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Rolex GMT-Master 6542 "Pan Am" - A Rep Saga


Ishmael

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Back in September of 2014 a member by the handle of DeLaForce posted a build he’d finished in a thread. I’d never seen anything like it before and I was floored. It was a Rolex GMT ref. 6542 with a white dial. At the time I didn’t know it was the first GMT Rolex ever produced, or that the white dial – known as the “Pan Am” – was an oft-debated legendary example. I also knew I didn’t then (nor do I today) possess the skills to build something like that. Well in the time since I’ve made acquaintances (friends, really) with some people who do possess those skills. Two of them figure prominently in this saga – Jase and Rik. Rik was the builder of the aforementioned piece that served as my inspiration, and Jase… well, Jase is a god among men.

The inspiration:

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It was early July, last summer, when I approached Jase about possibly building a Pan Am. He laid out for me a few possible routes that included high-end uber builds from Phong or Minh Quy or NDT, as well as more “budget-friendly” options using Yuki as a base, and cobbling the rest of the parts together as needed. The latter option was most feasible for me at the time, and after Jase made a quick list of what he needed to get started, I sent some cash his way and we were off. I figured a month or two and I’d finally have this stunning piece on my wrist! Oh the naiveté…

What followed was what, in hindsight, could be construed as myriad warnings to cease and desist from the rep gods. Waiting over a month for a Yuki package of case, insert, and dial only to be told in the end by Yuki he’s having a problem with his insert maker, and it’s a no-go. Jase and I both emailing with MQ about pricing and being given dramatically different estimates. The mysterious disappearance of Ingod – widely considered the best option for these kinds of dials. A plethora of personal issues descending upon Jase in the middle of all this, God bless him. Parts that didn’t fit the way they should have, and new parts that were equally as unhelpful. Just when we thought we’d solved the issue at hand, another would present itself. Incredibly, Jase pressed on undeterred. I would not have blamed him for abandoning the project; in fact, at one point I recommended it.

We enlisted the help of Rik, who was intimately aware of the pitfalls of these builds, and he contributed his expertise to eventually get us over the top. He's a busy guy, but when he agreed to do the work he got right to it. It takes a village to raise a Pan Am, and Rik was brilliant so a hearty cheers goes to him! But the fact that I’m here writing this, with the watch sitting in front of me, is more than anything a tribute to Jase’s abilities and perseverance, simply because he wanted me to have a finished product I’d enjoy. And he probably doesn’t want me disclosing this because he’s a modest guy, but he didn’t charge me a dime. Nine months of work, dealing with life issues, having to remake our strategy over and over and over – he would only tell me, as I pleaded with him to take my guild-ridden money, that he just hopes I’m happy with the end result. Well I am Jase, thanks to you. Yeah, I know I’m singing an aria right now, and it’s just a damn watch, and it ain’t gonna make America great again or whatever, but his efforts were pretty special, and he should be appreciated for them by more people than just me.

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Specs:

 

- Case/case back/bezel: Yuki; Jase shaped, aged, and polished the case, modified the bezel assembly and lightly aged the insert; also formed a custom movement ring himself.

- Insert: dung_chrono on eBay

- Dial: bought from Rik so unsure of origin; aged/dulled by Jase

- Hands: Yuki hour/minute/second; Raffles small GMT; Rik machined a seconds hand tube to get the fit right; relumed to match the dial

- Crown/tube: Yuki

- Crystal: Sternkreuz 25-116

- Movement: Hangzhou 6460 GMT (clone of an ETA 2836-2)

- Roulette date wheel: Erick78 on RWI; from Italy

...

 

Along the way, as dire chance and fateful cockup would have it, I was able to acquire the piece that started it all – Rik’s Pan Am. So now I have two of these damn things, and one of ‘em probably has to go. But so that the story of this build isn’t swallowed by a quick M2M sale, this thread here stands as a tribute to Jase’s character and work, and a warning: Beware the ides of Pan Am.

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Amazing build. I'm embarking on the same quest myself: dung_chrono dial on gen plate, phong bezel, cartel base 1655, JoeyB insert. Trying to decide between a 2893 or a 2836 for the movement. I know the 2893 is a tricky fit, but it is a stellar movement... 

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Man, I can feel your pain!! As I told droptopman way back, this build is not for the faint of heart. I built one, let me rephrase that, I supplied the funds and a consortium of different members built it. I started out with a puretime 6542. Awful!! Just too many flaws to list. I was able to get a ming quy case from a fellow member that decided not to do the build. JoeyB was gracious enough to do the build initially. We started off with one of his dials, and his insert. Rafflestime GMT hand modded by joeyB. In the end, the only thing we used from the puretime was the movement, which later required a complete overhaul. We tried a gen crystal, but eventually settled on a Clark. Later when I had to have the movement overhauled, i added an Ingod dial. Probably close to the last of them before he disappeared. The final mod was sending the caseback to jmb to have the PanAm "meatball" and issue numbers engraved. Mine resides on a gen old Rolex jubilee bracelet. Ghe only thing that I might add would be a darker insert if joeyB has any. Mine is a little too bright red and blue, and the lexan that joeyB uses doesn't age and darken like the old bakelite inserts on the original Rolex 6542's.

 

All in all these are difficult frustrating builds. As the OP said, lots of parts look like they will work, only to find that they don't!! Biggest problem today is finding a quality dial since Ingod is no longer in business. Correct movements are a problem as well. The original Rolex movement was a slow beat, so the newer movements are historically incorrect. JoeyB uses the DG3804 movement which is a slow beat movement. nice thing about it they are about 30-40 bucks, so if one fails, just throw it away and replace it with a new one.

Incidentally, The color of your inserts is what I'm after. As you can see mine is more the color of a fresh new Pepsi Insert. the blue is not bad, but the red needs to be darker, more of a maroon almost.

 

Both of your 6542's are real beauties. I'm sure if you decide to sell one of them, you won't have any problem.

Here is my 6542 PanAm.

 

6542a.jpg

 

6542cc.jpg

 

6542d.jpg

 

6542f.jpg

 

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8 minutes ago, freddy333 said:

Aside from the datewheels (I would replace those asap), I can see the hard work that went into this fine project. Good job!

Agreed Freddy. As the builder of it, that was the one downfall about this watch. Unfortunately the only decent roulette wheel available was this one. Its ok but for from perfect. But again, the only one that could be found at this time :( There aren't a lot of great options out there for DWO in general. Besides PP who I think only is doing the   silver wheels

 

 

~Jase

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I would replace the duff roulette wheel with a more accurate monochrome. I would see an otherwise gen-looking GMT with an all-black wheel & think, 'Oh, someone must have replaced that gen GMT's original 'wheel with a newer monochrome 'wheel (since the roulettes have not been available for decades)', rather than, 'Oh, a rep with a dodgy-looking 'wheel.'

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8 hours ago, freddy333 said:

I would replace the duff roulette wheel with a more accurate monochrome. I would see an otherwise gen-looking GMT with an all-black wheel & think, 'Oh, someone must have replaced that gen GMT's original 'wheel with a newer monochrome 'wheel (since the roulettes have not been available for decades)', rather than, 'Oh, a rep with a dodgy-looking 'wheel.'

Fair point Freddy. Always a possibility down the road should Nick go that route. Not as if he's trying to pass off as gen so I think the dodgy rep wheel fits for now :) 

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5 minutes ago, jdog111578 said:

Fair point Freddy. Always a possibility down the road should Nick go that route. Not as if he's trying to pass off as gen so I think the dodgy rep wheel fits for now :) 

Wrong!! I'm TOTALLY trying to pass it off as a priceless gen of one of the most legendary and debated models Rolex has ever (maybe) created! Actually the truth is I just like the Pan Am meatball - slap it on a Casio and I'm happy. :inverted:

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Just now, Ishmael said:

Wrong!! I'm TOTALLY trying to pass it off as a priceless gen of one of the most legendary and debated models Rolex has ever (maybe) created! Actually the truth is I just like the Pan Am meatball - slap it on a Casio and I'm happy. :inverted:

Haha!!! I KNEW IT!!!!

Besides, who doesn't love meatballs!

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great post and congrats to the opener for his watch.

probably the only thing that is improvable is the dial colour that appears too white and clear for a clock of that age.

i would tried to make it darker, like a very light yellow or a dirty white

not ruined like this, but just for example... ;)

2010-15.jpg

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