• Tired of adverts on RWI? - Subscribe by clicking HERE and PMing Trailboss for instructions and they will magically go away!

Cartel 1675 mod - step one, disassembly

NCRich

Raddave's favorite
Supporter
Certified
24/3/11
3,050
8,873
113
People have asked what is involved in modifying these 1675s so I just snapped some pics whilst I did the disassembly. I'll do the same with the other steps. To start, our subject:

1ye4W9N.jpg


Hands are set to 12 to make it easier to remove later. Sticky ball or its like to get the back off.

EYNPwW7.jpg


Blue screwdriver to remove the rotor.

mOQ8wCO.jpg


Same screwdriver to remove movement holding screws

wgxvbQf.jpg


On most 21js I use the red screwdriver to avoid pressing too far and screwing the keyless, but on this gmt movement you need something smaller. I use a very small screwdriver or pin tool. Pull the crown gently while pressing the release lever very slowly. The stem will pop out and quit pressing. The key is touch. You don't want to be looking for a tutorial to rebuild a keyless.

zsB7xFe.jpg


Its out.

wza9mzE.jpg


With the watch face side down place the cushion over the back and flip it over, letting the movement clear the case.

JAVOPTe.jpg


Put the stem back in the movement. On this movement I find it impossible to do this unless I lightly depress the release button, and gently insert the stem. A bit of a twist of the stem will help too. Put the movement in a holder and store the movement spacer. I generally use the yellow hand puller for removing hands. I made the dial protector out of a business card. Slide the card under the handset being careful not to damage indices. The position the protector so the feet of the puller won't damage the dial, Squeeze and the hands pop off. Sometimes I use the levers to ease a hand off. You really need the levers when the sec hand is already off, because the puller would likely damage the pinion.

PrZd8wD.jpg


Oh hell, I popped off one of the indices when I put the "protector" on. No biggie, spot of glue and place it back on the dial.

nj0zgdg.jpg


This is why the cartel dials suck. They use indices instead of painting the lume on. SUCK, SUCK, SUCK. There are ways of making it acceptable but no way to make it stellar other than buying a dial that costs as much as this watch. See how they are raised?

ybXPc68.jpg


There is also a dial holding screw at 6 and 11. Unscrew those a bit and you can take off the dial. Be careful not to lose the gmt pieces, especially the tension ring (little brass bent washer).

4nhH4x0.jpg



Now to disassemble the bezel and plexi from the case. This is where lots of people screw up. You have to very carefully ease the bezel assembly off using both a razor blade and a case knife. If you don't do it very evenly you will destroy the plastic gasket that secures the bezel assembly to the plexi.

IcqXbi0.jpg


Case knife to ease it up a bit more.

MdOhCHD.jpg


And poof, off safely ( I screwed the gasket on the first one I did cause I didn't know it was there). If you do mess it up you can order a replacement from a watch supplier but it took me many tries to find one that actually fit. Don't screw it up.

Run a case knife under the bezel insert from the inside of the bezel assembly. It is held on by double sided tape and will come off easily.

3rO28QZ.jpg


I'm going to be using files around the crown guards so I'm taking out the tube. I use a 4 sided file to take it out. First I tease out the oring inside the tube and then put the file in and rotate counterclockwise. Usually backs out without incident.

OSFHhYh.jpg


Everything neatly stored away until the next step.

NJDq1WN.jpg
 

JohnnyBe

Put Some Respect On My Name
3/1/16
4,013
438
83
man this is like a tv series and i m actually waiting impatiently for the next episode lol :p
 

kilowattore

Sales Moderator / Section Moderator
Staff member
Moderator Sales
Section Moderator
Certified
11/5/13
13,574
5,679
113
Italy
Following your tutorials step by step, the 1675 has been on my to do list for a while now :)
 

steve3sc

Banned member, the goat does not approve
Banned
30/6/15
241
23
0
Damn fine job, Rich. You are the YODA of our forum community. The repository of all knowledge! Loving it!


edit:damn u autocorrect
 

NCRich

Raddave's favorite
Supporter
Certified
24/3/11
3,050
8,873
113
Which dealer specifically is this ?

Nice thread
Thank you !

I got this from Marvellous Replica. My personal favorite for stuff, especially vintage pieces. Good communication and prices. But any dealer can get it.
 

Azel

Renowned Member
Supporter
10/7/14
585
23
18
Again thank you. Your previous tutorial was a great help for me. Always good to have photos to illustrate words.
 

Alrick100

Horology Curious
22/2/17
18
0
0
This is realy cool. I have done a couple of small jobs in the past by trial but this is ace. Not sure I have the skills or eyesight though
 

369mafia

Resident Explorer Expert
Patron
Certified
7/7/15
2,844
4,124
113
Canada
excellent tutorial Rich. Bummer about t the dial dots....I am surprised how poorly the ones on your dial are applied I assume that you will be reusing the dial as you used a dial guard when removing the hands or do you have another dial in its place?

looking forward to the next episode.

Oh as far as the gasket I damaged mine the first time as well...the replacements are 30.0 x 1.75 x 0.40
part number IG308300c2 now if only I can remember where I ordered them from.

Cousins perhaps?
 

NCRich

Raddave's favorite
Supporter
Certified
24/3/11
3,050
8,873
113
excellent tutorial Rich. Bummer about t the dial dots....I am surprised how poorly the ones on your dial are applied I assume that you will be reusing the dial as you used a dial guard when removing the hands or do you have another dial in its place?

looking forward to the next episode.

Oh as far as the gasket I damaged mine the first time as well...the replacements are 30.0 x 1.75 x 0.40
part number IG308300c2 now if only I can remember where I ordered them from.

Cousins perhaps?

Thanks, the link to the part is in my original build thread somewhere down this forum. I've got a number of spares now (just in case). I'm going to try to relume these dials, they aren't bad otherwise. There is also another trick where you can put a couple coats of flat poly on them to meld the dots with the dial and then age it. Looks like this

Cp3jym9.jpg


They actually look quite good. You can vary the aging and even use a bit of yellow instead of brown. Really limited only by your imagination.
 

Mincebeef

You're Saying I Can Sell?
7/2/16
61
5
8
I got this from Marvellous Replica. My personal favorite for stuff, especially vintage pieces. Good communication and prices. But any dealer can get it.


Great! Thank you, I will get one of these for sure! Thanks again for the details!
 

mari115

Put Some Respect On My Name
9/6/18
4,439
2,478
113
Nearer than you think
People have asked what is involved in modifying these 1675s so I just snapped some pics whilst I did the disassembly. I'll do the same with the other steps. To start, our subject:

1ye4W9N.jpg


Hands are set to 12 to make it easier to remove later. Sticky ball or its like to get the back off.

EYNPwW7.jpg


Blue screwdriver to remove the rotor.

mOQ8wCO.jpg


Same screwdriver to remove movement holding screws

wgxvbQf.jpg


On most 21js I use the red screwdriver to avoid pressing too far and screwing the keyless, but on this gmt movement you need something smaller. I use a very small screwdriver or pin tool. Pull the crown gently while pressing the release lever very slowly. The stem will pop out and quit pressing. The key is touch. You don't want to be looking for a tutorial to rebuild a keyless.

zsB7xFe.jpg


Its out.

wza9mzE.jpg


With the watch face side down place the cushion over the back and flip it over, letting the movement clear the case.

JAVOPTe.jpg


Put the stem back in the movement. On this movement I find it impossible to do this unless I lightly depress the release button, and gently insert the stem. A bit of a twist of the stem will help too. Put the movement in a holder and store the movement spacer. I generally use the yellow hand puller for removing hands. I made the dial protector out of a business card. Slide the card under the handset being careful not to damage indices. The position the protector so the feet of the puller won't damage the dial, Squeeze and the hands pop off. Sometimes I use the levers to ease a hand off. You really need the levers when the sec hand is already off, because the puller would likely damage the pinion.

PrZd8wD.jpg


Oh hell, I popped off one of the indices when I put the "protector" on. No biggie, spot of glue and place it back on the dial.

nj0zgdg.jpg


This is why the cartel dials suck. They use indices instead of painting the lume on. SUCK, SUCK, SUCK. There are ways of making it acceptable but no way to make it stellar other than buying a dial that costs as much as this watch. See how they are raised?

ybXPc68.jpg


There is also a dial holding screw at 6 and 11. Unscrew those a bit and you can take off the dial. Be careful not to lose the gmt pieces, especially the tension ring (little brass bent washer).

4nhH4x0.jpg



Now to disassemble the bezel and plexi from the case. This is where lots of people screw up. You have to very carefully ease the bezel assembly off using both a razor blade and a case knife. If you don't do it very evenly you will destroy the plastic gasket that secures the bezel assembly to the plexi.

IcqXbi0.jpg


Case knife to ease it up a bit more.

MdOhCHD.jpg


And poof, off safely ( I screwed the gasket on the first one I did cause I didn't know it was there). If you do mess it up you can order a replacement from a watch supplier but it took me many tries to find one that actually fit. Don't screw it up.

Run a case knife under the bezel insert from the inside of the bezel assembly. It is held on by double sided tape and will come off easily.

3rO28QZ.jpg


I'm going to be using files around the crown guards so I'm taking out the tube. I use a 4 sided file to take it out. First I tease out the oring inside the tube and then put the file in and rotate counterclockwise. Usually backs out without incident.

OSFHhYh.jpg


Everything neatly stored away until the next step.

NJDq1WN.jpg

It's a pity that the pictures disappeared, mind putting them back?
 

NCRich

Raddave's favorite
Supporter
Certified
24/3/11
3,050
8,873
113
It's a pity that the pictures disappeared, mind putting them back?

Its not my fault. The board doesn't work with Imgur anymore. You can see this in the vintage section on rwg.bz.
 

cheld

Renowned Member
Supporter
7/3/18
737
263
63
If someone really wants to dig up Imgur pictures it is possible.

1. On the page containing the links to Imgur pictures, right click and choose "view source" (wording might be slightly different depending on your browser).

2. Search and find "imgur" (no quotes). This will take you to the link for the first Imgur picture on the page. In Chrome these links are highlighted in blue.

3. Click on the link. The picture MIGHT come up and you're done with that picture. If not, go to the browser bar and remove the "s" from "https" and try again.

As proof that this works, here's the first picture from the OP. It loaded directly from the link in the page source; I didn't have to remove the s from https.