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Rolex 5517 Milsub, Rolex 1520 movement, Phong case.

tripdog

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Little bit of a story behind this watch. Purchased on RWI towards the end of November 2019, it disappeared in shipment for 5 months, to be finally delivered to its new owner in May 2020. Where it spent those 5 months will no doubt always remain a mystery.

The owner then sent it to me for some 'tweaking'. I found the dial & movement were moving around inside the case with the crown unscrewed, but the case back had been over tightened and I couldn't get it off. I epoxied a steel bar to the case back, waited 24 hours and was able to remove the case back.
Inside, the movement retaining screws were fully screwed down, when they should be screwed out - thus pushing the movement down into the case. The dial measures 25.9mm, and the dial aperture 26.3mm. No wonder the whole movement dial assembly is moving around inside.

It's not over yet.

The 'gen' crown turned out to be a Phong rep, and one of the 'fixed' lug bars could be pushed out of the case with minimal effort.

IMG-4487.jpg



The seller says he replaced the case back gasket and greased it, but the gasket I find is dry and has a split in it (as does the gasket in the oroginal sales thread) and has been pinched in the threads (why it was so hard to unscrew),even the dirt on the case back is still there.

In the sales thread pics, there is no noticeable damage to the case back teeth, but on the case back now there are multiple scrape marks where he's slipped at least twice with his case back tool, so he damaged the watch after taking the pics and shipped it anyway.


This watch was originally listed for £3900, and eventually sold for £2300. It's condition was described as 'excellent'. The seller was of very little help when the parcel disappeared and it was up to the buyer to chase after the shipment, launch an investigation etc.

The original sales thread:

https://forum.replica-watch.info/fo...517-milsub-build-gen-movement-and-other-parts

The owner wanted a real tool watch look to this Milsub, signs of use, patina on hands, lume etc - authentic looking with character - something the watch was sorely lacking in.

Unfortunately there are no budget friendly ways of building a milsub, HR cases are terrible, the Cartel stopped selling their Milsub a long time ago; That only leaves Phong, MQ etc, meaning an authentic looking 5517 Milsub is out of many peoples reach financially.

Specs on this one:

Phong case.
Phong dial & hands.
Rolex T19 dome crystal.
Rolex 703 crown.
Rolex 1520 movement.
Jensen insert.

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cpd2186

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Wow.... Someone really wanted a 5517!!!

Beautiful job Trip!
 
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Danster

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11/8/18
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What a story...I'd be going crazy if my £2500 watch went missing for 5 months....and then turned up like that. A happy ending though..watch looks incredible. Amazing job as usual Tripdog!
 
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Conjurer

You're Saying I Can Sell?
6/9/19
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The storytelling makes this one pop even more! Love your work
 

Mrinsatiable

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11/5/20
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Thanks for the story. It's incredible journey this build has gone thru. The value in the experience is more than in the material goods.
 

nexterag

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6/1/14
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0bcbc453ea1656691a9964ed04e45d14.jpg


Nice looking watch OP! My build is for sale - posting an eyecandy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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tripdog

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Nice looking watch OP! My build is for sale - posting an eyecandy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not relevant to this thread is it - you're just trying to sell your watch in somebody else's thread.
 
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nexterag

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Not relevant to this thread is it - you're just trying to sell your watch in somebody else's thread.

Huh? It’s sold buddy. Sharing the passion for 5517 builds. Lmao


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

tripdog

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Nice looking watch OP! My build is for sale - posting an eyecandy.

Huh? It’s sold buddy. Sharing the passion for 5517 builds. Lmao


Yes, it's sold now, but before it sold, it wasn't sold was it - buddy. That is to say when you posted your pic in my thread it hadn't sold, but now it has sold - a sequence of time related events you seem to be struggling with.
 

nexterag

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6/1/14
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Yes, it's sold now, but before it sold, it wasn't sold was it - buddy. That is to say when you posted your pic in my thread it hadn't sold, but now it has sold - a sequence of time related events you seem to be struggling with.

There wasn’t an alterior motive, I, like you enjoy 5517 builds and have had a fair few myself. I liked your build and story so I felt I would share a picture of my most recent milsub.

PM’d you to take this offline, but it goes without saying, I don’t feel the need to sell a watch on your thread nor ever intended to. Peace.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Docrolex

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28/12/19
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Great looking watch , very nice dial, and gen. Movement, if I came across a watch like this in EU for this price, I would not think twice. Very strange that somebody who starts such a build does not know about the movement screws, which have to be screwed out to fix the movement. Guess he had never before a gen. Movements in his hands. Congrats to new owner, he owns a great piece
 
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iandd

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24/9/19
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Beautiful build, trip. 5517 has always been my grail watch, doubt ill ever be able to pull it off.

Does anyone know how ruby 5517 cases fare compared to phong and mq?
 

Marshal77

You're Saying I Can Sell?
31/8/21
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Inside, the movement retaining screws were fully screwed down, when they should be screwed out - thus pushing the movement down into the case. The dial measures 25.9mm, and the dial aperture 26.3mm. No wonder the whole movement dial assembly is moving around inside.
If I understood correctly, youre saying that its a bad thing that movement retaining screws are not fully screwed in? May I ask why its bad thing? I always thoughts its a good idea to screw those fully down in order to have maximum spring force (From the movement clamps) to keep movement in place inside the case.

ps. Can you refresh those pics, cant see em anymore and would have been cool to see the pics :)
 

Mr Seamaster

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If I understood correctly, youre saying that its a bad thing that movement retaining screws are not fully screwed in? May I ask why its bad thing? I always thoughts its a good idea to screw those fully down in order to have maximum spring force (From the movement clamps) to keep movement in place inside the case.

ps. Can you refresh those pics, cant see em anymore and would have been cool to see the pics :)

?

They’re talking about a Rolex movement which is held in place different than an ETA powered watch. There are no clamps that hold the movement in the case on gen Rlx.
 

Marshal77

You're Saying I Can Sell?
31/8/21
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?

They’re talking about a Rolex movement which is held in place different than an ETA powered watch. There are no clamps that hold the movement in the case on gen Rlx.
Clamps or no clamps, screws or no screws, bubblegum or glue : shouldnt movement installation to case be as tight as possible? if using screws, shouldnt each screw should be fully screwed down? Why would you want to leave something screwed out...I feel I am missing tripdogs original point...

Wait...unless Tripdog meant that everything is actually inverted, by unscrewing the screw, the screw will bump into something above it , thus "pushing movement down down into the case" as he wrote....but then again, how can you unscrew/screw something if top of the screw is blocked by something.
 
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Mr Seamaster

Renowned Member
27/4/12
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Yes the movement should be held in place tight, which wasn’t the case on Trips watch as the screws were screwed in, not out.

Here’s a pic. Highlighted on of the screws which need to be unscrewed to keep the movement in place and tight to the case.



03bbc4bdfbf59ca86895ba08804e76fc.jpg
 

Marshal77

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Here’s a pic. Highlighted on of the screws which need to be unscrewed to keep the movement in place and tight to the case.
Thanks a million, that pic explains everything.

I was trying to reason why my clamps are opening in use (blue is original position), even I have tightened screws down. Before tightening, I even pushed those clamps under the case with slight force and after this made final tightening of screws....If I dont find reason for this, next time I will use loctite thread locker.
jpKllv.jpg
 
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