pfff Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 hi all, after several months of reading threads in this forum concerning mbw rolex modded, i decided to do my own so here it is : mbw 5512 case modded ( aged, lugholes drilled ) bezel insert nicely vintagized by kelster + gen dot gen tropic 19 low dome gen crown gen dial rolex 1570 movement fully serviced + silver datewheel ( flat 3 :p !!! ) waiting for tube + springbars +/- gen bracelet 93150 if i manage to find one at a good price the pics : it was my first watch mod, and using a dremel was new to me ( the case suffers a bit , but i'm gonna polish it ) I really enjoy doing this, it was a little scary at some points, but i'm proud that i managed to do it by myself + one gift for speed lovers ( gen speed automatic ) next step : becoming a rwg supporter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfff Posted December 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 i did the lugholes, and i screwed a little yup but concerning the dial, its the old tritium that is still on, and that is gone on some points. i like it that way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmg Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 Great job, there's a ton of satisfaction doing the work yourself. 1680's look great with a T19 crystal mounted btw. Did you have to trim the dial down? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetsons Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 Excellent little franken you built and it is fun! All you need is a gen case and call it the day. Once you polish the case, the lug holes should look better finished. I like your idea of installing the gen T-19. I did the same to my 1680 and it looks much better, at least to my eyes. The watch looks cleaner plus the new crystal lowers the profile. I'm very tempted to do the same to my gen Tudor. Is the 1665 next? :biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HauteHippie Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 i did the lugholes, and i screwed a little yup but concerning the dial, its the old tritium that is still on, and that is gone on some points. i like it that way Yea, I agree. The old tritium on my 1680 dial looks similar too, and I like it. Repaint jobs don't look the same. Tell me about the vintagizing of those hands... they look great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfff Posted December 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 thanks for your comments guys, I really enjoyed this project ! the 1680 dial was too big for the case : i could have trimed the dial, but i prefered to trim the case ( it wasnt the easiest part ) concerning the Tropic 19, it was easy to install ( it fits perfectly ). I think it gives a unique look, and it looks much better to me too Jetsons ! next project, hum maybe a 5512 or a 5513 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfff Posted December 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 i bought the hands from clark watch parts on ebay. they didnt fit the movement, and my watchmaker did a great job for this i vintagized them with : an orange felt pen then scratched them with a screwdriver then added some dark chocolate ( yes yes ) on them ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellomen Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 Not bad!! But a shame about the lugholes and the damage around it... maybe you can 'age' that away. The dial is nice and the hands are great... and of course with such a mvt and DW... and than a genuine 93150 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mezzanine Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 Very interesting! Good work on the watch- the only issue is the lugs. I think you should consider trying to rebuild them a bit, aesthetically at least. I don't know how you'll do it, but it shouldn't be that hard if you were to use some sort of compound that could be shaped and later hardened and perhaps painted. The T19 looks good to me, but having a SeaDweller, the look would be kind of redundant. Also, sad as it is, the datewheel on the Rolex sub is a part of the image and classic appearance of the watch when people associate it in their minds. I'd recommend a genuine insert. I find that they're one of the most underrated mods you can make on your watch. The genuine faded inserts aren't really grey, they're more of a faded black. It's hard to describe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HauteHippie Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 i bought the hands from clark watch parts on ebay. they didnt fit the movement, and my watchmaker did a great job for this i vintagized them with : an orange felt pen then scratched them with a screwdriver then added some dark chocolate ( yes yes ) on them ! LOL dark chocolate! I haven't heard that one yet.... Whatever works, I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtnbike Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 Great stuff. The watch looks great. I am about two weeks away from starting a similar (my first MBW) 5513 project. Have been researching it for a while. Time to jump in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greystash Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Looks great pfff, I reckon ageing is one of the most convincing mods you can make to a rep. Instead of Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfff Posted January 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 one more picture of this project thanks all for the comments Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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