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SidneyShaw

Mid 1960's Era Glossy Gilt 5513 Submariner Build

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SidneyShaw

Hi All,

I wanted to become a lot more active on these forums, there is a wealth of knowledge on here and RWI. By no means of the imagination do I believe myself to be an 'expert' or build the best watches, this is a hobby for me and a one that I enjoy putting hours into. At the beginning I the month I posted my 5513 Non Serif build in the "What vintage watch are you wearing today?" Thread and decided my next build would only naturally and inevitably have to be a 5513 gilt...

Similarly to most builds, here is a list of the work involved:

Case work – mid case thinned, shaped and polished. Reshaped crown guards to correct size, reshaped lugs to top and side, with an aged, polished look. Some pitting/scratches around the watch to suggest this is an old watch.

Bevels have been added to the lugs with a polished finish.

Lug holes have been dripped to 1.25mm to accept 2mm gen spec spring bars.

Tube hole has been retapped to accept Athaya 700 Crown.

Aged between the lugs to mimic this has been used, which makes the laser engraving look more gen like – these laser engravings stand out too much when crisp and worn with a strap.

Tropic T39 Superdome installed and sealed. Slightly aged and polished with polywatch. Crystal has been adjusted so the bezel assembly can rotate, this is a known problem with these and aftermarket crystals/bezel assemblies

Handset aged and relumed to match dial.

Bezel insert slightly aged and recoated with an acrylic lacquer.

New bezel assembly aged and repolished. Bezel assembly itself has been adjusted and reshaped

Riyi 7206 riveted bracelet aged and repolished, links have been greased and sharp edges have been softened up. End links have been modified to accept gen spec spring bars.

 

Here is a build breakdown of the parts used:

Cartel 5513/1680 donor case set with Asian 2836 movement

Vietnam glossy gilt 5513 meters first dial period correct to between 1962-1966

Athaya 700 crown and tube

Gilt Mercedes hands – relumed and aged

Watchman bezel assembly

Yuki bezel insert

Aftermarket superdome T39 crystal

Gen spec 2mm fat spring bars

Riyi 20mm Rivet 7206 Bracelet

 

Now onto the pictures of the build:

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ZsdeOK.jpg
ZsdLj8.jpg

 

Thank you for looking!

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NCRich

Very nice.  Looks great.

FYI don't have to retap to get the Athaya to fit.  It fits anyway.

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BravoDelta

Looks fantastic! 

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Mr Seamaster

Lovely dial sir!
Might share where you got it from?

Cheers

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SidneyShaw
1 hour ago, NCRich said:

Very nice.  Looks great.

FYI don't have to retap to get the Athaya to fit.  It fits anyway.

Yes, strange one, I have fit them without trouble previously, however this one didn't like it. I have seen members say the needed to tap and members saying they didn't. maybe it is variant, what can we expect for the price. 

1 hour ago, BravoDelta said:

Looks fantastic! 

Thank you sir, I appreciate the kind words.

1 hour ago, Mr Seamaster said:

Lovely dial sir!
Might share where you got it from?

Cheers

Thank you, again I appreciate it.

I have been trying to locate the origin and seller to no avail, I believe it is from eBay purchased 1+ years ago but can't seem to find it on my purchase history,

Apologies

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rm65453

Looks amazing. Gorgeous piece!

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Aramis2288

I am getting more and more into vintage projects like this one, eeeeeeh :).

Outstanding job.

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SidneyShaw
57 minutes ago, rm65453 said:

Looks amazing. Gorgeous piece!

Thank you for the kind words

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SidneyShaw
17 minutes ago, Aramis2288 said:

I am getting more and more into vintage projects like this one, eeeeeeh :).

Outstanding job.

Appreciate it.

I thought I would be fulfilled however its kind of fueled my obsession even more, in my head I am planning the next already

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rm65453
20 minutes ago, SidneyShaw said:

Appreciate it.

I thought I would be fulfilled however its kind of fueled my obsession even more, in my head I am planning the next already

Lol where have I heard this before. 

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Aramis2288
1 hour ago, SidneyShaw said:

Appreciate it.

I thought I would be fulfilled however its kind of fueled my obsession even more, in my head I am planning the next already

Well, perhaps you may want to post some tutorials on how to? It's not only interesting but also useful.

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Mbari

Can't believe I missed this. Gorgeousness all around. Great pics too. Work of art. How do you like the super high dome on this?

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

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SidneyShaw
14 hours ago, Aramis2288 said:

Well, perhaps you may want to post some tutorials on how to? It's not only interesting but also useful.

Yeah I hadn't given that much thought if I'm honest. There are a lot of good contributors here that have picked up on most of the processes, equipment and how to's, it just depends what you are trying to achieve? That being said, as you can probably tell I'm not big on aging the dial, it's just a preference for me, I usually put more time into reshaping the case because of this.

Happy to post a tutorial if there is a want/need - I'm worried I'd get my head down and forget to document the process, it's how I like to destress.

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SidneyShaw
5 hours ago, Mbari said:

Can't believe I missed this. Gorgeousness all around. Great pics too. Work of art. How do you like the super high dome on this?

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
 

Thank you Sir, your posts on here are great and enjoyable to read!

Honestly the superdome was a bit of a whim on this one, I much prefer the more 'under the cuff' T19, However with the true gilt dial I felt the T39 was more fitting and oozed that 'vintage' feel.  I personally think it has come out great and it isn't too overpowering in person.

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Mbari
Thank you Sir, your posts on here are great and enjoyable to read!
Honestly the superdome was a bit of a whim on this one, I much prefer the more 'under the cuff' T19, However with the true gilt dial I felt the T39 was more fitting and oozed that 'vintage' feel.  I personally think it has come out great and it isn't too overpowering in person.
Thank you and agreed with every word typed above. Good to get the itch out of the way and settle for subdued later, it's always gonna be there. I'm just like you

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

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SidneyShaw

Yeah definitely, I much prefer a more subdued look compared to over the top vintagised, but it's not as tall as the picture suggests. What are your thoughts on the T39?

Excited to keep contributing around here and hopefully see you around... (the forum)

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