freddy333 Posted February 17, 2010 Report Share Posted February 17, 2010 This is a continuation of my Phase 1.2 project..... A few days ago, after a very lengthy search (the longest for any watch part in my experience), I received the final piece to my gen 6542 puzzle - the infamous 1030 24-hour (GMT) wheel, which is rarer than a hens' tooth & more sought after than a Turner (at least among collectors of vintage Rolex watches) It may look quite innocuous, but this is 1 of only a handful of parts that virtually every watchmaker, parts supplier, vintage clock/watch restorer (save for 1) considers impossible to find - at ANY price. (And before anyone asks, I cannot get any more.) Such is the demand for it. This part (along with a thimbleful of other only slightly less rare parts) is what turns the standard Rolex 1036 into the vaunted Rolex 1036GMT, which powers Rolex's original GMT-Master, the model 6542 'Pussy Galore' of James Bond fame To date, I had gone as far as I could go with my franken, which, as some of you may recall, was hand constructed as a 1-of-a-kind jewel out of various odds & ends along with a few gen parts (crown, crystal & bracelet, if memory serves me) Unfortunately, I will need to track down a 2nd 1036 donor watch since, in the interim, I have fallen in love with my previous donor & decided to keep it in my permanent collection Hopefully, my next update will also be my last & will highlight the completion of Phase 2 of my gen 6542 project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanuq Posted February 17, 2010 Report Share Posted February 17, 2010 Ooooooooooooooooooo this is gonna be good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted February 17, 2010 Report Share Posted February 17, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted February 19, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 Gentlemen, the game's afoot.........again (I have another donor 1035 en route). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanuq Posted February 19, 2010 Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwatch Posted February 19, 2010 Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 Congrats on your fantastic find Freddy! Can't wait to see the progression of this beautiful masterpiece! I just absolutely love the bezel!! It's absolutely stunning! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paneristi_man Posted February 19, 2010 Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 Congrats freddy on your quest in finding the Holy Grail of the vintage watches! awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadtorrent Posted February 19, 2010 Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 That's incredible. WOW. This is gotta be my fave watch on the forum. I do like the pepsi plastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJo35 Posted February 19, 2010 Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 Very nice! Great job finding that wheel. Was that from the 'bay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tribal Posted February 19, 2010 Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 Great you found what u need I'm very interested in your project and would love to see the finished watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanuq Posted February 19, 2010 Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 Now for a potentially very expensive question: with this one are you going the same route with a Silix case/bezel combo, or are you taking another route? What I'm getting at is, once in awhile I see a gen 6542 bezel for $ale. Do you want to know about it when I find one? Same question, about gen inserts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted February 19, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 All - Thanks for the encouragement. It helps. Here are all of the Phase 2 (gen) parts next to my (Silix-cased) Phase 1 watch Now for a potentially very expensive question: with this one are you going the same route with a Silix case/bezel combo, or are you taking another route? What I'm getting at is, once in awhile I see a gen 6542 bezel for $ale. Do you want to know about it when I find one? Same question, about gen inserts? The bezel is already covered (see pic). In theory, I have a gen insert en route, but the jury remains open until the part arrives & I see it in person. Other than that, unless I get REAL lucky & locate a gen dial (that I can afford), the completed Phase 2 watch will be all gen except for the dial (which is from MY). I realize it is highly unlikely, but if you (or anyone else) locate a gen 6542 dial (from a reliable source) for less than $1k, let me know. Otherwise, I will go with the MY dial for now. An interesting tidbit that I discovered which may be of interest to anyone intending to construct an ETA-powered 6542 - In the interim, while searching for the 2nd donor 1035, I tried fitting the guts of my Phase 1 watch (ETA 2846-powered) into the gen case/caseback. Unfortunately, it should come as no surprise that the dial is 1-2mm too wide to fit the case, but what I did not realize (& figured out just in time to avoid needlessly grinding a beautiful dial) is that the cyclops on the T115 used for the (1036-powered) 6542 is located 2mm to the left (or right, I cannot recall which) of its location on the T116, which is used for the (15xx-powered) 1675. Both lenses are the same except for the location of the cyclops. Although 2mm does not sound like a big deal, it makes quite a difference when you view a 2.5X magnified date through it. With the correct crystal, the date fills & appears perfectly centered in the cyclops. With the other crystal, it is clearly off. So, for anyone constructing a gen-powered vintage GMT, remember, T115 for 1030/6542 & T116 for 15xx/1675. Very important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanuq Posted February 19, 2010 Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 Nicely done, my friend. My hat's off to you. I saw a new/unused 6542 dial last week for $5,000. I'll keep my eyes open for anything in your price range. Of course this all raises the question, what are you going to do with Phase-I once the Phase-II is complete? Yes, I'm begging here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted February 19, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 I saw a new/unused 6542 dial last week for $5,000. I'll keep my eyes open for anything in your price range. I consider myself quite lucky in finding all of the parts I have so far, but dials (at reasonable prices) seem to be alot more elusive. I almost picked up a water damaged dial a few months ago for a great price, but, after close inspection, the underlying metal appeared to be in slow decay, so, in the end, I had to pass. Of course this all raises the question, what are you going to do with Phase-I once the Phase-II is complete? Yes, I'm begging here. No final decision yet, but duly noted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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