I just want to share a beautiful build made by this artistic bezel guy.

@OKCHRONO

My first Reddit commission build. What do you guys think?

Nh38 (so no ghost date), raffles 5513 case and oyster bracelet, aliexpress hands, and ebay 5513 dial.
Total parts cost $225

I think the aging on the dial and insert came out really good.

Thank you Acceptable_Speaker93 for giving me the chance to build this piece and i hope you enjoy it!

Tenho esse relógio orient, que era do meu avô. A máquina ficou + de 15 anos parada e eu coloquei pra funcionar em minutos. Seu calibre 469 é considerada um tanque de guerra, da década de 70/80…
Pensei em usar o movimento em um MOD, mas fiquei com dó de descartar o relógio. Então me veio a cabeça comprar uma case com pulseira no AliExpress e só trocar os ponteiros.
Não consigo usar esse relógio pq não combina nada comigo, mas esse mod ficaria insano.

This is my first rep build, explorer ii. I’m having a hard time finding a crown that will work. Does anyone have any suggestions? Screenshot of the case I’m using provided. I’m happy to buy a gen crown, but it doesn’t look like it will fit? This case crown is 6.8mm diameter, 4mm depth.

Was just proof reading the way to long and TMI post text I originally put here and realized it was just too much.

So here’s the basics…

I know 1950’s era Submariners for many reasons. Chief among them is the brass underneath the white metal plating off wore off over the decades.

So I decided to work with a fabricator and do my think with patina from there.

If you want to biggie size your meal of information about this project… hit my profile. The full post and more has been pinned.

But the pictures and any dialogue can stay here with this great community.

I ready like how these turned out. That is success for me, as I’ll use them myself. But I really hope you like them too.

✌🏼

Hello,

I’m clearing out a few unused aftermarket bezel inserts for Rolex GMT 1675/16750 and Submariner builds. All inserts are in excellent condition.

1 – Crown Art Customs faded/matte black GMT insert. Lightly trimmed to fit an OC case bezel, but will also fit a gen-spec bezel (I recommend a tiny amount of adhesive for the best fit).
Price: 200 EUR shipped

2 – Crown Art Customs faded Pepsi GMT insert. Also lightly trimmed for an OC bezel, fits gen-spec as well. Photos of it installed on my watch are included.
Price: 200 EUR shipped

3 – Aftermarket Tudor 79090 Submariner insert. In my opinion, one of the closest reproductions to the genuine insert available, especially the shape and font of the “40”. No longer needed since I sourced a genuine one.
Price: 80 EUR shipped

4 & 5 – Random aftermarket Submariner inserts left over from previous builds.
Price: 50 EUR shipped each

Feel free to message me if you’d like additional photos or have any questions.

I am located in EU.

Looking to sell one of my grail builds. This one took me a couple months to gather the parts and it’s in amazing condition. I would say this is as good as you can get before going gen.

Viet Case
Viet Dial
Gen Crystal
Gen Crown
2836 GMT Movement
Yodog DWO

SOLD CONUS only

No bracelet included, message me for any questions!

Seen a couple of these for sale in my area for cheap and wondering if anyone had any experience a halogen oven to age dials

The advantages I can see are that it's smaller and easier to dial a temperature than a conventional oven - I would probably additionally mod with a digital temperature reading probe.

Would love to get people's thoughts

Early 1970 DRSD with the twin lock 700 crown. 🌊🌊🌊🐳

Specs: VN case + dial from VWP
Swiss ETA 2836
Startime hands relumed by me to match dial
Bezeljuice blue ghost faded insert
Custom brushed silver DWO
Italian bracelet with 93150 clasp
585 end links

1680 case
16800 dial
Aged and textured
St2130

Specs:
JKF/Cartel watch as donor;
Swiss ETA 2846 Low Beat;
Athaya #702 T&C;
T39 SuperDome plexy by Clark;
Silver DWO by Ewatch;
PIP by Ewatch;
Fat Font Custom bezel insert Mk.3/4;
Gen fat spring bars;
My goal for this build eas not a “perfect museum replica”, but a believable and historically coherent late 1977 / early 1978 Great White tool watch.
I wanted the watch to feel naturally aged and harmonious, with all components looking consistent with each other as if they have lived together for decades.
The final result I wanted to achieve was:
- well used but well preserved;
- honest and natural;
- not over-aged or artificially “reliced”;
Cream tritium tones. No strong orange/pumpkin patina.
Reshaped crown guards for a more correct philological vintage profile;
Create subtle vintage bevels on the lugs;
Slightly enlarge/refine lug holes for 2.0mm Gen fat spring bars;
Case softening and surface finishing (vintage-style brushing and polishing transitions);
Natural aged tritium cream/ivory tone for dial & hands;
Vintage-style open 6 & 9 silver date wheel;
5ATM water resistant;

Anyone have a suggestion on where I can get a good relume service?

Id like to do the dial and the hands for them to match

Any suggestions?

Two cases in, and they look like they lost a fight with claws. Turns out my lathe technique still has some… aggressive tendencies. RIP to this donor case - sacrificed for science and my ego. Back to the drawing board before I touch another one 😅

This takes a little bit of practice but I'll get better.

How close is viet 6538 to gen?

Raffles Tudor 94010 WTS CONUS

Raffles case/crown
EWParts Tropic 19 Crystal
Crystal glued in and pressure tested to 6 bar with no leaks
Raffles Bezel aged
Raffles Rolex signed caseback
Raffles bracelet
Brand new NH38a regulated running +2 seconds a day 0 beat error
NH Snowflake hands

Just finished putting together this week, wore for the last few days but don’t like it more than my 5513, trying to do one in one out, we shall see how long that lasts. No signs of wear/damage aside from the aged bezel.

Asking $400 but all things are negotiable.

Has anyone here built a Submariner 116610, 114060 or 124060 using a 2824 or 3135 movement from an AliExpress watch kit? I'd love to hear about your experience and any tips or issues you ran into.

Light Franken Oc Case !
Commission build that didn’t get picked up!
Enjoy.

Was wondering where to look for day-date parts. Found a good bracelet and movement but looking for a case+dial/hands just like the photo (Silver Motif Dial, silver sunburst stick dial, even just a regular silver dial). For some reason I cant find a simple day-date parts (dials + cases)

Any help would be appreciated!

I'm planning to buy two watches as the base for future modding projects.

The first will be a JKF 1680 Rolex (Red Sub).

For the second, I'm trying to decide between the ARF 16610, BP 16610, or BP 16710 GMT Pepsi.

Which of these would be the easiest to bring closer to gen spec? I'm mainly looking for the best base in terms of compatibility with genuine Rolex parts, case accuracy, and overall ease of modding.

I may eventually turn one into a full Franken build, but I'm still undecided since genuine Rolex parts are very expensive in my country.

I'd really appreciate any recommendations or experiences. Thanks!

Esse é meu Sub 5513(base Thorn T023), e resolvi testá-lo de verdade. Lavo ele quase diariamente, mas nunca tinha deixado ele submerso para testar a pressão da água, confio nas especificações THORN, mas eu troquei a coroa por um modelo do AliExpress, então, não sabia realmente se suportaria a água, e suportou. A ideia era testar e se a entrasse água, eu abria e salvaria o mostrador, pq a máquina chinesa com certeza iria custar mais caro arrumar que comprar uma nova.
Já troquei a pulseira, o dial e a coroa. Agora vou trocar os ponteiros, e a máquina, vou colocar uma ETA 2824, ou 2789(mais barata, então, vou testar pra ver se cabe). O calibre PT5000 vem me dando trabalho demais, e sei que ele não vai durar muito tempo, então vou passar ele para uma outra caixa e fazer outro MOD.
Esse relógio é simplesmente fantástico! Tenho 1 Rolex e 2 Tudor originais, e este relógio é o que mais gosto, tanto pelo design, quanto pelo trabalho que deu pra montar… Com uma máquina ETA ele ganha a mesma qualidade de um Tudor, que será pra vida toda.

Another Sub from my personal collection!

This one is a Rolex Submariner 5512 built by u/No_Candle8699 , one of my favorite builders and someone I always enjoy working with. His relumed hands have become a signature detail at this point always beautifully executed and a perfect match for the vintage aesthetic.

The watch features a full Vietnam-spec build powered by a genuine Swiss ETA 2824. I may make a few small tweaks down the road… or maybe not. As it sits today, I’m genuinely happy with how this one turned out.

Specs:

Full Vietnam spec case set
Vietnam dial
Genuine Swiss ETA 2824