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This has already been posted on RWG. What's good about vintage watches is that no 2 are alike - pick 10 1680 Subs or 10 1675 GMTs, and they'll all look slightly different, and so it is with the 6542 GMT. . . .
Vintage builds aren't easy to get right - creating an authentic look is pretty difficult - I'm never really satisfied with the result - there's always something that could be improved, that I could have done differently.
It not only takes a while to develop techniques, but also to understand what details are important in the build - walking that not-so-fine line between creating something that looks like it spent the last 40 years tied to the shitty end of a goat in the mountains of Afghanistan, and those godawful Phong/Ming mucho $$$$$ NOS assembly jobs that some people take so much delight in.
This watch, like most (all) of what I build is not 1:1, it's not 'gen spec', or waterproof.
I'll never call it a Franken or a Super Franken, and I doubt it would fool an expert if he held it 3 cm, or even 25 cm from his face.
I couldn't give 2 shiny shits about the curve of the F or the R, the internal radius of the serifs, or the length of the hyphen.
I've never repeatedly tapped the clasp to see if it rattles, or compared the noise the non-click bezel ring makes when turned to that of the genuine watch.
I don't know if the date magnification is x 2, x 1.8 or x 2.15.
I have no idea if it runs within COSC standards, and I don't really care - if I want accurate I'll buy a fucking quartz.
I haven't even weighed it to check it against the genuine.
The hand stack is, however, correct.
Most of the parts used come from Vietnam, the rest are from China, with the exception of the crystal and the crown, which come from Switzerland ( R Factory).
It is, IMNSFHO, what a vintage replica build should be about - an assembly of modified, improved and reworked parts, where the whole is greater than the sum of those parts.
Despite all of the alarming facts cited above, using a little imagination, I think it looks believable as a 50 year old vintage Rolex, something that was maybe worn for 20 years or so, then put away in a safe and forgotten about for another 30 years.
It's a representation of a fairly rare 1959 6542 GMT with a glossy gilt dial, gilt hands (with damage from the radium) a white second hand and a 'Bakelite' bezel insert. Rare because this particular dial was only produced by Rolex for 1 year - the 'GMT-MASTER' was printed in red, this then faded over the years to a pale purple/pink color.
Thanks for looking !
Vintage builds aren't easy to get right - creating an authentic look is pretty difficult - I'm never really satisfied with the result - there's always something that could be improved, that I could have done differently.
It not only takes a while to develop techniques, but also to understand what details are important in the build - walking that not-so-fine line between creating something that looks like it spent the last 40 years tied to the shitty end of a goat in the mountains of Afghanistan, and those godawful Phong/Ming mucho $$$$$ NOS assembly jobs that some people take so much delight in.
This watch, like most (all) of what I build is not 1:1, it's not 'gen spec', or waterproof.
I'll never call it a Franken or a Super Franken, and I doubt it would fool an expert if he held it 3 cm, or even 25 cm from his face.
I couldn't give 2 shiny shits about the curve of the F or the R, the internal radius of the serifs, or the length of the hyphen.
I've never repeatedly tapped the clasp to see if it rattles, or compared the noise the non-click bezel ring makes when turned to that of the genuine watch.
I don't know if the date magnification is x 2, x 1.8 or x 2.15.
I have no idea if it runs within COSC standards, and I don't really care - if I want accurate I'll buy a fucking quartz.
I haven't even weighed it to check it against the genuine.
The hand stack is, however, correct.
Most of the parts used come from Vietnam, the rest are from China, with the exception of the crystal and the crown, which come from Switzerland ( R Factory).
It is, IMNSFHO, what a vintage replica build should be about - an assembly of modified, improved and reworked parts, where the whole is greater than the sum of those parts.
Despite all of the alarming facts cited above, using a little imagination, I think it looks believable as a 50 year old vintage Rolex, something that was maybe worn for 20 years or so, then put away in a safe and forgotten about for another 30 years.
It's a representation of a fairly rare 1959 6542 GMT with a glossy gilt dial, gilt hands (with damage from the radium) a white second hand and a 'Bakelite' bezel insert. Rare because this particular dial was only produced by Rolex for 1 year - the 'GMT-MASTER' was printed in red, this then faded over the years to a pale purple/pink color.
Thanks for looking !
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