This was my first franken build.
Doing a franken project was always just a dream, but it finally happened!
Raffles 2824 case - OG POFY DESN 114270
Athaya 600 Tube
VS3135
Deep Crystal
Gen Gold 600 Crown - from 16013
Gen Linen Dial
Gen NOS gold handset
Gen champagne datewheel
Gen 18k gold bezel - 5g and in excellent condition!
The Raffles case shape was actually not bad, but i did want to thin out the lugs a bit more.
I used to do this by hand, but I got a cheap tabletop belt sander on Aliexpress for $50 and it worked like a charm! What took days took minutes. Removed the stock crown tube using a rat tail file.
Next is to remove the “OG POFY DESN 114270” engraving on the case. Just some sand paper and brush finishing after.
The Raffles case back needs to thinned and widened to accommodate the 3135 rotor. This was a bit tricky, but i used a 1” circular dremel sander (I recommend getting 2, since this step destroys the sander). You have to thin the inner back substantially, almost to the point the metal can flex in your fingers. Then, i removed the inner diameter of the case back lip using a dremel sander. The case back lip was around 0.78mm after thinning. The rotor side and case clearance was around 0.9mm. It was testing and fitting and shaking to see if i can hear the rotor spin or not. I dont like this monkey technique, but hard to tell otherwise. Also, im pretty sure i reduced my lifespan from all the metal inhaling
The Raffles crown tube hole needs to be widened to fit gen spec tube. Raffles crown tube is: 2.5mm x 4mm. Gen spec tube is 3mm x 4.4mm. (2.9mm also on many aftermarket tubes).
The Athaya crown tube measurements are:
I used a 2.8mm drill bit to drill the hole. This was a lot more work than i anticipated. I had to use two drill bits to do the job.
Then i tapped the screw lines using a 3M x 0.28mm. The Athaya tube fit fine, and i secured it using Loctite Thread Locker 263 (i was worried the tube fit was a little loose so i used the strong thread locker). Let it cure for 24 hours.
At first, the gen 600 crown did not fit fully in the Athaya tube, so i was worried about the compatibility. I killed a couple crown tubes trying to sand it down to fit the gen crown. However, after realizing perhaps the crown itself was the issue, i cleaned the gen crown thoroughly with 100% alcohol, and lubed it with Molykote. It finally fit nicely. So gen crown and Athaya tube for 600 crowns are compatible.
(Before cleaning. The gold crown wouldn’t screw down fully).
Installing gen datewheel:
Not very difficult - actually easier on a 3135 than on Eta 2824. Just turn the little notch and the wheel easily slips out. Many Youtube tutorials show this during teardowns/repairs.
I got my gen dial for pretty cheap (~$200) and it was in near mint condition. I was quite excited until i fitted the dial and realized the date window on the dial isn’t quite aligned. It was the dial and not the datewheel, since i also tested stock VS3135 wheels and same issue (date aligned slightly left). In the end, i just ended up slightly adjusting the dial feet to slightly tweak the alignment, but still not perfect. I’m not quite sure what’s wrong - some theory is that the dial is for a 3035 from a 16013 datejust.
The rehaut - dial clearance is very tight. The rehaut barely touches the dial lume dots, but i decided not to deal with the headache of messing with the rehaut. The risk of cutting too much and having the dial fall through wasn’t worth it. The tritium lume dots easily scraped off during this fitting process, and it doesn’t bother me much, but i just hope i didnt inhale them.
To mount the movement in the Raffles 2824 case, I used a 28.5 x 1.7 x 0.4mm crystal gasket from Aliexpress. It fits perfectly with the 3135 and Raffles case. Plus, it fits fully right beneath the dial, so the movement mount screws fit without having to sand down the gasket. The gasket seems to fit below the stem hole too, so no need to worry about that.
The Raffles stock crystal is absolute trash. I recommend getting any other 29.5mm crystal than using the stock Raffles crystal.
Comparison with a Clean 116500 Daytona crystal:
I purchased Deep crystals for 36mm datejusts. Fits well and looks beautiful.
I was worried about the crystal-gasket-bezel fitting.
To my pleasant surprise, the stock Raffles gasket on Deep crystal fit the gen gold bezel. No need to modify the crystal gasket!
Doing a franken project was always just a dream, but it finally happened!
Raffles 2824 case - OG POFY DESN 114270
Athaya 600 Tube
VS3135
Deep Crystal
Gen Gold 600 Crown - from 16013
Gen Linen Dial
Gen NOS gold handset
Gen champagne datewheel
Gen 18k gold bezel - 5g and in excellent condition!
The Raffles case shape was actually not bad, but i did want to thin out the lugs a bit more.
I used to do this by hand, but I got a cheap tabletop belt sander on Aliexpress for $50 and it worked like a charm! What took days took minutes. Removed the stock crown tube using a rat tail file.
Next is to remove the “OG POFY DESN 114270” engraving on the case. Just some sand paper and brush finishing after.
The Raffles case back needs to thinned and widened to accommodate the 3135 rotor. This was a bit tricky, but i used a 1” circular dremel sander (I recommend getting 2, since this step destroys the sander). You have to thin the inner back substantially, almost to the point the metal can flex in your fingers. Then, i removed the inner diameter of the case back lip using a dremel sander. The case back lip was around 0.78mm after thinning. The rotor side and case clearance was around 0.9mm. It was testing and fitting and shaking to see if i can hear the rotor spin or not. I dont like this monkey technique, but hard to tell otherwise. Also, im pretty sure i reduced my lifespan from all the metal inhaling
The Raffles crown tube hole needs to be widened to fit gen spec tube. Raffles crown tube is: 2.5mm x 4mm. Gen spec tube is 3mm x 4.4mm. (2.9mm also on many aftermarket tubes).
The Athaya crown tube measurements are:
I used a 2.8mm drill bit to drill the hole. This was a lot more work than i anticipated. I had to use two drill bits to do the job.
Then i tapped the screw lines using a 3M x 0.28mm. The Athaya tube fit fine, and i secured it using Loctite Thread Locker 263 (i was worried the tube fit was a little loose so i used the strong thread locker). Let it cure for 24 hours.
At first, the gen 600 crown did not fit fully in the Athaya tube, so i was worried about the compatibility. I killed a couple crown tubes trying to sand it down to fit the gen crown. However, after realizing perhaps the crown itself was the issue, i cleaned the gen crown thoroughly with 100% alcohol, and lubed it with Molykote. It finally fit nicely. So gen crown and Athaya tube for 600 crowns are compatible.
(Before cleaning. The gold crown wouldn’t screw down fully).
Installing gen datewheel:
Not very difficult - actually easier on a 3135 than on Eta 2824. Just turn the little notch and the wheel easily slips out. Many Youtube tutorials show this during teardowns/repairs.
I got my gen dial for pretty cheap (~$200) and it was in near mint condition. I was quite excited until i fitted the dial and realized the date window on the dial isn’t quite aligned. It was the dial and not the datewheel, since i also tested stock VS3135 wheels and same issue (date aligned slightly left). In the end, i just ended up slightly adjusting the dial feet to slightly tweak the alignment, but still not perfect. I’m not quite sure what’s wrong - some theory is that the dial is for a 3035 from a 16013 datejust.
The rehaut - dial clearance is very tight. The rehaut barely touches the dial lume dots, but i decided not to deal with the headache of messing with the rehaut. The risk of cutting too much and having the dial fall through wasn’t worth it. The tritium lume dots easily scraped off during this fitting process, and it doesn’t bother me much, but i just hope i didnt inhale them.
To mount the movement in the Raffles 2824 case, I used a 28.5 x 1.7 x 0.4mm crystal gasket from Aliexpress. It fits perfectly with the 3135 and Raffles case. Plus, it fits fully right beneath the dial, so the movement mount screws fit without having to sand down the gasket. The gasket seems to fit below the stem hole too, so no need to worry about that.
The Raffles stock crystal is absolute trash. I recommend getting any other 29.5mm crystal than using the stock Raffles crystal.
Comparison with a Clean 116500 Daytona crystal:
I purchased Deep crystals for 36mm datejusts. Fits well and looks beautiful.
I was worried about the crystal-gasket-bezel fitting.
To my pleasant surprise, the stock Raffles gasket on Deep crystal fit the gen gold bezel. No need to modify the crystal gasket!
