18238 President YG MOP Arabic (WTB)

[sandiegoman]

I want to build / commission (wtb) a superfranken of the 18238 circa 2000’s. 

from the initial forum research historically mymanmatt seems to have the most 18238 rep experience, but I’m open to all suggestions for builders.

Edited December 14, 2022 by sandiegoman
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[freddy333]

I cannot assist you, but wondering if you are trying to build a gen, rep or franken (combination of gen & rep parts) & if you have collected all of the parts for your build?

[alligoat]

I've used Mymanmatt a few times and been happy with his work. But building a super franken is going to be expensive and not easy- parts are tough to come by. Gen 18238s are about a cheap as they'll ever be at this point. You also might be able to find a good rep if you check out Trustytime- Andrew.

https://trustytimewatch88.io/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_14&products_id=1942

A full gold bracelet and case will easily set you back $10K, maybe more.

[automatico]

From my experience and disappointments:

 

Plated cases...

Imho, a 'Yellow Gold Plated Prez' just will not do if it is worn very much.  Sooner or later the plating wears away and the base metal shows through.  Silver shows through if it is steel or a (sometimes toxic) silver colored 'pot metal' and a goldish contrasting color shows through if the case is brass.

Toxic = the 'ufo' metal breaks the skin out.  I don't know what the metal really is, but it looks a lot like the metal they made automobile hood ornaments and carburetors out of in the 1950s/60s.

 

Solid gold cases...

For the reasons above, maybe start out with a 14K or 18K aftmkt case and a croc, lizard etc. strap with a gold buckle.  That's what I set out to do about 15 years ago but it stalled out.

Q...Why did it stall out? 

A...Because my aftmkt 18K case was accurate to oem on the outside but the dial window is too big for genuine spec day/date dials.  It takes oem spec 36mm case crystals and case tubes but not movements or dials.  It needs a 29.5 or 30mm dial and I never found one.  Thought about making it into a DJ but still no dials...except for 41mm DJ dials and genuine dials cost too much.  Besides that, the date window is offset farther than on a 36mm DJ so you need a date wheel overlay for 41mm DJ or a custom made dial with the date window set inside a mm or so to work with an ETA movement.

 

I bought an oem spec aftmkt 41mmDJ dial and tried it in the case but as I said, the date window was too far from the dial center and my ETA 28xx dates would not line up, much less a regular 36mm rolex spec date wheel. 

Next, I tried a Bulova Precisionist/Accutron II movement with standard Prec/A II date wheel.  The aftmkt DJ 41 dial was a good fit in the case but the date window in the dial did not center over the Prec/A II date.  It was close but no cigar.

Q...What would be needed to use the Precisionist movement and date wheel?

A...A goldtone date window frame slightly larger than the date window in the DJ 41 dial with the window cut out to allow all of the Bulova date to show.  Not easy to find a date window the right size, believe me.

 

I finally found a date wheel overlay for a 41mm DJ on the 'net to fit an ETA 2836 etc. but never tried it so that is where it stands today.

On another note, I have an Omega cal 565? (iirc) with the correct size dial but almost all the dial refinishers in the USA have closed up and the few that are left will only refinish a dial back to the original name on the dial...no Omegas redialed to rolex.

 

To make matters worse...the case does not have movement mounting stands inside it like a genuine case or a groove inside the case for case clamps/screws so a spacer will have to be rigged somehow.  I found a spacer from a past Marathon project that might work but have not tried it because I've not decided on a movement/dial combo yet.  It mounts to the movement with case clamps and has a groove on the back side with a rubber O ring in it that presses against the case back and applies pressure to the movement/dial when the back is screwed down.  The spacer has to be cut to fit and the O ring groove recut if needed.  A goofy arrangement but it might work.

Btw...these cases are getting expensive today, going from $1000 to $3000.

 

Here is a pic of my case:

 

 

[freddy333]

As Automatico indicated, there are a number of downsides to building gold reps. Unless you use some gen parts, you are likely to run into the same issues.

 

For these reasons, most (generally) suggest avoiding yellow "gold" reps or avoid wearing them often. The few yellow gold reps I have had were either unwearable because the gold plating wore away, which screams FAKE, or spent most of their lives as case queens (ie, purchased more to drool over (in a case) than to wear). As it happens, I am awaiting the arrival of The King of (gold) case queens as I write this (details coming soon).

If you have your heart set on a gold gen, I would either bite the bullet & go the franken route -- beginning with a gen case/dial -- & fill in the blanks with aftermarket parts or use a stainless steel case that accepts the correct dial & have the case gold-plated by a jeweler (or diy if you have the time/funds to learn & purchase the plating supplies). Or, better still, stick to steel & 'white gold' models.

[automatico]

"If you have your heart set on a gold gen, I would either bite the bullet & go the franken route -- beginning with a gen case/dial -- & fill in the blanks with aftermarket parts or use a stainless steel case that accepts the correct dial & have the case gold-plated by a jeweler (or diy if you have the time/funds to learn & purchase the plating supplies). Or, better still, stick to steel & 'white gold' models."

 

Good advice.

 

If you can go with a 34mm case, there are quite a few genuine rolex 1550 and 15505 cases for sale.  They have a thin sheet of gold soldered over the case top and solid gold bezels.  A fair price for one without the bezel (imho) is around $200/$250 and with a bezel, around $250 to $400 depending on condition.  Be careful of heavily scratched cases or cases with base metal showing, they are not worth much.  The back side of the case and case back are not gold colored, just stainless steel.  If you want a 'gold' rolex to wear while you look for parts for a solid gold case etc. one of these might be a good choice. 

Put a 27mm Yuki Air King 'Explorer' dial or Raffles 27mm dial with yellow tinted lume etc. in it with an ETA of some sort and it would make a very nice everyday watch. 

Big Bonus...no date wheel overlay headaches with explorer/oys perp etc. dials.

 

To be honest, vintage rolex prices have gone crazy (imho), even for common models and parts.  I see rolex 1550 watches for sale in average condition like what I paid $600 for, now going for $3000+ in ratty condition.  Matter of fact, I bought one fresh back from NYC rolex service for $600 in December 1995 and another for $150 at the local flea market in January 1996 without a bezel...complete running watches on leather straps (still have them).  This shows how much these watches have gone up in the past 25 years.  

 

  

When comparing 34mm cases and 36mm cases...there is not much difference unless you have an arm like Popeye.  Ha!

Four 34mm cases on the bottom row and four 36mm cases next row up: