Hi All,
Some of you may have seen this on RG already from a month or so ago but today I would like to introduce to RWI my latest completed Project…. A Super Franken 116710 BLNR GMT Master II, also known as “Batman” or "Bruiser" – with all education and assembly provided by none other than the Rolex master himself @zocker4711
The gen parts consist of:
Like many of my builds, it all started with an opportunistic acquisition and I didn’t really have any plans to build another GMT given I already had two superfrankens.
But then a genuine new 3186 rolex movement came up for sale at a compelling price. This was a bit of a risky acquisition because the seller was not that well known to me and didn’t have a lot of feedback but the price was compelling and after a few pms I decided to pull the trigger.
I knew the Batman parts were rare so I didn’t really think I could score any of the gen parts (dial, hands and bezel are all different to the LN model), but I thought I would give it a shot and ask around from some contacts and try my luck. As many of you know, things like BLNR bezel insert is “exchange only” meaning Rolex won’t even sell these to AD’s unless the old part is sent to Rolex as exchange – meaning they are very rare.
After PM’ing many well known members here at RG and RWI and receiving many regretful responses that the parts either weren’t there or would be very difficult to source with a long wait time I struck gold and in the space of about a week I was able to get the various genuine parts (just don’t ask me how much it cost!).
For those that know me from RWI, I really like my frankens (particularly AP, Rolex and Panerai).
I like the challenge of collecting the parts, learning about the process through the watchsmith (thanks @zocker4711 ), dealing with the issues (there are always issues!) and knowing it was built just for me. I generally keep to the rule of trying to keep the cost of the franken at below 35% of the gen, but its fair to say that this one costs more than that compared to current Batman resale prices (I understand there is a 6 month waiting list in my country also).
I have multiple gens but find myself wearing my Franken’s more on a day to day basis. Anyway, this is probably one I will never sell. Bezel clicks are tight and firm with no play either side. The quick set hour hand spins around like a speed demon when I need to set the date and I don’t sweat when I use this function unlike with my other Noob CHS A3186 movements…. (I have unfortunately broken one before).
I have some photos of the build below and the finished product side by side with a gen (mine is the one on the left with the incomplete bracelet). As you can expect they are visually identical – I know some members say they can spot a rep case instantly, but for me, I can’t tell the difference at all.
Thanks again to @zocker4711 who did an excellent job on this and my 2 other GMT’s – he was very responsive and provided excellent guidance throughout the process. Turnaround time was quick and I’m glad I took his advice to “try to build the best BLNR Batman possible”, including small details like matrix rehaut.
Enjoy the pics and let me know what you think! Thanks for reading.
Pics coming shortly.
Some of you may have seen this on RG already from a month or so ago but today I would like to introduce to RWI my latest completed Project…. A Super Franken 116710 BLNR GMT Master II, also known as “Batman” or "Bruiser" – with all education and assembly provided by none other than the Rolex master himself @zocker4711
The gen parts consist of:
- Gen BLNR dial
- Gen BLNR hands
- Gen BLNR bezel assembly (complete with all 5 parts!)
- Gen Crown
- Gen Crystal
- Gen Datewheel
- Gen Stem
- Gen 3186 Rolex GMT 2 movement (Bang!)
- Noob CHS GMT2 case (with matrix rehaut engraving – TBH I did not even know the difference between matrix rehaut and normal rep rehaut til Dirk explained it to me)
- Noob CHS GMT2 bracelet and spring bars (this will eventually be upgraded to ARF904L bracelet in future)
Like many of my builds, it all started with an opportunistic acquisition and I didn’t really have any plans to build another GMT given I already had two superfrankens.
But then a genuine new 3186 rolex movement came up for sale at a compelling price. This was a bit of a risky acquisition because the seller was not that well known to me and didn’t have a lot of feedback but the price was compelling and after a few pms I decided to pull the trigger.
I knew the Batman parts were rare so I didn’t really think I could score any of the gen parts (dial, hands and bezel are all different to the LN model), but I thought I would give it a shot and ask around from some contacts and try my luck. As many of you know, things like BLNR bezel insert is “exchange only” meaning Rolex won’t even sell these to AD’s unless the old part is sent to Rolex as exchange – meaning they are very rare.
After PM’ing many well known members here at RG and RWI and receiving many regretful responses that the parts either weren’t there or would be very difficult to source with a long wait time I struck gold and in the space of about a week I was able to get the various genuine parts (just don’t ask me how much it cost!).
For those that know me from RWI, I really like my frankens (particularly AP, Rolex and Panerai).
I like the challenge of collecting the parts, learning about the process through the watchsmith (thanks @zocker4711 ), dealing with the issues (there are always issues!) and knowing it was built just for me. I generally keep to the rule of trying to keep the cost of the franken at below 35% of the gen, but its fair to say that this one costs more than that compared to current Batman resale prices (I understand there is a 6 month waiting list in my country also).
I have multiple gens but find myself wearing my Franken’s more on a day to day basis. Anyway, this is probably one I will never sell. Bezel clicks are tight and firm with no play either side. The quick set hour hand spins around like a speed demon when I need to set the date and I don’t sweat when I use this function unlike with my other Noob CHS A3186 movements…. (I have unfortunately broken one before).
I have some photos of the build below and the finished product side by side with a gen (mine is the one on the left with the incomplete bracelet). As you can expect they are visually identical – I know some members say they can spot a rep case instantly, but for me, I can’t tell the difference at all.
Thanks again to @zocker4711 who did an excellent job on this and my 2 other GMT’s – he was very responsive and provided excellent guidance throughout the process. Turnaround time was quick and I’m glad I took his advice to “try to build the best BLNR Batman possible”, including small details like matrix rehaut.
Enjoy the pics and let me know what you think! Thanks for reading.
Pics coming shortly.