Question for the frankenjust guys...

[Guest carlsbadrolex]

I have been asked to assist a fellow member with converting a frankenjust to a two tone frankenjust.

Ive done bezel swaps and crown swaps before without issue, but have come up against two interesting problems this time.

1. The 18kt gold genuine Rolex bezel is .9mm shorter than the stainless steel bezel. This creates two problems... First the crystal gasket can be seen around the crystal and secondly the crystal then appears God awfully tall.

2. Considering this is a gen case/tube/ and stainless crown I am rather miffed by the fact that the shaft of the genuine Rolex 18kt stem is too large to fit the tube. The 18kt crown shaft is .2mm thicker than the stainless steel.

I know that some modification could be done to remedy both of these situations... Such as shaving the crystal and gasket to make it sit lower on the case. And very finely opening the interior of the tube to accommodate the larger diameter crown.

What is the accepted practice here? I am not aware of a gen crystal/gasket set that is going to allow for the 18kt bezel to work properly. And I dont actually know of a difference in gen tubes for the datejust model.

If it makes any difference, the case is an N serial number case.

Thanks for any input you can offer.

[ubiquitous]

I recall that my 16234 came with a 5.3mm tube; this was meant for a 600/6mm crown specific to fit the smaller tube. I suspect this could be these situation here as well.

As for the crystal; do you know what height gasket you are working with?

[freddy333]

Are you sure that, except for the steel/gold changeover, you are swapping gen-for-gen & same model/version parts for same model/version parts? If the gold bezel sits lower than the steel bezel, something does not sound right. And are you sure you have the right tube for that version of the crown (600 vs 603, 701 vs 703, etc.)? That is usually where you run into problems fitting a crown through a tube. The only fix I know of is to ream out the tube. As for the bezel/crystal, I would check your parts to be sure you have the correct pieces before shaving anything down.

Can you be more specific as to which DJ model you are working on? Which gold bezel? Fluted, flat, etc.?

[ubiquitous]

Here is an excerpt from a Rolex crown braintrust write up:

"When they came out with sapphire crystals, they went to 6.0mm od crowns that used the same 5.3 case tube as 5.3mm crowns."

[Guest carlsbadrolex]

Ubi and Freddy, I knew I could count on you guys... THANK YOU!!!

The case is a 16200.

Ive taken a couple pics to show the differences in the bezels.

[ubiquitous]

Hmmmm... To compare, here is the 18KWG fluted bezel from my old project:

Your bezel looks as though it might be from an older 1601? Difficult to say, as I'm not even sure a bezel from that ref would fit...

[freddy333]

Ok, so we are sort of talking apples (steel plain bezel) & oranges (gold fluted). The fluted bezels have a lower profile than the plain bezel, but I believe there are different fluted bezels for sapphire crystals vs acrylic & the difference may be due to the lower height of the sapphire crystal. Since I do not work on modern Datejusts, I do not have any details. Hopefully, someone with more experience with the modern & gold versions will be able to chime in. If not, definitely worth posing this question on TZ.

[stilty]

Hey T,

Is that bezel from a 16233 case, or perhaps it is a 16013, or other aftermarket? How easily did it slip over the crystal? I have a fluted bezel from a 1601 and 16014, as well as a smooth bezel from a 16000. I'll try and get to measure them for you.

And yes, the sapphire DJ's do use 5.3mm tubes. I'm guessing you have a 6mm crown for the 6mm tube. Whatever you do, don't ream the 5.3mm tube to try and fit it. You will only weaken the tube and it will break off in the case when you screw the crown in snug.

[Guest carlsbadrolex]

You guys are great! Thank you... I think this one is going to go back to a stainless version.