The Rolex Explorer 6350 has been my grail watch ever since I became aware of it's existence, thanks to this thread by 369mafia : https://forum.replica-watch.info/for...grail-explorer
This is only my second build, but I really wanted to take my time and do my best to make this one 'right.'
jmb Made me a duplicate case to the one he made for 369mafia , with the proper internal caseback engravings, as well as external case engravings and the thicker "fugly" 6350 bezel. I also had JMB install a Gen Rolex tube (24-6020) that I acquired, that is compatible with my Gen Brevet + 24-600 crown. He also lightly aged the case set for me.
It took me a long time to track down the dial for this watch. MQ had one, but it seemed ridiculously overpriced. Ruby had one, but according to her measurements it was 1mm smaller in diameter than it needed to be. By the time I went back to MQ, the available dial had been removed from the website and was no longer for sale. I thought that was the end of this project. Luckily, MQ still had a dial, and being the only game in town, I acquiesced to his exorbitant price.
Upon arrival, I was blown away by the dial quality - whatever bitterness existed over the price quickly evaporated. It's absolutely stunning in the flesh.
I decided to also use the same hands that 369mafia used in his build, as I felt the Submariner 6204 hands are the more desirable set of hands to have in the 6350. I stripped them of the glowing lume they came with, and re-lumed with Noctlilumina non glowing lume (AN99F) which perfectly matches the aged lume on the dial.
After thorough research, I decided to use a gen ETA 2846 low beat movement to more closely replicate the beat rate of the real thing. However, the 2846 is a movement with a date function and a three position crown, which would be an obvious tell with this watch. So I 'deleted' the date functionality of the movement, and installed the date setting lever from an eta 2801 (two position crown setting lever) and now have a gen Swiss low beat, two crown positioned movement. I also removed the hacking lever, so this movement is now non-hacking as well (same functionality as the gen) which would have been perhaps a more obvious tell than the three position crown.
I've topped the build off with a nice black vintage style strap from Veblenist. I'm glad I went with the proper 6350 engravings from jmb , because they are visible on the watch when wearing the strap.
I'd like to get this watch waterproofed, and I'm debating on whether or not I should also have the case set polished. Other than that, I am pretty proud of this build. Now for the photos:
This is only my second build, but I really wanted to take my time and do my best to make this one 'right.'
jmb Made me a duplicate case to the one he made for 369mafia , with the proper internal caseback engravings, as well as external case engravings and the thicker "fugly" 6350 bezel. I also had JMB install a Gen Rolex tube (24-6020) that I acquired, that is compatible with my Gen Brevet + 24-600 crown. He also lightly aged the case set for me.
It took me a long time to track down the dial for this watch. MQ had one, but it seemed ridiculously overpriced. Ruby had one, but according to her measurements it was 1mm smaller in diameter than it needed to be. By the time I went back to MQ, the available dial had been removed from the website and was no longer for sale. I thought that was the end of this project. Luckily, MQ still had a dial, and being the only game in town, I acquiesced to his exorbitant price.
Upon arrival, I was blown away by the dial quality - whatever bitterness existed over the price quickly evaporated. It's absolutely stunning in the flesh.
I decided to also use the same hands that 369mafia used in his build, as I felt the Submariner 6204 hands are the more desirable set of hands to have in the 6350. I stripped them of the glowing lume they came with, and re-lumed with Noctlilumina non glowing lume (AN99F) which perfectly matches the aged lume on the dial.
After thorough research, I decided to use a gen ETA 2846 low beat movement to more closely replicate the beat rate of the real thing. However, the 2846 is a movement with a date function and a three position crown, which would be an obvious tell with this watch. So I 'deleted' the date functionality of the movement, and installed the date setting lever from an eta 2801 (two position crown setting lever) and now have a gen Swiss low beat, two crown positioned movement. I also removed the hacking lever, so this movement is now non-hacking as well (same functionality as the gen) which would have been perhaps a more obvious tell than the three position crown.
I've topped the build off with a nice black vintage style strap from Veblenist. I'm glad I went with the proper 6350 engravings from jmb , because they are visible on the watch when wearing the strap.
I'd like to get this watch waterproofed, and I'm debating on whether or not I should also have the case set polished. Other than that, I am pretty proud of this build. Now for the photos:
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