I recently decided to try to assemble a couple of 16610 Submariners using Swiss movements and Alpha Europe cases. The Alpha cases need modification to the crown guards which went well and I was initially pleased with how nicely things were going. However, selecting compatible parts and assembling them has been a frustrating experience despite spending considerable time reading the forums and watching appropriate videos.
I ordered an ETA 2824 and Alpha Europe case for the first build. After ordering the movement, I read that a tall (H4) pinion set would be needed to fit (2824) hands due to the increased height of the movement with the Noob DWO I also purchased. OK, ordered the pinion set from Ofrei and had it installed by the nearby smith for $75. Problem is, the H4 hour hand shaft is 1 mm diameter vice the 1.5 mm standard shaft and the 2824/2836 Clark hand set I ordered off eBay will not fit. Also, the Alpha cases arrived with non-cyclops crystals installed and the Clark 25-295-C replacement crystals I ordered were to small to fit the non-standard Alpha cases which need a 30.34 mm crystal.
Hence, my first question is: Where can I source rep Rolex 16610 hands for the 1.0 mm hour hand pinion and .9 mm minute hand pinion on my H4 pinion set? Second question is: Where do I get a 30.34 mm Cyclops crystal for the Alpha case set? Alpha doesn’t sell them separately, grrrrrr.
After the learning experience regarding 2824’s and DWOs, I ordered an ETA 2836 and a TC DWO for the second build. When releasing the stem from the 2836, I apparently pushed too hard on the release button and the button has disappeared from sight. I believe this is called “screwing up the keyless” and can be remedied, but I’m unable to find a good video on how to do this. Can anyone help?
Lastly, I’d very much appreciate some guidance regarding locating reasonably priced parts that will actually fit together to build a sub in case I fail completely with these builds or decide to do this again. I suspect other noobs would also appreciate this information.
Thanks in advance…….
I ordered an ETA 2824 and Alpha Europe case for the first build. After ordering the movement, I read that a tall (H4) pinion set would be needed to fit (2824) hands due to the increased height of the movement with the Noob DWO I also purchased. OK, ordered the pinion set from Ofrei and had it installed by the nearby smith for $75. Problem is, the H4 hour hand shaft is 1 mm diameter vice the 1.5 mm standard shaft and the 2824/2836 Clark hand set I ordered off eBay will not fit. Also, the Alpha cases arrived with non-cyclops crystals installed and the Clark 25-295-C replacement crystals I ordered were to small to fit the non-standard Alpha cases which need a 30.34 mm crystal.
Hence, my first question is: Where can I source rep Rolex 16610 hands for the 1.0 mm hour hand pinion and .9 mm minute hand pinion on my H4 pinion set? Second question is: Where do I get a 30.34 mm Cyclops crystal for the Alpha case set? Alpha doesn’t sell them separately, grrrrrr.
After the learning experience regarding 2824’s and DWOs, I ordered an ETA 2836 and a TC DWO for the second build. When releasing the stem from the 2836, I apparently pushed too hard on the release button and the button has disappeared from sight. I believe this is called “screwing up the keyless” and can be remedied, but I’m unable to find a good video on how to do this. Can anyone help?
Lastly, I’d very much appreciate some guidance regarding locating reasonably priced parts that will actually fit together to build a sub in case I fail completely with these builds or decide to do this again. I suspect other noobs would also appreciate this information.
Thanks in advance…….