How to Franken Threads

[QueTip]

Here we have combined a few of the best 'How To Franken' threads. If you have any addition suggestions, kindly send me a PM and I might add them to this thread.



You can find the various threads below at their corresponding post number.


# 2 Rolex 16800 by me
# 3 Rolex 16610 by me
# 4 Rolex 16613 by me

 

[QueTip]

The 16800


I've been thinking about this for quite a while yet and thought I would do a little tutorial on 16800 builds as the one I did on the Bluesy builds.
Since there are NO reps of that model, you HAVE to build it to have it.


So first things first.. The 16800

Basically it is the model between the 1680 and the 16610 (168000 actually but are we counting this??)


It is a pretty unpopular Rolex in collectors eyes so far but I am totally positive that will change drastically over time with the rarity of the Pallettoni dials and the special spider dials that are popping up in those pieces, there most likely is a great potential in those pieces.



Improvements compared to the 1680:

- Saphire Crystal -> no more acrylic
- Rolex Cal 3035 -> no more 1570/5 (-> added QuickSet function and now high beat)
- Unidirectional rotating bezel
- Waterproof to a depth of 300m -> 200m on the 1680
- New crown - 703 (trip lock) -> 700 on the 1680
- 93150 Bracelet with 593 end links -> 7206 or 9315 on the 1680 with 580 end links

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16800

1680​

Now let's get to the building.

Of course you will want a decent case as a base for your build. I also have to say this is probably one of the hardest tasks in repdom.
Find a correct case...

There are not many to choose...

Only ones I know about that are usable are:

- 3035 ST case (old and super rare)
- Phong 16800 case ($$$)


Sure you could use a TC case too but that wouldn't have a shallow rehaut and just be incorrect, also you will have to drill lug holes. It's up to you to decide if you can live with that flaw or not. Imho it's not too much of a biggie but I would still hunt for a correct case.

Once you have a case, move on with the sourcing of a crystal, crown and tube.
I personally would go gen on all of those.

- nonAR 295c sapphire crystal
- 703 crown and tube

After that, I would go with the decision of the bezel assembly and the bezel ring.

Your choices are:

- Genuine
- Phong
- ST
- TC (if you go TC case)


Bezel insert HAS to be gen imho so there goes that.



Now we have almost everything except for movement, bracelet, hands and dial eh? Yeah exactly.

Now it is yours to choose if you want to go matte dial (Pallettoni) or gloss dial (with WG surrounds)

Special dials would be the Spider dials (also $$$ if proper one)

Spider dial:

The matte dials are pretty expensive to buy if you can even find them in an acceptable condition. They are really hard to come by.

The gloss ones although are out there like sand on the beach, you can find them literally everywhere and also score pretty good deals on them



To be periodic correct there are several Marks for the dials..


Matte dials:


Mk1:

Mk2:

Rare dial, can usually be found on watches with serial numbers from 6.1 to 8.5 mil ('84-'85)
The hyphen in the wording 'Swiss - T<25' is perfectly centered with the '6 Marker whilst on the Mk1 it was placed more on the right.
Also in the depth indication the tail of the letter 'f' almost touches the tip of the letter V in 'SUPERLATIVE'.


Mk3:

Even rarer dial than mk2
The two hyphens of the '=' in the depth indication are staggered - not aligned to each other

Mk4:

Now the Mk4 is a special dial since it is a dial that was around at the early serials.
It is unique for the font of the 'ft' and the inclination.


Gloss dials:


Mk1:

Mk2:

I think the difference between gloss Mk1 and Mk2 are obvious, so I will not get into them now.





If you have found a dial you like, go and buy a hands set, you should use:

- genuine
- TC LN v3

and age them to match the Patina of your dial.


When it comes to the movement, the question is all about your wallet.


You can go:

- genuine cal. 3035
- ETA


Now last but not least, we're having the bracelet..

For that you can choose between those:

- genuine 93150
- PT 93150
- anything else aftermarket

However I would suggest at least getting a genuine clasp for it.
Please also keep the dating of the clasp code in mind so that it mates up with the rest of your build specs.


After you have sourced all of those parts, send them out to the watchmaker of your choice and have him build the 16800.








Happy building! :cheers:

​

 

[QueTip]

Considering, I've already done the 16800 history thread, I thought why not do one for the 16610 as well. I'm super bored anyway so I have a lot of time on my hands hehe.




Let's get this started.. The 16610, what is there to say about another iconic submariner.




What has changed in comparison to the 16800? (Transitional 168000 excluded)
- new movement -> caliber 3135 introduced
- 904L Steel (316L on 16800, 904L on 168000)


Starting of in 1989 the 16610 of course has a few different dials as well.
Here's that:




The Mark1 dial:

This is the first dial that was used on the 16610's and also the only one that was used during the time Tritium was used as luminous material. So if you're looking to build a Tritium 16610, this is the dial to look for.
Mark1 also comes with the flat 4 bezel insert.





The Mark2 dial:

The luminous material has been changed from Tritium to Luminova.
Main differences between the dials are: Swiss Made writing underneath the 6' marker.
The difference on the depth rating is more than obvious to see I think.
Also the insert has changed on watches this age, the insert has the pointy 4.





The Mark2.1 dial:

This is basically the same dial as the Mk2 explained above just in a different case. This one was also used in the engraved rehaut cases.
This dial was the first one to be featured in the engraved rehaut cases. There is another one to follow.





The Mark3 dial:

In this mark, the wording 'OYSTER PERPETUAL DATE' became wider with a bigger gap between each word. Also the oval at the base of the coronet has become flatter than on previous dials.
The font on the depth rating and below have changed again too, more like they were on the Mk1 yet still a little different.




What else is there to say about the LN?


Lugholes were there until 2003. After that the no lug hole cases appeared (16610T) (Y serial)
SwissMade dials were introduced in the late 90s.
Bracelet changed from 93150 to 93250 in the early 2000s.
Rehaut engraving started around 2007 (Z serial)

Let's get to the LV then, shall we?

The LV is the 50th anniversary of the Rolex Submariner. It was introduced at Baselworld 2003. It is also referred to as the 'Kermit' Submariner due to its green bezel insert and black dial.


ALL LV's feature the new 16610T case, there are no lug hole cases. Only the prototype that was presented at Baselworld had lug holes. None of these were sold though.


Let's get to the dial variations..


The Mark1 dial:

Mark 1 went from 2003 up until the middle of 2004.
The main features of the dials are: the swiss made writing is stretched beyond the 28 and 32 minute markers. They have been shortened on the dial to make room for the writing. Also you should notice the oval shape of the 'O' in ROLEX.




The Mark2 dial:

The wording 'Swiss Made' changes from a wide appearance to a rather narrow look. Although it doesn't exceed the 28 and 32 markers, they are still shortened. However the writing remains within these markers. The 'O' in 'ROLEX' is still oval and the 'R' in 'Oyster' is perfectly aligned with the right foot of the 'R' in 'ROLEX'.
Also the coronet is less sharp than in other marks and more fan shaped.






The Mark3 dial:

The 'Swiss Made' appears to be the same as on the Mk2. The 'O' in 'ROLEX' has changed from an oval shape to a round shape. The 'R' in 'OYSTER' is almost aligned with the 'R' in 'ROLEX'.
Also the wording 'OYSTER PERPETUAL DATE' has become wider and with bigger gaps between each word.




The Mark4 dial:

The wording 'Swiss Made' remains to be narrow but now the 28 and 32 marker have stopped being shorter and are on the same level as all the other minute tracks. The 'Swiss Made' wording is almost closed by the two markers.
Also the oval at the base of the coronet has become wider.




The Mark5 dial:

The word 'OFFICIALLY' is placed more to the right and the space between the 'Y' in 'OFFICIALLY' and the 'C' in 'CERTIFIED' has been reduced compared to other marks.




Same as the LN, the LV has two different bezel insert prints. However there are different shades of green ranging from an olive green to a bright one.


The two prints are the flat 4 printed version and the pointy 4 one.
Flat 4 bezels were to be found on LV's up until some of the first Mk2 serials.


All of the LVs came with the 93250 bracelet (SEL bracelet)

Now to build these things.


Of course, the easiest way to have one of these things is to buy a TC. However if you still want to build you can use my above post for reference of periodical correctness.


Best parts to use are:


Case: TC, Sean, WM9, Gen, Phong
Dial: Gen, TC KH
Hands: Gen, TC v3
Insert: Gen, TC v2 (although not as good)
Crown: Gen (24-703-0), Tube: Gen or TC (Gen: 24-7030-0)
Crystal: Gen (25-295-C2)
Bracelet: TC or Gen (93250 (SEL) / 93150 (TwoPiece))
Bezel Assembly: Gen, Clarks, TCX, Phong
Movement: Gen, Yuki (SH3135) or ETA (Gen: 3135)

 

[QueTip]

Thought I'd do this as a LOT of members have PMed me about their Blusey builds so I thought I'd make this thread so y'all have a source to gather info from.




First off-


The 16613 / Bluesey was first introduced in '88/'89 after it's predecessor the 16803 which came with a cal 3035.
The 16613 came with the new cal 3135 off factory!
It's a very special piece out of the SUBMARINER line.
​

To build a good Bluesey you're -

1. looking at quite a high investment
2. into a piece with a lot of history and many things that can go VERY south 3. having to be real lucky to find the exact parts you want / need



​

Basically the only good OTB 16613 is the WM9 version. Forget about all the others.. They ALL suck.
Even the WM9 needs some more modding to be completely correct and bang on.
It would need the following:

- gen insert
- gen crown
- gen crystal
- shave down the CG's a bit as they're a tad bit on the fat side
- some day the bracelet will need to be upgraded same as the bezel as the gold is just plated and it WILL tarnish and chip off

Either way if you are not looking into a WM9 but building a Bluesey for yourself from scratch, there are several things you need to know..

- there's variations of the specs basics (varies from serials)
- $$$$





​

Best parts to use:


Case: TC, WM9, Phong, ST (old 3135 case, hard to find, (lug holes build only))
Bezel: Gen, ST, WSO (all solid 18k)
Insert: Gen
Crystal: Gen (295-2)
Crown: Gen or WM9 (703 / 704)
Dial: Gen or WM9
Movement: cal 3135, Yuki (SH3135), ETA
Hands: Gen, TC
Bracelet: Gen (93153 (TP), 93253 (SEL)), ST, WSO, WM9
*EndLinks*: Gen (401b), ST, WSO
Clasp: Gen (different clasp codes for dating), WM9



​

Serial specials:

Early 16613:

Basically the only thing REAL early 16613's can have in comparison to other, newer ones is that the dial CAN ONLY be blurple in EARLY R/L series ('88, '89). Only a FEW of the blurple dials have made it into 16613's so that's a real rare bird.

Other than that the Bluesey hasn't changed much until A series ('98, '99), from then on the Luminova dials have launched. Meaning that the lume on the dial was no longer applied with Tritium but Luminova.
In A series you can have both Tritium and Swiss Made dials.

Then in P series (2000) some more has changed! The SEL's (SolidEndLinks) have been introduced, taking away the two piece bracelets and an apparently better sit and feel of the bracelet and the gold through clasp was added to the new bracelets.

In 2003 - Y series (sep '02 - jan '04) started having LEC's (LaserEngravedCrown) in the crystal at 6 and no lug holes cases. So Y series can also have both new and old style.

F/D series (~2004) the Rehaut was engraved with the 'famous' ROLEXROLEXROLEX.



It's late and I'm tired as hell. I hope I haven't forgot anything major.
I hope this was helpful to you as it's taken me quite a while writing and formatting all of this.

If I did miss anything, please let me know and I'll update it but I think I got all of the info covered.