Falco Posted February 18, 2007 Report Share Posted February 18, 2007 Explorer II 1655 Steve McQueen vintage Finally managed to fit a gen 116 crystal in a very stable way . trick was to use a thicker, more square o-ring and better cement Also vintaged the bezel more, and improved cg Now I need better/thinner hour/min hands Hope you like it! As before: Case Trustys 1655 "1:1 top grade", smoothed, CGs & drilled lugholes Fitted ETA 2893-2 GMT movement Fitted a 1570 caliber GMT hand from cwp Dial and hour/min hands repainted Fitted aftermarket Rivet hollow rolled link bracelet, different aftermarket endlinks, gen springbars Gen tube/crown Rep on the left, gen to the right Note that the cg on this particular gen have an unusual shape, decided to stick with the more common shape Previous pictures of the back: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted February 18, 2007 Report Share Posted February 18, 2007 Lookin' great!! Nicely done So, out of curiosity- Was the crystal too large to fit the case lip, or was the bezel too large to seat against the crystal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raijor Posted February 18, 2007 Report Share Posted February 18, 2007 There is something magical anout that watch - it takes me back in time and elicits many good memories for me. Great photos!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falco Posted February 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2007 Thanks! The 116 crystal was having a gap next to the case, bezel fit was ok but not very tight. Seems the 116 has same outer diameter as Subs 127 crystal but is thinner on the inside. Guess Rolex just fattened up the Subs crystals to stand increased pressure tolerence in diving, thicker acrylic. Bezel seems pretty accurate on this rep, fits crystal w/ inner diameter, and outer diameter is the correct 37mm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falco Posted February 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
By-Tor Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 Very cool again Falco. You seem to be quite a Rolex enthusiast/watch builder. It's rare to see a decent Steve McQueen... but yours certainly is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falco Posted February 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 Thanks By-Tor, the 1655 has a very different dial design that reflected 70's watches style pretty good. Probably why it went out of production relatively fast, compared to subs and daytonas. Just wish the rep-makers would make more accurate cases (and hands) to the specific models, and not only clone the 5513 case for all similar reps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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