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Update: Down the rabbit hole franken 5517 Rolex build


JCC1968

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Hi Group

 

Have had some epic advise on this website. It is true I am going down the rabbit hole HARD and I want to make my 5517 franken watch as gen as possible.. I have the most updated pic I have. I still need two things fix before I can rest on this build and start another one:

 

1) Have the second hand trimmed down. It's a Phong hand, I know a lot of people on this board warned me about this hand but, since I got a phong dial he guaranteed they would match.

 

2) I want a gen rolex crown and tube. I feel this would be the last touch needed for my build.

 

Otherwise I very happy with what has been done. I need help to finish. I am a paying customer for someone in the USA to help finish my build must have the skills and must be approved by this board

 

Thanks

Jason

IMG_20190210_140342.jpg

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Nice! Still think you would have been better served with the Yuki handset though. Apart from the second hand tail, the minute hand looks a little too long and thick to me.

Looks like the crystal has some fracturing around the edge. So you may want to replace it at some stage.

Agree, 702 crown and tube would be the way to go.

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Ugh the damn 5517 lol been a while building mine. Down to a good insert quest now. Good luck this build can be a heart breaker. 

I’ve ordered this one from Ruby.

9fffb8489f9f66fc06db14f83dde144e.jpg

http://rubyswatch.com/products/k15-|-submariner-|-5517-|-bezel-insret-1878

 

Looks like the numerals are better than the Phong I currently have installed.

2434484f76e70a5d95ead864cb5e6191.jpg&key=a7c272b5c0adf99bc34750f1d28206dfccf01722a47c4dfd789ec208f6624a8c

 

 

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10 hours ago, jackflash said:

I’ve ordered this one from Ruby.

9fffb8489f9f66fc06db14f83dde144e.jpg

http://rubyswatch.com/products/k15-|-submariner-|-5517-|-bezel-insret-1878

 

Looks like the numerals are better than the Phong I currently have installed.

2434484f76e70a5d95ead864cb5e6191.jpg&key=a7c272b5c0adf99bc34750f1d28206dfccf01722a47c4dfd789ec208f6624a8c

 

 

She has them again ??????? She told me she didnt have them anymore. Phongs are not so great and the numbers are too small... good enough but not so good. 

 

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48 minutes ago, jackflash said:


Yeap, that’s what I paid. I’ll post some shots on arrival. It’ll take a few weeks though with the snail-mail.

Just ordered two and waiting for her to get back to me.  One to sacrifice to test the aging of it and one to be a working one. 

If it shows up and it’s the same as the photos, these are currently the best 5517 on the market. 

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Here is mine using a Vietnam case, custom dial/hands, gen 1520 movement, gen crown and stem and a phong insert. 

F3837ED1-FBDC-43ED-AB6B-74BB8ECEC0EA.jpeg

19 hours ago, jackflash said:

I’ve ordered this one from Ruby.

9fffb8489f9f66fc06db14f83dde144e.jpg

http://rubyswatch.com/products/k15-|-submariner-|-5517-|-bezel-insret-1878

 

Looks like the numerals are better than the Phong I currently have installed.

2434484f76e70a5d95ead864cb5e6191.jpg&key=a7c272b5c0adf99bc34750f1d28206dfccf01722a47c4dfd789ec208f6624a8c

 

 

What seconds hand are you using ? Seems more correct than mine. 

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Here is mine using a Vietnam case, custom dial/hands, gen 1520 movement, gen crown and stem and a phong insert. 

What seconds hand are you using ? Seems more correct than mine. 

Very nice spec!

I’ve got a Yuki second hand on there, changed it so often I’m beginning to loose track. Had to shape the tip slightly too, rather than the tail.

 

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Yea it didn’t take long lol I’m anal about waiting so I got her to express it to me lol 

 

It’s quite a lot better than the Phong, the numbers are the correct size and the 5 min markers aren’t as fat and a bit longer reaching to the edges as it’s supoosed to. 

 

Here are some photos, in my watch is a ruby insert but it’s not been massaged yet so a little too crisp for the watch. The photo of the insert alone is a phong with my own pip and aged to take away some of the black above and below the numbers to make it look better vs. The stock ruby insert. 

C0E32911-0746-4C48-B427-2852B57AFF35.thumb.jpeg.813fd592d994bea2099021bc90876314.jpegB8712007-B0B2-4C4D-8C7C-3744A93AE2BC.thumb.jpeg.a646452be29473cdec087c67b0d4226c.jpeg25300702-F5F8-4993-A3DF-B0BF01F6CE37.thumb.jpeg.7b2bcaee9b3cb4d87cc2d255e0e11f9d.jpeg69757A1B-2C6F-44F4-B55E-25DF0FCDD8AC.thumb.jpeg.c21064d217823dc3475d13d2f1e5d1ce.jpeg

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Yea I’m actually pleased to see she is selling them again. As I mentioned before, she told me she didn’t have them anymore. 

I was wanting to get a project started for a custom one. 

 

But this is damn good! Maybe a serifs are minutely less than the gen but overall this is the best I’ve seen. 

 

And yea my watch needs a lot of aging overall lol it’s the only thing I’ve not done yet. Can’t decide how far to take it. 

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And yea my watch needs a lot of aging overall lol it’s the only thing I’ve not done yet. Can’t decide how far to take it. 

Don’t think you need to do much at all to the watch, just a little insert ageing. Most gens still in existence don’t look like they‘ve seen much action. Less is more
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15 hours ago, jackflash said:


Don’t think you need to do much at all to the watch, just a little insert ageing. Most gens still in existence don’t look like they‘ve seen much action. Less is more emoji106.png

Yea I’m going to only make some subtle aging to the whole watch, nothing serious. I think it’s good enough to not be masked by excessive wear that you will rarely see in the genuine watches. 

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"Yea I’m going to only make some subtle aging to the whole watch, nothing serious. I think it’s good enough to not be masked by excessive wear that you will rarely see in the genuine watches."

 

I agree.

Many project watches have been ruined by artificial ageing...imho. 

I have a small collection of 1601/1603/6605 DJ in 'as found' condition and only one shows excessive wear and they are 50 to 60 years old.

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