First Project - Explorer i 1016. Need Advice.

[sukiv]

Hello all,

 

Nice to meet you. This is my first thread on this site.

After reading and gathering information, I'm interested in starting my own project to build a mod 1016 (is that too ambitious?).
My objective is to build it for under $600. So I came up with two alternatives to build it and would like to ask you which direction should I take.

 

First:

Buy a rep 1016 

- Asian 23J Automatic Movement
- Solid316L case
- Scratchproof sapphire

- Deployant clasp

I don't really like the dial so I think I'll:
--> replace with yuki dial (but it says it'd only fit 1560/1570 or ETA 2824-2 / 2836. So I'm not sure about this)

---> or if possible can i replace the movement with the ETA 2824-2 (is it the same size as Asian 23J?)

Second:

Do everything from scratch

- Yuki 1016 dial

- Yuki 7206 bracelet
- Seagull ETA 2824-2 movement

For this direction I don't know where to get the case / bazel / crown...

 

 

Please advice an amateur like me. 

Thank you so much in advance.

[HaydenM]

Welcome to the forum,

The 1016 was my second rep and my first build and it is an absolutely marvellous build to learn the ropes on due to the relative simplicity of a 3 hander, no date.
 

My 1016 involved a:

• JMB case
• Swiss ETA 2824 from a donor movado.
• Yuki bracelet
• Yuki Dial
• Yuki hands

This build is honestly not overly difficult as long as you have basic tools and a willingness to learn. I cannot speak for what the current market price of such a build would be at current time though.

And now some pics:

Edited July 24, 2017 by HaydenM

[Dawagner]

If you can find them a Whoopy dial would be a great.

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[sukiv]

Thank you both for the reply!

@HaydenM your build is marvellous

[tomhorn]

Sorry that PhotoBucket is holding my pictures hostage, but there is a lot of information in my build thread, and there are a ton of other build threads for 1016's as it's a very popular watch to build.

[dieselpower]

Personally I'd try and get a JMB case. His work is excellent and at a reasonable price. 

 

Enjoy the ride.

[Sogeha]

Welcome to our community.

 

The 1016 was my first love when it comes to Rolex and I am still very fond of them. As was said above it is a three hand movement with no added complications to worry about.

 

I'm no wizard when it comes to watchmaking but I do know this, the most important thing is patience. Watches are fiddly little things and often when building our sort of watch with parts from here and there, problems are encountered. Learn to walk away, take a break, have a think, ask questions if you are stuck and go back to it relaxed and calm. Anyone who tells you they never ruined a part while building is probably lying and of those that admit it, I suspect most are like me and destroy parts when getting wound up because the £@@*ing thing won't fit. At times like these it is awfully tempting to use a bigger hammer and the results are never good.

[HaydenM]

Thank you both for the reply!
@HaydenM your build is marvellous

Thanks mate

Welcome to our community.
Anyone who tells you they never ruined a part while building is probably lying and of those that admit it, I suspect most are like me and destroy parts when getting wound up because the £@@*ing thing won't fit. At times like these it is awfully tempting to use a bigger hammer and the results are never good.

I know from experience the 1016 pictured above has a combination of raffles and tiki hands after I managed to mangle one of the yuki hands and that's not even mentioning how many times I reconstructed the keyless works on the 1016 build.


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[Zigoto]

On 25/07/2017 at 0:42 AM, dieselpower said:

Personally I'd try and get a JMB case. His work is excellent and at a reasonable price. 

 

Enjoy the ride.

Hi, i'd like to know how can i contact or find JMB.

 

I starting to build a 1016

 

Thanks

[Sogeha]

Click on the link and send him a message @jmb

[Zigoto]

Thanks

[panerai153]

Welcome aboard. Might want to repost this over in the Rolex forum. There have been lots of great 1016 builds over the years, and a little searching will yield plenty of information.
I agree the JMB cases are the best. He is a master machinist and his work is beautiful. Since this is a pretty simple three hand movement, you are likely to have and easier time fitting all the parts together if you use one of the "recipes" that are n some of the build threads.
As sogeha said, you are going to encounter obstacles with fitting parts, be patient you are building a watch from parts sourced from various sources and often times what looks like and exact fit will not be. Most of us here who have gathered parts for builds have a parts bin full of stuff that "almost fit", but didn't.
Good luck, and I believe that you will find lots of good folks here who are knowledgeable and are eager to share their knowledge and experiences.


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[Dani Cica]

Quick observation: you said sapphire crystal, when you should actually be getting a plexi tropic 22 crystal (you cand find a decent one for under $20)

 

 

[jmb]

Unfortunately I have not been able to get any of the 2824 16200 cases I modify into 1016 cases for almost 6 months.  I might have to think about using 2836 cases - after machining they would still have the same lug profile but the crown position will be lower.  I'm not real wild about that idea but the impression I am getting from my supplier is that the factories have bigger fish to fry than making 2824 36mm vintage style DJ cases!  He said he had a standing order for a batch but they wouldn't build any unless they ran out of other stuff to do.

[Dani Cica]

How about a 2840 from an old Swatch watch?