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The 34mm thread...the red-haired stepchild of the Oyster Perpetual family.
- Thread starter dpd3672
- Start date
soon in WTS section.
- 30/8/24
- 86
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Man, these 34mm builds are straight-up sleepers in the watch game! Everyone out here slapping together Raffles cases, gen bezels, and some killer dials It’s like a vintage watch buffet. Slim, comfy, and dripping with old-school vibes, these little Oysters are low-key flexes for anyone who gets it. Props to everyone showing off their builds you’re making it real hard not to start my own 1500 case adventure!
Today, I tried building a 5500 air king out of a rafflesdial 34mm case and spare parts. Overall, it is possible but tricky.
Build specs
- Gen air king 5500 dial without dial feet
- Gen bezel (not sure which rolex/ tudor did this bezel come from)
- Rafflesdial 34mm sterile case
- Rafflesdial 19mm hollow middle link + taper bracelet
- Asian lowbeat 2824 movement
- ETA 2840 setting lever
- Mix of hands (clarks minute hand, rafflesdial normal hour hand, rafflesdial tall post seconds hand)
- High quality replica 5.3mm crown
- Clarks 25 12 plexi
Mods
- Increased the rehaut diameter so that the rehaut doesn't squish/ touch the lume plots. Mirror-polished the rehaut, then rebrushed it
- Modified the movement so that there is no phantom date postion
- Modified the hour and minute hands so that their tips are pointed like gen
- Modified the caseback so that the rotor can spin freely. The Asian lowbeat 2824 movement is slightly thicker than the typical eta/ Asian clone 2824-2
- Modified the caseback so that it looks closer to a rolex caseback. The rafflesdial 34mm cases have casebacks that are flat and look like tudor casebacks.
Overall, a lot of effort was needed for a supposedly simple build.
A case reshape would be nice, but that's overkill for a supposedly simple build. The rafflesdial 34mm sterile cases have lugs that remind me of the 14000 air king
Build specs
- Gen air king 5500 dial without dial feet
- Gen bezel (not sure which rolex/ tudor did this bezel come from)
- Rafflesdial 34mm sterile case
- Rafflesdial 19mm hollow middle link + taper bracelet
- Asian lowbeat 2824 movement
- ETA 2840 setting lever
- Mix of hands (clarks minute hand, rafflesdial normal hour hand, rafflesdial tall post seconds hand)
- High quality replica 5.3mm crown
- Clarks 25 12 plexi
Mods
- Increased the rehaut diameter so that the rehaut doesn't squish/ touch the lume plots. Mirror-polished the rehaut, then rebrushed it
- Modified the movement so that there is no phantom date postion
- Modified the hour and minute hands so that their tips are pointed like gen
- Modified the caseback so that the rotor can spin freely. The Asian lowbeat 2824 movement is slightly thicker than the typical eta/ Asian clone 2824-2
- Modified the caseback so that it looks closer to a rolex caseback. The rafflesdial 34mm cases have casebacks that are flat and look like tudor casebacks.
Overall, a lot of effort was needed for a supposedly simple build.
A case reshape would be nice, but that's overkill for a supposedly simple build. The rafflesdial 34mm sterile cases have lugs that remind me of the 14000 air king
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Was trying to adjust the tube to get the crown closer to flush with the body and broke the tube in 2 pieces. By the grace of GOD I was able to easily fish out the broken piece and install a gen tube and Crown into the 34mm raffles case.
freebalkany
Active Member
- 24/8/21
- 303
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Talking about 34mm Oysters, I saw this rep on eBay.
I would assume the case and bracelet are genuine, but nothing else.
Still a nice inspiration for a next build.
Do you think the dial is from Yuki?
ROLEX VINTAGE REF.5500 S/STEEL CASE AND BRACELET REFINISH EXPLORER DIAL SOLD N/R | eBay
EXPLORER PRECISION REFINISH DIAL NICELY DONE AND STEEL HANDS. ORIGINAL ROLEX CROWN.
www.ebay.com
I would assume the case and bracelet are genuine, but nothing else.
Still a nice inspiration for a next build.
Do you think the dial is from Yuki?
Looks great! Which movement did you use?Thanks for the inspiration. Just finished my Commando based on a gen 1500 case.
johnchpark
Active Member
How are the Raffles' 34mm crystals? And are there any better sapphire crystals that would fit the case?
(couldn't find info on the dimensions).
From my experience, Raffle's 36mm sapphire crystals are SOOO poor quality compared to Deep crystals. They are night/day difference.
I would expect the same from Raffles' 34mm case/crystal, but not sure which I should swap to, since Deep does not make crystals for 34mm
(couldn't find info on the dimensions).
From my experience, Raffle's 36mm sapphire crystals are SOOO poor quality compared to Deep crystals. They are night/day difference.
I would expect the same from Raffles' 34mm case/crystal, but not sure which I should swap to, since Deep does not make crystals for 34mm
Amazing looking 5500 Air King.Today, I tried building a 5500 air king out of a rafflesdial 34mm case and spare parts. Overall, it is possible but tricky.
Build specs
- Gen air king 5500 dial without dial feet
- Gen bezel (not sure which rolex/ tudor did this bezel come from)
- Rafflesdial 34mm sterile case
- Rafflesdial 19mm hollow middle link + taper bracelet
- Asian lowbeat 2824 movement
- ETA 2840 setting lever
- Mix of hands (clarks minute hand, rafflesdial normal hour hand, rafflesdial tall post seconds hand)
- High quality replica 5.3mm crown
- Clarks 25 12 plexi
Mods
- Increased the rehaut diameter so that the rehaut doesn't squish/ touch the lume plots. Mirror-polished the rehaut, then rebrushed it
- Modified the movement so that there is no phantom date postion
- Modified the hour and minute hands so that their tips are pointed like gen
- Modified the caseback so that the rotor can spin freely. The Asian lowbeat 2824 movement is slightly thicker than the typical eta/ Asian clone 2824-2
- Modified the caseback so that it looks closer to a rolex caseback. The rafflesdial 34mm cases have casebacks that are flat and look like tudor casebacks.
Overall, a lot of effort was needed for a supposedly simple build.
A case reshape would be nice, but that's overkill for a supposedly simple build. The rafflesdial 34mm sterile cases have lugs that remind me of the 14000 air king
I am building one now using Raffles case / Gen dial. Was the raffles hour hand you used the one raffles has listed for the 34mm Raffles case or did you use the standard DJ (36mm case) hour hand? From what I can discern, the Long Post Raffles Second hand that you used is designed for his 36mm case... is that correct? The Clarks Minute hand is listed on his site as 12.5mm center to tip... is this also for a standard DJ (36mm case)?
Also, can you please give a description of how you shaped the tips of the hour/second hands. Thank you.
I think that is because deep crystals have AR coating which increases clarity significantly (by reducing glare and reflection).
On the other-hand, the stock rafflesdial 36mm sapphire crystal is period-correct to vintage Rolex sapphire crystals: they do not have AR coating.
In my opinion and comparison to my genuine rolex crystals, the current rafflesdial 36mm sapphire crystals have excellent clarity with a nice halo effect on the cyclops. Excellent value and choice for vintage Rolex builds like 162xx datejust.
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Assuming you got a gen 5500 dial (and not other air king dials like 14000 etc), I recommend starting with a gen 5500 case set actually. This is because gen 5500 cases are affordable now and can save you from having headaches. Increasing the rehaut diameter on the rafflesdial 34mm case can be tricky to do it right. If the rehaut diameter is not increased, then it will squish the lume dots on the gen 5500 air king dial.
As for hands, assuming you will use an eta 2824-2 or Asian 2824-2 (28,800bph) movements (becauses these movements fit better than the lowbeat 2824 movement that i used), then you can use a combination of these hands:
Hour = https://rafflesdials.com/one-set-of...eta-2836-or-2824-or-2834-for-mens-36mm-watch/ (yes, 36mm hour hand will work for this specific situation)
Minute and seconds = https://www.ebay.com/itm/255378312369 (i use longer 36mm hands so that they look more accurate to gen)
I use a file to create an angled tip.
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I would love to see an example of the filed down hour and minute hands! Could you share a picture?
I don't have pictures, but finger cots + a very fine file (diamond coated), a blower to constantly remove any fine shavings, and lots of patience.
Thanks, that will be another challenging project. Making watches will just keep getting better and better haha.
If you don't want to reshape hands, you could consider building a 1002 OP or 5500 explorer instead.
Aesthetically, the 5500 air king and 1002 op share the same case and bracelet, except their dials and hands are different. The 1002 op uses normal baton hands, but you will need a 1002 dial.
Aesthetically, the 5500 air king and 5500 explorer also share the same case and bracelet, except their dials and hands are different. You can use eta sub hands, and you can source a Vietnam 5500 explorer dial.
Thank you very much for your advice.
Using:
Raffles 34mm Case (I actually enjoy the case mods process... and its easy on the wallet)
GEN 5500 Dial
Athaya 600 Crown (I prefer it over the standard 5.3mm... but does require enlarging the tube hole and re-tapping)
SW200-1B Movement (Sellitas 2824 w/ 2 pos. setting lever)
GS PA459-37 Crystal (it has a bit more of a dome than the T12 and is essentially a T-11 substitute)
Mixed hands as you recommended (planning to re-shape the tips)
Bezel: Not sure on this... looking for GEN but 5500 are hard to find. Will explore if I could use 1500 bezel which is easier to find. Crystal outer dimension is listed as 29.29mm so I need to figure out if a 1500 bezel's inner dimension will be a snug enough fit.
Thanks again.
Enlarge the internal diameter of the stock rafflesdial 34mm case bezel (using a dremel) to make it fit a plexi
I think this should fit the stock tube without modification. Get the "116234 silver" one
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johnchpark
Active Member
The Raffles cases are very good, but they do benefit from reshaping. Generally speaking, to my eye, the vintage cases offered tend to run a bit "thick" compared to gen cases. This might be by design, since gen cases had small variations from model to model, year to year, and since it's easier to remove metal than add it, it makes sense. I think there's a photo higher in the thread showing gen and Raffles cases side by side.
EDIT: This is the photo. The two cases on the left are gen 5500/1002 cases. The one on the right is a Raffles case unmodified.
You can see that even the gen cases have a little variation (although some may be due to wear/polishing over the years). The case in the center has the thinnest lugs, the Raffles on the right is the thickest, and the one on the left is in-between. The insides of the cases contain precise pieces...the outsides are a lot more open to variations.
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It is hard to describe quantitatively but the gen cases seem to flow organically. The lines are pleasing to the eyes, whatever the models
The Raffles cases always look like sculpting blanks.
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