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The Gonzo babe - Double Nine Gonzo!

KJ2020

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https://www.horbiter.com/en/rolex-ai...y-watchfinder/

https://timeandtidewatches.com/a-mod...-up-to-the-9s/

This is just a teaser - coming soon to an Air King near you!

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Last edited:

Hazing

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I saw this post and thought you did it. Damn,,, I got all excited there for a second.

Did you get everything and ready to start the work?
 

KJ2020

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I saw this post and thought you did it. Damn,,, I got all excited there for a second.

Did you get everything and ready to start the work?

Yep, got all the pieces bro. Hope to get to it real soon.
 
Last edited:

mpx

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I was also quite astonished when I first heard about that some time ago. And we complain about slightly misaligned things on reps for a fraction of the price ...
 

Hazing

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If anything, I think that watchfinder video difinitively proved that people would be hard pressed to notice.

The original air king that had that QC error went through several owners over several years before some 1 even noticed it.

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KJ2020

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If anything, I think that watchfinder video difinitively proved that people would be hard pressed to notice.

The original air king that had that QC error went through several owners over several years before some 1 even noticed it.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

I know man, that's pretty hard to believe. I bet not many of us would have missed it.
 

Subzed

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Ha! KJ you’re worth 10 times the average mortal in entertainment value. :clap_1:
 
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m5smg2

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Yes we’d all miss that hour marker glitch. It will be like the famous “APH” defect on some Daytona dials... and those are considered more collectible. Only Rolex can f something up and make it more desirable lol. Crazy.
 

KJ2020

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Yes we’d all miss that hour marker glitch. It will be like the famous “APH” defect on some Daytona dials... and those are considered more collectible. Only Rolex can f something up and make it more desirable lol. Crazy.

Yes indeed bro - in 20 years the original will command some outrageous price at auction. One thing the article got wrong though was asking "who is the owner of the one and only Rolex Air-King Double Nine in the world?" Hehe.
 
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KJ2020

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So the marker swap is really a simple mod as mods go. However, I ran into an issue unrelated to the mod that became a bit of a challenge.

I had an extremely difficult time getting caseback off, and when I took it off there was what appeared to be ANOTHER caseback underneath it. I was like WTF!?

SkxL2.jpg


This “second caseback” was actually screwed down into the case far enough to contact the movement holder, and is what was holding it in place.

Sk0Gt.jpg


The movement was then anchored only to the movement holder and not to the case.

SkV7n.jpg


Whaddaya know, I’ve opened up quite a few reps and had not seen this arrangement before. It’s pretty ingenious except for one thing. The threads in the case had TWO places where there were significant bumps of un-cut metal in between the threads. This explained my extreme difficulty getting the caseback off, and getting the “second caseback” off was even worse. I didn’t think it was ever going to come off. I actually ended up putting the case in a case holder, put the case holder in a vice, and used a pair of plumber’s channel lock pliers on it. OMG! Amazingly, I was able to completely unscrew it , each half turn having to overcome thread bumps in the case threads. I cannot overstate how much of a PITA this was.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Channellock-12-in-Tongue-and-Groove-Pliers-440/100002119

After I got it off I used a diamond file to chew the case thread bumps down to nothing and sanded the space with some sandpaper backed by a thin screwdriver. Geez.

Now down to business. To get a marker off, you just scrape the glue off the back then push the marker pins out with a needle. The marker should just fall off.

SCnyK.jpg


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It helps a lot if the markers are from the same factory then they should have the same pin and hole arrangement. If not you have to sand one pin down and use glue on the dial front which is much more challenging on markers with thin surface areas or a coronet. It’s not bad at all on big round or rectangular hour markers, you can blob the glue on almost willy nilly and not muck it up.

SC6wv.jpg


Just pop the new marker pins in their holes and glue the pins in place from the backside of the dial. I used BSI epoxy, love the stuff.

SCQSI.jpg


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While waiting for the glue to set I removed the calendar parts from the movement. No need for all this junk on a no date watch!

SM5J8.jpg


Next I filed down the middle hump on the Setting Lever Jumper so the stem won’t catch there and there won’t be a crown position 2. Sweet!

SCqGS.jpg


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Remount the dial and hands, replace the movement in the case, regulate it and Boom!

SCOLQ.jpg


SkSpF.jpg


Double Nine Gonzo, yeah!

SkJ8E.jpg
 

saucin

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Fantastic job!! The watch looks amazing. Thanks for providing the photos and instruction. Smart move shaving down the setting lever to remove crown position 2! Can’t believe what you had to go through to get the base back off....Yikes, glad you worked through it successfully.


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Spoons

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Great job and thanks for sharing. I am sure I am not the only one that appreciates you for taking the time to share not only your build/mod results but also the problems you've encountered and overcome along the way.
 
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Hazing

And So It Begins... Again
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Sweet brother. Looks awesome.

This watch baffles me. Two casebacks? And a day wheel? And a datewheel?

It's funny because I was literally going to dm you this week about swapping the markers on a hulk dial and as I mentioned before, I've been practicing on cheap dials, taking off and reinstalling the markers from the front.

But with the BP dial I think I am able to access the markers from the back and I was going to ask you exactly this. I didn't want to use any glue/epoxy on the front of the dial a d wondering if just on the back would be enough. Got my answer.

Now I want it. Lol.



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