My New 1665 MBW Project

[Martyd3]

I am getting ready to start my latest project, a 1665 MBW Seadweller. I have lots of gen goodies for this one, so it should be good. My question is, how far should I go on aging this one? My past watches have been only slightly aged with the sharp edges taken off of the case, bleached inserts ... etc. I am thinking about taking this one a little further. Aging the dial, more significant stressing to the case, blah, blah, blah. I am not going to trash the watch, but I am thinking a more worn look would be neat. Your thoughts and pics would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Marty

[its_urabus]

you could build it un touched and send it to me... I will wear it for 25-30 years and send it back to you... should be nice and beat up for ya

truthfully, I have seen a few really aged rollies and it seems a bit odd that someone with a watch that is worth as much as they are wouldnt send it in to have it refurbished... But with any project watch, it is your work of art, mod it as much as you wish... good luck and make sure to take lots of pics along the way

[Guest carlsbadrolex]

Marty, all of my "keeper" MBW vintage Rolex's are heavily aged. The dials, hands, cases, crystals all show the 30+ years that they should.

I personally dont truly appreciate the "30 but still looking new" look. PLUS, its simply more believable!

Aging a dial and hands is not difficult, and if done slowly you will find the right balance for you.

Good luck, I never thought I would see you doing another MBW project!

T

[ubiquitous]

I used to be of the mindset of aging vintage builds, but over time, my opinion on this has changed. I don't think there's much reason to beat the hell out of the watch just to make it look old; rather just wear it and let the aging happen naturally.

Nothing wrong with having a like-new looking watch; I've seen and handled several vintage goodies over the last few years that were simply well cared for. These pieces look especially great coming back from an RSC service as well. So, is having a new looking 30 year old watch plausible? You bet!

[freddy333]

Both approaches are equally valid, but I side with Ubi on this 1. Many 30+ year old gens are routinely serviced by Rolex, which sends them back to their owners looking nearly, if not literally, new. The owner then starts the 'wear' clock all over again on the watch & I like that idea. So most of my vintage rebuilds are to RSC quality & then I get to put my 'mark' on them.

[Guest carlsbadrolex]

Here are a few pics and a story about the watch... One of my favorite Rolex stories, and one of my favorite vintage Rolex's. CLARIFICATION: THIS IS NOT MY WATCH OR STORY... IT WAS FOUND ON RLXFORUM.

While knee-deep in the basement, looking for items to sell at a charity event, I was just sifting through your common basement detritus when I moved an item off a shelf above my head. Accompanied by years worth of dust and an old dial telephone, an envelope literally fell into my lap. Being the curious turd I am, I opened the envelope and there, staring me in the face was this watch, case and band wrapped tightly in an old eyeglass rag. As I stated before, I wasn't; until recently, versed in anything Rolex. I have a lot of friends who own Rolex's; Daytonas and such, but I never gave them a second thought. To be honest, I'm more of a Timex guy, wearing something like this to work would be foolish. I'm in law enforcement so whatever I'm wearing would be subject to some extreme conditions, dirt, gore, asphalt and not to mention suspicion. It's not common for any of us in this profession to wear something as valuable as a Rolex, not to say it doesn't happen, it's just not common.

So, once I identified the watch, first thinking it might be a fake, I went upstairs and showed it to the wife. It was at that time, family history reared its head and things started to make sense. A relation no longer with us had at one time been a diver. Unfortunately, as history some time does, much of what happened during this persons life is lost forever, taken from us with very little record and distorted by aged relations. We have and still are gathering SOME information from other sources within the family. Apparently, the original owner of the watch had been a commercial diver, working jobs in the Lake Michigan region and apparently worked on some jobs associated with the Mackinaw Bridge construction in Northern Michigan. We're still gathering information and are attempting to talk with the Mackinaw Historical Society, Mackinaw Bridge Authority and other entities that might have something to offer. It's an ongoing process.

Once we got our ducks in a row, we took the watch to an established watchmaker-repair shop not far from where we live. The wife had taken some rather expensive timepieces for repair in the past to this gentleman. The guy took the watch, looked at it, removed the back and said, "Nice watch, it would take me a lot of time to fix it", "I'll give you $50.00 bucks for it."....we left....with the watch.

Months went by, the watch tucked securely in the wifes purse, forgotten. We laugh today thinking of how many times she left her purse unattended in the shopping cart, turning her back on it to reach for a carton of milk at the store. We live in a very nice and safe part of the country, but still....dummies. A stupid thing to do on any day, but now knowing how valuable this piece is...doubly stoopid and a windowlicker move.

So, if I haven't bored you enough, just within the last week or so, curiosity got the best of me during another fund raiser and I sat behind the computer looking for information. I got an education on Rolex, learned that this might be a very valuable piece, told it was a historical timepiece etc. It's been fascinating. We're in the process of investigating avenues to have this watch serviced; by VERY experienced hands and by someone who doesn't have to ask twice "What did you call it? A DRSD 2000?"

So there ya have it. A condensed or Readers Digest version of how Mr DRSD performed its amazing rebirth. I'm going to give Watchmakers and Bob a call soon to discuss what can be done, I'd like to at least get the movement working, replace the crystal or fix the original, repair the band and bring this thing back to life. Whether we keep it or not, or allow someone else to give it the respect it deserves, is still up in the air. We have a non-profit organization and of course, funds are always elusive, but it's not my call, its the wifes. I just want to bring it back from the dead.

[M5Man]

I can't wait to see this one Marty! Really excited to see how it turns out!