6538 big crown accurate build and questions

[Jigen]

Hi all,
I have been browsing on here often but never posted anything, I made an impulse buy of a Gen 1030. Now it comes to completing the project.
So far I have no idea where or who sells an accurate case, dial and bracelet.
I saw this case at 950$ on ebay and want to see if there are better options.

Replacement Case | 6538 | Vintage Aged Style | Fits Caliber 1030 | eBay

There is no polish shine look on the case at all. • Bezel insert : 2 options available. Insert with no hash marks. Insert with 15 minute hash marks. • Case Material : 316L stainless steel.

www.ebay.com

 

[Jigen]

Also I remember years ago seeing some Vietnam guy who does super high-end work. Does anyone recall that person? I tried a search and didn't find the post I was thinking of.

 

[369mafia]

Ruby offers a big crown case set and dial

this dial would be my choice.

the dial should fit your 1030 and the movement into the case.

Vintage Watch

Vintage Watch

vintagewatchpart.net

666999 pw

 

[bigtiddygothgf]

^^^Just a heads up, all of Ruby's 6538 2-liner dials seem to have misaligned depth rating text as of late.
The explorer and 4 line dials look fine though


I believe MQ parts are generally considered the best of the VN sellers but they are way pricier and I'm not sure if that just goes for dials or for cases, hands, inserts etc too.

 

[r6538]

doing this build with a gen 1030 is straightforward. getting a good dial and hands is the hardest part, but i guess maybe that's obvious.

get a ruby case (identical to the case you posted the ebay link to, but i think her pricing is better).

get a crown and tube from athaya

the best dial you can realistically get is from MQ, he'll be able to provide a dial with dial feet for the 1030.

hands are a little trickier - true 6538 hands are more flat than most options provided by ebay or Ruby. hands from Slay or CWP are the best for 1030 if you can get them, but i think both of them are out of the game now so-to-speak.

get a gen t17 crystal if you can. it makes an enormous difference.

get a 7206 bracelet from Ruby

 

[r6538]

oh a few more things:

from the pictures i think MQ's hands might be a little better (flatter) than ruby/ebay, not sure tho, that's just from looking at pictures. make sure that if you get a gilt dial you get gilt hands to match, don't get silver hands

these ebay cases (same as ruby carries) are better than what i got from phong nearly a decade ago for my first 6538 build, and phong's are more expensive. not sure if phong has started providing a better product since then. i'm really happy with my vietnam 6538 case though, the brushing and chamfers are terrific, especially for the price.

 

[Singapore9]

Be careful with 'new' Ruby - seems to be an unknown quantity in terms of supplying cases, etc.

@Jigen linked to Jensen, Phong's son's ebay account, who was one of the high end VN 6538 builders, back in the day. Credible source for a build/parts.

 

[r6538]

oh really? that's interesting, what have you heard? variable quality or unable to source certain stuff?

i bought from ruby probably around mid last year. pretty straightforward and no issues with what i received

 

[Jigen]

ems to be an unknown quantity in terms o

dial and hands is the h

^^^Just a heads up, all of Ruby's 6538 2-liner dials seem to have misaligned depth rating text as of late.
The explorer and 4 line dials look fine though


I believe MQ parts are generally considered the best of the VN sellers but they are way pricier and I'm not sure if that just goes for dials or for cases, hands, inserts etc too.

I can see the misalignment in the picture above. But I do like how the aging work is. Is Ruby on here?

 

[Jigen]

oh a few more things:

from the pictures i think MQ's hands might be a little better (flatter) than ruby/ebay, not sure tho, that's just from looking at pictures. make sure that if you get a gilt dial you get gilt hands to match, don't get silver hands

these ebay cases (same as ruby carries) are better than what i got from phong nearly a decade ago for my first 6538 build, and phong's are more expensive. not sure if phong has started providing a better product since then. i'm really happy with my vietnam 6538 case though, the brushing and chamfers are terrific, especially for the price.

Hi Carlos, thanks for the advice. What is the best way to reach MQ?

 

[aus_wolfie]

@Jigen

shop minh quy

Email comms re prices & differences between what he shows online.


He is very responsive and has been very patient with my questions on my parts sourcing


Best,

 

[r6538]

aus wolfie has the correct link above.

back in the day it was said that you had to be careful to make sure what you ordered from mq matches what you received; some people claimed that he sometimes shipped cheaper parts to customers that didnt know any better. that said i never saw any direct claims of this. probably wouldnt get away with it today with how picky people have gotten over parts, so you're probably ok, but thought i'd mention it

 

[Singapore9]

oh really? that's interesting, what have you heard? variable quality or unable to source certain stuff?

i bought from ruby probably around mid last year. pretty straightforward and no issues with what i received

The 'real' or original Ruby died, murdered... The new Ruby seems to be a new guy called Ken.

Have a search around the forum - a few recent threads detailing this.

 

[Singapore9]

See Trailbosses post on Page 2: https://forum.replica-watch.info/threads/how-to-contact-ruby.8920412/

 

[r6538]

holy shit! that's kind of crazy! i bought from rubyswatch.com... wonder who tf i bought from

 

[bigtiddygothgf]

The 'real' or original Ruby died, murdered... The new Ruby seems to be a new guy called Ken.

Have a search around the forum - a few recent threads detailing this.

Very confusing statements made in a lot of those threads that seem more like a misunderstanding than anything else tbh. It looks like the "original ruby" people speak of was a Chinese TD here on RWI circa late 2000s? The non-TD vintage Vietnamese parts seller that goes by Ruby has been around for a few years now and the only real complaint I ever recall reading was of some lume flaking off of a dial. Unless I missed something I dont think they ever claimed any relation to, were ever impersonating, or pretending to be the 'original' Ruby?


My one 'pause' regarding VN ruby is whats up with the new site? rubyswatch vs vintagewatchpart? old site seems to have a diff password now too, but otherwise the two seem identical, and i believe it was someone here on the forum that got the new site URL directly from the seller and posted it. Has anyone ordered (and received their order) from the new (vintagewatchpart) site?

 

[r6538]

i already stated i ordered from the old website, not the new vintagewatchpart site, and it's worth mentioning that i was directed to the old website by ruby over whatsapp

and i got my parts no problem so...

super curious to see if anyone answers your question

 

[aus_wolfie]

Well I just got my 6538 on my wrist and onto the next watch and was recently looking at gilt 6542 dials on vintagewatchpart.net

Was directed there by a well regarded builder here on RWI so not feeling perturbed about ordering from there

...whomever that vintagewatchparts person may be

 

[r6538]

where did you get your hands for your build aus? i like them - i have a set of slay hands on mine but i'm looking for some ETA hands for a second 6538 build

 

[aus_wolfie]

They are a Clark hour and minute and a Tiger big ball seconds hand @CarlosFFF



It's a @kilowattore 6538 build btw



My whole 6538 story started from a favourable comment by Kilo about my Seiko 6538 big crown homage build ages ago



Recently I reached out to him about a tropical 6538 I saw he had just built and sold. Meant to be as he told me he had just let the buyer return it and refunded him - let me buy it instead. Guess the original buyer didn't know that "brown is the new black"



Anyway, Kilo put me onto the vintagewatchparts site to look at some dials for a 6542. I will buy a glossy.



I've been back to Minh discussing 6542 bezel & insert. My previous Minh experience was hands and dial for my Comex SD. All pricey but great.



I really have limited personal experience outside of this, incl my Seiko build and some great Doxa dials from @manodeoro


Anyway, hope my $0.02 worth helps


Grateful to top guys like Kilo and Mano that have the experience that they have so freely shared with me as well as you guys kicking Q&A around on posts like this