Dizzy

That sure does fit nice! Thats a beautiful watch! I always look at the lug holes on my PN daytona and i think they are way to small. Im just not used to the smaller watches i guess.

Damn those double reds are soooooooooo nice!!

I thought for sure they would have replicated a 1675 before they made a 1655. I think the GMT would be a bigger seller dizz

hahaha i know the exact link you are talking about.. I also stabbed myself a few times swapping the clasp on my 9315 yesterday. That link is a nightmare. I ended up destroying it and had to replace it. Its made out of some crazy tough unbendable steel lol. The folded bracelet sure looks good. I used to hate those bracelets but now i absolutely LOVE them! nice work dizz

Wow that watch looks good. I remember the old days when a 1680 with these specs would cost a $1000 to build LOL All you new guys have it sooooo easy now!! hahaha @fxr - I like what you did with the crown to make it look like the old style. Looks really good... did you do that by hand? Or dremel? Lathe?

The MBW dial will line up with your datewheel. Some of the old MBW's even came with a 2846 ETA. I wonder if you can carefully file the date window on the PT to open it up a little bit...

No i've never seen one.. like i said.. not 100% accurate but i like it I think it was just the oldest 5513's that had the pointy guards, years before the 5514 came out. I started to mod the crown guards and i needed to take a little off the outside and top.. so i just kept going. I think it looks better this way whether its correct or not. If i was worried about it being perfect, then i sure wouldnt have picked a 5514 hahaha. Almost impossible to get a perfect dial and caseback for these things without spending rediculous money. This watch sure turned out much nicer than i ever expected so im happy with it. Out of all my vintages, this one is my favorite so far Today i changed the clasp to a better 93150 clasp which has been vintagized to match the bracelet, and also a blacker insert. The one in there was a little too faded for my liking.

I just used what i had laying around...

The comex dial is growing on me. I used to hate it, and the more i look at it, the more i want to keep it. The problem with these dials is that anyone who knows anything about vintage Rolex will never in a million years believe its a real comex. Not that I'm trying to fool anyone, but its just not a realistic dial for me. If i put in a good 5513 dial and sand down the caseback, then it will look like the dial was a service replacement from the 70's, and the caseback engravings will looks like they are 90% polished off... still has the HEV, but its just a little more stealth with a plain dial.

Of course it looks extra bad under magnification... on the wrist it looks like a well worn tool watch from the early 70's. Its got a full polished look with dings and gouges, a little bit of dirt here and there, Its a very believable look (except for the dial) Im thinking about swapping the bezel insert for one thats a little less faded. Same amount of scratches, but just a bit blacker. I just put on an old rep 93150 clasp that looks a lot better, and of course thats a gen Rolex diver extension. These bracelets in poor shape sell for $500+ and i even saw one of these diver extensions on VRF for $700 wow! I sure got a good deal. I paid under $100 for the bracelet without clasp. I do have a gen folder piece for the clasp and a gen fliplock so I'll just wait till i find a clasp shell to throw on and it will be all gen. Next order of business is a good 5513 dial and send it off for vintage tritium lume. Once I get the gen clasp sorted out, I'll prob send the whole bracelet off to get rebuilt. Theres a guy on Timezone that does them. He replaces the worn center links because thats where all the wear is that makes them floppy. These bracelets in mint shape sell for $900+ so its worth getting them rebuilt when they get to the end of their life. dizz

Well this is the beginning of the end of yet another watch project... I started this one in 2007.. worked on it for a bit, then forgot about it for months, then worked on it some more... now 3 years later, its well... almost done Started with this. Bought it used of this forum. I think its from paul or trusty, not sure. took it all apart to start the crown guards Modded the guards into pointed guards from the late 60's Got the guards done... bezel insert is nice and new.... that will change soon though. Also clarks t-19 crystal installed. Gen Rolex tube installed and triplock crown aged and faded the insert... Got it back together.. hhmmm not good enough.. ripped it apart again and did some more work to the CG's Now its finally done.. well sort of. I need a proper clasp on the bracelet and prob an NDtrading or Yuki 5513 dial. Im going to go with a plain dial instead of the comex dial. I knows its not 100% correct but I like it. All my frankens are so nice and pretty and I wanted one old one that was just beaten up and looked like it mad of had a service 5 or 10 years ago, so newer crystal and crown anyways. Bezel insert would be original by the looks of it Specs: Old Wo-Mart 5514 case modded Gen spring bars Gen 24-703 crown aftermarket triplock tube clarks T-19 dome crystal Modded, aged and faded bezel insert ETA 2846 slow beat movement Dial and hands aged Caseback sanded down All new lubed gaskets Gen 9315 Rolex folded bracelet with 380 end links. Bought from parts drawer of local certified Rolex watchsmith Future mods: NDtrading or Yuki 5513 dial Proper 9315 clasp or 93150 Clasp aged to match bracelet. Hope you enjoyed it. This is by far the most comfortable watch I've ever worn. Dizz

Thats good enough for me. Thx Freddy

What size are the lug holes in the case of a gen 6263, 6265 etc? Are the lug holes on the DW cases accurate or too small? dizz

lol

That was the problem with mine.. the bezel would snap on but was way too loose. Now its tight. If you put a little silicone grease on the o-ring before install then it wont dry out. I put a very small amount on mine but i might pop it off and put a little more on to find tune it so it turns with the right amount of tension. Overall i think this was a great solution! Thanks for the tip what2!! cheers dizz

yep thats the one... im going to email them and ask what pearl it comes with. Theres got to be a reasonable priced source for vintage inserts... I refuse to pay $70 or $80 for a rep insert after shipping.

what do you guys think of this one??? its cheap with reasonable shipping... 5513 insert

wholesaleoutlet990 on ebay has 580 end links.. they are about $20 a set. I ordered some last week so i can let you now how they are when they arrive.

The good thing about those trusty subs are that they take a gen crystal. My comex 5514 started out as one of these from about 4 years ago and has the correct thickness. Most of the new 5514 reps use the thicker seadweller case instead of the sub case... prob because the 1665 case already has the valve installed... Anyways, the crown guards on these really suck and take a lot of work to get right.. the case hole is already the right size for a gen tube so its an easy swap out to install a gen 24-703. I think the mbw's have nicer dials. I think you would get a better watch from Puretime. For $200 you get a better overall watch and also gen ETA 2846 that is closer to the gen beat rate, proper silver datewheel and im sure also a better crystal. The dome on this 5514 was horrible and not even close to the right shape. CHeck out the puretime website and have a look at the vintage submariners. Im going to order a couple of these next week hopefully.

Thats not very good... Have they even had gen ETA movements in them lately? I heard they were all copy ETA's now anyways.

I used a thin o-ring that fit just snug around the base of the crystal retention ring. Worked PERFECT. The bezel is night and tight now and even harder to pry off than before. I think i might have found a permenant solution. I tried dental floss before but it only worked for a few days. This solution seems much better.

I emailed one of the dealers here on the board and asked about supplying inserts with a good pearl and im just waiting to hear back. If i order from Ofrei then i need to make a decent size order, as shipping to canada is $30usd

This may be a stupid question but i cant find a straight answer.. I know where to get good 16610 inserts, but where do i get a good insert for my 1665 and 1680 projects?? Ofrei? He has ones for $30 or so, and also just the lume dots. What do you guys think of his complete bezel insert? I see yuki has them also but it always says out of stock... thanks dizz

Interesting tip... I am going to try the same thing right now using an old caseback o-ring..

These guys think they're all such experts.. Its funny that its getting down to the smallest details that they need to look for to tell if a watch is fake or not.... The letter "E" on the case lug engraving and the "f" on the Submariner dials... Yet... you can apparently post a stock Noobmariner (on a gen rolex forum) and even the most senior board members are praising it. Then the guy that calls in out as a fake gets flamed and almost banned. These gen guys are about 5 yrs behind when it comes to replica technology. The rep cases that they just discovered and cant believe how good they are, have been around for years. I agree.. there is a LOT more knowledge here than on any gen forum.