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My Rolex 6542 Project
- Thread starter JAFO
- Start date
- 16/10/13
- 3,598
- 11
- 38
Everybody needs a 1675! But only the manliest of manly sexy men can wear the 6542. Are you ready to become a legend?
JAFO did you check out the JoeyB inserts. They look awesome. He also makes a bezel to go with it. Wonder if the insert or bezel fits your watch.
Also, should we expect all the watches of this model from Lucy will be glued?
Also, should we expect all the watches of this model from Lucy will be glued?
Here's a link for those who are interested:
http://www.rwgforum.net/topic/14562...rt-for-rolex-gmt-master-6542-perspexbakelite/
http://www.rwgforum.net/topic/14562...rt-for-rolex-gmt-master-6542-perspexbakelite/
You know it, brother! [emoji2] I was born ready.Everybody needs a 1675! But only the manliest of manly sexy men can wear the 6542. Are you ready to become a legend?
Did you read the amazing story today over on RWG about the guy who bought an original 6542 at an estate sale that had been sitting in a box, disassembled? It had the original bakelite insert and almost all of the parts. One of the expert Rolex restoration guys on the gen forum where the buyer posted it estimated it would only cost him about $3,500 to restore it.
Guess how much he paid for the box of parts? ........... $3.00!! Yes, 3 bucks. The bakelite insert is worth anywhere from $15k to $20k alone. The guy ended up selling it to a vintage dealer in CA and probably sold it for $25k to $35k.
I would have restored it for $3,500 and I would wear the sh#t out of it. Then I would pass it down to my boys as an heirloom. 30 years from now it will be worth far more than $35k fully restored. What a shame.
- 16/10/13
- 3,598
- 11
- 38
The 6542 made its way back home today. And just so you don't have to read the entire thread, I'll recap what's what with this watch.
There's only one factory making this 6542 rep. And it's a pretty good rep right out of the box. But...it looks like a brand new watch, which it is, but it shouldn't look new. Plus it's a gilt dial piece but it's got silver hands. Now, I didn't like the way that looked so I ordered up some gold hands from Daz, had him age them slightly and relume them. Then I sent the watch off to Kevin (Ko67) to put it all together. He also sanded down the top side of the acrylic insert and lacquered it to take the shine off. A few days after it came back, I was sitting here and was rotating the bezel and the whole thing came off in my hands. Bezel and retaining ring. Which should never happen, lol. Turns out the factory had actually GLUED the retaining ring to the case - mainly because it was a crap design and really didn't even contact the case. So this wasn't one of those times when you can just snap it back on and rock on. So after I recovered from the stroke it gave me, I popped the insert out and went to work on it. I detailed how I aged it a couple pages back. Then I sent it off again to Kevin to see if there was any way he could fix it. Oh yeah, and the plexi cracked while the damn watch was sitting on the counter here. No joke. I sat it down on the counter, took a picture, and when I walked back over to it, somehow it had magically cracked at the 7 position. And no, the crack is NOT in the damn picture I took so I know it was God's punishment for at least one of the bad things I've done over the years.
So Kevin gets it, gives it the Evil Eye, and decides he's gonna have to make a new retaining ring for it and source a plexi, obviously. So, with his Jedi skills he hand crafted a new retaining ring. And not just some piece of crap that kinda holds the bezel on. No...this is a hand made, hand fitted, fully functioning retaining ring. Works just like the gen, friction ring and all. You push down on it and then turn it, just like the ROLEX Gods intended. I wish I had the ballz pop it off and take pics of it so you could see it but I, uh, I tend to break stuff when I take it apart so that ain't happening.
Now, whilst this piece was at Kevin's, Rob turned me on to jmb here. jmb - Justin - is another Jedi who lives in Texas too. And he agreed to do the Pan Am engraving on my case back. So...Kevin popped the back and sent it over to Justin. A week later I get a PM from Justin with pics of my case back and holy smoke was it bad ass! I mean he absolutely nailed it! This was the final piece for this project and the watch would not have been complete without it.
Wanna see?
There's only one factory making this 6542 rep. And it's a pretty good rep right out of the box. But...it looks like a brand new watch, which it is, but it shouldn't look new. Plus it's a gilt dial piece but it's got silver hands. Now, I didn't like the way that looked so I ordered up some gold hands from Daz, had him age them slightly and relume them. Then I sent the watch off to Kevin (Ko67) to put it all together. He also sanded down the top side of the acrylic insert and lacquered it to take the shine off. A few days after it came back, I was sitting here and was rotating the bezel and the whole thing came off in my hands. Bezel and retaining ring. Which should never happen, lol. Turns out the factory had actually GLUED the retaining ring to the case - mainly because it was a crap design and really didn't even contact the case. So this wasn't one of those times when you can just snap it back on and rock on. So after I recovered from the stroke it gave me, I popped the insert out and went to work on it. I detailed how I aged it a couple pages back. Then I sent it off again to Kevin to see if there was any way he could fix it. Oh yeah, and the plexi cracked while the damn watch was sitting on the counter here. No joke. I sat it down on the counter, took a picture, and when I walked back over to it, somehow it had magically cracked at the 7 position. And no, the crack is NOT in the damn picture I took so I know it was God's punishment for at least one of the bad things I've done over the years.
So Kevin gets it, gives it the Evil Eye, and decides he's gonna have to make a new retaining ring for it and source a plexi, obviously. So, with his Jedi skills he hand crafted a new retaining ring. And not just some piece of crap that kinda holds the bezel on. No...this is a hand made, hand fitted, fully functioning retaining ring. Works just like the gen, friction ring and all. You push down on it and then turn it, just like the ROLEX Gods intended. I wish I had the ballz pop it off and take pics of it so you could see it but I, uh, I tend to break stuff when I take it apart so that ain't happening.
Now, whilst this piece was at Kevin's, Rob turned me on to jmb here. jmb - Justin - is another Jedi who lives in Texas too. And he agreed to do the Pan Am engraving on my case back. So...Kevin popped the back and sent it over to Justin. A week later I get a PM from Justin with pics of my case back and holy smoke was it bad ass! I mean he absolutely nailed it! This was the final piece for this project and the watch would not have been complete without it.
Wanna see?
- 16/10/13
- 3,598
- 11
- 38
Ok, so people to thank for their help with this project...
Lucy (trutime168) - I reached out to her, of course, to source the watch for me and she picked out a great one. The bezel issue was not her fault and there's no way she could have known there was an issue unless she disassembled it and that's not what dealers do. She picked me a great looking watch and I am ALWAYS pleased with her service and her help.
Kevin (Ko67) - Like I said, the dude is amazing. I'm sure he's just about sick of me sending him PMs saying "I want to do X to this watch. Do you think you'd be interested in working on it?" LOL! Man, I send him almost every piece I buy for him to do some sort of black magic to it. And he comes through every time.
Justin (jmb) - The dude nailed the case back engraving. I mean nailed it. It's exactly how I wanted it and turned out awesome. This was the final piece of the puzzle and the watch just wouldn't have been complete without it. Oh yeah, and thanks to delaforce for the inspiration for the serial number. Actually I just completely stole his idea LOL! Hey - it's a rep of a rep. What can I say.
Daz - when nobody else could hook me up with a gold plated hand set for the GMT, Daz hooked me up. He aged them exactly like I wanted (lightly) and relumed them to match the photos I sent him. And he turned them around in about a week. Awesome service from one of the legends here.
Robbie - He's the guy who got me started on this path not long after I showed up here. He's turned me on to a lot of great guys here who've been beyond helpful to me. Plus I bounce all my oddball ideas off him before I start tossing stacks of money around, lol. And he's a good friend.
Lucy (trutime168) - I reached out to her, of course, to source the watch for me and she picked out a great one. The bezel issue was not her fault and there's no way she could have known there was an issue unless she disassembled it and that's not what dealers do. She picked me a great looking watch and I am ALWAYS pleased with her service and her help.
Kevin (Ko67) - Like I said, the dude is amazing. I'm sure he's just about sick of me sending him PMs saying "I want to do X to this watch. Do you think you'd be interested in working on it?" LOL! Man, I send him almost every piece I buy for him to do some sort of black magic to it. And he comes through every time.
Justin (jmb) - The dude nailed the case back engraving. I mean nailed it. It's exactly how I wanted it and turned out awesome. This was the final piece of the puzzle and the watch just wouldn't have been complete without it. Oh yeah, and thanks to delaforce for the inspiration for the serial number. Actually I just completely stole his idea LOL! Hey - it's a rep of a rep. What can I say.
Daz - when nobody else could hook me up with a gold plated hand set for the GMT, Daz hooked me up. He aged them exactly like I wanted (lightly) and relumed them to match the photos I sent him. And he turned them around in about a week. Awesome service from one of the legends here.
Robbie - He's the guy who got me started on this path not long after I showed up here. He's turned me on to a lot of great guys here who've been beyond helpful to me. Plus I bounce all my oddball ideas off him before I start tossing stacks of money around, lol. And he's a good friend.
JAFFO - That really looks kick-a$$! The whole watch is by far much greater than just the sum of it's parts - everything just seems to work in harmony! Thanks for letting me participate in this endeavor.
- 16/10/13
- 3,598
- 11
- 38
JAFFO - That really looks kick-a$$! The whole watch is by far much greater than just the sum of it's parts - everything just seems to work in harmony! Thanks for letting me participate in this endeavor.
No, thank YOU for your contribution. Your work is off the charts amazing. When I saw just how good the PAN AM engraving was...man I was blown away. The letters are so well done that I swear I sit here with the watch off more than on, just staring at the back. Then I flip it over and see that it actually has an as-gen functioning bezel and I'm blown away again.
These watches I have modded, modest pieces though they may be, man these things mean the world to me. Having a piece that 3 - THREE! - different craftsmen have worked on is bad ass. And if it wasn't for Justin and Kevin and Daz - I wouldn't be able to look down and see something that was just an idea in my empty head a year ago.