junbug5150 Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 The Explorer History:The Explorer series is perhaps one of the more underappreciated lines by Rolex. Yet, it is the oldest Rolex series that’s still being produced today. While versions of the Explorer existed prior to (See 6150, 6298, & 6098), it was not officially registered until 1953 when Rolex register the first Explorer with their 6350 model. As a comparison the ever-popular Submariner series came a year later in 1954, followed by their GMT series in 1955. Their 6350 was also the first to carry the name ‘Explorer’ on the dial. It can be argued that it was simply Rolex’s marketing, which coincided when Sir Hillary climbed Mt. Everest that gave the line its allure today. The Passion and Pursuit:The Explorer line has been my personal favorite. The simplicity of the dial and case, combined with the distinct 3-6-9 drew me to the superfluous 1016s. My first was from Stan, which I sold after owning the piece no more than 3 weeks. Since letting that go, I’ve been wanting to get my hands on another. I decided to build my own as I came across a great deal on 1016 cases from stonep, who I was lucky to connect. He now owns my wallet. In fact, I built a pair: one for wife and one for myself. Extra kudos as I was able to finish right before Mother’s Day: https://www.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php/222377-Finally-finished-My-wife-s-1016?highlight=wife+1016Being the serial flipper that I am, the build I made for myself found itself on the m2m sales thread shortly after. But I was drawn to the Gilt 1016 dial which belonged to my wife. I knew jmb case was the only way to go for another 1016 build so I had Justin make me one. The Gilt dial I chose was Yuki and it’s been my favorite since. While I flip watches frequently, this one will certainly stick around: https://www.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php/264329-My-Ultimate-1016?highlight=wife+1016A simple question by Mendota regarding the chapter ring on the dial landed me to this article: http://le-monde-edmond.com/in-depth-review-rolex-6350-explorer/. I was hooked. The 6350 was going to be my next project. In this article I learned not just the Explorer history, but one of the most collectible version of the 6350: The Honeycomb. When vito1 found the refinished Beyeler dial on the Bay, I knew it had to be mine. Once I secured the dial I couldn’t hold myself back. And now it’s complete: My 6350 The Result:Specs:- Refinished Beyeler 6350 Honeycomb dial- - jmb v2 case vintaged and caseback bubbled by Justin; Engraved with my birth year- - Gen 6mm Brevet + crown- - Gen T22 domed plexi- - Felsa 4007n from Ofrei- - Lollipop hands- - Vintage 20mm strap from Etsy- - 2mm spring bars The Struggles:This wasn’t without its fair share of challenges. The T-22 wouldn’t fit inside the jmb bezel and the Brevet crown wasn’t made for modern gen tubes. Thankfully Justin told me to hold off on tapping the case until I verify the size. I had a rep crown that happened to thread with the Brevet, but was too long and needed to be shaved. All of the above, jmb handled for me.Once I began assembling everything together, I ran into a few more problems. The lollipop hands I got looked weird with the white lume paste, so I had to remove it and re-apply a yellowish paste. The dial diameter was too big to fit the case so I had to shave it down. Same with the movement holder. Felsa says it’s 11.5 ligne, but I think it’s a bit bigger than that since none of my movement holders worked. Finally, I had to broach the second hand. The 4007n has a 0.21mm for their second hand vs. 0.25mm on ETAs. After a few attempts I was finally able to put this thing together. Acknowledgement: Special thank you to those mentioned in this thread. I especially want to thank Justin for working with me on this project. I’m very fortunate that we share the same passion for the Explorers and wouldn’t have been able to finish this without his help. Cheers to you, sir. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 Man, that turned out great and the gen dome has incredible clarity! You are correct about the Felsa, it's a hair larger in OD than the ETA and needs to be sanded.Time to decide on another project! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
droptopman Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 Awesome build man. Unique and different. Really dig the texture on the dial. Love the dome plexi too. This is one of the coolest builds I have seen. Congrats 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanuq Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 Magnificent result! It's got understated character out the wazzoo. Hang onto that one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jelliottz Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 I love the dial. The 6350 is a fantastic choice. Well done. Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
508-Fanatic Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 That dial has so much depth and class to it, really unique! Hats off to you on a fantastic build. Definitely a keeper, if you ever wish to sell please let me know 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max72 Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 Beauty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beachcomber Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 What a classic, this is truly a beautiful build. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daovto Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 Saw this last night and it blew my mind..and I've discovered another model... great when you learn about these more uncommon models. They really lend themselves to rep/frank'in... they are fantasy builds for most of us I guess. This is a peach - congrats:) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 Well done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 Beautiful! I love that dial... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieselpower Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 Beautiful. Just beautiful. Superb work all concerned. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junbug5150 Posted November 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 Thank you guys so much! Means a lot coming from you guys on this forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ogladio Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 Am late to the party and notice you having appraisals from the vintage Rolex gurus of this forum, nevertheless I must also salute you! Love that you decided to go with the unique 6350 and a gen dial on top of that. The superdome 22 and the plus crown gives the extra cherries on top, great work! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junbug5150 Posted November 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 Thank you!Quick comparison between mine and this article I based this watch off of: http://le-monde-edmond.com/in-depth-review-rolex-6350-explorer/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daovto Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 Now you just showing off...! ;-)Nice strap too 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highoeyazmuhudee Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 thats really cool 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slay Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 Nice!! How much did you pay for the brevet crown?Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junbug5150 Posted November 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 Nice!! How much did you pay for the brevet crown? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk$175. I haven't seen these go for less than $250. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 That is the best Explorer that I've seen, period. That honeycomb dial really makes it special. Beautiful work.Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmj Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 Very very nice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue. Posted November 25, 2015 Report Share Posted November 25, 2015 Congratulations for this very nice Honeycomb Explorer!To my knowledge this is by far the only one built here in the last years, pretty unique and even the genuine version is quite rare to find too.I remember Lhooq mentioned that he might want to built one Honeycomb Explorer some time in the future ... Keep that Explorer this is the sort of builds that one would like to pass over to his kids when the time comes.Until then wear and enjoy as much as you can in good health! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted November 29, 2015 Report Share Posted November 29, 2015 Fantastic build 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
automatico Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 It looks like you saved some $$ too. http://www.network54.com/Forum/207673/message/1448854851/FS-+v.Rare+6350+Explorer+%2A%2AHoneycomb%2A%2A+dial 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junbug5150 Posted November 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 It looks like you saved some $$ too. http://www.network54.com/Forum/207673/message/1448854851/FS-+v.Rare+6350+Explorer+%2A%2AHoneycomb%2A%2A+dialHa! I saw this the other day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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