and size on the 2824 matches up to this case perfectly and is an easy install. I assume since these dials are not that hard to come by that he cut the feet and used dial dots, but I know in some cases he will drill the main plate to accept the genuine feet positions. He used genuine Tudor hands which fit the ETA without modification.

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Welcome to the forum. Great introduction. Appears that you will fit in well here. Good luck on the build. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

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Long and interesting road on this build. I know there are a lot of TC's out there and this is nothing unique or special, but just a story about how builds go sometimes. Back in October when TC announced that he was doing a new LV with some upgrades, I decided to order one and I believe I had one of the first orders in. Even though I had sworn off modern Rolex’s, I convinced myself that a 2004ish 16610 LV was somewhat “vintage”. Also convinced myself that the green insert was Seahawks green and I was hoping to have this on the wrist for the Super Bowl run. I know…I am still recovering from the last play fiasco. I contemplated doing a full on franken with gen dial/hands and a Yuki or gen movement, but I am still not sure how much I will wear this so decided to a light franken with a few genuine parts that I felt would make a difference. In my eyes this was going to be a quick and simple build… Matt agreed to do this build for me. So I started sourcing parts and Matt found me a brand new Swiss ETA 2824. Notice the stamps on the new ETA, they have changed them—maybe because of all the clone movements….He converted the CP to be higher and gen like. It took much longer to receive the watch than expected because of the delays with the new TC LV insert. I had sourced a gen insert anyways so TC shipped the watch directly to Matt without the insert. Matt assembled the watch (expertly as always) and sent me some pictures. The piece looked great, but I noticed that the lugs on one side appeared thinner than the other. So I asked about it and sure enough one side (front and back) was definitely thinner. So I sent the case to the “case whisperer” Dbane to thin the lugs on one side to match them up, work the cg’s and do a little brush and polish work. Contemplated doing his magical bevels, but being a 16610 we decided to keep it gen spec. This is by no means any kind of disrespect to TC and his work. TC is a great asset to our community and a true gentleman. Best Rolex products out there for the money in my humble opinion. This is my third TC watch and I have bought many other TC parts as well and will continue to do so. The moral of this story is…even when you design what is a simple plan/build things come up that increase costs, time, and effort to complete the project. This watch took about 5 months longer to complete and more $$ as well. I think she turned out great. The TC dial and hands are just outstanding. I used a genuine 116610 AR/Lec crystal which I know is not period correct, but like the way the date looks better with this crystal. Check out the DWO with this crystal. Genuine LV insert and a genuine 703 crown/tube. TC’s new LV insert is very good, but I had already sourced the gen before I had it in my hands. Just for fun I sourced a period correct genuine LV box set for the pics. I want to thank both Matt (mymanmatt) and Dbane for helping me with this project. Both are highly skilled professionals, but more so are just great people and folks I call friends. Matt assembled this watch twiceJ Phone pics:

Here is the story. I wanted to get my wife a watch for our anniversary this summer. Over the years, I have bought her a couple Gucci’s, a few Movado’s, and a Cartier. All gens. She does not wear any of them. In fact hardly ever wears a watch unless we are going out for something formal. So I took her to the AD and was planning on buying her a new Rolex. I thought she would like the floral dial 31mm with diamonds. She hated it…actually she really did not like the modern Rolex’s much. So the next weekend we looked at hundreds of pictures on line and it was interesting. She likes watches from the 50’s and 60’s. She does not care for date windows or cyclops and prefers domed plexi’s and Oyster bracelets. Really quite funny as that is also what I prefer…so it narrows down what models to pick from. She liked the 34mm size so we looked at a bunch of 5500’s and 1002’s. She did not care for the Air King text on the dial so in the end—out of all the watches she looked at, she likes a 1002 all SS with silver dial, dome plexi and oyster band. After I figured out what she wanted, I dropped it so I could surprise her. I started looking at gens and found plenty for very reasonable prices. Around this time Matt had sent me pictures of a beautiful 1500 franken with black dial. So I told Matt the story about getting a watch for Trish and what she wanted and a couple days later he sends me a picture of a perfect genuine late 60’s 1002 silver dial. Then Matt sends me a picture of a complete 1002 that is exactly like the watch my wife picked out in our search. Matt has done many builds for me, but as many of you know doing a build for your wife is a whole another level and quite honestly it seemed more important than my builds…well except maybe my 6538. Cannot thank Matt enough, he is a first class gentleman and one of my favorite people on the planet. Thank you my friend. Specs: Gen case set (mid case, back, bezel, crown, tube) Gen dial Gen hands Gen crystal Italian made Oyster bracelet and Matt’s buckle. Was going to get a gen bracelet, but Matt recommended this one and it is really nice. ETA 2824 Was going to surprise her with this before we go on vacation in the middle of May, but I could not wait and gave it to her a couple of days ago. She absolutely loves it and is wearing it daily now. A couple of pics from my phone.

Happy birthday Nanuq [emoji322][emoji323][emoji483][emoji481][emoji320] Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Awesome. Very nice of you. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Big hitter. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

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