ww12345 Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Bizarre. :S Well, if it makes you happy, go with it! 99% of people won't even notice what watch you have on anyway, so if you can stand it, vaya con Dios. As a bonus, you can tell what time it is at night still... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Shear is generally reliable, but not infallible. I have never seen an original 1016 without the SCOC & SWISS - T < 25 on the dial. But, as is often the case with vintage Rolex, never say never. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ww12345 Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 True, I don't know why a Lumi replacement dial would have T Swiss T. Weren't those generally transition dials, and usually an add-on to an existing Swiss dial? Why would this be on a service dial? Lots of questions; I wonder if Shear has any answers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhooq Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 Ugh, I don't know what's wrong with my eyes. Yes, the absence of text in the lower half is highly unusual, to say the least. The dial doesn't appear to be an aftermarket item, and the application of the lume suggests a 1980s service unit. But it's an odd one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolfire Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 Weird variation, i must add on your service dial, G... But what do we know when it comes to Rolex. Maybe another expert would to like to chime in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost Posted November 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 Woe is me. Maybe i'll send it back to him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosnik Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 One question. Do 1600 series case, got 19mm lugh ? Is it correct for 1016? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhooq Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 One question. Do 1600 series case, got 19mm lugh ? Is it correct for 1016? Nico: All of the Datejusts, including the 1600 series, have 20mm lug widths--the same as the 1016. I compared some of the DJ cases you could use for an Explorer project in this thread. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosnik Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 Thank you , Martin! Is it the 1500 series that got 19mm Lugs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 Yep, 1500, 5500, 6694 and 1002 are all 19mm- all of the 34mm cases. For a circa 1999-2000 luminova replacement dial, that 1016 dial is certainly an oddity w/o the SCOC wording- almost like a Rolex reject that missed the trash can and made it out into the real world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosnik Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 Yep, 1500, 5500, 6694 and 1002 are all 19mm- all of the 34mm cases. thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted November 8, 2011 Report Share Posted November 8, 2011 The dial doesn't appear to be an aftermarket item Hmm..............I was thinking just the opposite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost Posted November 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2011 Thanks for all the input guys. I messaged Andrew Shear. He's dead certain coz of its source. He says it was a service dial of a possible transitional dial. And that the "T Swiss T" markings were not altogether inconsistent as he had service dials of 1675s with a similar deal Dunno man. Regardless i guess i'll just use it for whichever project that floats by me, by way of providence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted November 8, 2011 Report Share Posted November 8, 2011 Since the dial is a luminova service dial, the T Swiss T marking is fine. This dial dates to around 1998-2000. I've seen 1680 dials that were marked Swiss- T<25 and lumed with luminova. My 16800 has a c. 1998 service dial marked the same- Swiss- T<25 and it still glows like a torch- luminova. The T Swiss T mark would hark back to a circa 1963 dial- at the time that Rolex was switching from radium to tritium and adding the T's to either side of the Swiss. I still can't explain the lack of SCOC or maybe the older OCC. Even the 5504 Explorers were marked Precision on the bottom half. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost Posted November 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 yeah i've no idea. Maybe i should've asked around before buying it, but it was bought on a whim. I didn't actually think i would've won the auction at that price i guess. If anyone is interested in seeing shear's full reply to my enquiries (for whatever reason), just pm me and i'll forward you his reply Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 If it is authentic it would definitely be a conversation piece and I suppose somewhat of a rarity... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolfire Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 If it is authentic it would definitely be a conversation piece and I suppose somewhat of a rarity... Absolutely. And I'll hopefully be lucky enough to try it on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost Posted November 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 Haha Thanks J! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhooq Posted December 30, 2011 Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 Regarding the dial ghost bought from Shear: I was leafing through my green Skeet/Urul book, and came across the page for Sotheby's London, 23 March 1999. At the bottom left is a 5504 Explorer with a black 3/6/9 dial that reads "Rolex Oyster Perpetual" only. No "Explorer" and no SCOC/OCC/Precision/&c. The entry says, "This watch has a later dial which does not have Explorer on it - this is a replacement dial issued by Rolex and was never fitted to any model." Granted, that's a 5504 not a 1016, not to mention the usual caveats about Skeet/Urul. But it's interesting that Rolex would produce a dial like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stilty Posted December 30, 2011 Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 The frog foot crown is throwing me off. Don't snip the feet. try and find a non date 1570 movement and a 162XX case. You will be able to fit the 1570 with the dial in a 162XX case. Also the tropic 22 fits the case no problem. You will just need to find a bezel, or modify a 16200 bezel to fit over the tropic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost Posted January 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2012 LHOOQ, i'd also seen a pic of an explorer without said writings! Can't remember the model number. I'm away now but shall endeavour to post pics when i'm back home. Stilty, i've gotten myself a 1601, and was intending to drop the dial in. Dunno if it can be done? Also, how do i go about sourcing this tropic 22? I tried ebaying it but all the available crystals come with cyclops. We're talking gen crystals, not clark's right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhooq Posted January 1, 2012 Report Share Posted January 1, 2012 ghost: There've been a number of good builds from members who've used the 1601. Just to name three, there's ubiquitous, alligoat, and me. There's some good information in response to my thread here. Regarding the Tropic 22, it's a much rarer crystal to find in the wild than, say, a T19 or a T21. You could try asking around VRM, but don't be surprised at paying at least $150 for a service crystal, and at least $250 for an older, domed T22. Also, posting a WTB over there is fraught with risk, so make sure you know the seller. As far as aftermarket options go, automatico turned me onto the GS Tropic 22. If you can find one, I recommend it over the Clark T22. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost Posted January 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2012 Thx so much man! I assume the old trick of heating the cyclops off can't apply to these non sapphire deals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhooq Posted January 1, 2012 Report Share Posted January 1, 2012 Thx so much man! I assume the old trick of heating the cyclops off can't apply to these non sapphire deals I don't think it would work, but more importantly, I'm not sure which crystal you'd want to do that to. As far as I know, the Tropic 22 has no Cyclope equivalent i.e. 29.5/31.1mm inner/outer diameters. You'd be better off using a Tropic 21 (29.5/30.6mm). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
automatico Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 "Don't snip the feet." "Shear is generally reliable, but not infallible. I have never seen an original 1016 without the SCOC & SWISS - T < 25 on the dial. But, as is often the case with vintage Rolex, never say never." Very good advice. Find out all you can about the dial before you kill it. Without dial feet it is no longer worth much. It might be a 'collector item' "...the GS Tropic 22. If you can find one, I recommend it over the Clark T22." The GS part number is PA 464 64C. About $10 or $12US. I have used many of them without any trouble at all. "There've been a number of good builds from members who've used the 1601." One problem is after drilling the lugs out for genspec springbars there is sometimes not much metal left in the lugs around the holes...usually depending on how much the case has been ground and polished in this area. Do not drill the holes any bigger than absolutely necessary and do not taper the holes on the outside as genuine cases are flat across the holes. The reason why you see tapered holes in pictures of vintage watches is because of careless polishing on the sides of the case. Sometimes a slight taper on the holes inside the lugs can help with getting the springbars in. The 1016 case is quite a bit different from a 1600/1/3 and has slightly thicker lugs to allow for the bigger sb holes, an O section caseback gasket (the 1600/1/3 has a flat gasket), and the thicker crystal. 1016 = 330 feet/100M WR 1600/1/3 = 165 ft/50M WR A first class 1016 or 16200 case with new tube, crown, crystal, and gaskets will probably go 150 or 200M...but by then your head will have caved in like a milk carton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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