Rolex 36mm Dials

[DoMeister]

Hi, 

Im new here and hoping to ask a few questions to clarify a few confusing areas and identify some solutions. 

 

A 1601 had a 1570 cal and the dial feet positioned at 30/57 (y/n?)

 

A 16014 had a 3035 cal and feet position at 12/37 (y/n?)

 

Are the cases and cal above the same dimensions? 

 

In a 1601 case...

A 2824-2 is a smaller dimension and height to the 1570 and therefore needs two spacer rings, 1 between the movement and the casing and one between the movement and the dial? 

 

A 2824-2 also needs a h4 hour wheel to allow for the correct height needed. 

 

A 30/57 dial from a 1601 should the screw directly into the base plate of the 2824-2?

 

A 12/37 will not. It requires its feet to be repositioned? Are there adapters on the market to save the feet being removed fully?

 

if one was determined to use a 12/37 dial in a 1601 would an alternative ETA be required? 

 

Lastly, where do I source the parts these days, a lot of the posts I have read are quite old now. The Bay would be easier. 

 

Thanks all Dom 

[automatico]

"A 1601 had a 1570 cal and the dial feet positioned at 30/57 (y/n?)"

Yes

 

"A 16014 had a 3035 cal and feet position at 12/37 (y/n?)"

Yes  

Note:  The 16xx dials are dished down at the outer edge and 160xx/162xx dials are flat (same dial foot location on 3035/3135) so this must be taken into consideration when using a 16xx case vs a 160xx or 162xx case.  On top of that, the 3035 movement is thicker than a 3135 movement from the stem center to the dial so the cases are different.  On the same note, an ETA 2836 will not fit properly in a case made for an ETA 2824.  So...the hit or miss rule is a case made to rolex 3035 spec will usually accept an ETA 2836 and a case made to rolex 3135 spec will usually accept an ETA 2824.  The key word being usually.

 

"A 30/57 dial from a 1601 should the screw directly into the base plate of the 2824-2?"

No.  Any rolex 15xx, 30xx, 31xx dial will not work on an ETA 28xx because the dial feet are in a different location from the ETA.

 

"A 2824-2 also needs a h4 hour wheel to allow for the correct height needed."

You will need more than that.  You can look at  eBay item number  132956881176  for a list of the parts that are needed.

 

"A 12/37 will not. (fit an ETA 28xx)  It requires its feet to be repositioned? Are there adapters on the market to save the feet being removed fully?"

I have read that some ETA main plates can be drilled to accept some rolex dials but I have never tried it and do I know which dials/movements might work.

 

"if one was determined to use a 12/37 dial in a 1601 would an alternative ETA be required?"

A '12/37' dial for a rolex 3035/3135 will fit into a 16xx case but you have to take into account that you are using a flat dial in place of a dished dial so the movement thickness will come into play.  This all consists of complicated procedures (believe it or not), and just a few hundredths of a millimeter can make a big difference.

 

A smart man once said  "The only substitute for knowledge is money."  He was right. 

Read and learn. 

 

Btw, buying a watch from BK etc might be the way to go starting out because any mistakes made on a project are part of the overall cost of the resulting watch and this often adds up to more than a ready made watch would cost.

Good luck!

 

 

 

 

[alligoat]

Building a DJ using a 1600 case, a 2824-2 with a DWO and a 16000 flat dial (or a 16200 dial- they're pretty close to the same) should be pretty simple. I did something similar when I built a 1016 with a 1601 DJ case.

You can get the #2 spacer ring from raffles and you might need to pick up a 600 DJ 6mm crown, but it was a pretty simple build. Oh, you can get the hands from Clark's.

[DoMeister]

@automatico thanks for taking the time to walk through those questions. I needed some straightening out on a few things! 

 

@alligoat thanks, I want to keep it simple alright, too many mistakes could spoil an enjoyable new hobby! I picked up a #600 crown ✅ I just bought 2x spacers from raffles ✅ I bought a crystal from Clark, are their crystals good? Nostalgia-2000 on the bay - is that correct? Then with your build, do I still need the h4 3 piece kit? 

 

Thx Dom

 

[alligoat]

I did not need the h4 kit. On DJs the hour hand travels inside the hour markers and the minute hand clears the hour markers, as does the seconds hand which goes on  last.

Clark's crystals are fine