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1655 Explorer II : Ugly duckling or King of cool ?
- Thread starter 369mafia
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As a result, I've learnt to tweak GIMP on Linux, which requires far fewer resources than Photoshop. Here are the results
nice work looks great!! Hard to believe you did that on your phone!!As a result, I've learnt to tweak GIMP on Linux, which requires far fewer resources than Photoshop. Here are the results
It's based on a poor quality dial that I've retouched many times, enlarged with photoresizer, improved with photoshop express and retouched a lot with photodirector, which is what takes the most time. I did the same with the crown.
Then I did my layers with GIMP because I couldn't find a solution with the phone... I probably should have started there... Having had a little health problem and being stuck at home for a few weeks, it kept me busy most of the day
Then I did my layers with GIMP because I couldn't find a solution with the phone... I probably should have started there... Having had a little health problem and being stuck at home for a few weeks, it kept me busy most of the day
Which of programs that you used was best/easiest for keeping the sharp edges. For instance, there doesn't appear to be much pixelation or gray near the line or text edges. Seems to be nice and clean with just black and white. Great for sharp prints.It's based on a poor quality dial that I've retouched many times, enlarged with photoresizer, improved with photoshop express and retouched a lot with photodirector, which is what takes the most time. I did the same with the crown.
Then I did my layers with GIMP because I couldn't find a solution with the phone... I probably should have started there... Having had a little health problem and being stuck at home for a few weeks, it kept me busy most of the day
The name of the tool is AI deletion for grey areas, a kind of magic eraser...
I used noise removal. I registered and repeated the operation.
I spent a lot of time
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I did a lot of recording and testing. The curry paste in the middle
I've just done another test with inkskape for linux and imported my image and vectorised it. I'm blown away by the result, it's corrected almost all my faults.
I don't want to bust the topic as it's running. If anyone has a comment on the movement pictures I posted I appreciate it. But if now, thank you for the help thus far. This thread is fantastic.
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Just checking in as my GEN parts dealer has a 1655 Lumi Service Dial, blistered, for sale and it made me think of this thread and building a minty fresh one! Great dial work there @aphmars13
Amazing craftsmanship!!Rolex 1655 Explorer II
The Rolex Explorer II 1655, famous among the fans of the crowned house, was introduced in 1971 and came in different versions with small graphical updates on the dial and bezel. These details, undoubtedly, have made this watch highly collectible and sought after in all its variations.
At the time of its release, Rolex watches were not regarded as the status symbols that they are today, and the Explorer II 1655 was aimed specifically at speleologists, intended to be much more of a 'tool watch' than a luxury item.
As a company that built its reputation producing high-end watches that were viewed as items of necessity rather than premium-priced accessories, this approach was very much in-line with Rolex's roots. The Explorer II 1655 was only ever manufactured in stainless steel, with absolutely no solid gold or two-tone options available. Additionally, like many of Rolex's other sports watches, the reference 1655 Explorer II was exclusively offered with a black dial.
Often referred to as the "Steve Mcqueen " but there was never any evidence he owned or wore one. Perhaps because he was the King of Cool and people thought the 1655 was a cool watch? Its internet watch lore.
In the 1970s, Messner championed the cause for ascending Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen, saying that he would do it "by fair means" or not at all.[13] In 1978, he reached the summit of Everest with Habeler.[14] This was the first time anyone had been that high without supplemental oxygen and Messner and Habeler achieved what certain doctors, specialists, and mountaineers thought impossible. He repeated the feat, without Habeler, from the Tibetan side in 1980, during the monsoon season. This was Everest's first solo summit.
We all know about Hillary's 1953 ascent of Everest however alot of speculation as to whether he wore a Rolex or not. However Reinhold defiantly wore his Exp 2 1655 so unless there were previous attempts before the 70's one could conclude that the 1655 was the first Rolex to be at the top of Everest?!!
This was the inspiration for the build.
So this was one of the first watches I originally bought from a TD way back when.....I think it was From Marv.
Since then. I had since bought and sold a 1655 a few times....I would obsess over it. wear it a while and then lose interest and sell it on.
However a few years ago I started collecting parts again for another one as I came across them. Bezel. hands , dial .
Then a little while ago , digging through my parts bin I found an old homage case set that I had bought for a my 1019 , however that never materialized because the crown and tube were too large.
Nothing is gen spec and everything is slightly off and that is how it ended up in the parts bin in the first place.. This time, I wanted to challenge myself and challenge it was. Every piece of this watch has been modified. case, dial , hands, movement.....all of it. defiantly not your typical Lego build It was like building a car , using components from every different car maker and trying to make it work. in principle it should work but there was a lot of cuss'n
The case was good otherwise, it had a 7mm crown and tube. so I had two options. Press in an aluminum plug and redrill or use JB weld and cement the tube into the case. I chose the latter.
It worked remarkably well. 2 part Jb weld , mix and fill hole in mid case. then I pressed the tube into the case and made sure it was centered and level and let dry. As the jb was drying I started to remove excess jb from inside the tube to make room for the stem. once it was dry it was solid I tested it and it appears to be water tight as well. Thats a bonus.
Before doing that I shaped the crown guards and did the metal work. shaped lugs, drilled out lug holes , minor case shaping .
I went with the Raffles 1655 dial. Based on its markings and cornet, it is modeled after a mk5 dial . however I had to shave down the diameter of the dial as it was a bit too large for the dial seat . it fit but it was a snug fit. so I shaved a few thou off and it fit. marked up the dial a bit around the center hole but no biggie really. its a cheap dial .
Next issue was the rehaut it was cutting off the text and markers. so out came the dremel again and I enlarged the dia of the rehaut to fit. I should have done more finish sanding on the rehaut but because it has been enlarged, slightly changing the angle , it is barely visible so its not a concern at this point. I may go back and go up a few grits to smooth it out.
smooth sailing from there right....nope. The date window didnt line up with the DG date wheel so I had to swap in a DWO (hassle) but after repeated attempts I finally got it to where I was happy with it and it did not interfere with other parts.
A while back I bought a Phong Bezel from the M2M parts. this part surprisingly fit the watch case and crystal with no modding. which is odd because the 25-116 crystal that you would usually use on a cartel case / 1655 / 1675 did not fit this case so I had to take measurements and luckily found one at Perrin that fit the case like glove. the cyclops isnt centered perfectly but its acceptable.
I repainted the orange hand to move of a subdued signal orange color. less day glow.
aged the lume on the dial and hands to match.
After alot of fiddling and tinkering and adjustment after adjustment after adjustment I finally got it together and its pretty sweet. IF I do say so myself. not perfect but good enough for the girls I go with , as they say.....
Sorry no progress build pics....however here is the result .
Overall I am pleased with the results.
I think I will eventually upgrade to a eta 2836 and will swap in a open 6-9 dwo at that time. other than that I am tired of looking at this thing on my bench and am glad it is on my wrist now.
SPECs:
Hommage case set - heavily modified , shaped and tweeked.
6mm raffles crown and tube
Perrin Crystal
Phong Bezel
Raffles Dial - modified and aged lume.
RAffles time Hands aged lume
repainted raffles orange hand. aged lume
What a beauty
I would not call that a fail. it does look like its been kicking around a parts bin for a while. nice attempt!!It failed, but practice makes perfect.
Not bad, really. Almost all the details weren't affected, so one could probably touch up missing parts with paint (if not wanting to try for a cleaner transfer).It failed, but practice makes perfect.
It looks like it was actually the paint that came off? That must be an easier fix than figuring out a good transfer technique. What grit did you sand the dial with prior to painting?
I've made several unsuccessful attempts. The last one seems to be the way.
After sanding with 2000 grit paper, I painted my dial with white ceramic paint that I baked at 110 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes.
Then I cleaned it and transferred it with free offset film, baked for 10 mins at 105 degrees celsius. When the film was removed, the paint came with it....
Lack of baking for the first step I think.
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It's true
I don't know who would leave a Rolex dial in a spares bin but yes. In fact, it's much more of a headache than making a gilt dial.
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In the event you have more adhesion issues, and because you are covering it with paint, I would try sanding with something rougher than 2000. Maybe even 800 if the grit doesn't show through the paint.
Separately, I tried painting a dial with an epoxy finish enamel paint meant for recoating refrigerators, and almost nothing stuck. Just curious what paint you switched to... was it something meant for car parts or kitchen appliances? Some enamel paint can be so frustrating with the dry, cure, and re-coating times.
It's a paint for decorating ceramic pieces, but it's multi-support, including metal. it has to be baked at 150 degrees celcius, but when i did it, it took on a slightly eggshell colour. so i started all over and baked at 105 degrés celsius, which darkened the white a bit, but by sanding it lightly, it had a decent white.
