I'm starting to get a little self conscious about sullying the excellent 1016 thread with my tangents about 5500 Explorers, so I figured I'd start a whole new thread.
This, hopefully, will become a place for tongue in cheek humor, blatant watch porn, and a repository for helpful information on these watches. There's not a whole lot of "ready to wear" 34mm reps, so the vast majority of these will be builds and Frankens, which is always a great subject for a photo shoot.
The 34mm Rolex models are a neat subcategory of the basic Rolex Oyster line. What was once the default size has now fallen out of favor, as bigger and bigger watches become the fashionable choice. Some, however, are seeing a trend with smaller watches making a comeback, so those who enter here for love, support, and debate might one day be known as pioneers, trend setters, early adopters, and fashionistas...but I get ahead of myself.
Most famously, the Air King and Oyster Perpetual (both sometimes with Date), but also the somewhat less common Explorer 5500 (rarely with Date) and Commando 6429 would fall under this banner.
They're a very understated watch to wear when you're looking to whisper, rather than shout, and the gen parts are still quite a bargain, compared to their 36mm cousins.
So for a first post, I'll share a photo collage I made of the currently available Rolex 5500 dials on the market. Raffles makes a great case set, but their dial is actually oversized, designed for the 36mm case set, which is a shame...it's very nicely done. Ruby, Yuki and Mochacha make 5500 dials, but they're a bit more expensive. Another option is a gilt dial, which is a DIY project that's covered at length in other threads. Raffles makes a good case in 34mm that's a basis for a build, and you can still find 34mm gen cases for not too much money (cheaper than a Vietnam case, actually) if you're patient and willing to put in some time looking.
This, hopefully, will become a place for tongue in cheek humor, blatant watch porn, and a repository for helpful information on these watches. There's not a whole lot of "ready to wear" 34mm reps, so the vast majority of these will be builds and Frankens, which is always a great subject for a photo shoot.
The 34mm Rolex models are a neat subcategory of the basic Rolex Oyster line. What was once the default size has now fallen out of favor, as bigger and bigger watches become the fashionable choice. Some, however, are seeing a trend with smaller watches making a comeback, so those who enter here for love, support, and debate might one day be known as pioneers, trend setters, early adopters, and fashionistas...but I get ahead of myself.
Most famously, the Air King and Oyster Perpetual (both sometimes with Date), but also the somewhat less common Explorer 5500 (rarely with Date) and Commando 6429 would fall under this banner.
They're a very understated watch to wear when you're looking to whisper, rather than shout, and the gen parts are still quite a bargain, compared to their 36mm cousins.
So for a first post, I'll share a photo collage I made of the currently available Rolex 5500 dials on the market. Raffles makes a great case set, but their dial is actually oversized, designed for the 36mm case set, which is a shame...it's very nicely done. Ruby, Yuki and Mochacha make 5500 dials, but they're a bit more expensive. Another option is a gilt dial, which is a DIY project that's covered at length in other threads. Raffles makes a good case in 34mm that's a basis for a build, and you can still find 34mm gen cases for not too much money (cheaper than a Vietnam case, actually) if you're patient and willing to put in some time looking.
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