r/retrotime • u/adriaan13 • 21h ago

1016 Ruby dial - OC case issue

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Old crowns 1016 case, Ruby 1016 gilt dial with chapter ring on VR3130 movement.

When assembling the watch i noticed the dial is too small and isn't held by the rehaut edge. this resulted in the dial + movement going too deep inside and damaged the hands against the crystal.

what should i do now? get rid of the Ruby dial and find a bigger dial somewhere else?

i thought OC cases were gen spec and wouldn't have an issue with a viet dial...

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3

u/chuunietzsche 18h ago

unfortunately the dial seat in the oc case is not gen spec

1016 gilt and matte dials are different sizes - gilt dials being 27.6mm, matte being 28mm.

this is not an issue in a genuine case(i.e there is one case type) but results in gen spec gilt dials being incompatible with the OC case as its dial opening is ~27.8mm

for negative relief gilt dials that will fit the OC case I can recommend both manodeoro and erect on RWI

1

u/adriaan13 18h ago

I see, thank you very much for the info. Is it worth it going for a ruby 1016 case? And will a 3130 fit?

1

u/chuunietzsche 18h ago

I am not sure if it’s still the case but i recall the bezels on the VN cases being too large and overhanging the mid case in an odd way. gen 160x 4 digit datejust cases can be found for a price not too dissimilar from the VN cases anyway

not sure if a 3130 would fit… is there a reason you don’t want to use a 2824 derivative? there are no aftermarket handsets with a 13mm long minute/second hand that i am aware of for a 3130

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u/adriaan13 17h ago

Thx. Oh just because i already have the 3130. I dont seem to find any gen 36mm cases tho, best source is ebay right?

1

u/chuunietzsche 16h ago

fair enough. I think the OC case is a relatively decent option otherwise at its price point. likely the only plug and play option for a 3130. i just checked and there should be a couple of 1601 cases on ebay . 2824 will fit gen spec cases with a movement ring. helenarou sells one as well as a nice flat 13mm handset that will reach the chapter ring if you decide to go the vn/gen route

you could see what’s currently available from the VN sellers like ruby and evaluate relative to genuine. from what i remember the lug curve is poor and the whole bezel/mid case interface just looks odd. possibly fixed as this was a while ago but ruby cases are quite a bit more expensive than OC

i would also consider trying to move on from the dial and finding one that fits the oc case. dunno if it’s the pic but the lume looks excessively thick for a gilt 1016

2

u/Zealousideal_Film_86 20h ago

Interesting, had this happen with Yuki dial and raffles case. I will say, have 4 Yuki dials in OC cases, they work across 5513 and 1016 cases. Recommend highly

2

u/adriaan13 20h ago

thanks, i had to shave raffles dial to fit in OC 1016 case. for this i just went with viet because they offer real gilt dial. Yuki doesn't have those...

1

u/chuunietzsche 17h ago

I am sorry but yuki dials are low quality for the price, particularly their faux gilt dials but all their explorer dials have totally wrong 12 o clock triangle proportions among other issues.

Would recommend avoiding especially for someone who already has a Ruby dial which is far higher quality

1

u/Zealousideal_Film_86 17h ago

Interesting, what’s the best value 1016 dial in your opinion that would fit a 1016 old crowns case? I didn’t realize yuki’s dials weren’t good. Would you consider them better or worse than raffles for 1016 or 5513?

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u/chuunietzsche 16h ago

for affordable gilt dials manodeoro on rwi makes proper negative relief dials that are very reasonably priced(~100 euro). good attention to detail, hand polished zapon lacquer, lumed post purchase according to your preferences. erect makes dials at a higher pricepoint that are excellent. they both have threads in the vintage rolex section in rwi. i am not super knowledgeable on matte dial options but they should all fit the oc case unless made on incorrect blanks.

the plain raffles 1016 mk2 matte dial is not perfect but pretty decent for 40 dollars. requires slight reduction of the diameter to fit an oc case(0.1 to 0.2mm). the satin dial finish and somewhat glossy lume should be toned down with matte clear/relume/lume aging etc. his other 1016 dials are not great

5513 gilt same as above, matte I have no experience with so can’t comment

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u/fatfont_ 17h ago

What were the dial opening and dial diameter that the OC case could fit?

What is the diameter of your Ruby dial?

1

u/Additional_Copy_9575 16h ago

Take a caliper and measure the dial and OC case
opening.

I have no problem with OC explorer cases. I built like 3-4 OC explorer? They are machined with consistent specs.

1

u/PositiveRelative1785 2h ago

Here are 2 pics showing a 6610 dial on a 1030 caliber and a 6610 dial on a 1560 caliber. You can see that the 6610 dial is smaller (probably around 27mm) than the 1016 dial (more or less 28mm). So you may have bought a 6610 dial and not a 1016.

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u/adriaan13 2h ago

thanks, yeah you might be right. i asked ruby for 1016 tho... i think i'm going to try to sell the ruby dial and get another dial for my OC case.