Smiths Deluxe-plorer build

[peterhorstmann]

Dear Forum,

 

happy new year! It took two lockdowns and a christmas holiday to finish this, but the watch is finally on my wrist and ticking away happily! I finished it a few hours before the new year so I could count down to midnight on the new watch which was very special.

 

It took a while to get everything to fit... I had a friend in our workshop at work laser cut me a 150µm spacer which I put between the dial and the dial seat. It's thin enough not to be visible. I still need to grease the gaskets. It has three, one on the caseback and two on the screw down crown. I'm sure there must be many posts on how to waterproof a watch properly on this forum, can anybody point me towars one? I cant seem to get the search function to work for me (probably searching the worong keywords...). And then I'll take it to a Timpsons and get the waterproofness checked. I think they can do up 5ATM.

 

It runs about 10-15 sec fast per day which I can live with. Things I still want to do are get a domed crystal for it. The one on there is flat and protrudes  the bezel a bit which just doesn't look right to me. A single domed acrylic crystal would be period correct right? Don't know yet, I might also go with Sapphire. I'm hoping a domed crystal will also help a bit with the legibility... The flat glass does reflect a lot of light.

 

I found a great seller on ebay uk who made me single layer vintage stype strap for it in a custom length. I think it looks great on the watch and is probably close to what such a what could have come with in the 50s (I like to think). If somebody wants to know the seller please PM me!

 

And then I still want a nice bracelet for it. I am trying to get a riveted oyster style bracelet. I might go for the one that you can buy for the new Smith's watches and then hack the solid end links into place somehow!

 

That's it for now. Thanks again for all the help I got here!

 

 

[automatico]

I give it a nine on a scale of ten.  It gets a nine only because there are no tens.  

 

"A single domed acrylic crystal would be period correct right?"

 

If the case neck is oem 16000/16200 DJ spec (29.5mm) and the ID of the bezel is also standard DJ spec (30.4mm), a crystal made for a rolex 1018 should work...number 25-21.

A 1018 is basically a no date DJ.  I do not have a GS part number for the 118 crystal but it should be on the 'net. 

Another good crystal brand is Sternkreuz and the 118 crystal p/n is 498/47 afaik...check to make sure.

 

A 1016 bezel is 31.0mm ID because the crystal sidewall is thicker than a DJ.  A 1016 crystal is number 25-22 and I would go with generic, not oem because they cost too much.  For 1016 projects I use a GS 464-64C but they have the sharp top edge.  You will have to shop around for a 1018 crystal because they are not as common as crystals for 1016 Explorers.  If you end up going with a 1016 crystal and have the ID of the bezel cut to fit, try to find a crystal with the rounded top edge because most newer 25-22 crystals will have a sharp edge.  You can round them off a little if needed because they are quite a bit thicker on top than a DJ crystal.

[JSebWC]

It looks great. Congrats on a fine build. Age the hands and lume on the hands and it’s perfection.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[peterhorstmann]

Thanks for the kind words!

21 hours ago, automatico said:

If the case neck is oem 16000/16200 DJ spec (29.5mm) and

Thanks Automatico for the amazingly detailed advice! Why does the case neck size matter for the crystal?  I thought that just sits in the bezel, in which case the bezel ID would be the relevant dimension here?

[automatico]

"Why does the case neck size matter for the crystal?  I thought that just sits in the bezel, in which case the bezel ID would be the relevant dimension here?"

 

On oem rolex...

Acrylic crystals need to be a very light press fit down over the case neck.  Next, the bezel is pressed down over the crystal to clamp the crystal to the case neck for a water tight seal between the case neck and crystal inner sidewall.  Submariners with an O ring under the bezel need a bit of extra care to be sure all surfaces are clean and any corrosion is removed and smoothed out if possible.

 

If an acrylic crystal is a bit too loose on the case neck, maybe the bezel can squeeze it down enought to seal it without cracking the crystal...maybe not.

If the crystal is too tight on the case neck to begin with, it may crack when being pressed over the case neck or crack when the bezel is pressed down over the crystal.  Success depends on the proper fit of all the parts...ony a few 1/100 of a millimeter plus/minus. 

 

If the bezel seems too tight when being pressed down over an acrylic crystal, look straight down around the outer edge of the crystal with a 10x +/- loupe under bright light to see if it has cracked between the case neck and bezel after the bezel has been seated.  Cracking may not show from the side, that is why you need to look straight down at it.  If it is Ok, check it again in a few days.

 

Sapphire crystals are mounted in a crystal gasket that lightly presses down over the case neck with the lower half of the crystal pressed down into the gasket.  The bezel is pressed down over this two piece assembly and compresses the gasket against the case neck and outer edge of the crystal to seal it all together.

 

This all sounds simple but the process if full of gremlins...wrong case neck OD, wrong bezel ID, bezel or case neck out of round (I have seen both), all kinds of variations in crystal sizes, improper bezel pressing tools, bezels getting out of level when pressing them down etc, etc.

Never use sealer etc between the ID of the crystal sidewall and case neck, it may crawl over to the dial or act as a lubricant to allow the crystal/bezel combo to get smacked off.

 

I will admit to using Dawn dish detergent 'a time or two' to lubricate the ID of a bezel so it will slip over an acrylic crystal with less friction.  After it dries, it basically disappears and does not remain slippery.  You did not read that here.   

 

 

[peterhorstmann]

Thanks Automatico! Really interesting I need to think about this and make some drawings to see if I understand...

 

On a different note: I have my eyes on an oyster rivet bracelet, this one:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20mm-Solid-Stainless-Steel-Rivet-Type-Replacement-Bracelet-For-Vintage-Watches/274228377318?hash=item3fd948f6e6:g:nO4AAOSwq1leLTxn

 

I know that I can usually make folded endlinks fit somehow but since this is not really cheap it would be great to know that the endlinks fit. The seller says the endlinks are made to fit a 1610 case and not a 1016. Is the 1610 case one where the case is made flat between the lugs? So is that hopeless to fit it?

 

[alligoat]

I'm thinking the seller means a 1601 which is a Datejust. There is a 1610 but it's a whole different beast- I saw one which was a 1610/6 in gold- more like a dress watch. At any rate, since your case appears to be a DJ type case, you should be ok with that bracelet as long as the distance between the lugs is 20mm. You can also get a rivet bracelet from Rafflesdials.com for about the same price. BTW, the only Rolex watches that are flat between the lugs are the gold DJs and older DDs .

[G4_Chrono]

Great project. Congrats and thanks for sharing with us here too. I think it looks great.

 

Riyi seller is excellent and I have had the rivet bracelet from him too.

 

Here is mine on similar case, custom build:

 

IMG_7422.HEICIMG_7424.HEIC

[peterhorstmann]

 

 

4 hours ago, alligoat said:

I'm thinking the seller means a 1601 which is a Datejust. There is a 1610 but it's a whole different beast- I saw one which was a 1610/6 in gold- more like a dress watch. At any rate, since your case appears to be a DJ type case, you should be ok with that bracelet as long as the distance between the lugs is 20mm. You can also get a rivet bracelet from Rafflesdials.com for about the same price. BTW, the only Rolex watches that are flat between the lugs are the gold DJs and older DDs .

 

Yes thanks that's what I thought too. I also found an image of what is supposed to be a 1610 but it looks very different from a DJ case and it is gold, so no way the bracelet is intended for that...

 

4 hours ago, G4_Chrono said:

Great project. Congrats and thanks for sharing with us here too. I think it looks great.

 

Riyi seller is excellent and I have had the rivet bracelet from him too.

 

Here is mine on similar case, custom build:

 

IMG_7422.HEIC 1.62 MB · 4 downloads IMG_7424.HEIC 1.13 MB · 5 downloads

 

Cheers mate, I appreciate the kind words! The watch looks great! Similar theme to mine. I got the case from Riyi and I'm happy with it so far (although I don't know yet if it's water resistant.... that's next on the list)

[peterhorstmann]

Dear Forum,

 

this is probably the last update on the Smiths DeLuxePlorer! Since last time I fittet an acrylic crystal and a rivet bracelet. I anticipated all sorts of problems with the crystal, but it worked out on the first try and looks beautiful!

 

I measured the case neck and bezel once I removed the saphire glass and found that the Sternkreuz XS 306.449 for Rolex TROPIC 21 might be a fit:

 

 

So I ordered one from Gleave & Co in London (I can't wait to visit that store in person, from the pictures it looks very old world!) and it just slid in place, with some gentle force of course:

 

 

It made a huge difference to the watch. Finally the dial is visible and not obscured by all sorts of reflections. And it matches the case perfectly, even extending at the same bevel angle that the bezel has.

 

 

It's hard to photograph with a phone... But I sometimes get lost just looking at the way the crystal diffracts the light...I'm sure people in this forum know what I mean.

 

On a Phoenix NATO (very british):

 

And on the Riyi Rivet (which is great... wish the clasp was a bit nicer though but I tell myself that's what clasps were like in the 60s):

 

 

I also put it back into the pressure tester and it's still water proof up to 9bar (as high as I dare to go).

 

It's not been an easy or fast project but each time I check my wrist for the time it makes me happy and am reminded of the past year, strange as it was.

 

Thanks to anyone who's given me advice and encouragement.

 

 

[automatico]

A happy ending to a worthy project!  

The tropic 25-21 is the same crystal as used in a rolex 1018.