panerai153 Posted August 25, 2013 Report Share Posted August 25, 2013 I've posted a couple of threads here about my 16613 that I bought back in March. First thread, everyone said the dial was terrible, which it was, and the worst thing, the case is none gen like and will not accept a gen bezel or crystal. Since I'm pretty into frankens, I was not happy with the watch, but what the heck, it could be fixed. When folks post here, and ask about building watches, I have always chimed in with advice about deciding what you want to do, make a budget and try as much as you can to stick to it. Sort of "plan your build, build your plan" great advice, right, too bad I'm not good at taking my own advice. I think now with 20-20 hindsight, a piecemeal build is probably the most dangerous to your wallet. you do a little something, quit for a while decide to do more, buy a couple of parts, send it off and when you get it home, you repeat the cycle. Sort of like someone building a two room house and then adding a new room every year or two until he has a 3 bedroom 2500 Sq. Ft house. in the end, lots more expensive than building it the first time. So here is my little tale of the "add on "watch. This watch has a long torturous history!! I bought it from a repgeek member in Greece. It started life as an old Eddie Lee TW best 16613 sub. I purchased a gen insert and crown from a member here. I sent it to Matt (mymanmatt) and he installed the insert, and a gen tube and the gen crown. He told me at the time the case was not gen like construction and he couldn't get the bezel off without bending it. Also it wouldn't take a gen crystal. So we went with what we had. I posted a review with a bunch of photos on RWG, and everyone pretty much agreed including me the dial was horrible. So back to Matt and a gen dial which he procured for me. When I got it back, the lumi dial glowed like a torch, but the rep hands were not so good, so I packed it up and sent it up to MD2020 to get the hands lumed to match the dial, no problem, got it done, got it back and the lume was very nice, matched perfectly. In the meantime, I got hold of a ST3135 case. This one is very, very close to the gen case. Matt also found a brand new 18k aftermarket bezel that I purchased, so packed it up and back to Matt for the third time. He replaced the case with the 3135 case, installed the 18k bezel, a gen crystal, gasket and retaining ring, my gen dial and insert and drilled out the bracelet endlinks to accept gen springbars. So 6 months later the only thing left from the old TW best 16613 are the movement, hands and bracelet!! It took a while and had I done my homework before buying rather than after, I might have just started with parts and gone from there. I got the watch in early March and got it back in the final version from Matt this past Thursday. So total three trips to Dallas and one to Chicago. Too bad I couldn't get frequent flier miles for it's travels. Sum total, I very reluctantly added up what it cost me, and the total comes out to a little North of 2.1K. I'm not real sure what I could have saved by starting off with a TC 16613 or just a gen spec case to start with, but if I had assembled all the parts at th4e beginning, it would have meant one trip to the watchmaker, not three. So that alone probably saves 120 or so dollars just in postage and insurance. Well no matter the costs, and all those trips to the PO, it's done, and finished!!! Nothing more, just a lot of wrist time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtiis Posted August 25, 2013 Report Share Posted August 25, 2013 Congrats - a true blue for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenking Posted August 25, 2013 Report Share Posted August 25, 2013 I am very jealous Arthur...Amazing build!Wear it in good health! I am also now in hunt for a 16613 but I can't pay what you invested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted August 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2013 I am very jealous Arthur...Amazing build!Wear it in good health! I am also now in hunt for a 16613 but I can't pay what you invested. I can't either!!! I would have probably had an MI if I had kept up with the costs. It doesn't hurt as much, because you aren't paying attention when you spread it out over months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolexman Posted August 25, 2013 Report Share Posted August 25, 2013 Looking good buddy! But what's up with those hands? They look terrible. What a waste of an almost perfect build. I would either clean or replace them ASAP. PS: why does the second hand lume does not match the other hands? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted August 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2013 Man, you know, I never noticed that. At some point, I'll send it to Matt, he has someone in Dallas who is a professional dial refinisher who can redo them or replace them. Thanks for pointing that out. At normal hand to eye distance it's not visible. I actually took some more photos this afternoon and i'll look at them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eduardor Posted August 25, 2013 Report Share Posted August 25, 2013 Great build man! Itcame out really nice. This is one of my future projects as well 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woof* Posted August 25, 2013 Report Share Posted August 25, 2013 That's a beauty pan! I did about the same thing with my vintage Seadweller. I bought the rep from josh. I sent it to Jmb for proper Lugholes, gen crown/tube. Then a bit later I bought an Ingod great white dial, and also scored a gen service T39. Back to J...when it was finished I hated it. The case looked wrong...all bulged in the wrong places. I couldn't stand the watch. Then I happened to hook up with a nos MBW case set and sent the whole mess with a better movement back to Jmb. He swapped it all over the the MBW case. When I got it I was in love! Well then I got an email from Phong telling me he had the Hev's back in stock. Lol...yep as soon as I got the valve in the mail ...back off to J! Now it's time to finally have it finished... it needs and expert cream relume. But geeez, all those trips back and forth to J! I could have done it all as you say.... with a little planning and saved money and J's time! Again, you've got a stunner of a watch now! I want the same one, but black! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
van_damme1988 Posted August 25, 2013 Report Share Posted August 25, 2013 A true stunner! Amazing build. Wear it well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irolexu Posted August 26, 2013 Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 Ive seen your watch in person from tw best and its final stages and all I can say is wow! it turned out great! I of course went thru this with the stainless from TW best to super super franken and doing it again with a SEAN YM. Only thing it needs is a nice set of new hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docthor Posted August 26, 2013 Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 Congrats mate...a nice build and a nice story too But...what about the bezel fitment (to case)...looks weird on this pic... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ck5533 Posted August 26, 2013 Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 (edited) sometime in our life, we all forgot how much we have spent in certain things especially pursuing dreams.............hobby/interest. I watch what I spend because I can't afford it. There are a few times I nearly fell into traps and forget the budget line. At the end for some reasons, I did not pull the trigger. But I think, no matter what, if you enjoy it and fulfilling your desires, that's all matter and WORTH IT. Wear it in good health. You deserve it. p/s: BTW, I am collecting parts for franken 16613 black/gold Edited August 26, 2013 by ck5533 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted August 26, 2013 Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 Looks good A! Sure you could do a new set of hands, but that's no big deal Now you've got a nice franken w gen bezel construction. Congrats The 16613 isn't an easy build by any means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted August 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 Looks good A! Sure you could do a new set of hands, but that's no big deal Now you've got a nice franken w gen bezel construction. Congrats The 16613 isn't an easy build by any means. You are right about the build, you warned me about all this way back when I first posted the TW best photos!! I do like this one a lot, and It is sure to be a permanent part of my collection. Thanks very much for your input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceocorona Posted August 27, 2013 Report Share Posted August 27, 2013 One of my all time favorite rolex watches. Great piece! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ck5533 Posted August 27, 2013 Report Share Posted August 27, 2013 @panerai153 what color is the date disc, cream? definitely not champagne or white right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted August 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2013 @panerai153 what color is the date disc, cream? definitely not champagne or white right? Looks like a sort of off white, or maybe cream,not champagne or white Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grifter Posted August 27, 2013 Report Share Posted August 27, 2013 i know what you mean... did almost the same thing with my last build. hahaha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted September 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 Some questions were raised about the color of the lume on the hands as well as the date wheel color. I took a few more photos with a better camera and here are the results. Dial face on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenking Posted September 2, 2013 Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 A may I ask you which was the total of this stunning build? Thank you! G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted September 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 A may I ask you which was the total of this stunning build? Thank you! G Just a little over 2K USD. I got a good deal on some of the parts though, however anyone could do the same if you just watch the sales forums and Ebay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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