ghost Posted November 5, 2011 Report Posted November 5, 2011 Having read all the 1016 builds as well as 5500 builds...i've been meaning to pull a victor frankenstein myself too. However it seems insurmountable, trying to procure all the parts like UBI does I was reading how the 5500 explorer is nigh 100% the same as the 5500 airking save the dial (which is impossible to procure of course) I came upon a 1016 gen dial and was wondering if there's something similar i could do with it. From my rolex ref books, i gathered that the movement the 1016 comes with is either a 1565, 1570 or 1575. Is there an old datejust that has these similar specs? If so, it'd be a simple drop-in-dial frankie! I suspect not, coz otherwise UBI wouldn't have gone about pulling off his blockbuster build? Alas unlike him i'm a mere mortal I'm not asking for 99% similarity. I'm happy with just 65% =P
freddy333 Posted November 5, 2011 Report Posted November 5, 2011 I'm not asking for 99% similarity. I'm happy with just 65% =P Why not just buy a good rep (research the gen you are interested & then peruse the RWG dealer listings for the version YOU like best), which, in the case of an Explorer, is pretty close to 90% correct out of the box. fyi - the 5500 came with either a 1520 or 1530 movement, 6635 or 7205 bracelet (both with 57 end links), a 5.3 Twinlock crown/tube & a Tropic 11 crystal
ww12345 Posted November 5, 2011 Report Posted November 5, 2011 Here's mine: MBW case, gen crown, Yuki bracelet, JMB bezel, and Yuki dial. I would recommend that you put your gen dial into a MBW case set w/ JMB's bezel. The crown would be icing on the cake. What year is your dial from? (Pics courtesy of JMB)
lhooq Posted November 5, 2011 Report Posted November 5, 2011 Love what you did to that dial, ww! It looks like one of the moons of Saturn!
ghost Posted November 5, 2011 Author Report Posted November 5, 2011 Thanks guys! Freddy, i'm actually looking at the 1016 coz the 5500 dial is just too elusive. ww, my dial is a service dial (supposedly...hope i didnt get ripped off) i was hoping to just drop it into a gen so if it ever came to pass, i could just part them out again and voila, they'd be unchanged! Plus, i think such a project would be much easier to accomplish than the alternative
dvn Posted November 5, 2011 Report Posted November 5, 2011 I am the proud owner of Ubi's 1016 now and according to his post it has 1570 movement with 1600 case set. Hope the info help. Pm me if you want to know the complete configuration. I think he has it in one of his post if you do the search in this forum. Good luck
ghost Posted November 5, 2011 Author Report Posted November 5, 2011 Oh man, you're so lucky! Please, please, please gimme a headsup if you ever wanna sell!
ww12345 Posted November 5, 2011 Report Posted November 5, 2011 Thanks M. The dial aging is all JMB's work. The dial had a few imperfections (namely the T in Perpetual) and I asked if he could age it to cover it up. I never imagined he could get it looking so cool!
ww12345 Posted November 5, 2011 Report Posted November 5, 2011 @ghost: If you want to post pics of the dial, I'm sure the awesome resource which is RWG can tell you if it is gen. Good luck on your project. Hope to see pics when it is finished!
alligoat Posted November 5, 2011 Report Posted November 5, 2011 What you need is a Datejust 1600/1601 case. I picked up a used one on ebay and built a budget 1016. The case cost $130, jmb built a bezel for $45 plus shipping, LHOOQ sold me one of his hand me down dials- a nice relumed Yuki dial from back in the days when Yuki had nice Explorer dials- and I picked up a gen 24-600 crown. I used a 2824-2, a stilty spacer ring and a set of Clark hands. I spent a little over $400 not counting the 2824-2 which I had lying around. Sorry about the crappy pic. The key to picking up a 1600 DJ case is patience! You just have to keep looking
jmb Posted November 6, 2011 Report Posted November 6, 2011 I, too, was the lucky recipient of a hand-me-down LH dial. I went the "budget" route and was pretty much all rep. This would be the cost to duplicate my version: Rep DJ case for 2824 movement (comes with movement spacer) $35 Bezel - $45 Drill lugs - $40 Ofrei springbars $6 Rep riveted bracelet $35 Rep hands tinted to near match to dial $10 Asian 2824-2 - $85 Clark T22 crystal - $7 Total - $218
lhooq Posted November 6, 2011 Report Posted November 6, 2011 ghost: I gather that you're trying to preserve the 1016 service dial you have. (Lord knows the most painful part of my own build was snipping the dial feet off..) Just be aware that you'd be spending a lot more on this project--several times more, depending on how much you pay for that Datejust. Assuming you go down the gen Datejust-->1016 route, you would be best off with a 16xx, 160xx, or 162xxx Datejust. Then add the cost of everything that jmb described, minus the lughole drilling if you're really keen on having the ability to undo all mods.
ghost Posted November 6, 2011 Author Report Posted November 6, 2011 Yes LH you're absolutely right! It's too painful to snip off the feet. Besides by going down that route one can still have the gen watch if one ever decides to reverse gears
ghost Posted November 6, 2011 Author Report Posted November 6, 2011 Not sure if you guys can still see the link but here it goes: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200644029995&ssPageName=ADME:X:eRTM:US:1123#ht_3963wt_1188 part of me was loath to load it coz i don't wanna have to deal with the disappointment and heartbreak at having been had...yet again
lhooq Posted November 6, 2011 Report Posted November 6, 2011 You paid a fantastic price for a very clean -genuine- service dial. Well done! My only reservations are with the slightly crooked EXPLORER and the fuzzy halo around LORER. It's almost like the line was printed incorrectly, then fixed afterward.
ghost Posted November 6, 2011 Author Report Posted November 6, 2011 That's why i thought it was a knock-off.But thanks bro! I feel much better now!
ebzen02 Posted November 6, 2011 Report Posted November 6, 2011 JMB is building me one and for a couple of hundred bucks you can have one of the closest explorers you can buy!
rosnik Posted November 6, 2011 Report Posted November 6, 2011 JMB is building me one and for a couple of hundred bucks you can have one of the closest explorers you can buy! Nice! How can I contact JMB?
ww12345 Posted November 6, 2011 Report Posted November 6, 2011 He replied in this thread! Just send him a PM.
ww12345 Posted November 6, 2011 Report Posted November 6, 2011 About that dial, shouldn't it have the SCOC text on the lower half? I don't think there were any 1016 Explorers that weren't COSC certified...
rosnik Posted November 6, 2011 Report Posted November 6, 2011 He replied in this thread! Just send him a PM. opppppppppssssssssss! thank you!
ghost Posted November 6, 2011 Author Report Posted November 6, 2011 Damn. Just when i thought i was out of the woods... yes i just checked a rollie ref book. All the 1016 dials seem to have the COSC... matter of fact the only explorer i see in the book without any lines in the lower half, only corresponds to the explorer 6610 (1030).
ww12345 Posted November 6, 2011 Report Posted November 6, 2011 That's what I thought. I don't think Rolex ever made super-lume 6610 dials, so i think your first assumption might have been right about it being fake. The odd thing is that it is being sold by Andrew Shear. Usually his stuff is on the up and up. I wonder what the story is with this one.
ghost Posted November 6, 2011 Author Report Posted November 6, 2011 i'd asked him about it coz of the smudge, but he stood behind it being 100%. And other sources have said he's a good chap so.....
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