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16610 LV aka. Kermit Franken project (ultimate journey)

Dr. Palouk

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2/5/17
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Well, where shall I start here… This is about a project that lasted around 1,5 years and was literally a crazy idea coming through at the end! I always loved the 16610 LV aka. the Kermit and it was mid 2018 when I decided to go for it. In the beginning I wasn’t sure where even to begin with but thankfully our well respected member and horologist interaktiv helped me much in this whole process. The biggest issue with this project was the selection of a dial. As most of you know in here a gen 16610 LV dial is rarer than hen’s teeth and my first thought was to source a BP 16610 LV dial which honestly isn’t that bad. But after seeing some pictures of it I didn’t feel amazed by it and I decided that I will search and wait till the right buying opportunity for a gen Kermit dial appears. Around half a year later after searching every day on every possible channel (RWI, RG, eBay, classified ads pages, private contacts etc.) I managed to find the 2nd iteration of the Kermit Dial (oval O in Rolex) and I was super excited! The condition was good but the dial had some minor blemishes such as a couple of light hair line scratches in the centre and the 9th minute marker was lightly scratched too. but after we placed the dial is under the crystal these blemishes could only be spotted after a thorough search which was a relief for my OCD brain haha. Furthermore the dial could be purchased at a realistic price since all my other alternatives were blistered Mark 1 dials which were and still are out of budget. Since I purchased the 2nd iteration of the Kermit dial I thought about making the project more interesting and decided to build a period correct example. The 2nd iteration Kermit dial was used for mark 2 and mark 4 Kermits. Mark 2 examples have fat four inserts which are also super expensive so I chased the idea of building a Mark 4 example. I never regretted buying this dial, it looks so beautiful on the wrist and it’s lume it’s stronger compared to almost every gen Rolex I have owned/ seen in real life.




Bezel and insert: couple of weeks later a good friend and member of RWI from the States who knew about my project texted me that he has a new B4 bezel with insert which was great news for me cause it was matching with the D2 dial! The Mark 4 Kermit wears either the lime B3 or the B4 insert and personally I prefer the B4 over the B3 insert so I went for the B4 bezel and insert without further thinking.




Bracelet: originally I was thinking to buy a rep bracelet and have it reworked to get a more gen feeling but then I got lucky again. It was almost after 7-8 months after I got the dial when I found a gen 93250 bracelet with an MA stamp on it. That was exceptionally good news since MA stands for production year 2005 which means I could complete a truly period correct Franken (Mark IV: Serial F55 to D4, F serial production ceased in year 2005). The cost of a gen bracelet can’t be compared to a rep one but this bracelet was the pass for the period correct build so I purchased it.




Case: there was a big debate between me and interaktiv when it came to the selection of the case. My idea was to go with a JF case while Interaktiv insisted on the 16610 Ruby case (Vietnam). I know interaktiv for many years and I trust his judgement so I went for a Ruby case. When ordering a Ruby case is possible to request a custom Serial so I chose a serial starting with F63. The engravings was a minor detail which at the end doesn’t play any role but since it was a Mark 4 build I thought let’s have a Mark 4 serial on the case too haha. The case was quite thick when it arrived at Interaktiv which was a good and bad thing since interaktiv had to work many hours on to give it this gen look on the lugs and the crown guards but on the other hand the case had enough material and could be worked without looking disproportional after the refinishing. I asked Interaktiv specifically to not make the watch look like it came out of the safe with super sharp edges etc. Since the Kermit can be considered a neo-classical example and my build is supposed to be a 15 year old watch I wanted it to look worn but well preserved. Interaktiv understood well what I wanted and made it happen.




Movement: yes most of you will think the watch wears a gen 3135 but no haha! We decided to install a SH3135 with some reinforcements such as gen driving wheel as well as of the reversing wheels. Ideally I would like to have a gen 3135 just to say to myself that we achieved to build an ultra Franken piece but the truth is this wouldn’t make so much of a sense cause I would run way over budget on this project (this project was my most expensive anyway). A serviced SH (the stock ones guys are a mess, you should get them serviced before you use them) with gen parts is a powerhouse! The SH has proven its worth and keeps time very well since I received the watch, there was no necessity for any kind of service so far.




Rest parts: when you have invested so much dough on parts like the ones mentioned above it goes without saying that the rest minor parts such as the crystal, hands, date wheel, tube/crown have to be gen too. The crystal is a period correct non AR/ non LEC crystal.




Works: Once again I can’t mention it enough that without interaktiv I would have never managed to have this watch on my wrist now. He was there from the start, we spent endless hours discussing about the project, he helped me find and buy parts for the project and of course he did his magic on the case refinishing and the service of the movement as well. Big shout out to him, you might guys think that this is some kind of advertisement but no it’s small token of appreciation for all the help he has provided me over the years. He is a very honest and humble person if you haven’t worked with him yet, I strongly recommend you to get in touch with him.


The text has been kinda exhausting both for me to write and for you to read so let’s skip the bla bla now and get to the pictures!




Enjoy, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this beauty!










 

p0pperini

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Wow! Such attention to detail. Bravo sir on the quest to obtain all the correct parts, and put together such a well-considered Franken. The end result is a watch that's visually as good as gen - or so near as dammit that it makes no difference. Magnificent!
 

8b1t

Horology Curious
10/6/21
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Such a review and what a description of the adventure, respect for dedication and perseverance. I must not even ask if you wrote down how much money you spent. :) :D
BTW watch looks stunning


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alligoat

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That's quite an achievement- congrats!
One little thing- shouldn't the crystal have a LEC?
Nevertheless, it's beautiful!
 

weezkid

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Dr. Palouk What a great build and congratulations on a fantastic watch! :love:. I am also doing a build using my TC V6 with similar gen parts. The only caveat is that I have decided not to invest into a full gen bracelet as the TC cases are known to have slightly wider lug widths then the gen. So, I ended up getting a brand new gen clasp instead and pair it with the TC bracelet. I will also swap the movement to a VR3135 with likely swaps to some gen components. The Kensington dial is amazing so I am sticking with that.

alligoat my TC comes with a non-AR and LEC crystal but OP may have his reasons to use non-LEC version
 

Dr. Palouk

Active Member
2/5/17
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Dear fellow members,

thank you for your kind words! I’m wearing the watch for some time now and I can tell you with confidence that this is most gen feel like Franken I have ever seen! I enjoyed the journey much and it made me learn a lot about our hobby and meet new enthusiasts as well! I like to gather all this information and share it with you cause in the end it is more about the love for the hobby rather than the timepiece it self!

BTW guys the Crystal is a LEC/non-AR one it was mistake from my side, you were quite good to spot the mistake!
 

Dr. Palouk

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2/5/17
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Dr. Palouk What a great build and congratulations on a fantastic watch! :love:. I am also doing a build using my TC V6 with similar gen parts. The only caveat is that I have decided not to invest into a full gen bracelet as the TC cases are known to have slightly wider lug widths then the gen. So, I ended up getting a brand new gen clasp instead and pair it with the TC bracelet. I will also swap the movement to a VR3135 with likely swaps to some gen components. The Kensington dial is amazing so I am sticking with that.

alligoat my TC comes with a non-AR and LEC crystal but OP may have his reasons to use non-LEC version

weezkid sounds very interesting the TC is also a good donor watch to start with! Share some pictures when you are done with your project!
 

Max Dad

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Nice job interaktiv looks excellent....as for Dr. Palouk jeez I wish I had your patience......1.5 years.....you kidding me....I can't wait 1.5 months....for anything...lol
 

Dr. Palouk

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2/5/17
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Such a review and what a description of the adventure, respect for dedication and perseverance. I must not even ask if you wrote down how much money you spent. :) :D
BTW watch looks stunning


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you for your kind words my friend! The watch costed more than 6.500€ in total which is not a bargain but it’s justified given the fact it has so many rare gen parts on it.

The watch will be listed for sale in the next couple of days and I will provide an extensive price breakdown for those interested! :)
 

Dr. Palouk

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Nice job interaktiv looks excellent....as for Dr. Palouk jeez I wish I had your patience......1.5 years.....you kidding me....I can't wait 1.5 months....for anything...lol

Haha yes it’s been a long period and tbh at the time when I was looking for the dial I thought this project will never be completed but at the end the result was rewarding!
 

Max Dad

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I was recently looking for a gen dial too.....VERY hard to find one.....saw one go one ebay for €2200 and was not willing to pay THAT price.....crazy.
 

weezkid

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I was recently looking for a gen dial too.....VERY hard to find one.....saw one go one ebay for €2200 and was not willing to pay THAT price.....crazy.

That's about $2600 - any green Rolex build will just be so expensive. I almost pulled the trigger with my Hulk project but in the end, I settled for a BP dial :rolleyes:
 

Dr. Palouk

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Those prices are quite steep and I wouldn’t pay this kind of money either. Mine has costed around 1.700€ back when I bought it
 

Max Dad

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That's about $2600 - any green Rolex build will just be so expensive. I almost pulled the trigger with my Hulk project but in the end, I settled for a BP dial :rolleyes:

They are BOTH hard to find OR expensiive, I was after a black kermit dial........re Hulk, I just received my ZF, have to say the dial and hands are VERY close to gen....closest I have seen so far IMO.