RickFlorida

Hmm, that is weird. Maybe they are out of stock but you can call their customer service number and they answer the phone right away. I guess they may stop selling these too?

On Google Chrome, 90% of the time the advertisements are blocking the "submit" button when I try to reply to topics on the forum. I just wanted to give a heads up, is this only a problem with me? Thank you.

I think I see your point but the funny thing is that because the 5513 is still popular, there are jewelers who specialize in re-threading the midcase and caseback of 50 year old cases so they still work. This means there is a demand to still wear 50 plus year old rolexes outside of the collector or replica market. Only 3 places at this time advertise on re-threading old rolex cases and the cost is 400 to 800 bucks. Even if I had the money to purchase all original 5513's, I would still want to build one that I can wear in the saltwater where I spend many of my days fishing, paddleboarding, and scuba diving. Great point but I'm just trying to find a case that an original rolex 15xx movement will fit in just like they are selling cases that fit 3135 and used to sell 3035 cases. The question to them is what about all the people with 50 plus year old rolexes that have cases with failed threads. There is a demand I think as I mentioned above with the 3 jewelers who re-thread cases.

Hi everyone, So I'm thinking of doing a second build and I'm remembering what a pain in the ass it is to find 5513 replacement cases. In the past, I've made posts about 3d printing resin molds and then casting them in stainless steel but after experimenting with my casting and molding equipment I use to make jewelry and doing research, I highly doubt the end product would have a good enough finish and be waterproof. (my idea would require extensive machining to make the final product look right) For my first good build, I use an MQ Vietnam case. I love it but it's a pain in the ass to order from MQ due to them not taking PayPal or Credit Cards and while I think I will purchase my next 5513 replacement case from RubyWatch, he is often out of stock. He may also not accept Pay Pal for all I know and it will be a huge drama of dealing with Western Union to Vietnam again. Perhaps money transfers in the U.K. are easier but I find them in the U.S. to be ridiculously expensive and paperwork driven. (I had to create an account with Western Union just to send the dang money!) Anyways, what is the deal with Startime having a source for 3135 movement submariner cases but that source does not make 5513 cases? Rolex made the 5513 case for over 30 years and you can fit so many different rolex movements in it. Wouldn't they sell more 5513 cases than 3135 cases since you can fit so many rolex movements in the 5513? I actually called Startime today and asked if the source made a 5513 replacement case and they said they only know about these 3135's they sell. She said she thinks the source is Swiss but that's it and that there is no hope on getting 5513 cases. Could this just be a mistake by the source that they don't realize how many 5513 cases they would sell if they made it and they just assume the 3135 submariner is newer and that is what would sell more replacement cases? How can we find and contact the swiss source that makes startime's 3135 submariner cases and explain that they would sell more 5513 cases since you can actually fit 3 or 4 different rolex movements in it and that all the old 5513 original cases are leaking now and are not water proof? This is a ridiculous problem. It can't be patents because the patent is older on 5513 than 3135 movement cases.

Update. I just discovered that there are “bezel fitting tools” and not just “crystal fitting tools”. So obviously, the subs and sea dwellers use bezel press tools which use deeper dies. I just had zero clue they existed until now.

How can Rolex intentionally withhold supply but then complain when counterfeits help meet the demand that Rolex intentionally prevents from being met?

Can I ask about the drown? Is the crown that comes with the Rubyswatch 5513 case decent or is the Athaya crown better? I own an Athaya crown and its on my MQ 5513 midcase and it's watertight to at least 200 feet. (That is what I tested my watch too). I might buy a Rubyswatch 5513 case for another project and was wondering if the crown is good enough to use (equal to Athaya)?

Hello. I bought the midcase only from MQ Vietnmam and I asked for a sterile case thinking it might be cheaper. I ended up paying over 500 and you can get the complete set at RubyWatch for 600 so I think I paid more for having it sterile? MQ is kind of a pain because they only take Wester Union for payment but my midcase was shipped fast. I don't have a photo of the caseback but it looks just like a genuine to me but without inside engravings. I'll take a photo tomorrow if I get home in time.

I see your strategy. The WG Dials are harder to replicate. I appreciate all the information, everyone. I really appreciate it a lot. I think I have enough to go on and just need to decided what I really want. Thanks guys!

Who is Dung and how do I find him? I'm looking for a 5513 dial.

Great, thanks for the information. Ironically, I find the MQ Vietnam cases not very expensive at all for being good replicas. But I have read that some MQ dials cost 1K. A complete 5513 replica case is much cheaper than a dial from there so it's kind of weird. I also thought the Singer labeled 5513 repainted dials on ebay are probably fake. I like my HR ETA 5513 dial although the lume had to be corrected. Guess I'll keep thinking of which way I want to go. Thanks.

Hello everyone, I'm thinking of what 5513 dial and hands to get when I finally get a 1520, 1530, or 1570 movement. ( I don't have a preference because my case is not genuine anyways, I consider my MQ Vietnam based 5513 a kind of custom watch, obviously not genuine or original so only getting a 1520 doesn't mean much to me). I am not expert at all on rolex dials. Do I understand correctly that there are two main types of genuine dials. One, is an variety that came with the watch the first go around, and then "service" dials that are often used to replace them? Are those the ones that say "Singer" on the back? Are the common Ebay 5513 dials that say they are "repainted" and have "singer" on them service dials that have been repainted? What is the opinion on MQ Vietnam dials and hands for 5513. Is this the most "bang" for your buck? Thank you.

Thank you for the heads up on that movement. Thank you, sir!

5513 I just finished

Thank you Automatico, JackFlash, and a lot of other people in addition to the whole forum who helped me over the years I've been learning. This 5513 is by no means perfect but I definitely could not have gotten this far with getting the look I want without this forum. Thank you! The dial and hands are HR and I used watercolor markers to make the indicators and hands slightly yellowed. The key is to use one that is ochre colored and to also use a clear one so you can blend or erase. The dial was given a light spray of matte lacquer. The pictures don't show it but it really gives it a nice matte finish and you have to do this if you use water colors on the indicators or they would change/disappear. The crystal is a PA 462-67 from Otto Frei. This was the only Tropic 19 from Otto Frei that seemed to fit. The MQ case definitely uses 28.2mm as the case neck and not the smaller 28.03mm diameter found on early submariners. So the other generic tropic 19's were too small and would crack. It would be interesting to try other tropic 19's though, I wonder if other famous crystals like the german Tropic 19 or genuine Rolex tropic 19's would work? The midcase is a 5513 replica from MQ Vietnam. The caseback is a HR 5513 caseback. (It not only fits perfectly, but even the genuine spec O-ring gaskets fit perfectly so I think HR really replicated the 5513 caseback. I wonder why he won't try to make gen. spec 5513 midcases? The bezel assembly minus the pearl is from Watchman408 on Ebay. (Great guy, highly recommend, he makes sure the insert fits snugly into the bezel and that the bezel snaps onto the retaining ring if you ask him to check before shipping) WSO parts from Ebay never fit and are utter crap in my experience. I bleached the insert before attaching the Athaya pearl. The 702 crown replica and the pearl are from Athaya The movement (for now) is a SeaGull 2824-2 with datewheel removed and no spacer since that's all that will fit in a gen. spec 5513 case until I buy a 1520, 1530, or 1570 movement in the near future. I used a Yuki ETA adapter movement holding ring which was a little too big in diameter so I had to gently remove material until it fit perfect. This was fine because it's Okay if it's too big, you can always remove material but not add any. I don't know if Yuki error's on the side of too big so you can remove or if maybe Seagull 2824-2's are .3 or .5 mm bigger in diameter than Gen. ETA 2824-2? Either way, not big deal. I took my time to lock the movement down really snug, because I wear my watches hard so I didn't want any slop. Just like you guys taught me, the stem will still not perfectly line up when you put a 2824-2 in a 5513 case. It will work but I notice the stem has weird problems when you try to install, remove, or set the times every now and then. I got it working and the watch is watertight to at least over 200 feet so I'll just leave it as it until I buy a rolex movement. I used a DIY waterproof tester and the watch easily passed 200 feet of water resistance. I think it can go higher but the DIY waterpoof tester might explode if I go beyond 200 feet of water pressure and unlike you lucky bastards across the pond, hospital visits are expensive for me. I paddleboard in the ocean fishing and lobster diving (only to 35 feet) and surf. I can't take a phone with me and I lose track of time out on the water so it's good to have a watch back on my wrist. I'm hoping to find a 1520 or 1570 no date movement which if I understand correctly, will drop right in to gen. 5513 spec cases so at that time I will probably just buy a Vietnam dial and hands.

Hello, I recently discovered what Vostok Amphibia watches are from watching youtube. That is an amazing and interesting design and history. I find it really smart how they created a two part locking caseback that prevents the extreme shearing and distortion of O-rings like on traditional oyster cases. That was really smart. As well as the crystal becoming more watertight as pressure increases. But......... I think there is a major flaw at least in the ones made today (if the older ones were different?). While learning about Vostok Amphibia watches I see that the crown and bezel are made of brass or something other than stainless steel but is chrome plated while the other parts like case and caseback are stainless. I can't believe they did this because that is probably a fatal flaw if they really designed Vostok Amphibia's to be tough military dive watches. I fish and surf in the ocean almost every week of the year except maybe a few weeks in the winter. One thing I've learned is that if you place two dissimilar metals or alloys against each other and expose them to saltwater, they are subject to galvanic corrosion. Usually exposed copper is the worst but even though the brass parts of the vostok watch are chrome plated, I would think the galvanic corrosion would still occur. So here is my question, did Vostok Amphibia's originally made for the military divers of russia compose of only stainless steel and only the newly made Vostok for commercial are composed of brass parts mixed with stainless or did they always have this flaw?

Thank you but I don’t want to remove the dial and hands so I need the other method. Thank you guys as I did get enough answers from all of you.

Hello everyone, I'm going to attempt to repair my keyless works on a 2824-2 and with friendly help and the power of youtube, I think I know the steps to fix the keyless works except for removing the power from the main spring. I'm assuming you are not supposed to just let the watch wind down but you have to actually do something to remove or stop power from spring before working on keyless works? My oscillating weight is removed but I think there is still power in there as soon as you touch or move the movement. I don't know all part names or numbers so a link to a video would be great if you have it. Thank you.

Thank you! I’ll use a dial protector and do this.

I put my first watch together and realized my minute hand is bent upwards away from face a little too much. I know to bend them up you can slide plastic under them but is there a way to bend them *down* without removing them? I really don’t want to uninstall my seconds hand. Thanks for any tips! Rick

WSO stuff is really bad. I use Clarks brand aftermarket assemblies now. The WSO bezel assemblies always had bad fitting retaining rings that would not snap into the bezel. And the inserts would not snap into the bezel either.

Thank you Nanuq and all. While a metal die would move the retaining ring better, the pvc method is pretty good. I made my own like Nanuq. Works good but I might make a bronze or aluminum die for the future.

Nice thanks!

Fair enough. I think my main problem is not having a tool that fits over the the retaining ring wall and is deep enough for height of the crystal. I’d love to see what watch makers use on 5513 or 1680 crystals to press.

Buying 7 or 8 crystals and none of them fitting a 5513 replacement case is lunacy. Freezing stainless steel....It’s how we install tight fitting bearings on car wheels. If you have a better fitting crystal to avoid this I’ll buy it. The real lunacy too is that without the right tool, it’s hard to push the retaining ring straight. Does anyone know what tool is used ? Crystal presses do not have clearance for the dome crystal and depth of the retaining ring.