eVojlib Posted December 22, 2012 Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 (edited) It's been a long time coming and its almost there.... Its was a fascination I had since I was a young kid to own a watch rich in history, a watch that has a long history being one of Rolex's most popular sport models. The GMT Master with its unique Pepsi colored bezel insert is probably one of my favorite vintage pieces, or atleast on of the top 5. Being very interested in this watch I decided to do a little research and put together what I felt was a encyclopedia members could use to compare the variations of GMT's offered thru the years. Actually it was somthing that I wanted to use as a segue to a build that I had been working on for over a year or so, it quickly got out of hand as the information just hept stacking up and my build was nowhere near done. I would deffinately say this watch is a pain to build with great accuracy and reliability, there are many variables one would consider when creating this watch. It was my goal to build a version of the 1675 that would be accurate to a late 70's model and this is what I ended up with. Although not quite finished at the moment, its very close to being completed. I would like to thank PBdad for helping me with this build and his patience to see it thru. It was our vision to complete the build with the following parts and modifications. - Phongs 1675 case and caseback - Gen 116 Plexi - Gen Crown and Tube - Gen Service dial w/ luminova - Gen 7836 Folded Bracelet - Gen Pepsi Insert - Gen bezel assy - Gen ETA 2893-2 with pinion modification For anyone wanting to enjoy more pictures and history if this great watch just visit the sticky section at the top of the Rolex page and see parts 1 and 2. http://www.rwgforum.net/topic/149110-rolex-gmt-master-history-and-reference-pictoral-part-1/ http://www.rwgforum.net/topic/149112-rolex-gmt-master-history-and-reference-pictoral-part-2/ Thanks for looking guys... Pics anyone??? Edited December 22, 2012 by eVojlib Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zeleni kukuruz Posted December 22, 2012 Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 CONGRTATES!!! Looks amazing!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanuq Posted December 22, 2012 Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 Spectacular!!! I notice one detail that has me scratching my chin. Leave it to vintage Rolex to do the inexplicable. Yours is a SWISS dial, but I doubt it dates earlier than my tropical gilt. And yet look at mine! Sooooo strange. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eVojlib Posted December 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 Spectacular!!! I notice one detail that has me scratching my chin. Leave it to vintage Rolex to do the inexplicable. Yours is a SWISS dial, but I doubt it dates earlier than my tropical gilt. And yet look at mine! Sooooo strange. Ha ha, this is what happens when you send your 1675 to rolex for a dial service... They install the "swiss" service dial w luminova, its the latest of dial variants of a 1675 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polexpete Posted December 22, 2012 Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 Very nice indeed, what datewheel did you use ..? P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krpster Posted December 22, 2012 Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 Outstanding. It is also my favorite vintage rollie. Very nicely done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eVojlib Posted December 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 Very nice indeed, what datewheel did you use ..? P. Its an eta overlay I found on ebay, it has no open 6 or 9 but some numbers have a vintage font as opposed to more modern and vice versa. I picked this over the silver one for the time being as the silver has too much sparkle and I figured it would look odd with the newer looking dial. I am very happy with the dwo and how it aligns, althougt the reason the date is riding low is the movement has shifted slightly lending to that effect. My next step is a custom movement holder ring and a true vintage overlay. If you have any leads on either that would be great. Thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polexpete Posted December 22, 2012 Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 Its an eta overlay I found on ebay, it has no open 6 or 9 but some numbers have a vintage font as opposed to more modern and vice versa. I picked this over the silver one for the time being as the silver has too much sparkle and I figured it would look odd with the newer looking dial. I am very happy with the dwo and how it aligns, althougt the reason the date is riding low is the movement has shifted slightly lending to that effect. My next step is a custom movement holder ring and a true vintage overlay. If you have any leads on either that would be great. Thanks guys Good vintage overlays are hard to come by especially as the flaws are noticeable in the cyclops. The silver cartel one are pretty bad for that. I just brought a couple of gen vintage ones with the right date rotation, they do exist. Problem is making them thin enough to use as an overlay. i destroyed one trying to work it on my 1675. Yuki supposedly has the movement holders ... Cheers P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eVojlib Posted December 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 Good vintage overlays are hard to come by especially as the flaws are noticeable in the cyclops. The silver cartel one are pretty bad for that. I just brought a couple of gen vintage ones with the right date rotation, they do exist. Problem is making them thin enough to use as an overlay. i destroyed one trying to work it on my 1675. Yuki supposedly has the movement holders ... Cheers P. Tell you what P, if you run across an overlay that has the vintage fonts and will work with the 2893 let me know. I would be very interested in one since my current one is good quality but wrong font Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mir36 Posted December 22, 2012 Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 That's a sweet build! From the parts list looks like you could've had a gen vintage for a few more $$! Congratulations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eVojlib Posted December 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 That's a sweet build! From the parts list looks like you could've had a gen vintage for a few more $$! Congratulations! Thanks... It was an expensive build at just over 2 k, however, for me to find a gen in this condition I would have doubled my investment. Although, it heavily weighed on me every time the project stalled Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhooq Posted December 22, 2012 Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 Jealousy... Bad for Christmas. Congratulations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwatch Posted December 22, 2012 Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 Looks great!! Congrats on the build!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielv2000 Posted December 22, 2012 Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 Beautiful! Enjoy this iconic piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted December 22, 2012 Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 The watch, the photographs: stunning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Posted December 23, 2012 Report Share Posted December 23, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akira Posted December 23, 2012 Report Share Posted December 23, 2012 Looking sharp! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big0spin Posted December 25, 2012 Report Share Posted December 25, 2012 Amazing piece, would so love to build something similar circa 1972. Big respect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6now Posted December 27, 2012 Report Share Posted December 27, 2012 This is definitely one amazing build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted December 27, 2012 Report Share Posted December 27, 2012 Beautiful build. That is a really nice version with the service dial,hands. you get lots of lume, and it's certainly keeping with what you would get back if you sent your vintage to a Rolex Service Center and did not specifically tell them to leave the dial and hands the hell alone!! Using the Phong case solves one of the biggest problems that I see with most 1675/16750 builds, the width of the case guard space. All the others use a 6mm crown and when you try to build a 1675 and use a proper 5.3 crown, it's a glaring defect because the space between the crown and the crown guards is way too wide. yours looks great! Nice to see that you were able to use a 2893-2, as it is a really good GMT movement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted December 27, 2012 Report Share Posted December 27, 2012 real nice. Love that Gen insert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.