Building of a 1675 Cornino from a 1655

[chiman12]

We discussed here about how a Josh 1655 would be a good candidate for a 1675 project. In fact, a couple of members, including Star69 has already built a 1675 from the 1655.

Even though it isn't 100% complete, I thought that I would give an update on my 1655 conversion to a 1675 Cornino.

Of course, the most distinctive feature of the 1675 Cornino is the pointed crown guards. I could not find any references of how the crown guards would look underneath the bezel assembly and I thought that Rolex would just not file the crown guards to a point. I believe that the they had to be sculpted, in that the CG curves and blends with the case. So the case visited the chiman CG spa and here are the results...

While I was sculpting the CGs, I also softened the edges of the case

I purchased a bezel assembly from ewatchparts.com, afterall it was the cheapest. Needless to say, you get what you pay for, because the bezel insert sucked, it looked like paint didn't completely transfer onto the insert and the bezel didn't have a pronounced coin edge. Oh well, both can be fixed easily. The mag on the rep crystal was a bit weak, so I installed a Sterny 116

For the dial, I chose an NDT gilt chapter ring dial. I wanted to do something different to the dial and I really like the looks of my Tudor California dial, but I can't seem to find the original post discussing the dial. But in any case, here it is...

I want the same pebble effect as my California dial. I think it turned out really well, but Rolex purists would say otherwise. I accomplished the finish by spraying the dial with clear matte Kryon finish and I then proceed to get a folded up paper towel and dabbed at the dial to soak up the excess finish until I got the desired effect.

The only GMT movements that I see in reps are the gen, modified ETA, or Asian GMT movements. I did a lot of research on GMT movements and decided upon this for my project...

It is a Zodiac 75B and a pure GMT movement. In fact, the size of the GMT post on the 75B is the same size as the gen Rolex GMT hand, while the minute, hour, second hands are all ETA spec. In addition, the date flips exactly in the same direction as the 1575, so I used a gen-like date wheel from wholesaleoulett990 as an overlay for my project. But, once again, I strayed a little bit from the norm and installed a roulette wheel...

But there was a slight snag in my project that I had to overcome. When I applied the wholesaleoutlet overlay on top of the original date wheel, the combo was too thick and the date wheel was rubbing against the dial and didn't flip properly. The solution? I flipped the dial rest around and the problem went away! You can see the edge of the dial rest in the pic and the date wheel now flips without any problems. So why did this work? When you install a dial back onto a movement, you'll notice that the edge of the dial rest actually receeds a bit into the dial rest groove. By flipping the dial rest around, it no longer receeds into the groove and you get that additional bit of space for the date wheel to flip properly.

I'm currently aging the hands, in addition I broke my small GMT hand so I need to source another one, but here are a few pics with the watch put together without hands, but it does have the proper 5.3mm crown...

I would say that this project is 75% complete. I need to change out the bezel insert for a better one, most likely a faded gen and I'll fix the bezel so it has a more pronounced coin edge. I also discovered that the Sterny 116 cyclope was off to one side. I checked with CousinsUK and Sterny sells two different versions of 116's, so I'll grab the other one and see if it fixes the problem. I'll also touch up the insides of the CG's a bit and slap on a nice Yuki rivet bracelet on it

I'll post an update once I get the watch completed.

[freddy333]

So far, so good & the red date looks cool, but I would nix the roulette date wheel since the gen watch's dates are all black.

[Dizzy]

NICE!!

I agree.. get the rivet Yuki bracelet.. that would look sweet.

This is my plan also for a 1675. I do like the flat top 3 roulette wheel. I had the exact same problem trying to put a datewheel on my 2836 for a datejust. it rubbed on the dial so i flipped the ring over and got an extra 1/2mm of space and its perfect. You just have to watch to make sure your hands still fit without rubbing on the dial... I was thinking about using the eta 2893? I think it is... the GMT movement that actually a GMT movement and not a chinese/swiss conversion.

[JoJo35]

Nice job, it looks great so far. If you're looking for a better insert, I've got a faded gen insert for sale now for cheap in the fs section

JJ

[chiman12]

So far, so good & the red date looks cool, but I would nix the roulette date wheel since the gen watch's dates are all black.

Yeah...you're right freddy, though the roulette wheel does look very cool, the purist in me also says go with the "all black" date wheel

@ JoJo...I saw your bezel insert (nice!), but was looking for a pepsi color combo and not the coke color combo

In fact...if anyone has a nicely faded pepsi bezel insert, gen or rep, let me know and I'll be glad to take it off your hands!

[Nanuq]

Hey now, who says an insert has to be faded to look nice?

[Ronin]

Wow, coming along beautifully. I actually like the Roulette wheel. A fun variance.

[Dizzy]

Hey now, who says an insert has to be faded to look nice?

That looks great!!! I was considering a gen faded when i do my 1675 but after seeing this, I like the NOS service bezel look with the pepsi.

[chiman12]

hhhmmm...N...that does look good!

[southcoast68]

Hey now, who says an insert has to be faded to look nice?

HERE HERE +1!!!

Nice project ChiMan!!!

Cheers

[freddy333]

Hey now, who says an insert has to be faded to look nice?

To my way of thinking, only diving watches look correct with faded bezels. GMTs & others just look weird.

[lhooq]

Really, really nice, C!

[JoeyB]

Hey now, who says an insert has to be faded to look nice?  

To my way of thinking, only diving watches look correct with faded bezels. GMTs & others just look weird.

When I first discovered the GMT I immediately fell in love with it. The function fits my needs and the look is simply beautiful. But I never much cared for the 'Pepsi' insert or the Jubilee bracelet, preferring instead the 'Coke' black and red. I like the all black insert too, the AD in Waikiki tried to sell me on changing my rep retro 'Coke' over to all black a few years back. I also was of the opinion that such a beautiful watch was shortchanged by Rolex using a stamped insert and a cheesy clasp on their bracelets. I felt that the GMTII ceramic was the 'ultimate' GMT with a proper insert, but I missed the holes in the bigger case. With the introduction of the DSSD I added the Glide-lock clasp to both of my GMTIIs.  Near Perfection! 

But after coming to these watch forums and learning from all the knowledge here, things have changed a bit for me. While researching all the forums to learn as much as I could about building a vintage GMT,  I ran into freddy's 6542. None of the dealers had the 6542 so I didn't know it even existed until then. With freddy's help I built one and truly love it. And now it's all changed for me. While I still love my GMTIIs, the 'Pepsi' insert with the Jubilee has become my favorite. And as much as I like the plastic/bakelite 6542 insert, I like the stamped 'Pepsi' almost as much. I now find that Nanuq's watch is simply gorgeous. If there were no reps and I had to choose just one genuine GMT I would have a very difficult time making a choice. 

I agree with Nanuq and freddy, the new insert looks best. And I further agree with freddy that I prefer to let the vintage watches I build  'age' with me. And that's the beauty of this hobby. You can do it any way you like. 

[highoeyazmuhudee]

looks great!

[freddy333]

For anyone interested in the GMT (especially the modern versions), you should begin at By-Tor's reviews. These are must-reads with tons of detailed information on the model & the spark that ultimately instigated my '42 projects.

[forrestal]

We discussed here about how a Josh 1655 would be a good candidate for a 1675 project. In fact, a couple of members, including Star69 has already built a 1675 from the 1655.

Even though it isn't 100% complete, I thought that I would give an update on my 1655 conversion to a 1675 Cornino.

Of course, the most distinctive feature of the 1675 Cornino is the pointed crown guards. I could not find any references of how the crown guards would look underneath the bezel assembly and I thought that Rolex would just not file the crown guards to a point. I believe that the they had to be sculpted, in that the CG curves and blends with the case. So the case visited the chiman CG spa and here are the results...

While I was sculpting the CGs, I also softened the edges of the case

I purchased a bezel assembly from ewatchparts.com, afterall it was the cheapest. Needless to say, you get what you pay for, because the bezel insert sucked, it looked like paint didn't completely transfer onto the insert and the bezel didn't have a pronounced coin edge. Oh well, both can be fixed easily. The mag on the rep crystal was a bit weak, so I installed a Sterny 116

For the dial, I chose an NDT gilt chapter ring dial. I wanted to do something different to the dial and I really like the looks of my Tudor California dial, but I can't seem to find the original post discussing the dial. But in any case, here it is...

I want the same pebble effect as my California dial. I think it turned out really well, but Rolex purists would say otherwise. I accomplished the finish by spraying the dial with clear matte Kryon finish and I then proceed to get a folded up paper towel and dabbed at the dial to soak up the excess finish until I got the desired effect.

The only GMT movements that I see in reps are the gen, modified ETA, or Asian GMT movements. I did a lot of research on GMT movements and decided upon this for my project...

It is a Zodiac 75B and a pure GMT movement. In fact, the size of the GMT post on the 75B is the same size as the gen Rolex GMT hand, while the minute, hour, second hands are all ETA spec. In addition, the date flips exactly in the same direction as the 1575, so I used a gen-like date wheel from wholesaleoulett990 as an overlay for my project. But, once again, I strayed a little bit from the norm and installed a roulette wheel...

But there was a slight snag in my project that I had to overcome. When I applied the wholesaleoutlet overlay on top of the original date wheel, the combo was too thick and the date wheel was rubbing against the dial and didn't flip properly. The solution? I flipped the dial rest around and the problem went away! You can see the edge of the dial rest in the pic and the date wheel now flips without any problems. So why did this work? When you install a dial back onto a movement, you'll notice that the edge of the dial rest actually receeds a bit into the dial rest groove. By flipping the dial rest around, it no longer receeds into the groove and you get that additional bit of space for the date wheel to flip properly.

I'm currently aging the hands, in addition I broke my small GMT hand so I need to source another one, but here are a few pics with the watch put together without hands, but it does have the proper 5.3mm crown...

I would say that this project is 75% complete. I need to change out the bezel insert for a better one, most likely a faded gen and I'll fix the bezel so it has a more pronounced coin edge. I also discovered that the Sterny 116 cyclope was off to one side. I checked with CousinsUK and Sterny sells two different versions of 116's, so I'll grab the other one and see if it fixes the problem. I'll also touch up the insides of the CG's a bit and slap on a nice Yuki rivet bracelet on it

I'll post an update once I get the watch completed.

Good work!

[freddy333]

Good work!

Please do not re-quote an entire post (including pics) just to add a short bit at the end.

[TeeJay]

Just to throw the cat among the pigeons, I think that bezel insert would be an excellent candidate for a little vintaging and fading, simply because the imperfect finish on it will lend itself to that kind of project work, as it would add 'additional points of distress' to any sanding/bleaching work undertaken, so hopefully a more natural result overall Of course, the perfect inserts also look great on the vintaged watches too, so it's all just a matter of personal taste

[Star69]

wow !

looks super cool !

i loooove the movement !! great find - cant wait to see the end results !

this shows again that RWG is the home of the best Rolex-Replicas in the world

cheers,

Frank

[JoeyB]

this shows again that RWG is the home of the best Rolex-Replicas in the world 

As a veteran of other rep forums I think this place has the most and best knowledge and information about vintage Rolex anywhere. 

[chiman12]

I agree with JoeyB...also the passion for Rolexes on this forum is amazing...I often think that were more passionate than the VRF guys, because we do like to have every aspects of our time pieces correct or close to it...

[Mapman57]

Great work guys....my collection of parts is underway and the teachings of Chi/Star and RA will be followed

Other than Yuki and NDT are there any other sources for 'no date' 1675 dials?

Also, is there a supplier of hand sets for use with a modified eta 2836 movement?

[freddy333]

is there a supplier of hand sets for use with a modified eta 2836 movement?

Clarks

[JoeyB]

Also, is there a supplier of hand sets for use with a modified eta 2836 movement?  

As freddy said, Clark's is very good. You need to order the Clark's hands for the "Tudor Submariner" to fit any of the ETA 28xx movements as that was what was genuine in the Tudor,  Clark's will not have the GMT or 4th hand to fit the GMT modified ETA 2836-2. That 4th hand must come from one of our Chinese suppliers, or you will have to modify one yourself. 

[Ephry73]

very very nice Chiman. Just caught the other post.

E