Hey guys. So, a while back I purchased that Rolex-dialed, Radiomir case vintage watch from one of our dealers here. It's a 47mm and probably a bit big for me to pull off, but I decided to give it a shot. Well, when I got it, I hated it. It looked like crap on me, I hated the way that the lugs stuck straight out from the case and I hated the huge crown.
I thought I'd probably just sell it and be done with it. Well, it just sat here and collected dust and I never got around to selling it. So, the other day I just decided to jump in and start messing with it.
First thing I did was bend down the lugs. I was afraid I’d snap them off (remember they’re fixed, but with a funky springbar in between them), so I went pretty slowly. Bit by bit, I angled them downward until they were slightly curved and not sticking straight out. I'm thinking of having some stainless soldering done where the lug meets the case to make it look more convincing as a vintage, fixed-lug model.
Then, I disassembled and took off the hands and dial. I mistakenly didn't put a piece of paper under the hands, so my hand remover (presto-style with the, uh hum, non-mar tips) slightly marred the dial. Not a big noticeable deal, but still. Then I baked the hands and dial to age the lume. I included a shot of the dial. The first pic is “zero stateâ€, the second is after 15 min. at 300 degrees, the third is after an additional 20 min. at 350 deg. and the last is after an additional 25 min. at 375 deg. It’s still rather subtle, but I think looks good.
Then I decided to brush the case. I was a little concerned about this because it seemed like it was going to be a bit of a pain to polish back out if I didn't like the result. It's really tedious and difficult work. First I started w/ 2000 grit sandpaper, but it was a little too light, so I switched to 1000 grit. Turned out pretty nicely I think.
Lastly, I couldn’t stand that big honkin crown, so I sanded it down some. Then I gave the plexi just a few light scratches.
Ran into some problems with reassembly though. First, I used a metal hand setter and it marred the hands just slightly. No biggie, but I probably should have used a pencil eraser instead like a buddy of mine suggested (after the fact!). Next I did something incorrectly (not sure what), but I think I buggered the keyless works when inserting the crown stem. The crown stem goes in. And, it even winds. But, it won’t set the time and the set-screw for the crown will not tighten (just freewheels). So, it looks good, but I can’t set the time and I can’t unscrew the crown without fear of the crown/stem falling out! Lol.
Anyway, let me know what you guys think. I think it went from junk to at least wearable.
Savage
I thought I'd probably just sell it and be done with it. Well, it just sat here and collected dust and I never got around to selling it. So, the other day I just decided to jump in and start messing with it.
First thing I did was bend down the lugs. I was afraid I’d snap them off (remember they’re fixed, but with a funky springbar in between them), so I went pretty slowly. Bit by bit, I angled them downward until they were slightly curved and not sticking straight out. I'm thinking of having some stainless soldering done where the lug meets the case to make it look more convincing as a vintage, fixed-lug model.
Then, I disassembled and took off the hands and dial. I mistakenly didn't put a piece of paper under the hands, so my hand remover (presto-style with the, uh hum, non-mar tips) slightly marred the dial. Not a big noticeable deal, but still. Then I baked the hands and dial to age the lume. I included a shot of the dial. The first pic is “zero stateâ€, the second is after 15 min. at 300 degrees, the third is after an additional 20 min. at 350 deg. and the last is after an additional 25 min. at 375 deg. It’s still rather subtle, but I think looks good.
Then I decided to brush the case. I was a little concerned about this because it seemed like it was going to be a bit of a pain to polish back out if I didn't like the result. It's really tedious and difficult work. First I started w/ 2000 grit sandpaper, but it was a little too light, so I switched to 1000 grit. Turned out pretty nicely I think.
Lastly, I couldn’t stand that big honkin crown, so I sanded it down some. Then I gave the plexi just a few light scratches.
Ran into some problems with reassembly though. First, I used a metal hand setter and it marred the hands just slightly. No biggie, but I probably should have used a pencil eraser instead like a buddy of mine suggested (after the fact!). Next I did something incorrectly (not sure what), but I think I buggered the keyless works when inserting the crown stem. The crown stem goes in. And, it even winds. But, it won’t set the time and the set-screw for the crown will not tighten (just freewheels). So, it looks good, but I can’t set the time and I can’t unscrew the crown without fear of the crown/stem falling out! Lol.
Anyway, let me know what you guys think. I think it went from junk to at least wearable.
Savage
