hanski

Thanks! Honestly back then I didn't know what I know now (isn't that a song or something?). I measured the remaining pusher and case to determine what size I needed BUT I didn't know how to express that sizing in common terms for purchase. I ended up buying an assortment of pushers off eBay. Now I would order from Startime, Ofrei, or Jules Borel.

Looks like you need to update your internet connection, an “L” fell off in transit 😉 I believe the hands are correct to a late 60’s matte dial 5512. The hour does look “maxi” and based on my research, it should. In the case of this watch, my set is gen.

You had to go and say something about the hands...how about now?

See the taper from the lime plot to the tip? Agreed, it would have set that one off. I’ve since sold it. Moved on to other projects:

Yes, WSO (wholesaleoutlet) is a good source for a decent bezel assembly. Watchman our of California is also decent. If you are considering spending a bit extra, Minh Quy or Jewelry and Watch (JAW or Phong) are both more expensive but better quality. Their inserts are also better.

Interesting. When I built this project, the Clarks crystal fit snugly on the case but the OD was smaller than the JKF retaining ring. I had to get a different bezel assembly. I would guess tolerances of either Clark’s or JKF are not perfect and something changed. Try getting a different 25-127 crystal. Try Ofrei. See if you have the same problem. If that’s the case, then it’s the case. in which case you should measure the OD of the rehaute. Then look in a GS catalogue for a crystal with the right sized ID. That or you could always glue it - not my preferred method though.

A rare and exceptional build, reference 15000 with a special dial made for the King Khaled Military Academy National Guard of Saudi Arabia. Gen champagne dial with large central logo, gen case set, gen crystal, gen crown, gen ETA 2824, aftermarket hand set, Arabic DWO, “Rolex” rotor, and bracelet. The oversized, colorful dial is striking - particularly on the wrist. Reminds me of some of the hand painted PP’s. Had to add a wrist shot to capture its brilliance.

Funny you should ask - my first project ended up with an errant candy wrapper, clump of mud, 7 curly hairs, old diaper, and an astonishing amount of dust stuck in the movement. I never understood why that happened... But in all seriousness, the stains on my vyco didn’t jump onto my watch. My 9411 is my daily wearer - water resistance tested to 6atm and adjusted in several positions to wear at +2sec per day consistently for the last three months.

FFS - that’s not going to work at all! Looks like it’s going back to be redone again. Glad I posted, that slipped my attention.

And so the saga continues. I picked up a gen Tudor snowflake dial from ChronoShop a few months back. It was cheap and for good reason, practically none of the dial was left. After discussions with the various, professional dial refinishers, Kirk Rich in CA took on the project. Given the condition of the dial and my desire for a blue dial, I opted to have them refinish as gloss blue. Interestingly, Lou said a lot of owners send in their black dials to be refinished in blue. Hmmm... It took some time to get done, like 6-7 weeks. There was a bit of back and forth on the blue color - with a few tests and QC pics. Then it was from blue background to done and in my mailbox without another word. Lou was good to work with but I’m not 100% satisfied with the end result. I can see he used a screen print, not pad printing. The hour ticks touch the lume plots. And a couple of the lume plots are slightly misaligned. I’m probably going to end up keeping it without much fuss anyways. The time I’ve waited for it to be done combined with my excitement to continue on with my 7016 project overwhelms my urge to have him do it again. Anyways, since it’s been refinished, it could always be refinished again some time in the future. Which begs the question, when is something real? Sure, the providence of this dial and the process of refinishing it makes it “legit”. But in the end it’s just a piece of metal with a picture printed on it. Maybe thoughts for another thread... Another note, I asked them to refinish without providing lume. I wanted to do that myself. I’ve gone ahead and applied a light pumpkin orange lume to the plots. Next, on to adding some patina to the hands, relume them, and start assembly on the Tudor 2461 movement.

The festive wrapping would be a delight but I'd be okay if you just use white or brown paper.

I was thinking noon today, obviously. The time you pack it up and mail to me.

Good discussion! @Nanuq please don’t let your 6536 fall into the hands of someone like PS at RPR. Find it a good home when the time comes. My short education in the watch world has lead me to the conclusion the the dial, insert, midcase, and movement are the essence of any watch. But even in saying that I think there are exceptions and I don’t know that I fully agree with myself. I recently acquired a very badly damaged gen tudor 7016 dial - to the point of more than 50% of it had flaked off. It’s currently being refinished by a legit professional with some of the original artwork. So, sure it’s a gen dial, but is it? What is it to be authentic? If we can refinish a gen dial, why not any dial? And why stop with the dial, why not any part? This is lead me to the movement. This still seems like the element that isn’t clone-able. I found myself quickly moving from budget Asian builds, to gen Swiss movements, to gen branded movements. I’ve found the gen movements to be nothing but a pleasure to work on compared with clones. Things just fit/work. I stand by the movement being the essence of the watch. I think there is great value in using a gen movement in any watch project. I only wish wish I had gotten into this hobby 4-8 years ago. Gen Rolex movements have soared out of my price range. So I’ve turned to the next brand in line, Tudor. The movements are still affordable and very robust. I’ve also come to really like the aesthetic of the brand. So win-win I suppose.

Just got a 6251 big crown jubilee with 55 end links I’ve been hunting - very excited to pair it with my 9411.