Rolex 1002/1003 'Explorer' projects...

[automatico]

The first one was completed quite a while back and I had enough parts for another one so here is where it stands.

Here is the first one with a cal 1560 and Yuki dial...

 

Basic 1570 non hack from the mid 1960s for the second one shown below.  It came out of an old DJ that got water in it and was put away wet. 

The stem was rusted solid in the main plate and a lot of screws etc. were rusty, plus it needed a balance staff, set bridge, rotor axle, mainspring etc.

It had been c/o a while back as it was in my 'shortcut 1655'...so it runs just fine, exactly the same movement minus the 24 hour parts. 

Had to put a new minute wheel post in it though because the minute wheel from the aftmkt 24 hour conversion had an arbor on it that turned in the movement where the minute wheel post used to be...long story. 

Quite a bit of the plating was damaged by water but it does not make one bit of difference in the way it runs.

 

The case is from early 1964 and is in very good condition with just a tiny bit of corrosion on the gasket area of the case. 

Put a new case tube in it today and it turned out to be a real hassle...not the first case tube hassle btw.  It was an old style nickel silver tube that had been cemented and tightened to the max.

It's a wonder it did not break off when it was installed...so it waited until I was removing it.  Broached most of the remaining tube down to the case threads and of course it cut a lot more on one side and not much on the other side of the remaining tube.  Had to file what I could away, being careful not to damage the threads, but it still left about half of the threads in the tube but there was enough of the threaded hole toward the outside of the case to start a case tube tap so I finally got it cleaned up and a new case tube back in the case.  That is where it stands today, next will be to put the crystal on the case, dial/hands on the movement, and a few other parts plus the auto wind assembly to finish it.

 

The bezel on the case is from a 34mm Raffles 'toot' case and hopefully it will work on a 25-12 size crystal.  I may end up making one but would rather not.

I'll post again when I get more done.

 

Damaged plating on the brass main plate...

 

Might replace the detent screw (top outer screw on right side pic) it works Ok but it looks bad.  

Funny how the plating was damaged on the main plate, but the plated bridges were all Ok.

 

2-17-2023

I was looking at the first '1002 explorer' just now.  It is a 1003.  

Ratty set of letters, but original.

 

[freddy333]

Another interesting project.

 

A couple of random thoughts -- Have you considered using another dial? The print of the Yuki dial pictured is pretty poor. I think even most standard rep dials today might be a better option, let alone 1 from 1 of the better franken parts sellers.

Also, will you be removing the corrosion on the metal before finishing? It looks like mostly surface rust that could easily be removed. I know it is not seen once everything is cased up, but I think it would be worth the time/effort to deal with the rust before assembly.

[automatico]

"Have you considered using another dial? The print of the Yuki dial pictured is pretty poor. I think even most standard rep dials today might be a better option, let alone 1 from 1 of the better franken parts sellers."

 

Yeah, it is not too hot.  The one for my AK 5501with yellow letters is a little bit better.

 

"Also, will you be removing the corrosion on the metal before finishing? It looks like mostly surface rust that could easily be removed."

 

The corrosion/rust is gone.  What you see is the brass base metal of the main plate showing through heavily damaged rhodium plating.  The rust was removed by soaking in white vinegar plus two trips through an ultrasonic cleaning machine.  This is about as good as it going to get.  Polishing the damaged areas with Simichrome polish etc. would make it look better but I skipped it because it would remove more plating.  

 

Here is the other 5500 'explorer' dial, it might be a little bit better:

 

Close up, it is really no better:

These AK 'explorer' dials were $110 each with hands including shipping in 2014/15.

 

The other dial with goldtone letters is a little bit better, but it looks a lot better at a distance of 12 to 18 inches:

 

 

Since these are project watches made out of miscellaneous parts, I guess I'll go with these dials and not spend any more $$ on them.  The original dial on the 5501 AK has been badly refinished and dented so the Yuki dial will be an improvement.  The rough original dial/hands will be included when it sells to help the deal a little bit.   

These '90% genuine rolex 'lost cause' projects are now numbering over 100 with 10 or more 'originals' left to finish so I am slacking off on project watches a bit.  Hopefully these projects will be Ok along with 'full disclosure' as long as no one is too picky.  

Q...What is left? 

A...Two 16xx DJ, one (? ref number) manual wind with date, one 1675 GMT, two 5500 AK, one 5501 AK, one 1500 OPD with a 'blistered' movement, two 6422 (iirc ref number) manual wind no dates plus a few others.

'Blistered' = movement discolored by harsh cleaning solvents.

I am beginning to see piles of shucked oysters in my sleep.   Ha!  

 

Update later in the day:

I found another yellow letter Yuki 'explorer' dial with a matte finish in my box of dials.  The one above has a glossy finish.  The matte dial with yellow letters is about the same quality as any matte dial with white letters in this thread.  All are from 2014/15.

[JSebWC]

nice project.  I like how its coming together.

 

the 25-12 T crystal should fit the raffles crystal.  you may need to enlarge the ID of the bezel slightly.

 

I would go with the gilt gloss yuki dial   AFAIK  all matte dial 5500's are rep, according to Eric Wind on the explorer reference points by  Hodinkiee 

 

look fwd to seeing this come together.   Did you do the movement service "?

[automatico]

"I like how it's coming together."

 

Thanks!

 

"...you may need to enlarge the ID of the bezel slightly."

 

I have a few generic T-11 (GS PA459-37) with rounded outer edges and that is what I am going with.  Seems like the Raff bezel will fit.

Later T-12 crystals have sharp outer edges.

 

"I would go with the gilt gloss yuki dial   AFAIK  all matte dial 5500's are rep..."

 

I have not decided for sure which dial will be used but the dials with goldtone letters have better detail.  Otoh, I am not a big fan of steel watches with goldtone markers...but I see quite a few steel 16xx, 160xx DJ, 6694, manual wind no dates etc. with goldtone markers on the 'net.  I have also seen a few 5500 AK/1002 'explorers' on eBay with goldtone markers and most of them had gold bezels and crowns.  The 1002 also came in a tutone version so an 'explorer' dial with goldtone letters would be quasi-legal along with gold bezel/crown.  Sorta.

The jury is still out.

 

I need to save the best goldtone letter dial for a 5501 AK and the gloss and matte dials are about the same in detail.

I read that almost all of the 5500 AK with explorer dials were sold in the UK.  True or not?  Probably true.  I do not remember seeing them at watch shows when I attended shows in the 1990s, mostly in the southern and eastern USA.  Burley Bullock (rip) and a few others changed the wristwatch landscape during this time with radio ads, formation of the IWJG etc.  Then the internet, eBay etc. changed it again.

 

"Did you do the movement service?"

 

Yes, c/o, mainspring, rotor axle etc. and a friend put a new balance staff in it.  It took 2 or 3 weeks soaking the main plate in white vinegar to melt all the rust away so the stem would come out of the plate.  I painted over any critical steel parts pressed in the plate with nail polish every few days.  The main plate screws that hold the various bridges to the main plate were rusty and I replaced them with near identical stainless steel screws from an assortment of stainless case back screws.  A few others were also replaced.  I have original screws but did not want to use them on a 'battleground movement'.  The three blued screws that hold the autowind assembly to the movement were still Ok. 

 

All in all, it is a pretty good movement, it just looks bad, and it runs much better than it looks. 

It is a lot like the movement in my '1016 explorer' project with a movement made out of a combination of well used ETA 2824/36 and 2846 parts.  It is one of the best running ETAs I've owned.  One other ETA that runs like the 'explorer' is in a 1990s/early 2000s Marathon CCG SAR.

 

Marathon Coast Guard (broadarrow.net)

 

 

[automatico]

Finished the project 1002 'explorer' this afternoon.  Everything worked Ok except for having to cut the calendar drive wheel off the hour wheel so it would not rub the dial and stop the movement.  Other than that, the tube on the second hand is a little bit short but as long as the hand stays on, it will be Ok.  It runs fine and I'll wear it a few days and see how it goes.  It looks exactly like the other 1002 'explorer' I stuck together in May 2014 (Raff bezel, Yuki dial etc.) except this case was made in 1962 and has a 1575 date movement with the date works removed and the other case was made in 1964 and has a no date 1560 in it.  I robbed the strap and .925 silver buckle off the first one and put it on this watch so I can wear it.  

 

I had to cut a couple hundredths mm out of the ID of a Raffles 34mm tudor bezel for this watch when using the GS PA459-37 crystal.  Most rolex type acrylic crystals will be smaller at the top and quite a bit bigger at the bottom where the bezel clamps down over it, so the bezel seemed to fit Ok, but when I went through the procedure below, the bezel needed to be cut a bit.

If the bezel is too tight, the crystal can crack and you might not see it because the bezel usually covers the crack.  This is a common problem, especially with project watches and is something to look out for.

 

Fitting an acrylic rolex type crystal...

Measure the ID of the bezel in two or three places and write it down, a few hundredths mm +/- is Ok but if it is out of round very much, it will be hard to get an accurate measurement.

Next. push the crystal down on the watch case by hand and measure the OD at the top and at the bottom of the crystal in two or three places and write them down.  The crystal should be a light press fit by hand...too tight and the crystal skirt may crack.  If it is loose on the case, measure it by the method below and usually the bezel will tighten it up.

 

If possible, always use a metal digital caliper for measuring, and when measuring the bottom of the crystal on the case, squeeze the caliper jaws tightly against the skirt of the crystal next to the case and check the measurement in two or three places.  Be sure to squeeze the caliper by pinching the jaws where they contact the crystal...not by tightening the adjustment wheel.  Sometimes a crystal will squeeze down .10 or more when measuring it at the base and this can result in a leaky crystal if it is not allowed for.  Worse than that, the crystal and bezel both can get knocked off by hitting a door frame etc.

 

What's next?

Probably a 1962 tutone AK 5501 'explorer'.  It has been in the 'fixit box' since November 2005.  The case and movement are in good condition, but it has a ratty refinished dial with a dent in it.  Dent?

It will need c/o, mainspring, crystal, dial, hands, case tube, crown, crystal etc..  The regular rolex tune-up...about $1000 at the friendly rolex store.  

Btw, I paid $450 for the watch.

 

Wrist Time.

'Explorer' 1002 #2...

 

Wall Time.

Wooden Ray-Ban advertising clock, probably from 1970s...

 

Sterling silver (.925) buckle on the 1002 from a watch show 20+ years ago...