My first build

[andre1]

It was mainly an exercise of: "Can I build the cheapest rolex replica with mech movement?" I ended up sourcing all parts, minus the dial and crown from aliexpress. It's a 70s rolex style 100m wr case with a seiko nh38 movement. Cost for case cad 45, movement cad 48, hands 3.75, strap cad 3.50, dial and crown were brought from the Philippines. I think they were around cad 25. Total cost cad 125.25, which is around usd 75.25 The strap is a bit oversized as I had this laying around not doing anything. It turns out the watch is more stable on it and not sliding anywhere.

 

[emdeevee]

Pretty impressive!!! I would be very proud of that work! Congrats!

 

[P..DR..D]

Congrats & well wear

 

[andre1]

When I started out with the build I was a bit worried, not knowing what to expect. Other than watching a few youtube videos on working with watches I had 0 experience. Here are more pics of the cheapest for me mech rolex. The case shipped very shiny so I gave it a good scrub with a scotch brite pad. I like the way it turned out. I thought of aging the dial, but this was the only dial I had and did not want to mess it up. Overall, I like the watch. I like the way it wears. I noticed it gets looks. Where I live most people wear smart watch so wearing something outdated is becoming unusual.

 

[McDuck888]

I really love this! Thank you for sharing it

 

[andre1]

One thing I would like to do is to age the perspex glass. It's a really nice acrylic dome not seen since the 80s. It produces really cool distortions and adds to the vintagesque illusion. I'm thinking of making a mix of turmeric/cinnamon powder with some water and applying the solution to the inside of the glass. Leave it on a bit tthen wash it off and dry it. It should give a nice sun yellowed look. Here is one more wrist shot. By the way this one is a definite keeper. The seiko nh38 is so reliable.