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Rolex 1680 genuine Beyeler MKII dial.

tripdog

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No need to introduce the famous Rolex 1680 'red' Submariner. Brought out in 1966, for the first few years of production the word Submariner on the dial was printed in red. Then around 1973, 1974 - nobody knows for sure, Rolex changed the printing to all white. Costs may have been a factor, as printing 2 colors on the dial is more complex than 1 color - but that's just a guess on my part.

A little while before RWI went down after the hack, I bought a MKII Beyeler 1680 dial on M2M. It had quite a lot of damage to the paint, but the tritium lume had a beautiful color to it, and was more or less intact on all the plots. The price was reasonable, so I bought it.

This is what it looked like when I bought it:


pnjA8.jpg




The aim was to restore the dial to it's former glory, whilst at the same time respecting the natural patina that it had acquired over the last 40 years - I didn't want it to look like a 'refinished dial', NOS is not a look that interests me. Patina, character, history, that's all part of the appeal of a vintage watch - whatever the brand.

It would have been easy to screw up the restoration of the dial - the paint in places had been fragilized, and 40 year old tritium, is incredibly fragile. It took some time, some trial and error to get there, but the end result is quite satisfactory IMO.

On a scale of 1 - 10, painting 0.2 mm high letters by hand is a least a 25.

Even using X20 magnification and a 00000 sable brush with half it's hairs removed it was still not easy.


The dial is now living in a gen' spec' Vietnam case, which was reworked to slim the lugs (way too thick as they come from the factory), the CGs were re-shaped and then the whole case re-polished and brushed.

A set of hands were re-lumed to match the tritium on the dial, and a nice serifed date wheel was lightly aged.

The movement is a low beat Swiss ETA 2878.

Some other genuine parts were used: Rolex 703 crown and tube, a Top Hat T127 and a Rolex insert with tritium pearl, the patina matching the tritium dial nicely.

The 'after' pics:



pnLl3.jpg



pntvb.jpg



pn4q2.jpg



pnrMd.jpg



pnABZ.jpg



p0V8R.jpg



p06vg.jpg



p0Kqa.jpg

945l1yF.jpg


HpfpXet.jpg

Thanks for looking.
 
Last edited:

repmaster1234

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Wow Trip, that's definitely one to keep in your personal collection. Excellent work on the restoration. Painting text like that must take a hell of a lot of confidence and a seriously steady hand.
 
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Spatiumtemporis

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Wow amazing work, i would have loved to see an after photo without the crystal. The watch is a beauty.
 
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Nur-Uhr

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Amazing what you have done to this dial - perfect look.
I like also the blue-ish of the insert, so nicely matching to this patina dial.
The date wheel is gen? Matches also perfect to this combo.

>> Stunning piece and build!! :)
 
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tripdog

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Amazing what you have done to this dial - perfect look.
I like also the blue-ish of the insert, so nicely matching to this patina dial.
The date wheel is gen? Matches also perfect to this combo.

>> Stunning piece and build!! :)

Thanks !

The DW is aftermarket, a little bit of 'ageing' makes it blend in well with the dial and insert.
 

kilowattore

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Saying I'm impressed is not enough. Masterful.
 
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xray7

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Stunning build and exceptional work. I'm guessing this one's in your personal rotation?
 

Replica01

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Stunning piece of work Trip!

Verstuurd vanaf mijn SM-G960F met Tapatalk
 
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Tucker

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Nice. What type of maganification tool do you use?
 

sierra-tango

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damn, stunning craftsmanship tripdog
Kudos to you, mate !!! love those pictures and the Rolex baby with a story and soul !!!

:drool:
 
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2pac

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No pics for tapatalk user, could you post it? It's always a pleasure see your works
 

ILuvTheCLock

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That is insane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :wowa::wowa::wowa::wowa: I wish I had your skills. Awesome work, it turned out beautiful :clap_1: :thumbsup::xj4: