Rolex Explorer ii with GMT Bezel

[Yingfu]

Hi everyone,

I've read some old threads in Rolex Forum discussing replacing the fix stainless steel bezel of rolex 16570 with the rotating bezel assembly of a gmt 16710, but there was never a verdict as to if it would be a straight swap or need serious modding or could never be done.

I have a what dial explorer ii and am thinking it would be great if the bezel could be replaced with a rotating bezel to add functionality. And perhaps with a custom aftermarket bakelite bezel insert, it would have that vintage look as the one done by Tempus Machina (https://tempus-machina.com/products/tempus-machina-711z), and since it's a white dial, it would also fulfill some of my desire for the albino 6542.

Thank you all!

 

[Yingfu]

Has anyone here has tried it or know if it is feasible?

 

[Yingfu]

Hi everyone,

Since there has been no response from anyone, I went on and bought a set of aftermarket gmt bezel assembly for 16700 as shown below.
And tried it on my explorer ii 16570. Unfortunately, it won't work. According to my watchsmith, the retaining bezel ring is too big to fit tightly with the sapphire crystal. What a disappointment!
So my question now is if a thicker gasket for the crystal could fix the problem, and where to find one? Would appreciate any suggestion/comment.

 

[itgoes211]

Yingfu : Check with
KJ2020 .
It’s an interesting project. I was thinking something similar, but have other projects in line first. Good luck. I’d like to see how yours goes!

 

[KJ2020]

Hi everyone,

Since there has been no response from anyone, I went on and bought a set of aftermarket gmt bezel assembly for 16700 as shown below.

And tried it on my explorer ii 16570. Unfortunately, it won't work. According to my watchsmith, the retaining bezel ring is too big to fit tightly with the sapphire crystal. What a disappointment!
So my question now is if a thicker gasket for the crystal could fix the problem, and where to find one? Would appreciate any suggestion/comment.

Start by epoxying the retaining ring to the case. Make sure it is properly centered! Use slow cure epoxy to allow time for minor adjustments. While epoxy is meant to be permanent and should not cause any separation or leakage issues, it can also be undone by soaking in acetone in case you decide to go back to the fixed bezel. So it's a good solution for this project. Clean up any excess carefully with an alcohol towelette or swab before it cures.

Then, because the gap between the retaining ring and the crystal will be larger than a normal gasket width, you also need to address that issue. I was not able to find any thicker gaskets but you can epoxy two together. Use clear epoxy, then shave them to the correct height and outer size. The inner size should be OK if you start with one fitted for the crystal.

I don't have pics of this on an Explorer, but I've done it on other watches too to change an ETA position cyclops to a Rolex position cyclops crystal. Same principle.

I used a crystal die as a holder for the smaller gasket, then glued the larger one. Then put everything in the crystal space while curing.

Two gaskets. The glue isn't really needed to keep the gaskets together once the crystal is installed. The pressure fit is sufficient to keep them in place and water tight. The glue just helps a lot to keep them in place while shaving and pressing the crystal. I tried pressing the crystal with two loose gaskets and no luck, too difficult.

I bought separate bezels and glued the inserts in for quick switching. It's faster and easier to change the bezel and inserts get damaged with constant swapping.

 

[tripdog]

This would only have worked as a straight swap with the older, no longer in production 16750 gen spec cases. You have a non-gen spec case, therefore the only solution is as described above - use glue to hold the retaining ring in place.

 

[Yingfu]

Since mine is a gen 16750, I thought it would be a direct swap too. It made me think that perhaps the aftermarket bezel assembly may not have the correct size.

kj2020,
Thank you for the detailed explanation. Just to clarify, basically you suggested 2 options, either to epoxy glue the retaining ring to the case or try to glue 2 gaskets to make a thicker one? Since it's a gen 16750, I may not opt for the first option. The second option seems the way to go if I had your skill set, and I don't think I can find a modder in my country who can do that. I saw the below bezel gasket which was not included in the bezel assembly I bought. I don't know what it's for, but do you think it will help to make the bezel retaining ring fit better?
https://www.watchmaterial.com/bezel-gasket-to-fit-rolex-gmt-submariner-16700-16800/

 

[tripdog]

Well, the fact that you are talking about a genuine 16750 is probably a detail that should have been mentioned in your OP.

The 16750 case and the 16710 case are basically the same, a 16710 bezel assembly should fit on a 16750 case.

 

[KJ2020]

Since mine is a gen 16750, I thought it would be a direct swap too. It made me think that perhaps the aftermarket bezel assembly may not have the correct size.

kj2020,
Thank you for the detailed explanation. Just to clarify, basically you suggested 2 options, either to epoxy glue the retaining ring to the case or try to glue 2 gaskets to make a thicker one? Since it's a gen 16750, I may not opt for the first option. The second option seems the way to go if I had your skill set, and I don't think I can find a modder in my country who can do that. I saw the below bezel gasket which was not included in the bezel assembly I bought. I don't know what it's for, but do you think it will help to make the bezel retaining ring fit better?
https://www.watchmaterial.com/bezel-gasket-to-fit-rolex-gmt-submariner-16700-16800/

It's not two options bro, you need to do both. While the double gasket arrangement is sufficient to anchor the crystal to the retaining ring, relying on that bond to also keep the retaining ring anchored to the case is asking too much. Especially a ring that would have regular rotational force applied to it.

 

[KJ2020]

Since mine is a gen 16750, I thought it would be a direct swap too. It made me think that perhaps the aftermarket bezel assembly may not have the correct size.

kj2020,
it's a gen 16750.

I don't know what it's for, but do you think it will help to make the bezel retaining ring fit better?

https://www.watchmaterial.com/bezel-...r-16700-16800/

Wait, I'm confused. Did you mean your CASE is a gen 16570? If so, the best solution is find s gen retaining ring and bezel assembly. The 16570 and 16710 cases are identical except for the lug engraving.

I've never seen a bezel gasket like that one. It's not used on later model 5 digit Rolexes for the bezel. You have all the bezel parts needed for a 16710, or a 16610 for that matter (slightly different shape click spring).

 

[tripdog]

Wait, I'm confused. Did you mean your CASE is a gen 16570? If so, the best solution is find s gen retaining ring and bezel assembly. The 16570 and 16710 cases are identical except for the lug engraving.

I've never seen a bezel gasket like that one. It's not used on later model 5 digit Rolexes for the bezel. You have all the bezel parts needed for a 16710, or a 16610 for that matter (slightly different shape click spring).

I just clicked on the link - it's a bezel gasket that sits under the crystal retaining ring - between case and ring - on 5 digit Subs.

 

[KJ2020]

I just clicked on the link - it's a bezel gasket that sits under the crystal retaining ring - between case and ring - on 5 digit Subs.

Interesting, thanks bro!

The listing says it's for GMTs too. It's not visible on my gen GMT. If that is the case, maybe this would hold the retaining ring in place adequately without gluing. The epoxy works fine though, so take your pick.

I never knew about these gaskets as they never come with bezel assembly kits.

This still would not address the issue of the gap being too large between the aftermarket retaining ring and the crystal with a single, normal width gasket.

 

[KJ2020]

Some more info here

https://forum.replica-watch.info/for...properly/page5

In this mod, a JF bezel assembly was used with a gen 16570 Explorer II case and there was no mention of any gap issues between the case and the retaining ring, or between the retaining ring and the crystal.

 

[Yingfu]

Thank you KJ2020 and tripdog, and sorry that I failed to mention it's a gen 16570 in the first place.
Now that I'm sure 16570 and 16710 share the same mid case, I guess the best solution is to go and source a gen 16710 bezel assembly.

 

[Yingfu]

Hi everyone,

So I finally received the gen. 16710 bezel retaining ring that I got from ebay along with a bezel removal tool and a crystal/bezel press tool. After a few trial and error, here is my gen explorer with GMT bezel. Other than the gen bezel retaining ring, the rest of the bezel assembly are aftermarket, so things are not tight fit, but for now I'm happy. I'm doing this on the black dial first, and will get a pepsi for the white dial to see how it looks.

 

[itgoes211]

Hey, great job! That looks awesome. Can’t wait to see the albino Pepsi version.

 

[itgoes211]

I realize it’s late, but here’s an exploded view of the bezel assembly and where the bezel gasket goes. There’s a groove on the bottom side of the retainer ring that the gasket fits into between the the retainer ring and the case.

 

[Yingfu]

Hi itgoes211, thank you. For the white dial explorer, I'm hoping to source a gen bezel ring and bezel insert so it may take a while before I can make the transform.

The gen retainer ring that I bought in fact came with the gasket and it fit perfectly with the explorer crystal without any issue, unlike the aftermarket one which is a bit too big for the crystal.

 

[itgoes211]

Cool. Good luck with sourcing. Keep us us updated if you find anything. I’d be interested in hearing how the build goes and the final product. Cheers, and Happy New Year.

 

[Yingfu]

I guess the difficult part is to source a bakelite bezel insert that can be customized size wise to fit a gmt 16700. I think I've read somewhere in the forum that a member was making customized bakelite bezels. I will try to contact him and hopefully he is still doing it.