andygt 0 Posted December 6, 2013 Having exhausted all the various vintage subs that were on my wish list (well all but one but more of that later...) I needed to expand my horizons a little so the hunt for another vintage rolex started. All it took, as is so often the case, was reading another one of LHOOQ's build threads. If he wasn't such a nice guy I might hate him for his impeccable taste and enviable watch collection. Bastard. The Rolex Space Dweller was at the time the latest and greatest in L's impressive 1016 hoard (he now a gen.) Believed by some to be the rarest of Rolex Explorers coupled with the fact that few people have ever seen this watch in person makes this something of a holy grail to Rolex collectors. The Rolex Space-Dweller was manufactured in extremely limited quantities, and only released to the Japanese market, and only on a trial-basis. Inspired by the Mercury astronauts’ first visit to Japan in 1963, the watch was only produced as a test. It was said by Rolex that if the watch was a commercial success, they would then go ahead and re-brand the Explorer as the Space-Dweller solely for the Japanese market. Needless to say as with many things, it was not a success and very few of the Space-Dwellers were produced and very few ever made into the open market. The Explorer was chosen to commemorate the astronauts’ visit because they were considered the world’s greatest explorers. So onto the build. Despite being banned by every rep forum in the western world at one time or another, former RWG member and enfant terrible of the vintage rolex rep world otherwise known as Akira was the man for the job of building the Space Dweller. Love him or hate him his skills with vintage rolex builds are fantastic, and with a 5512 and 1680 built by Herr Akira already in my collection I was happy to have him flex his skills on this build (not to mention the 'old buddy RWG' discount I get). The best (and possibly only) choice for a dial was Ingod. I've got one of his dials in my 5513 and the quality for the money is truly superb so I was confident the Space Dweller dial would be a winner too. Originally I'd planned to use a reshaped gen 16000 series DJ case but following discussions with ze German we decided to go with a JMB case set as the shape was far more correct for a 1016 build and the gen case left no room for lughole drilling. Also JMB sourced was his infamous bezel - key to a good 1016 build. Finishing off the parts list is an ETA 2824, 604 crown and a Sternkreuz tropic which offers the best bang for buck if a gen tropic is out of reach. As well as building the watch Akira also reshaped the case to gen spec, drilled the lugholes and tastefully aged the dial (no cooking dials in the oven here). Needless to say I'm very pleased with the results and another feather in the hat for the shit stirring German Next up and due to be finished soon by Akira is another project that is somewhat of a grail for me.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dbane883 0 Posted December 6, 2013 Stunning. Well done. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seclark007 11 Posted December 6, 2013 That's a sweet build Andy! And are you refering to the final pending completion of the 7031? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jonnybaws 5,280 Posted December 6, 2013 Must admit, wasn't a fan of this type of watch before, but, the more I see them the more they are starting to appeal to me. This one is lovely! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
J.Eric 693 Posted December 6, 2013 Very Nice!!! Mine Says Hi! Welcome to the Club!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KeNnY 29 Posted December 6, 2013 looks good buddy ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
andygt 0 Posted December 6, 2013 Thanks guys That's a sweet build Andy! And are you refering to the final pending completion of the 7031? My 7032 is waiting to have the pushers replaced as the old ones spontaneously combusted and the old 7031 is still somewhere in Greece - hopefully one day it will make it back to the UK! The one I'm referring to is the sneak preview at the bottom: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pob 73 Posted December 6, 2013 Very nice my friend. Guess i'll see this in London? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
baxter 6 Posted December 6, 2013 That's SO nice andy, looks like the real deal... i hope to see this in the flesh at the GTG. ......... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Haltec 0 Posted December 6, 2013 Really.. really, beautiful. Haltec Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LHOOQ 0 Posted December 6, 2013 Welcome to the club, Andy! It's beautiful, but that's what we've come to expect from our frequently-banned German friend (who's really a nice guy in person). May it dwell in your space for a long time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DeLaForce 2 Posted December 7, 2013 Nice build, looks great ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chrisby 1 Posted December 7, 2013 Wow! That is stunning. I've said it before I'm not in to Rollies but I've seen a couple now that I could see myself wearing... and this is certainly one of them! Congrats on this build Andy! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pob 73 Posted December 7, 2013 I miss Akira lol, is that normal? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
solkryssare 109 Posted December 7, 2013 Very nice mate! Think I'll wear mine today....... That Comex build is haunting me. U knew.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
