Simonix 8,661 Posted March 27, 2021 Hi all. Had my first bash at doing a vintage Rolex. BP 1655 base watch. 2836 clone mvt. Mochacha Singer custom replacement dial. GMT hand repainted orange, all hands aged by me. Aged date wheel (replacement champagne overlay in the post still). Case and bracelet all aged and polished/re-brushed by me. A couple of pics of when it first arrived with me: And how it looks now.... 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Simonix 8,661 Posted March 27, 2021 Quick re adjustment of the dial. Was a bit out of line.... 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BravoDelta 22,512 Posted March 27, 2021 Looks amazing. Nice job 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ibanez 2,713 Posted March 27, 2021 Yep, another beauty... Looks top drawer..... maybe one day @Simonix you'll end up knocking these out as a TD... or you'll be abducted and be a chief artisan for a Repco in China 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rusky27 1,795 Posted March 27, 2021 Did you age the new dial slightly? Or is this the colour under the crystal seems slightly darker which looks even better than the dial itself pic. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nuvolablue 2,051 Posted March 27, 2021 Lovely job. Hope you do some more of these vintage rolies..... Then maybe us small wristed folk can pick up some of your M2M offerings (the PAMs are too big for me). Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Simonix 8,661 Posted March 27, 2021 3 hours ago, rusky27 said: Did you age the new dial slightly? Or is this the colour under the crystal seems slightly darker which looks even better than the dial itself pic. All I did was add a very very slight extra “colouring” to the 12 & 6 marker. The dial face was left as is. tobe fair that lighting in the dial photo probably made it look lighter overall. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rusky27 1,795 Posted March 27, 2021 10 minutes ago, Simonix said: All I did was add a very very slight extra “colouring” to the 12 & 6 marker. The dial face was left as is. tobe fair that lighting in the dial photo probably made it look lighter overall. It Looks grand, I wondered if you'd added to an already nice dial. As it looked even better installed into the watch. I also like the wash over the date wheel, nice touch. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Sta 264 Posted March 27, 2021 What a cracking job that is! Massive respect. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
als86 5,288 Posted March 27, 2021 Very nice @Simonix great work 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Buddhabar 4,557 Posted March 27, 2021 @Simonix... Great work and above all nice dial and hands. But I am not convinced by the date disc and the second hand. My personal opinion for me who am a lover of 1655. Oh by the way where did you buy the dial? Thanks. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NCRich 13,762 Posted March 27, 2021 Its very nice @Simonix. I like it a lot. However @Buddhabar has promised to sell me his. Haven't you? 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FunnyStarSystem 7,538 Posted March 28, 2021 That's a lovely job mate, this is my absolute favorite of all Rolex models and you've certainly made it the spitting image of all $30K! I love this watch so much I even own the homage: 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brang1 4,025 Posted March 28, 2021 Top job- clever bastard 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mbari 2,227 Posted March 28, 2021 Beauty! One of the best I have seen so far. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mbari 2,227 Posted March 28, 2021 Forgot to say hello Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Simonix 8,661 Posted March 28, 2021 8 hours ago, Buddhabar said: @Simonix... Great work and above all nice dial and hands. But I am not convinced by the date disc and the second hand. My personal opinion for me who am a lover of 1655. Oh by the way where did you buy the dial? Thanks. Thanks. Yeah, I have another date disc overlay on order, and the dial is still out line a little (I had to remove the dial feet as its got a 2836, not the gen 1575 movement). I will improve it. Dial is from Mochacha. Sold as a “repaired 1655 dial” singer on the back, but I am guessing it’s very much a rep?! Looks very good quality though I just added a tiny bit extra “patina” to the markers. Second hand? You mean the GMT hand I painted? Again, not perfect. The paint was a tad too thick, so wasn’t very smooth on application. I have another hand from rafflestime. but it doesn’t look as authentic, even though it was sold to me as a 1655 hand. love to have some advice from you, if you can help me. Thanks again. 4 hours ago, Mbari said: Beauty! One of the best I have seen so far. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk Very kind of you to say, especially after seeing some of your incredible creations on here recently. It was your 1655 that I wanted to re-imagine myself! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Simonix 8,661 Posted March 28, 2021 Thanks for everyone’s kind comments. I dare not go down the rabbit hole of submariner vintage builds just yet! Haha! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bbsee 469 Posted March 28, 2021 Looks fantastic mate, great job! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Buddhabar 4,557 Posted March 28, 2021 Its very nice [mention=107415]Simonix[/mention]. I like it a lot. However [mention=24370]Buddhabar[/mention] has promised to sell me his. Haven't you?Dear Rich ... you always woo mine ... maybe I decide to sell it to you. But for now I still enjoy it.Thanks for your always kind words. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Simonix 8,661 Posted March 28, 2021 Final re-alignment of the dial... @Buddhabar, my other gmt hand looks the same as yours. Is that more correct with the smaller orange border, or should it be thicker like mine? gens I have seen look quite thick... Gen for reference... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mbari 2,227 Posted March 28, 2021 The cgs could use a little work if I may be so forward. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mbari 2,227 Posted March 28, 2021 Very kind of you to say, especially after seeing some of your incredible creations on here recently. It was your 1655 that I wanted to re-imagine myself! Tiger concepts gmt hand set does the trick, everytime. Check em out. Just have to pop the gmt hand into a mix of like juice salt and vinegar. This aged the "traffic cone" color of the hand to a muted color, matches the patina you have ok the dial so far. On dw: what crystal do you have? The mag seems off. Clark's gmt xtal solved the issue. Hope this is helpfulSent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Buddhabar 4,557 Posted March 28, 2021 7 hours ago, Simonix said: Thanks. Yeah, I have another date disc overlay on order, and the dial is still out line a little (I had to remove the dial feet as its got a 2836, not the gen 1575 movement). I will improve it. Dial is from Mochacha. Sold as a “repaired 1655 dial” singer on the back, but I am guessing it’s very much a rep?! Looks very good quality though I just added a tiny bit extra “patina” to the markers. Second hand? You mean the GMT hand I painted? Again, not perfect. The paint was a tad too thick, so wasn’t very smooth on application. I have another hand from rafflestime. but it doesn’t look as authentic, even though it was sold to me as a 1655 hand. love to have some advice from you, if you can help me. Thanks again. Very kind of you to say, especially after seeing some of your incredible creations on here recently. It was your 1655 that I wanted to re-imagine myself! Here I am @Simonix .... sorry for the delay. I'm not presumptuous or picky enough to see other people's imperfections. Since I started attending the field of replicas, my goal was to reach a beautiful 1655. I have always analyzed it in detail to understand its variations. In yours (which in my opinion is a really good job) I just wanted to point out that the second hand does not reflect the genuine one. That GMT, on the other hand, you did a good job. Even mine like yours has very "pointed" hands compared to those of a genuine 1655; sooner or later they should be replaced (not the GMT one). Then, in yours, the date wheel does not convince me for the font and should be aged a little, giving a yellowing patina. I hope you understood me, what I meant. Unfortunately I have to translate with Google translate. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites