- 25/10/18
- 1,383
- 812
- 113
First of all, the differences between the two references are not great. Nevertheless, the differences were reason enough for me to start a build of this reference.
For the case, I used a VN GMT Master Case, suitable for a 3185 or 3186 caliber. Of course, the 3185 or 3186 clone movements also fit into the case. Since the Rolex references 16750/3 or 16700 but Rolex caliber 3075, respectable caliber 3175 have built in, small differences in the height are to be expected on the movement side. Also the caseback was replaced by a flat one that's common for the GMT Master (II).
Unlike the 3185/86/87 movements, the two 3*75 movements do not have a separately adjustable hour hand. But unlike the 15*5 GMT movements, they use the Date Quick Set mechanism. Correctly timed, a Rolex 3075 caliber was used in my project. But such a caliber does not exist as a clone movement, also no 3035 which could be converted to a 3075. So I had to bite the bullet and use a 3175 clone movement for my build. And right, the 3175 is not available off the shelf as a clone movement either, so I had to have a 3135 clone movement converted with the difference parts to the 3175 that Rolex also uses in the 3175 caliber.
Mike from watchservicesny was able to get me the parts, so I could already have a VS 3135 converted to a 3175 Franken movement.
Since the VN cases do not accept the 5030 barrel but the 6040 barrel, I searched for a matching 6 mm B24-600-8-G1 crown with matching 6040 barrel.
From a friend, I was able to purchase a very nicely done Bi-Color Jubilee band, however, the end links had to be adjusted to fit the case. The work as well as a Gen like case rework was done in best quality by TomRep to my fullest satisfaction.
I also found a beautiful dial with matching set of hands, amazing thing about it is that with this dial and hand play, the tritium lume still glows a bit.
For such a high caliber build, I definitely wanted to use an 18 ct. bezel, I purchased this along with a matching insert from StarTimeSupply.
The watchmaking tasks were done for me by Benjamin Welte, in my opinion the conversion turned out very nice.
For the case, I used a VN GMT Master Case, suitable for a 3185 or 3186 caliber. Of course, the 3185 or 3186 clone movements also fit into the case. Since the Rolex references 16750/3 or 16700 but Rolex caliber 3075, respectable caliber 3175 have built in, small differences in the height are to be expected on the movement side. Also the caseback was replaced by a flat one that's common for the GMT Master (II).
Unlike the 3185/86/87 movements, the two 3*75 movements do not have a separately adjustable hour hand. But unlike the 15*5 GMT movements, they use the Date Quick Set mechanism. Correctly timed, a Rolex 3075 caliber was used in my project. But such a caliber does not exist as a clone movement, also no 3035 which could be converted to a 3075. So I had to bite the bullet and use a 3175 clone movement for my build. And right, the 3175 is not available off the shelf as a clone movement either, so I had to have a 3135 clone movement converted with the difference parts to the 3175 that Rolex also uses in the 3175 caliber.
Mike from watchservicesny was able to get me the parts, so I could already have a VS 3135 converted to a 3175 Franken movement.
Since the VN cases do not accept the 5030 barrel but the 6040 barrel, I searched for a matching 6 mm B24-600-8-G1 crown with matching 6040 barrel.
From a friend, I was able to purchase a very nicely done Bi-Color Jubilee band, however, the end links had to be adjusted to fit the case. The work as well as a Gen like case rework was done in best quality by TomRep to my fullest satisfaction.
I also found a beautiful dial with matching set of hands, amazing thing about it is that with this dial and hand play, the tritium lume still glows a bit.
For such a high caliber build, I definitely wanted to use an 18 ct. bezel, I purchased this along with a matching insert from StarTimeSupply.
The watchmaking tasks were done for me by Benjamin Welte, in my opinion the conversion turned out very nice.
