Complete Build Thread: Franken Rolex 69173 (Ladies 26mm Datejust)

[junbug5150]

Hi everyone,

 

I scored an awesome deal on a full Rolex 69173 case set on the Bay and I’ve always wanted to build one of these. There are some information out there on how to build these, but I haven’t come across any that are compiled so I put this together for anyone that wants to build one.

 

Here’s the parts list:

 

 

- Gen Rolex 69173 Case Set

- Gen Rolex 69173 Dial

- ETA 2671

- Champaign DWO (sourced from Riyi)

- Gold hands for ETA 2671 (sourced from Riyi)

- 13mm TT Sterile Jubilee bracelet (sourced from Riyi)

- 3M Double-sided Adhesive (sourced from WSO)

- Dial Adhesive Strips

- 7.75 ligne Plastic Movement Spacer (sourced from Esslinger)

- Bergeon dial feet posts

 

 

 

Step #1: DWO

 

You’ll first put the overlay on the existing DW. The ETA 2671 has a sunken DW so you’ll need to ensure proper clearance so the DWO doesn’t snag the movement.

 

jmb actually had a cool hack he described here: https://rwg.cc/topic/140693-franken-ladies-dj/

 

Since I didn’t have another DW, I decided to use the 3M Double-sided Adhesive. I somewhat ‘balled-up’ the adhesive so it lifted the DWO over the movement.

 

 

I first added the adhesive on 2 locations: over the 12 & 18. DWOs are a PIA to align so I only added the adhesive in these 2 locations so I could re-align if needed.

 

 

Once I had it aligned I just added the balled-up adhesive to other parts of between the DW and the DWO. Simply lift the DWO slightly, position the adhesive, press down.

 

 

Step #2: Positioning the Dial

 

Dial adhesive on builds with DWOs aren’t my favorite. The dial can easily move when the stem is pulled/pressed too hard. In theory this is where the Bergeon dial feet would have been helpful. Check out this amazing thread on HF:

 

http://www.homageforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=1419

 

Unfortunately the DWO overlapped the dial feel slots so I had to go with the Dial adhesive. This one was a real bummer because I was excited to try out the HF method.

 

 

Align the dial onto the movement. Make sure you double up on the Dial Adhesive so the dial doesn’t press down onto the DWO. Adjust time until the date flips over and attach the hands.

 

 

Clean the dial and case and begin to assemble them together.

 

 

 

Step #3: Movement Spacer

 

Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the most annoying part of building: movement spacers. Originally my plan was to use Ken’s brass movement ring (Raffles Time), but he was out of them.

 

 

So I ordered the plastic ring from Esslinger and shaved it down to size.

 

 

This ended up not working, because the spacer wasn’t tall enough to contact the caseback threads. These things hold the movement and dial in place, but is also secured in place by the caseback pressing down on them.

 

My solution was rubber gaskets. I took the measurements from Ken’s website and found some rubber gaskets that were pretty close. Gaskets normally provide you with the inner/outer diameter information so this made sourcing them relatively easy. The one’s I found were perfect in securing the movement in place and tall enough for the caseback threads to make contact.

 

 

Photo may not show very well, but the gasket is squeezed in between the case and movement and keeps it in place very secure.

 

Assembly complete.

 

 

 

Better pics.

 

 

 

And now it’s onto the next. I may consider a different dial that’s in better shape if I find one at a good price.

 

Oh, and I also have a ton of these rubber gaskets now so PM me if you need some.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

[Stephane]

I know how long it takes to put such a post together.
And I also remember when doing so that few of us take the time to say thank you even if most of us are grateful.

 

So, thank you for taking the time to share this with the membership.
Well done.

Cheers
Stephane

[Sogeha]

+1 Thank you

[jmb]

Good job on a more than average difficulty build.  I'm not sure why more of us don't build a nice Ladies DJ for the wife/GF.  My wife refuses to wear a "mans" watch so I don't have any choice!