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Thanks my friend. There has been sooo many 6542 builds come to fruition in the last 2 years Its a great time to be able to build our Grail watches!! Swapped in an faded aluminum insert and it gives the watch a whole new look and personality!! I can not ever see myself parting ways with this watch...

I got mine from Ebay....was 16 bucks iirc

Thanks Pete! It’s a complete rep build. The dial is hand made by a fellow modder here using actual gold leaf. It’s stunning in person. I nodded my insert over the weekend. It sat too high up the side of my crystal so I sanded down the top until it was at the correct profile and the added some contour. The. A little bit of polishing to bring it back to a satin look. Now the insert has a closer look to Gen Have you decided on an bezel assembly yet ? Have you heard back from any of the Asian suppliers ? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am finishing up my 1655 build. I had some movement complications. But I did the case work on the cg side. If you are gonna do it yourself. Take your time and measure frequently to see how close you are. I used the bezel as a guide and my case tuned our pretty good. I’ll post pics later Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks my friend. I took your advice and it turned out great. You have been a huge help with this build. [emoji1317]. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Back to my 6542: I modded the insert yesterday. As you know. I have a NDT Trading bezel assembly. It was not cheap. But its quality. The bezel is awesome. The insert. It sat too high up the side of the crystal. So I removed it from the watch and sanded down the insert on some wet 1000 grit paper. Once I reached a desired height. It leaves a flat spot so I contoured it with a small piece till the flat spot was gone. Then moved to 2000 grit. Finishes or off with a light rub of poly watch to clear up the sanding marks. But didn’t polish it to a high gloss finish as it came new. This piece is 60 years old after all. [emoji6] the proportions of bezel to crystal are more gen now. Next I lightly sanded the back to remove a bit of. Paint and filled in with some black marker to give it a more vintage look I am happy with the results. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Agreed. The dome I had was too curved and I didn’t like the look. This is mine. I believe that is a 6538 domed crystal Here is the one other rep I’ve seen other than Rolojacks recent build Was on eBay. I think it was either a Yukon case or a Tudor jumbo. He had a Tudor eta movement. It has its own small share of issues in the not right Dept Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Compare mine and the 2 gens I posted....Mine is half as tall and completely flat compared to the gen crystal The cousins crystal is a huge improvement over the one that I had previously

I agree the profile is not tall enough to look gen like Ideally I would like to source a Tudor Jumbo case and crystal and shave the cyclops but the prices of those are starting to climb Any suggestion on where I could find a different crystal in a 33mm dia>?

just to update this thread a bit. I like this watch but the crystal bothered me. the domed shape and curved edges really accentuated the gap between the bezel and the inside of the case area / dial housing. It made it look twice as thick as it actually was. My solution was to find a crystal with a beveled edge that will hide this area better. Finding a large enough crystal was a challenge but I found it at Cousins I bought a 33.2mm crystal that is a very stug fit to the case but the 34mm crystal was too loose. So I squeezed the 33 on there and its held on suggly with the bezel... no chance of the crystal popping off.....at least yet , fingers crossed. Its not 100% but I am considering this build done, for now. The build list is as follows. Silex 6538 case 38mm rep crown custom bezel made by JMB 33mm beveled edge flat crystal from cousins. Dial and hands are Yuki hands broached to fit gen eta 2826 mechanical movement assembled by Yodog. faraday cage who knew a simple 3 hander would be such a challenge. Big thanks to Yodog for the assembly Thanks to the members for the advice and suggestions. These forums and the modders here are seriously a huge resource for us !! Thanks ! Onto some pics.

Where is the insert from? I was going to recommend this one to you but its probably pretty pricey as its phuong's sons page. http://www.vintagewatchmaker.com/product-p/b-15.htm

I agree with you Joey The font is too fat. it wouldn't make any sense if the bezel was original and original to the watch but the dial is a service piece? a gilt service piece at that? Also looking at the date wheel...looks to clean and crispy to me .. I guess its okay to sell franken builds in your watch shop as long as you have mostly originals and nobody knows the difference ...right??

Hey Guys. I was googling 6542 gmt as one usually does when obsessed and I came across this listing from 10 past 10 http://10pastten.com/watch/ta718 Reading the description , a few things jumped out at me. He claims that the case "has been recently detailed with correctly matted case sides and razor sharp large beveled edges." Ive never seen any rolex with matted case sides before. They have all had been polished...or where they all brushed from factory in the early days? This case has been reworked , clearly but has anyone else ever seen an original with brushed sides? The Dial is a T<.25 but it is a gilt dial. The T<25 dials are known as service dials but this one is gilt? Never noticed or seen one before and for it to be tropical and so evenly tropical also...the stars have aligned on this piece. That "bakealite" bezel is in amazing condition for an original, wouldn't you say? Eric Ku has a good reputation in the Vintage Rolex Market and has probably forgotten more about Rolex than I know but does anyone else find this kinda odd? a replacement "gilt" dial but original bezel ? Anyway...it is definitely eye candy!

looks great! nice photo!

I am not too sure. I assumed they were. I bought my bezel a few years back. Late 2016 iirc. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Pete, Funny running into you here. I was just reading your post over in the Rolex Forums about your watch yesterday and thought that the smooth bezel looked great on it. You are incredibly fortunate to own an original 6542 Most of us here can only dream!! We do however enjoy building our own watches from both gen and aftermarket parts. We do it out of the love for the various makes and models and our interests in horology. We are a very friendly and helpful community The scene here is not as shifty and shady as some tend to think I have a bezel assembly from NDT Trading. on my 6542 Its a pretty accurate example as the numerals are narrower and the lume actually glows http://ndtradingcorp.com/view-290-one-ser-bezel-insert-rolex-gmt Here is a photo of my piece for reference

I am not an expert but the 1570 is for 3 hand models...sub and explorer 1016 up until the 80's The 1575 had the added 4th hand gmt feature for the gmt master and exp II you could most likely buy the gmt parts and have them added to the movement

6542 GMT I swapped in an aluminum insert for that RSC look. lol Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have had 2 versions of the 1655 I have had an eta clone ( gold finish ) and now own a dj 3804b neither of them have the gen look with the engraved details like gen. I like this alot. Do I have ot buy a 3rd 1655 to get this movement? lol both movements had adjustable orange hand in date mode

I have researched the hell outta this reference and I think I have saved practically ever pic on the web of this watch lol If I may add my build and experience to this thread (not to thread jack ) but to add as a reference point for future builders who wish to attempt this build on their own. All I can say is GOOD LUCK! Here is my version of a 1019 Milgauss. CASE: My case is slightly larger than a gen at 38.7mm It is a Silix 6538 that has been modified , the bezel area has been modified to fit a crystal on the outside diameter lug holes drilled out and lugs beveled . A custom bezel made by JMB was made to fit to the case. I like how my bezel looks from the front by the side profile is a bit too thick that is because of the case machining and in order to hold the crystal onto the case with the bezel. If I ever decide to rebuild this piece I would see if the case can be machined down just a bit more and then I can shave about .5 mm from the thickness. CRYSTAL: I had originally used a domed crystal that is similar to yours but I didn't like it as much as it highlighted the space between the inside of the bezel and the chapter ring. I wanted a beveled crystal that would hide that. The only one that I found that would fit the 33mm diameter of my case was on Cousins. It fits similar to your first build Its not as tall as yours but it is beveled which solved my original issue. Now if I could only find one that is taller to get the proportions right between bezel and crystal. you have achieved this with your second build. DIAL & HANDS: Dial and hands are yuki Made to fit Rolex 1560 dial is not perfect. This mk1 dial should have a - between oyster perpetual compared to gen I had to commission the steady hands of builder Yodog to broach the hands to fit the swiss eta 2826 movement and assemble. this work was above my pay grade and he did an awesome job of it. He himself was skeptical if he could do it or not because of the sizes involved but he did it! He also managed to fit a Faraday cage into my case for me which I thought was badass. its also helps support the movement in the case. My dislikes of my build. 1. bezel thickness / crystal ratio this may change some day or I will just live with it 2. chapter ring on the case is slightly bigger that I wished it was. I have a bit too much space between the edge of the case and the chapter ring on the dial would be noticed if compared side by side with a gen or someone that had studied the [censored] out of this model would notice this. 3 case size...although slightly larger its not really a problem for me and it has a great wrist presence on my 7.5" wrist 4 movement is hand wind...would have been nice to be able to fit an automatic but with the stem height and the faraday cage, there is only so much you can do! I think the term her is trying to fit 10 lbs of [censored] in a 5 lb bag lol My Loves of this build! 1 I got a Milgauss 1019!! 2 it didn't cost me 30 grand to own a Milgauss 1019 3 These are rare models in the gen world and even more so in the rep world. I know of only 3 confirmed mine, Rolojacks and one guy on Ebay in California was selling a 1019 black dial with a tudor movement. I asked him about it by he didnt give up alot of details but I am guessing his was a tudor jumbo. or a yuki case ( when they sold them) 4 I own a milgauss for under 30 grand!! lol had to say it twice. haha here are a few pics of mine.

Nice work as always @rolojack IIRC this was your second attempt at this reference? I remember coming across your first build ages ago in a search ...you said this was a prototype case that you had made. I had contacted you about this build as I wanted to commission you to build one for me , but you never replied to me. This picture of yours is what made me decide to go on this difficult journey to build my own. in your first build I really liked the case and particularly the bezel but you used datejust hands as there are no DG / ETA options for the 1019 only rolex fit I like this new build ..that crystal is awesome! I wish I could find one similar for mine! The bezel however looks to be a bit too larger from the front view. Everything else about it looks great. What movement did you use in this new build?

6542 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

6542 Bach from the Spa and running great. [emoji7] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk