First 5513 Build ! Please help a new modder out finding some good parts

[watchbuilder]

Hi guys and girls,

even though I'm new in this forum, I've bought and sold several reps in the last years (Panerai 292, Rolex Yachtmaster, Omega LMPO). I recently stumbled over a 5513 that I fell absolutely in love with -

I always wanted to build my own franken Sub but am still very cautious as I see it as a big challenge. I was hoping some more experienced user can give me some tips on which parts fit best together and where I can source them from. I tried reading through as many threads as possible, but it's difficult as so many links are still broken since the forum went offline.

The 5513 in question:

https://imgur.com/a/BRLCcOc

Starting off with the parts:

Dial: this Yuki dial seems to be a good match
Case: Very unsure, but wouldn't want to spend more than 500$ on it. Which ones do exist here? Any help is greatly appreciated
Movement: Low beat ETA for now
Insert: Gen would be impossible / any ideas?
Bezel: Also unsure
Crystal: Yuki Plexiglas (?)

As you guys can see I'm still quite lost, especially with the Case and Bezel/Insert.

What parts would you recommend for me?




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[alligoat]

I'd pick up a cartel 5513 with the long crown guards. Get it with the dg2813 to save money. Drill the lugholes and trim the insides of the cgs. Then get a 2846-2 and with the Yuki dial and hands you should be good to go. You can put in a gen crown and tube if you want- 702 or 700 from Athaya would be good. I'd just age the bezel insert provided it's the one with the decent pearl- maybe darken the back of the pearl to match the dial and hands lume- of course it would help to age the dial and hands while you're at it. The 93150 type bracelet can be replaced with a rivet type bracelet in keeping with the period- early 60s. Check out rafflesdials.com for the bracelet. That would get you a nice vintage 5513 for $600-750.

 

[watchbuilder]

I'd pick up a cartel 5513 with the long crown guards. Get it with the dg2813 to save money. Drill the lugholes and trim the insides of the cgs. Then get a 2846-2 and with the Yuki dial and hands you should be good to go. You can put in a gen crown and tube if you want- 702 or 700 from Athaya would be good. I'd just age the bezel insert provided it's the one with the decent pearl- maybe darken the back of the pearl to match the dial and hands lume- of course it would help to age the dial and hands while you're at it. The 93150 type bracelet can be replaced with a rivet type bracelet in keeping with the period- early 60s. Check out rafflesdials.com for the bracelet. That would get you a nice vintage 5513 for $600-750.

Thanks a lot alligoat, that is some really valuable input! How hard will you reckon drilling the lugholes will be? I saw a really nice guide for trimming the CGs so I feel fine with that as long as I take it slow.

Edit: Also does the cartel 5513 already come with bezel and insert?

 

[watchbuilder]

Sorry to bother again, by 5513 Cartel case do you mean a full 5513 watch from (e.g. Joshua Perfect clones), some other TD or just a case that is sold by some manufacturer? alligoat

 

[alligoat]

This watch from Josh looks like the old model with the stubby crown guards, but it has the correct pearl in the insert
https://www.pf-828.com/watches/rolex....html?___SID=U
He has another 5513 with longer cgs, but the pearl has the little metal rim around the pearl- you could always buy the ofrei lume dot for $20 and replace the other pearl I guess
https://www.pf-828.com/watches/rolex...ck-a-2813.html
Other dealers also have the cartel 5513 with the longer cgs, you just have to look around and ask.
I always trim the cgs with a hand file and wet dry sandpaper- slow does the trick
To drill the lugholes, I use a drill press and go slow with a #55 drill bit from Snap-on tools. It will pooch out the metal a little bit so you have to go back and polish the lugs afterwards.
To install a gen or aftermarket tube, you have to remove the existing tube first and then run a tap thru the hole- a 3.0mm x .35 is what Rolex uses- and then install the tube with the Rolex tube wrench. You can buy taps for $10, but the tube wrench runs $30-40.

This is a cartel with a 702 crown and tube. I filed the tube seat down to make the stubby cgs a little less noticeable

 

[yodog]

But but aren't you a watchbuilder!

All joking aside - I agree with alligoat here. Your first foray should not be as money intensive - you have a lot to learn and practice on.

Cartel 5513 would be the best bet. However, I suggest just going with the clone 2836 version instead - for about $270 bucks at any dealer. This way, you won't have to swap hands later on if you want to upgrade to an ETA 2846 (which by all means is a pain in the ass - they are all NOS and have problems being 20+ years old).

The dial, you can stick with Yuki for a next level upgrade from Cartel, but the best quality available would be from Vietnam dealers aka Rubyswatch, eBay, etc.

You can pick up a genuine service thin font 5513 insert for about $225-$275 bucks, depending on availability, and I advise not to touch the pearl (since its gen)

Buy some lume kits, try your hand at luming, match the hands with dial, etc.

Casework is the most precise and time consuming part - thats why I choose to go with higher end cases and not with cartels. It takes a long time to sand things down by hand, smooth it out with sandpaper, then repolish.

Point here is that you will probably not come to a result that you want the first time around. As you learn more and more you will then want to change things on the watch, or redo things many of times. I sometimes cringe at pictures of the first watches I have built, but thats after a long time practicing and putting them together.

 

[watchbuilder]

That already helped a lot! yodog alligoat

I am browsing through TDs right now, but one thing that I'm very unsure about is that they ALL have different case thicknesses. I'm not sure if that's because they measure the dome as well or because they are actually thicker.

This one is apparently 13mm
https://www.pf-828.com/watches/role...bmariner-asia-2813-28800-best-v.html?___SID=U

This one 15mm
https://puretime.io/watch-brands/ro...le-10-ss-black-dial-on-ss-bracelet-a2836.html

This one 17mm (!)
https://puretime.io/watch-brands/ro...tyle-1-ss-black-dial-on-ss-bracelet-a23j.html


I have a pretty thin wrist, so having it sit as flat as possible is a must. Do either of you know about case sizes & thicknesses ? I'm inclined to go with the 15mm one, even though I would have to switch out the dial and plexiglass immediately (as I want a no date one)

 

[alligoat]

I don't know about the varying thicknesses- lke you say, they're probably measuring from different points. The 1680 Date case is thicker I would think, it is different from the 5513 case. Like Yodog says, it's best just to pick a cartel case and go on. As you get into it, your tastes will change and later you may want to spend more money with a good case and a Vietnam dial. Or maybe you'll just wear your beater cartel and be happy. I love my cartel beater- I only have $200 in it- $148 for the watch from Josh and $50 for the 702 crown- the 702 case tube was given to me. It's great for knocking around!

 

[watchbuilder]

Fair enough, just tricky as they don't state which one is a 1680 case or a 5513. I guess the "Style 1" is the 5513 one.

Am I correct to assume that there is a big difference between the cartel bezel and the WSO bezel? Is that the correct one? https://www.ebay.de/itm/WATCH-BEZEL...725758?hash=item27c493813e:g:HuYAAOSw1xVa~u3z

Cheers!

 

[watchbuilder]

Not to overcomplicate it too much, but this one seems to have the long CGS + correct pearl without metal? It's marked as 5512, but there shouldn't be any difference to 5513 AFAIK.

http://www.asian7750.co/product_show.asp?P_id=3821

 

[alligoat]

That watch looks pretty good- long cgs and good pearl. Also, with the Asian 2836-2, swapping to a 2846-2 would be easy. Startime Supply still sells 2846-2s so it's not a 20 year old movement
http://www.startimesupply.com/merch...uct_Code=ETA2846Y&Category_Code=Automatic-ETA
A gen crown would also help. I wouldn't bother with the WSO bezel myself, it might not fit the crystal retention ring on the 5512 or 5513- like you say, there's no difference between the two except for the movement- 5512 is chronometer rated.

 

[Dino2018]

I would go for the WSO bezel and insert, I did for my Carte 5513 and it makes all the difference! If you put side by side a gen against a Cartel 5513s you can see the difference in bezel thick, and that the insert numbers looks smaller. If you want a stock bezel more gen-like you can go for the BP Vintage Sub as pompompurin recommended us some days ago in a similar thread.

 

[Fedon06]

Hi everyone,

reached Yuki for a 5513 dial but they said "sorry we dont have on". I thought they had 5513 dials, is it maybe that they went out of prodction?

If so, anyone knows a decent 5513 dial for DG2813 movement? many thanks!