Rolex Commando 6429 - The rarest of the rare. Raffles products review

[369mafia]

A brief update!

Raffles just contacted me to let me know that the COMMANDO hands are now avalible and in his shop
He offers for both ETA and NH movements. That was quick!! Get while their hot!!

One Set Of Silver Watch Hands With Luminova Fit ETA 2836 Or 2824 For 34mm Rolex 6429 COMMANDO Watch

rafflesdials.com

One Set Of Silver Watch Hands With Luminova Fit NH35/38 For 34mm Rolex 6429 COMMANDO Watch

rafflesdials.com

 

[dpd3672]

Perfect, ordering a set tomorrow, was just about to start my build!

 

[Globemaster_98]

Wow, what a build,!! The Clarks T12 service crystal is ref number 25-13 on the envelope in the picture? It fits the Raffles case without modifications?
The Oyster bracelet's link screw holes are drilled through, is that a Raffles bracelet>?It looks fantastic. One of the best I've seen if not the best.

 

[369mafia]

Wow, what a build,!! The Clarks T12 service crystal is ref number 25-13 on the envelope in the picture? It fits the Raffles case without modifications?
The Oyster bracelet's link screw holes are drilled through, is that a Raffles bracelet>?It looks fantastic. One of the best I've seen if not the best.

HI
Thanks for the kind words.
That was a recycled envelope. I had the cracked t12 in there as a spare , A T12 was used in the build and a new t12 was replaced the cracked one on the watch.

Yes that is a Raffles 19mm oyster bracelet. Not alot of aftermarket options for a true 19mm bracelet

 

[dpd3672]

I was looking online for reference photos of the Commando, and found a couple auctions on Ebay. They're not legit...mostly gen parts for sure, but the case back on the first is for sure aftermarket (display back), the cases on both are for the more common 6426, and best case scenario is the dials are refinished gen dials, but probably NOT from an original Commando.

That said, both seem to have gen movements, and the 6426 has pretty much an identical case as the 6429, so will include the links for the value of the reference photos. Mochacha is selling the second one, so I'm confident in saying that's his dial on it, lol.

Rolex Commando Vintage Hiroshi Fujiwara analog watch men | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Rolex Commando Vintage Hiroshi Fujiwara analog watch men at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

~ Vintage Rolex #6426 COMMANDO Refinished Dial Original TOPICAL S/S Watch ~ | eBay

Model: #6426. ~ Confirm this is an Original Rolex #6426 Refinished COMMANDO Dial with Original TROPICAL & S/S Case ~. Important Note: Before go ahead. Year: 1969. Condition: Overall in Good Condition & the Owner using it for 25 Years.

www.ebay.com

Also came across these links with some pretty good information...some is common knowledge, but there's some new stuff (to me, at least) in both of them.

Rolex Commando Ref.6429 - Extremely Rare, Worth The Risk?

Rolex Commando Ref.6429 - Extremely Rare, Worth The Risk? The rare and seldom seen Rolex Commando is based on the Explorer 1016 and only made for a very short period in time.

www.fratellowatches.com

What to Know about the Rolex Commando

What are eBay's most popular watches?

sub.rescapement.com

FWIW, I spend a lot of time looking at Ebay auctions of "gen" watches. There's a lot of fake stuff out there, but scrutinizing the listings actually helps improve my ability to spot real vs fake...or at least the obvious fakes. It's not a bad way to kill time and hone your instincts.

 

[GenuineFool]

I found this link to the Rescapement article has a lot more photos:
https://www.rescapement.com/blog/what-to-know-about-the-rolex-commando

The other Commando on eBay (not MoChaCha's) is not a gen dial, or is possibly refinished, but unlikely since it is a 6426 case and the hands are not Commando hands. Look at the crown vs. the high res image on Rescapement; it's not as tall. Also the serifs and varied stroke weight in "Commando" is greater on a known gen dial. Of course, the ends of the stroke for the number "3" on the eBay dial point at each other, and in the gen do not. The end of the "6" is also different.

But all that being said, I'd consider getting a 6426 and swapping the dial and hands to have a franken Commando.

 

[Megahz1]

Just putting it out there...
I am considering building a commando myself, but I do not wanna spend a bunch of money on a ETA 2801, nor I want to remove the auto module from an automatic movement, so I did some research and I think I found the perfect fit for the Raffles case: ETA 2391!
It is a slow beat manual movement (18000 bph) with 48h of power reserve and can be bought for very cheap if you can service it yourself.
The hands are 150/90/21 which is the same as an NH38 (so perfectly compatible with Raffles) and the stem height is the same as a 2824.
Only downside is the fact that you need to clip dial feet and find a way to attach the dial to the movement (add feet, dial dots, etc.)
Hope this helps!

 

[Karbon74]

what's the issue with removing the auto module?

 

[Megahz1]

what's the issue with removing the auto module?

That by construction auto movements have a different mainspring & barrel so the spring slips when the movement is fully wound, manuals give you the feedback when the movement is fully wound. You could replace the two components to convert to a manual.

 

[freebalkany]

what's the issue with removing the auto module?

Also, you need a crown that disengage when pressed in, otherwise you will never be able to screw down the crown when the movement is fully wound.
I'm currently working on a worn out eterna 12801. My goal would be to use it for a commando build.

 

[freebalkany]

I hope it's okay if I put more info on my build here.
Here's the movement I'm planning on using, it's in a really bad state, but the wrong mainspring installed in the barrel.
And the stem is missing (it's a special one, very annoying to find).





I also somehow managed to get a gen bezel for the case.



A flat caseback would be nice too. But I have no idea which one would be compatible with the raffles case

 

[369mafia]

I hope it's okay if I put more info on my build here.
Here's the movement I'm planning on using, it's in a really bad state, but the wrong mainspring installed in the barrel.
And the stem is missing (it's a special one, very annoying to find).





I also somehow managed to get a gen bezel for the case.



A flat caseback would be nice too. But I have no idea which one would be compatible with the raffles case

Nice

the bezel looks good

Yah thats why I dont favor using old movements. I tried it a few times and always got burned. cause they were missing parts or just hacked together. I have a hand wind eta that I plan on swapping into my commando as I wanted to use the movement in there for my 6538

this caseback for the raffles 34mm case
he offers it sterile as well so ask for that one.

Steel Case Back For Vintage 34mm TUDOR Prince Watch Case

rafflesdials.com

 

[freebalkany]

Nice

the bezel looks good

Yah thats why I dont favor using old movements. I tried it a few times and always got burned. cause they were missing parts or just hacked together. I have a hand wind eta that I plan on swapping into my commando as I wanted to use the movement in there for my 6538

this caseback for the raffles 34mm case
he offers it sterile as well so ask for that one.

Steel Case Back For Vintage 34mm TUDOR Prince Watch Case

rafflesdials.com

I'm starting to really get a hang at fixing ETA movements. And here in Europe, it's usually not too difficult to find spares.

 

[369mafia]

Here is the commando complete with New Raffles Commando hand set.

comparison between the ofrie hands and raffles commando hands.
Raffles - white lume
ofrie tinted lume

 

[dpd3672]

Gen case with home made dial (a work in progress) next to a Raffles case and dial (the one with spring bars):

 

[freebalkany]

So I made some progress on my Commando build. The movement is now ready. Numbers are looking all right, although the amplitude could be higher (since I'm using a new mainspring).



Also I couldn't manage to clean it better. It still looks ragged, but at least it's working

 

[369mafia]

Update on the commando

Aged and installed the raffles hands but they were defective and wouldn’t fit so i stuck with the ofrie hands

However i did swap in a gen hand wind eta movement to complete the project.





6429 with my 7995 Tudor

 

[GenuineFool]

Aged and installed the raffles hands but they were defective and wouldn’t fit so i stuck with the ofrie hands

What was the issue with the Raffles hands? Wrong hole size(s)? Do you think the defect is limited to that set, or a general production issue?

 

[369mafia]

What was the issue with the Raffles hands? Wrong hole size(s)? Do you think the defect is limited to that set, or a general production issue?

specific to the set I received. I bought 2 sets and the other set went onto the watch I sent to @Caboose Those were no issue and look the part

 

[freebalkany]

Here is a little update on what I'm working on. I did receive the 6mm crown. It looks great. However it is using a gen spec crown tube.
So that means, I will to drill and retap the case to be able to fit the new tube. That's exciting, I've never done it before.
I measured the crown at 2.9mm for the inner diameter

Also, this got me wondering, does some knows if the case also has 2mm lug hole?