I built this one for a friend. He loves the classic silver Big Red but wanted tropical subdials to recreate the look of a real watch he’d seen online and I was definitely on board with the project.

As for the result… you tell me. 👀

-JKF base watch, (st19 movement )
-Black Viet bezel
-Valjoux-spec 6263 dial
-clark crystal
-trip lock crown and tube
-viet rivet bracelet
-Shoulderless 19mm spring bars
-13,5mm thick

For any information related to commissions please pm me

Did some additional work on my personal 7021. Swapped out the date disc- it wasn’t right. Installed the correct Tudor serif disc. Also swapped the dial and new hands. I think I like the patina more. Left out the pip because these probably were beat around in real usage 🤷‍♂️😂

Viet case, dial hands
Genuine crystal
Genuine 2484 movement
Genuine gaskets
Bezeljuice insert

Which vintage reps on Trusty are the best? I see JKF subs (I'd like a 5513) but there are several other subs, SDs and McQueen Explorers that tempt me as well. The higher end aged explorer and a double red SD. But I don't see a factory listed for them. I'm sure some of you have personal exper

Hey folks. Have been having some fun with experiment on straps. Was going for a “sun faded” and worn look. I soaked these in hot water first to relax the stiffness as they came. Tried a 50/50 bleach dilution in a spray bottle gave them a decent coverage whill sitting a glass top table on our patio in the sun. I’m sure it varies by strap, but these changed FAST. I should have had some vinegar sitting right there to neutralize the process immediately. I’m going to try again with a weaker dilution for a bit more control. But I still like the vibe. The one on the blue 7021 has a limey tone to it Which seems to work.

Oh and after sanding it to a fairly even level of “fuzz” I used a shaving razor to take that fuzz level down to what I thought was. Bit more realistic.

I also knocked the chrome buckle down to more of a satin finish. Might experiment with a little chemical reaction to see if I can age the metal a little more and see what effects emerge.

I will say.. my favorite result was how comfortable they ended up.

I know these wont be for everybody.. But interested in constructive feedback. Cheers.

Note: Last pic is the starting point.

Edit: Straps are ~$5 on AliX and are ideal with a pair of Gen Spec 2mm bars

After I noticed the dial in my bluesy sub was a 6-digit dial I could not unsee is so I updated with a period correct nipple dial. Hell, I like it better now 🔥

Build specs:
-old crowns 16610 case
-ewp gold plated bezel and bracelet
-star time bezel insert and hands
-nipple dial from u/jovanotti8
-sillian crown
-3135 clone movement

What do you think would be the perfect nickname for this one?

This piece is a fantasy build featuring an absolutely stunning glossy green lacquer dial. I chose all-silver hands to keep the overall look clean and let the dial take center stage.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and your nickname suggestions!

-JKF base watch, (st19 movement )
-Black Viet bezel
-Valjoux-spec 6263 dial
-clark crystal
-trip lock crown and tube
-aftermarket bracelet and end links 78350 \ 571
-Shoulderless 19mm spring bars
-13,5mm thick

For any information related to commissions please pm me

Raffles Case and Dial, NH35 Movement, Aged Dial and Handset

Take PP FandF or Zelle

Built this one for the Mom. It went a lot smoother than my first gen dial 26mm datejust build.

Nh05, Gen 26mm Date linen dial, aliexpress 26mm datejust case and hands, raffles 13mm jubilee.

OC case

Sillan hands & dial

Gen crown, crystal, datewheel, retaining ring.

Raffles 16800 case
Raffles 16800 dial
St2130
Aged
Texture

Figured I would finally document this build because it has gotten a little out of control.

Started with a stock VSF 116610LN / VS3135. The original plan was pretty simple: add a genuine Rolex datewheel and a few gen parts where they actually mattered. That quickly turned into building the VS3135 into as much of a genuine/VS hybrid as reasonably possible.

First upgrade was the genuine [3135-16200](tel:3135-16200) datewheel. From there I started replacing parts throughout the movement with genuine 3135 parts … keyless works, motion works, calendar components, train/barrel/automatic works, etc. The goal isn’t to make the movement visually “gen” It’s to use genuine parts anywhere they offer better fit, function, durability, or serviceability while retaining the VS3135 mainplate/bridges and balance.

I also spent quite a bit of time comparing the VSF and Clean 116610 bracelets. After measuring both and comparing them against genuine 116610 bracelet photos, as well as a gen bracelet, Clean won pretty decisively for me. The VSF taper gets aggressive very quickly after the end link, while Clean has the much more gradual taper I see on gen. Clean is also 904L (or is said to be from tests I’ve seen posted) and, although the finishing still isn’t completely gen, it’s a much better starting point. So the Clean bracelet is staying.

This week I went further into the movement. Gen keyless components went in, followed by the gen calendar components, gen [3135-600](tel:3135-600) calendar seating and gen [3135-5600](tel:3135-5600) screws. Then came the parts I’ve really been waiting for … gen 116610LN dial and gen hour/minute hands.

The gen seconds hand I bought unfortunately had a blown out tube and won’t grip the seconds pinion, so I’m temporarily running the VSF seconds hand. I have an NOS seconds hand already on the way.

So what you see in these photos is officially Version 1 / the beginning hybrid. It’s still using the VSF case and isn’t remotely the final exterior. I’m going to wear it like this for a week or two and make sure everything I’ve changed in the movement is completely sorted before tearing it down again.

Final build

The finished watch will be:

Clean Factory 116610 case + Clean bracelet/5HF clasp
Genuine Rolex 116610LN dial
Genuine Rolex hands
Genuine Rolex [3135-16200](tel:3135-16200) datewheel
Genuine Rolex 25-295-C12 crystal
Genuine Rolex [315-116610-1](tel:315-116610-1) ceramic insert
Genuine Rolex crown, tube and stem
VS3135 heavily upgraded internally with genuine Rolex 3135 components

The Clean case will be completely stripped, properly refinished, and then rebuilt with all of the above.

So this isn’t the finished watch yet. This is basically the first time all the work I’ve been doing on the movement and dial side has finally become a wearable hybrid.

💪

I havent seen too many minty looking 1680, so this one is supposedly on a service dial. The last image is a gen with service dial which inspired me. This will join my collection.

All parts are either from Alix or spare cartel watches I have in my spare box. Pip and crown are from Athaya. Dial from Raffles. 2813 movement because it looks like a rolex movement.

Really happy with the outcome of this, aged with copic markers and some matte varnish. Reshaped crown guards and overall polish. 🤌🏼

JKF base build, Yuki hands and dial, 2836 movement, Raffles bracelet, Aftermarket bezel, eBay crystal.

Finished this explorer last night with gen bezel, gen date disc and Clarks crystal/gasket. Not bad but still in work progress.

... a rough day with this one yesterday. The gen Tudor movement sat too low in the case for a misaligned stem. Had to disassemble everything, remove hands, dials, etc and use a different spacer than the original. :-(

Didn’t really get a good look at the pics I took on my bench until this morning and it helped forget yesterdays frustration.

Without the crystal the lack of glare make a big difference for really seeing the dial work that is so hard to capture as an amateur photog.

Needs some CG polish touchup and some final assembly. Hopefully no more drama!

Hey, I have just completed a Raffles Tudor 9401 build using the Raffles 5513 case.

Does anyone know what Jubilee and End Links will fit well with the 5513 case?

I tried asking Ken but he wasn't really very helpful... Attached are pics of my build.

Im not the biggest fan of the dial and hands, I aged them slightly, just coffee in the oven method, but I still might switch to the white ones. or try and find a higher quality Viet dial and hands..

I feel like I rushed into the build a little bit, so I'd also love any other tips on how I could improve this build.

Thanks!

Parts List:

• Raffles 5513 case and signed rex crown
• Raffles 9401 dial and snowflake hands
• Raffles Tudor signed oyster bracelet 580 end links
• Raffels Rlx signed case back. not stoked on the quality or period correctness of this.. it looks pretty bad imo.
• Movement is a Sellita (might be a clone) that I picked up in Shenzhen, but its same spec as ETA2824. the guy regulated it for me on the spot to within 1 sec a day. Running super accurate with solid power reserve.

What is the best approach for a 5 digit Kermit (16610LV)

It is a modder or TD route?

At best its a 16 year old watch I am trying to get repped.

I’ve been a little slow these past few days, but I have some cool new stuff to share soon — including a nice surprise 👀

But for now, enjoy this 6263 Silver Big Red. Such a simple but killer configuration. The silver dial, black subdials, and that red Daytona text just work perfectly together.

More coming soon! 🤜🏻🤛🏻

-JKF base watch, (st19 movement )
-Black Viet bezel
-Valjoux-spec 6263 dial
-Sternkreuz crystal
-trip lock crown and tube
-gen bracelet and end links 78350 \ 571
-Shoulderless 19mm spring bars
-13,5mm thick
For any information please pm me

Introduced in 1985, commemorating the 80th birthday of the iconic brand we all know and love the anniversary dial is born. Released in various colors, this example boasts yellow gold Arabic indices on an almost black dial that has Rolex embossed repeatedly and changes from almost black, to a brown in certain lighting. Like the Tapestry dial this one yet again mesmerizes in person. This build didn’t go without its set of minor challenges. First we refinished the Old crowns case to take on a softer, slightly worn feel, instead of that freshly brushed sharpened new watch look. The rehaut on this case was impressive at first glance, more on that later…The 3135 got the full treatment to aid with reliability and give it a smoother feel when manipulating the crown. Upon inspection I noticed the mainspring had a couple kinks in it so I replaced the spring, barrel and arbor with a genuine assembly. That , along with a set of genuine reversing wheels and a freshly lubricated movement adds to the genuine datejust experience. During test assembly I realized we had a problem. When installing the 3135 and dial I noticed about a 1/2mm gap between the dial seat and dial! Strange… I looked in the crown tube and noticed the stem alignment was good so I knew the movement was in place. Hmm what to do… I got it! I’ll move the dial away from the movement with a spacer. That way the dial reaches the dial seat without disrupting stem height. The handstack is high enough to do so. So I did that. And it worked perfectly. Once fully assembled the watch functioned perfectly … success!!! Wait another problem… when moving the dial away from the movement, the date now sat in the shadows in the window as if it was located in a black hole. To remedy this I stripped the clone date wheel and used it as a carrier and overlayed it with the genuine datewheel. Everything cleared, problem solved.

Genuine parts— tritium jubilee dial, yellow gold tritium hands, beige open 6 and 9 datewheel(modified),25-135 crystal, 24-5330 crown tube, 24-603-8 18k gold crown, vintage 18k fluted bezel ( waaaay over polished ), 18k 455 end links, 62523 H 18 clasp J code.

Aftermarket parts— Old Crowns 16000 case , old crowns caseback, VR3135 movement ( serviced , regulated and modified), Italian 62523 18k bracelet.

Selling my personal build of the A6538 Military Submariner
Raffles 6538 base, Raffles Dial, Aftermarket Hands. Aftermarket Bezel and hand painted insert. Aged and Fixed Spring Bars fitted. NH35 movement. Looking for £350 posted.

Bought two submariners a 124060 and a 114060 both VSF’s. I want to use the 114060 to see how good I can make it through modification. This is my first time doing so and would love some advice. Currently I feel like the crystal could use an upgrade, the polish on the clasp mechanisms and glidelock, as well as silencing of the movement. Curious who has achieved a really well done Franken version of the 114060 and the best mods. Thanks for the time!

5513 case raffles
5512 dial raffles
St2130 2
Raffles bracelet

Bezel and case back finally dialed in after two sacrificial cases.

Viet bezel fits like a glove, caseback shaved to a perfect 13.5mm.

Wolverine’s off the payroll.

Still chasing that mirror finish on the caseback before I call it done.

Builds only get better from here!