My 16520 Project

[omgiv]

Hi Guys,

It seems like my projects always seem to drag on forever. I think that I have most of what I need to complete this one and check it off of the list. The only thing I am missing is a genuine bracelet and I have a lead on one. Anyway, here is a list of what is going to be used:

Zenith 400 movement with genuine Rolex center wheel, chronograph wheel, minute counting wheel, cannon pinion, hour wheel, hour counting wheel, hour counting wheel bridge, setting lever, yoke for the sliding lever, rotor, and intermediate setting wheel. The last piece of the puzzle was the intermediate setting wheel. Thanks again Chief!!!!!

Phong case (while not perfect, it is better than others and cheaper than a genuine)

Genuine bezel

Genuine pushers

Genuine crystal

Genuine dial and hands (not crazy about the way Rolex is packaging their new dials)

Genuine monobloc crown and tube

It has taken me a long time to get the funds up to do this project and I know a lot of you will ask why do it. I enjoyed the search for almost impossible to find parts and the joy of putting it together myself. Anyway, here are some picture of things so far. I will post more when I have them and keep this thread updated. I have also measured the Zenith and Rolex pivots for all of the hands (except Rolex running second hand) and will post that later as well. Thanks for reading and comments are always welcome (good, bad, or ugly)

Parts assembled

New dial

New bezel

Case assembled with genuine crystal, bezel, pushers, crown, and tube

[BGGodwin]

Oh. My. God. This watch is going to be absolutely amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!

[freddy333]

Ditto BGGodwin's comments. This will definitely be a very accurate 16520 (externally).

However, I always question the logic in constructing these frankens when you can purchase a 100% gen 16520 for only a few grand more (16520s can be had in great shape starting around $10k). I certainly get the do-it-yourself aspect of the parts hunt/build, but, when you factor in the time it took to gather all the parts, the cost to purchase/assemble them & the fact that you can never sell it as a gen, it does not compute for me. Still

[HauteHippie]

Lookin' great, I!!

BTW, 3.5k vs 10k... Seems very logical to me. Could buy a gen 1680 with the spare change.

[chiman12]

I like projects like this mainly for the drool factor!!!! Sweet looking project omgiv!

[slickdick]

Agreed, they don't come cheap as there is little option. Movement alone > 800 euros. Genuine 16520 parts very expensive. Dial > 500 euros. But it can be done < 3000 euro with aftermarket parts.

I hope DW wil be able to produce case set at reasonable prices ranged like the vintage daytonas sets.

Which makes me wonder what the set-back is on the phong case.

Nice project

Edited April 14, 2011 by slickdick

[praetor]

yea wow...I'd never spend that much on a franken either. At least with gen, you can resell it if you get bored with it.

[StormTooper4]

Thats a great project , and its gonna look real good when its done . nice one a sense of achievement for sure

[yachtmaster]

congrats! its going to look amazing! Can't wait for the finished product! When will it be done ?

[wiesn089]

This one is going to look amazing, omgiv, I love posts like this!

While I am coming to the realization that spending thousands of $, € or whatever on a franken and projects like this generally will need a lot of consideration, a 16520 is on my list also.

I prefer an El Primero franken over the gen actually, 36000 bph and a truly legendary movement beat Rolex's version any day. Thirty something percent of a gen is tough, but the possibility of building one of these with gen everything except the midcase makes it worth it imho! Also the feeling of finding something rare and almost unobtainable and finally installing it in your watch is hard to beat!

Please keep us posted, can't wait to see the finished product!

[lhooq]

At least with gen, you can resell it if you get bored with it.

You don't think there's at least one potential buyer on RWG? This place is chock full of nuts!

Good luck on the build, and keep the pictures coming!

[Guest Sql_pl]

Great project. Good luck. I gave up on mine at the very end of the way.

[HauteHippie]

This one is going to look amazing, omgiv, I love posts like this!

While I am coming to the realization that spending thousands of $, € or whatever on a franken and projects like this generally will need a lot of consideration, a 16520 is on my list also.

I prefer an El Primero franken over the gen actually, 36000 bph and a truly legendary movement beat Rolex's version any day. Thirty something percent of a gen is tough, but the possibility of building one of these with gen everything except the midcase makes it worth it imho! Also the feeling of finding something rare and almost unobtainable and finally installing it in your watch is hard to beat!

Please keep us posted, can't wait to see the finished product!

the gen:franken dollar ratios don't mean much, really. dollar amount is what's important and a savings of ~$6k is substantial. not to mention the thrill of the chase in building up the franken. and i have no doubt that these high dollar frankens do resell. many have in the past. but personally i won't put that theory to the test. mine's a keeper. i's probably is too.

[flex]

very nice project.. I had two of these frankens (now down to 1). just ripped apart my black one last week as I sold the gen case (with gen case back and bezel) last week. Now have the zenith movement and chrono hands left in my part box and a gen TT band been collecting parts here and there due to my indecisive attitude (as my girl said it).

here is a pic of the old duo

[HauteHippie]

very nice project.. I had two of these frankens (now down to 1). just ripped apart my black one last week as I sold the gen case (with gen case back and bezel) last week. Now have the zenith movement and chrono hands left in my part box and a gen TT band been collecting parts here and there due to my indecisive attitude (as my girl said it).

here is a pic of the old duo

Yours were a big part of the inspiration for mine...

[LeSentier]

If someone gets bored of his 16520 white dial, just drop me a PM. I would be happy to give her a new home...

[chefcook]

You know ... I still have a white dial for sale, Joerg...

Maybe Flex is willing to sell his movement...

[omgiv]

Thanks for all of the replies guys. There are indeed some very nice examples on this board (most of which inspired me). I have the dial and hands mounted and now have to figure out what to do about the pushers. I think that I have a solution but just need some time to work it out. Anyway, I have been getting several questions as to why I used so many genuine parts. The best answer is ease of assembly. I would rather not broach hands if I have to. Plus, I didn't know a lot of the genuine measurements when I started.

One of my goals was to have a 2 position stem, instead of the stock Zenith 3 position. I knew that the clutch lever was the main difference so I changed that out. I used the Zenith set lever and date corrector, but the date corrector wheels weren't meshing deep enough causing a rough feeling when setting the time. The combination that fixed the problem was the Rolex clutch lever, set lever, and intermediate setting wheel).

Clutch lever (Rolex on left)

Set lever with date corrector/intermediate setting wheel (Rolex on bottom)

Keyless works

Ready for a dial

Dial on

Hands in place

I also wanted to give the measurements that I got from the different parts

cannon pinion (for minute hand) Zenith .98mm Rolex 1.08mm

hour wheel (for hour hand) Zenith 1.49mm Rolex 1.59mm

Chronograph wheel (for chronograph seconds) Zenith .21mm Rolex .25mm

Running seconds Zenith .21mm Rolex ??? (don't have one but it is probably .22mm)

hour totalizer Zenith .23mm Rolex .22mm

minute totalizer Zenith .22mm Rolex .22mm

[HauteHippie]

Great info, I... It's getting to the point where this ought to be pinned!

Broaching hands is definitely a can of worms on these. Just ask The Zigmeister. Gotta do it right or not at all with this one!

[flex]

Agree with Chief.. that's great info for alot of memebers who attempt the 16520 project. It appears that every now and then there are memeberswho want to attempt 16520 project.

chefcock, yes i have a zenith movement (modded) and hand sets in my parts drawer. perhaps i should list the zenith movement (with hand sets) on sale forum during the weekend.

[LeSentier]

@Flex - PM sent !

[LeSentier]

Agree with Chief.. that's great info for alot of memebers who attempt the 16520 project. It appears that every now and then there are memeberswho want to attempt 16520 project.

chefcock, yes i have a zenith movement (modded) and hand sets in my parts drawer. perhaps i should list the zenith movement (with hand sets) on sale forum during the weekend.

Thank you flex, thank you chefcook!

Great guys to deal with! Another 16520 is comming soon..

[chiman12]

Admin...there is some great info here...we should pin this one...

I'm getting all geared up for a Daytona project also, but a 16523 and it would be nice if the above info is easily accessible.

[marcoxxx1984]

I think that if a dealer will make a nice 16520 case he will make a A LOT of money!!!! There is a lot of fever abiut this project but the correct case is neat impossible to find....

[HauteHippie]

I think that if a dealer will make a nice 16520 case he will make a A LOT of money!!!! There is a lot of fever abiut this project but the correct case is neat impossible to find....

The correct case is out there......