RickFlorida

Good point. They are only 15 bucks with free shipping so I can I can buy 2 or 3 extras and store them. If they are custom, i wonder how he sells them for 15 bucks here in the states. If he didn't say they are swiss, I would guess they are from HK or something, only because I know they make a lot over there. GS makes nothing this flat, right? On Otto Frei they don't show generic or GS that are this flat. Are there more than one German brand?

RoloJack is done with all work or just building whole watches? I'm glad I had my cartel case shaped by him then. Sorry I can't add any more input. Good luck.

This is so weird but I could have sworn I posted a reply on this thread about 2 weeks ago, did I say something bad and it got deleted? I'm genuinely asking and sorry If I did anything wrong. Yeah, the real difference in how good 904L is to regular stainles is that it's slightly more resistant to acids and salts. But honestly, Rolex is just doing it to make their brand seem more exclusive, it's not a huge difference if I understand correctly. Like how Rolex says they make their own gold alloy, etc. It's not really better, more about being exclusive.

Hello everyone. I'm in the process of repairing a cartel case that has been nicely shaped to look like an actual 5513 case. The repair is to make and solder on a whole new crystal neck because the last one was too small. Anyways, long story short, because I can still make small adjustments to the new crystal neck before welding it onto the case, I'd like to make it a perfect fit for these very flat looking 5513 crystals I get on Ebay from California. I've never seen any other flat looking crystals for tropic 19 except for this seller. I don't mind buying from just him but what if he goes out of business. I'd like to feel comfortable knowing if this crystal is made by a certain brand so I can have the same water tight fit. (you guys know how hard it is to fit a crystal so it doesn't crack but is also water proof) He says it's Swiss so it can't be the well known German brand... any ideas which brand makes this crystal? The package he sends them in has no name on it and he so far refuses to tell me what brand they are. I guess he thinks I'll buy it else where but I swear I just want to know in case he goes out of business. It's such hard work building the case neck to fit water tight that I need to know who is manufacturing this crystal. Thanks guys.

Very cool? Who is casting this in Stainless steel for him after 3d Printing?

Wow, how high is that case neck? (Where the crystal goes over) It looks pretty high and I also didn't know they have a "stepped lip" under it. Although I guess that stepped lip makes the case neck height less. Is this what Gen ones have? I'm just curious because I'm repairing a mid case right now so I'm been trying to research the average height the case neck should be.

Sorry guys but I don't think anyone said which exact Raffles movement ring will make the ST Case fit a 2836-2 movement. There are lots of different movement rings so which one fits, please? Thanks Today is 8/26/18 and they are still listed on the website. So either they don't ever update their website after years or they are selling them again?

Awesome, thank you sir!

Thank you! That's the one I was looking for that you might have posted in the past but when I searched the forums I could not find it. So thank you much! On this dial, I'm going to try to darken the lume with water color markers instead of the tea/coffee halogen method. That method worked fine on my Tudor dial but want to try something different. Jackflash, approximately what distance do you like to have this can away from your dial when you do the "texture adding" spray?

Glad you cleared that up. I didn't know this. I incorrectly assumed people just ask this to get cheaper tax or fees. Thanks for correcting.

It's a common request. There is less tax or fees for the recipient when you send the money as/to a friend. I'm not sure but it seems to be only for when I sent money to Europeans that this is a big deal or saves any money. This is what I believe so someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

Yes, please read above. Sorry if we hijacked post everyone. Our intention is to solve the problem that is in the original post.

Ah, you and I should talk soon. Maybe we can help with all of this. Stay tuned. Do you know if there are companies that will cast your 3D model into stainless steel? I assume some do but I am only aware of jewelry and bronze type casting places. CNC type places will involve lots of start up costs. Ideally, we need an online company that you can upload your model to and then then they 3D print it using material jetting (fine detail) and then they cast it in stainless steel. If any company does that, our workflow should be based on that with only final thread cutting, surface finishing, and getting the case neck where the crystal fits exactly 28.2mm left to do. The holes for where the crown tube and back case are should be left slightly too big due to shrinkage that occurs with casting metal. Maybe the cases will have to be finished by machinist who will do a final drilling and threading for where the case tube goes and the back of the case. Another problem could be getting the case neck where the crystal fits perfectly 28.2mm. Since castings have shrinkage, this too would have to be left slightly big and then faced off to exactly 28.2mm by a machinist with a lathe. But...this would still be far cheaper than a Phong case.

I still can't believe we are even having to have this discussion. In the last 2 years my hobby has been making jewelry by designing them in either Zbrush or Matrix Gemvision (Rhino based) and then having my models professionally printed with the latest 3d printing software which is called material jetting. Material Jetting is so precise that you could 3d print finger prints if you wanted to. For the love of God and all that is mighty, let's create a team of people from this forum including myself and make 3D models of the 5513 case. Now, I can't cast models into stainless steel, but maybe I can help with the workflow of the whole process of making a 3d model of the midcase which can then be CNC machined, etc. At the vary least, we could have the midcase designed with just final thread cutting left which people like JMB could advice on. Let's freaking do this people. Let me give you an example of what can be done with technology. A friend of mine wanted a treasure coin but didn't want to pay hundreds of dollars for even just a replica. So I created an exact replica using Zbrush and then casting it in Silver. For the Love of God. With 3D scanning, we could high resolution scan an original 5513 mid case.

This is one of the annoying things that Rolex does in my opinion. They want to always try to make their watches exclusive but at this point, they are only doing it to make them exclusive, not for functionality or practicality. For example, they added the ugly "Rolex" all around the inside of their watch faces and it's tacky and unnecessary. They also now make their watches 904 which is highly unnecessary. My 304 stainless watch is in salt water, chlorine, and humidity almost every day and shows zero problems with corrosion. A better product to me would be to make things more functional. No wonder a submariner is so overpriced today then they were in the 1960's, they are adding a bunch of bullcrap to them.

Thanks for the answer/advice. I just mean to do a light spray to add texture after I darken/yellow the lume. If I understand correctly, you just spray a little bit from far away to add some texture so it should not be runny/messy. I don't think any dial refurb. shops specialize in making a perfectly new printed dial look vintage but please correct me if I'm wrong. Don't we have to modify these ourselves? What does MMM stand for by the way from your answer please? Thanks again for your time.

You are partially incorrect about why platinum cost more than gold (when used in jewelry). Platinum is 60% heavier than gold. So if you need a wedding band that is 6mm wide, to make the same wedding band in platinum will take a lot more precious metal in weight to make the same dimensions of the ring if it were gold. The common jewelry sales person doesn't really understand this. Also, you can use cheap alloys to make gold jewelry like copper and silver. Platinum jewelry can only alloy with irridium or palladium. There is a truth to working with platinum being a pain in the ass. But it's mostly that you can't contaminate it with anything else. So Platinum jewelry work requires an entire set of dedicated tools. (Normally, we can use the same tools for gold or silver, but if you get a tiny particle of gold, silver, or copper on platinum, it will show up as a blemish when polishing.

This is something I've battle with for a few years on my cartel case 5513 build. With everything off of the case, do you get 28.2mm for the O.D. of the "case neck" where the retaining ring goes? My advice (which I learned here) purchase an entire bezel, retaining ring, and friction washer all together so that they are all designed to work with each other. This is your best hope for fitting your crystals. My problem was that my "case neck" diameter was too big so that even with high quality bezel and retaining ring sets, my crystals broke too. Because I had my Cartel case reshaped by a professional to look like a real 5513..... I went to the extreme of shaving off my case neck and creating a proper case neck diameter that is to be silver soldered onto the case. (I'm a jeweler on the side and I've worked in a machine shop so I'm able to do it). No one else here would probably do this and just buy another case. I don't have money for a nice 5513 case. This brings me to another frustration. WHY THE HELL IS NO ONE 3D PRINTING 5513 CASES? You could 3D print a case using material jetting technology.

Hello, Can someone please tell me a brand of lacquer spray (matte) that can be used to make newly printed dials look vintage like in the Submariner builds? I know it's clear in color but not sure what brands or types you guys are actually using. Thank you,

So I was thinking the other day.... Why in heaven's name hasn't China cloned an old school Pavoni manual espresso machine? They have successfully cloned many other simple machines that have been around a long time and seeing that broken old Pavoni's are 600 dollars..... why the hell have they not thought of this yet? China usually loves to clone simple machines. For example, they have a perfect clone of the old small centrifugal casting machines that dentists use to use and that jewelers use as well. I own one of them and it works just as good as the original ones that came from Buffalo New York 40 years ago. The point is... of all the factories in China, how in the world has one of them not thought of cloning some bad ass old Pavoni manual lever espresso machines?

Ok thank you.

Thank you for this workflow. What kind of alcohol? I would think you mean denatured alcohol. But are you talking about on sapphire crystals? I would be worried of alcohol on plexi crystals.

God you are so lucky. You live in Australia, and you probably get much quicker shipping times from China. Count your blessings my friend.

Don't want to share secrets, huh? I'd like to add that what I now believe the approach with a microfiber cloth or cleaning the crystal in general is probably this.... (feel free to add anything). Cleaning is a stage process. 1.First stage, is to use a ultra soft microfiber cloth to rub all of the smudges out. I will experiment with the acrylic safe spray to see if I get it really clean. 2.Second stage is that any dust/lint that remains or newly falls onto the crystal or case can be blown away with air.

Hi, Everyone. I have asked and searched in the past about tricks on getting plastic crystals clean when casing up your watch and some were really good but were pretty spread out across the whole internet realm or buried deep in specific projects here. I thought maybe people might be willing to share tips on how to remove smudges, finger prints, and dust from crystals before casing up a watch. I'll start with what I've learned as a beginner. I asked a professional watchmaker (Vanessa of CW21 in Southern California and she simply said she uses a "special microfiber cloth that I wash without fabric softener". I wish I knew what brand but I suppose if the microfiber is washable, and good enough for original rolex plastic crystals, would anyone know which one she probalby uses? Now that is interesting. Here I am thinking I have to purchase ultra soft, brand new microfibers and then delicately use it within seconds of opening it and hope for the best. After she told me this my new approach will be that you can aggressively "rub out" smudges and dust with a microfiber cloth and then simply use a squeeze blower or air canister to blow of any dust that falls on the crystal after you rubbed the hell out of it with the cloth. Does this strategy seem correct? I see pictures of extremely clean, shiny looking crystals and I marvel at out that comes to be. There is also plastic safe cleaning spray that is for acrylic. I think that would be good to get the streaky clean look and combine this with the correct microfiber cloth. Anyone else have tips?