rolex gmt ii bezel question

[deltatahoe]

i'm guessing that by-tor is going to be the right person to answer this question, but i'd love to hear from anyone else who knows the answer. i have a rolex gmt ii that i have made some pretty significant mods to, but i'm still not happy with my bezel insert.

first a quick rundown on the watch. i bought it several years ago from a member on the board -- this was originally one of the incorrect hand stack versions with the really crappy dial. i managed to source one of the better dials from my dealer, and had ziggy replace the dial and install a new aftermarket bezel insert, which had to be sanded down to fit in the bezel. the picture below shows the watch after this work was done by ziggy.

now, i subsequently after that picture was taken, i sent ziggy back my watch to mod the crownguards (as you can see from the picture they were totally oversized). upon getting the watch back, i've decided that i just can't live with the bezel insert, which as you can see has the top of the 6 sanded off to fit the bezel.

so my question is this -- can i get a better bezel to fit on this watch and complete my watch, or am i stuck with this bezel (and insert)?

thanks in advance for your help

deltataohe

[By-Tor]

so my question is this -- can i get a better bezel to fit on this watch and complete my watch, or am i stuck with this bezel (and insert)?

bklm1234 can source you better bezel, with sharper teeth, but then you'll lose the click.

THIS place sells surprisingly good quality GMT inserts for cheap. You probably have to sand the lower surface to make it thinner as well... but it's easy. Order 2-3 if you scratch them during the process (just in case).

You also have to "straighten" the crown guards, which is very easy too. Just make the front surface straight, so that the guards won't cover the crown that much.

Here's my gen to compare.

Congrats, that's very good rep of the 16710. Just needs some small mods and you're set.

[deltatahoe]

thanks my friend; i read your review/guide and wasn't exactly sure if bk's bezel would fit on this case. i already had ziggy mod the crownguards (after the picture above was taken), so all that remains is a new bezel and insert

i'll post pics when the watch is finally done

thanks again

deltatahoe

[By-Tor]

This is a great base rep. However, while that crown of yours looks good (and possibly genuine), it's a wrong sized crown for 16710. The correct one is 6mm and yours looks like the 5.7mm, which was used on the 1675 and other plastic crystal models.

Definitely not a big deal though. Just some trivia.

[deltatahoe]

ok, so maybe the bezel and insert isn't all that remains

the crown is actually the same crown that came with the rep. who knows....once i get the bezel & insert, maybe i'll send this one off to ziggy again (third time's a charm!) for a genuine 6mm crown

thanks again for your keen eye

deltatahoe

[freddy333]

Delta - For the initial phase of my 6542 project I needed a cheap, vintage gmt dial & movement, so I bought a 1675 from either Josh or Andrew (I cannot remember which). As a 1675 rep, it leaves alot to be desired because the case & caseback are actually etched with 5513 markings. Now, you will probably want Coke instead of Pepsi, but the bezel looks pretty accurate to me & it functions perfectly. More importantly, these bezels fit onto a number of other cases (including an MBW 5513) & vice-versa, so they may fit your case as well (the bezel OD is 40mm)

p.s. As it turns out, if I grind down the sides, this case is almost the perfect dimensions to host a gen 1030 for my 6536 project (talk about recycling).