Startime's source for the 3135 replacement case?

[RickFlorida]

Hi everyone,

 

So I'm thinking of doing a second build and I'm remembering what a pain in the ass it is to find 5513 replacement cases.   In the past, I've made posts about 3d printing resin molds and then casting them in stainless steel but after experimenting with my casting and molding equipment I use to make jewelry and doing research, I highly doubt the end product would have a good enough finish and be waterproof.  (my idea would require extensive machining to make the final product look right)

 

For my first good build, I use an MQ Vietnam case.   I love it but it's a pain in the ass to order from MQ due to them not taking PayPal or Credit Cards and while I think I will purchase my next 5513 replacement case from RubyWatch, he is often out of stock.  He may also not accept Pay Pal for all I know and it will be a huge drama of dealing with Western Union to Vietnam again.   Perhaps money transfers in the U.K. are easier but I find them in the U.S. to be ridiculously expensive and paperwork driven.   (I had to create an account with Western Union just to send the dang money!)

 

Anyways, what is the deal with Startime having a source for 3135 movement submariner cases but that source does not make 5513 cases?  Rolex made the 5513 case for over 30 years and you can fit so many different rolex movements in it.   Wouldn't they sell more 5513 cases than 3135 cases since you can fit so many rolex movements in the 5513?   I actually called Startime today and asked if the source made a 5513 replacement case and they said they only know about these 3135's they sell.  She said she thinks the source is Swiss but that's it and that there is no hope on getting 5513 cases.

 

Could this just be a mistake by the source that they don't realize how many 5513 cases they would sell if they made it and they just assume the 3135 submariner is newer and that is what would sell more replacement cases?   How can we find and contact the swiss source that makes startime's 3135 submariner cases and explain that they would sell more 5513 cases since you can actually fit 3 or 4 different rolex movements in it and that all the old 5513 original cases are leaking now and are not water proof?

 

This is a ridiculous problem.   It can't be patents because the patent is older on 5513 than 3135 movement cases.

Edited January 13, 2020 by RickFlorida

[alligoat]

Nobody cares about the 5513 other than collectors- it went out of production in 1990- 30 years ago. And parts for the 1520 are getting hard to get these days.

Take a look at the Helenarou 5513- with a few mods it could be turned into a decent watch case.

https://www.helenarou.com/5513-submariner-retro-vintage-diving-watch-with-swiss-eta551328242.html

And do you remember the ST 3035 case? It's no longer available either- I'm sure there's a lot of WIS out there that would love to get their hands on a ST3035 case and build 16800s.

[Sogeha]

ST3035? Yes please

[alligoat]

One important thing to remember is Startime isn't in to replicas- they're a supply house.

[RickFlorida]

5 hours ago, alligoat said:

Nobody cares about the 5513 other than collectors- it went out of production in 1990- 30 years ago. And parts for the 1520 are getting hard to get these days.

Take a look at the Helenarou 5513- with a few mods it could be turned into a decent watch case.

https://www.helenarou.com/5513-submariner-retro-vintage-diving-watch-with-swiss-eta551328242.html

And do you remember the ST 3035 case? It's no longer available either- I'm sure there's a lot of WIS out there that would love to get their hands on a ST3035 case and build 16800s.

I think I see your point but the funny thing is that because the 5513 is still popular, there are jewelers who specialize in re-threading the midcase and caseback of 50 year old cases so they still work.   This means there is a demand to still wear 50 plus year old rolexes outside of the collector or replica market.    Only 3 places at this time advertise on re-threading old rolex cases and the cost is 400 to 800 bucks.  Even if I had the money to purchase all original 5513's, I would still want to build one that I can wear in the saltwater where I spend many of my days fishing, paddleboarding, and scuba diving.

46 minutes ago, alligoat said:

One important thing to remember is Startime isn't in to replicas- they're a supply house.

 

Great point but I'm just trying to find a case that an original rolex 15xx movement will fit in just like they are selling cases that fit 3135 and used to sell 3035 cases.   The question to them is what about all the people with 50 plus year old rolexes that have cases with failed threads.  There is a demand I think as I mentioned above with the 3 jewelers who re-thread cases.

[automatico]

"Nobody cares about the 5513 other than collectors- it went out of production in 1990- 30 years ago."

 

The BIG watch craze seems to be losing steam.  Smaller Retro models are making a comeback. 

Many classic styles have reappeared on new models.  Tooter for example.

I bet there would be a lot more vintage rlx around if they did not cost so much and parts were not so scarce and expensive. 

Probably a lot of ref 1500, rough 16xx DJ etc parted out.

 

"One important thing to remember is Startime isn't in to replicas- they're a supply house."

 

Maybe so but they still stock steel submariner cases after 10 years and solid gold DJ etc cases after 20 years.  Someone is buying them.

An 18K DJ case from ST in 2001 was $825 ($270 gold) and now they are $3975 ($1500 gold) but they must still sell one now and then.

 

As long as the patents/copyrights have expired and the cases are unsigned, they are not really replicas.  Replacements maybe. 

All imho. 

 

 

"Even if I had the money to purchase all original 5513's, I would still want to build one that I can wear in the saltwater where I spend many of my days fishing, paddleboarding, and scuba diving."

 

Me too.  I put my Accutron II away for a while and started wearing an MBK '5512'.  I keep it dry though, mainly because I know the dummy who stuck it together.   

 

BTW, anyone watch the Harry Bosch series on Amazon Prime?  Good series.  He wears a late model no date submariner.

The Harry Bosch books by Michael Connelly are good too.

Imho.

[Tribal]

Hello everybody, I would like to ask if anybody of u is able to buy the 3135 Submariner Case from them?
I tried with no luck, I can't put anything from them in the shopping basket.
I thought it's a national problem because I'm in Germany but it's not.
Weird.

Gesendet von meinem Mi MIX 2S mit Tapatalk

[RickFlorida]

On 1/15/2020 at 8:58 AM, Tribal said:

Hello everybody, I would like to ask if anybody of u is able to buy the 3135 Submariner Case from them?
I tried with no luck, I can't put anything from them in the shopping basket.
I thought it's a national problem because I'm in Germany but it's not.
Weird.

Gesendet von meinem Mi MIX 2S mit Tapatalk
 

Hmm, that is weird.  Maybe they are out of stock but you can call their customer service number and they answer the phone right away.   I guess they may stop selling these too?

[pompompurin]

I have the same problem as you do, when it comes to sourcing the correct case for a vintage rolex build. Cartel cases aren't great and their incorrect crown/ stem/ tube height drives me nuts. Their thickness and slightly weird case geometry makes reshaping a pain in the ass for me. Not to mention, cartel hasn't been innovating or improving much during all these years.

Since Vietnam cases have the monopoly for the better vintage rolex cases, i have to suck it up and pay $$$ unfortunately. But it saves me so much time to make the case more accurate to gen, compared to buying a cartel rep.

[RickFlorida]

2 hours ago, pompompurin said:

I have the same problem as you do, when it comes to sourcing the correct case for a vintage rolex build. Cartel cases aren't great and their incorrect crown/ stem/ tube height drives me nuts. Their thickness and slightly weird case geometry makes reshaping a pain in the ass for me. Not to mention, cartel hasn't been innovating or improving much during all these years.

Since Vietnam cases have the monopoly for the better vintage rolex cases, i have to suck it up and pay $$$ unfortunately. But it saves me so much time to make the case more accurate to gen, compared to buying a cartel rep.

Agreed.  when I first got the MQ 5513 Case I noticed right away that bezels and retaining rings fit perfectly flat on them unlike the the cartel.  Plus, When I fit crystals on the Cartel, they would usually crack after some time.  I think they are not perfectly round (the case necks).  I put a very tight crystal on my MQ 5513 case and it has not cracked at all.  The son of a [censored] is water proof as heck as I use it in the saltwater.    I love the MQ cases and I assume RubyWatch are the same.  Plus I think  Phong uses the same case but just shapes it more by hand?  Who is making all these cases originally?