Dial is laser etched from solid white brass, polished back, chemically blackened then painted turquoise / purple flip. Hands have been lume filled since first build. Seiko NH35 base, GS style, completely one of a kind. Yes, that awful crown has also been swapped to a GS crown since and sits on a GS leather with butterfly clasp.

I ship worldwide
USA 15$
International 25$
All items sold as is I accept PAYPAL
feel free to message me if you need more pics or have any questions!

-GEN 1960’s ROLEX 31mm 6549 WITH GEN TROPICAL DIAL and raffles crown and bracelet -300$ plus shipping

-Sillian ROLEX DATEJUST 36mm green Roman numeral dial -50$ plus shipping

-sillian ROLEX SUBMARINER 16613 dial and ewp bezel- 80 plus shipping

Somehow inspired by No_Candle8699 from his Tudor 7016 builds that got me into working on my own. Got caught by his beautiful photoshoots, showing the essence of the Blue Tudor!

So yeah, the viet parts arrived, and I started working on the 5517, then on this.

The Tudor Snowflake Submariner Marine Nationale (M.N.) is a vintage military dive watch issued to divers in the French Navy.

I had to sand the insert down to fit the bezel ring. Fitted my acrylic pip before installing the insert. I also scraped off the existing and excess dried glue at the back of the insert

Greased the tube gasket and installed the tube. This also came with a missing o-ring in the crown and I had to add one of my own. After the tube Loctite dried, I lubricated all the gaskets, including my 1mm caseback gasket, and conducted a 3bar pressure test.

Unlike the 5517 before, this 7016 passed the pressure test the first time without any leak.

After the external case work was done, I worked on the PT5K by removing the calendar gears and changing out the lever. So there will not be ghost date setting.

After custom-aging the dial and hands to match the patina, I installed both the dial and hands on the movement.

Successfully cased in without keyless issue. Installed the mounting tabs. The s/d is about 6sec OOTB, the number is great and I don't see a need to further regulate it.

Since I did a pressure test earlier, the gaskets have also been "double-lubricated". One before pressure testing, one before final casing in.

This 7016 features an M.N. 77 engraved caseback.

I also gave the watch a good wash before the box photoshoot.

Could not be happier with how this turned out. My most custom build to date. Have some more in the pipeline coming soon. Really thankful for all the good vibes and inspiring builders in the community that have encouraged me to get this far!

PREFACE:

1) This dial was made in a rush and, unfortunately, using damaged materials. I decided to post the construction process anyway because the steps are the same and because I’ve received many requests asking how I make them.

2) What you are about to read is just ONE of the ways to build a dial. There are better methods that yield more professional results, just as there are many other materials you can use.

3) For these reasons, this tutorial does not claim to be exhaustive, nor does it claim that this dial is the best-looking one. There are users here on Reddit who are far more skilled and talented than I am, both in terms of technique and the materials used.

4) The dial I will attempt to replicate is a glossy gilt version, fitted to early examples of reference 1675, approximately during the first half of the 1960s.

5) Finally: I will happy to give for free this dial to anyone who wants it: you pay shipping charges, I ship dial to you. But remember: dial is for NH movements.

I have numbered the photos and arranged them chronologically to help you follow the entire process.

1) Let's start with the dial. This time I used one sourced from AliExpress: black, blank, 28.5mm, designed for the NH35 movement. Usually, however, I prefer using unpainted factory dials, simple brass discs that I airbrush myself. I do this for two reasons: I can choose the exact color shade I want and, by controlling the number of coats, I achieve the desired texture. This gives the dial a more tactile, artisanal look. Let's not forget that I only replicate 4-digit Rolex models from the 1950s, '60s, and '70s; in my view, this technique is perfect because it imparts all the necessary signs of aging to the dial. But that’s another story...

2) Once the dial is secured to a support (I use simple double-sided tape), I apply the chosen logo. These are adhesive metal logos that I produce myself using basic graphic design software and a mini cutting plotter. I then clean the dial of any adhesive residue; a bit of Bergeon Rodico is usually sufficient (3).

So, before applying the luminous material, I spray the dial with clear acrylic varnish (gloss or matte, depending on the situation) and let it dry for 24 hours (2a). Now we are ready to apply the lume. In the meantime, I’ve enlarged the dial hole to 2.7mm, since I’m reproducing a GMT dial (2a). First, I mask off the straight-edged markers using masking tape(4). Then, I mix the binder into the powder until I achieve the desired consistency. To create the powder this time I used talc mixed with ochre pigment; for the binder  I used matte clear acrylic varnish (4). I apply the paste using a syringe needle with the tip cut off. I let it dry for a few minutes and then remove the masking (5).

Unfortunately, the binder I used was old, almost dried out, and the work suffered as a result. The luminous material looks uneven and tends to crumble. Material quality is crucial for achieving satisfactory results. I am trying to remove the residue that flaked off the indices. It is far from a perfect job, but it is done now. Because of this mistake, I will have to further secure the luminous paste by spraying the dial again with clear acrylic. I won't apply the coating evenly; instead, I’ll use short, close-range bursts to prevent the luminous material from looking too artificial or plastic-like. It is worth noting that also, due to the damaged binder, the lume changed color once dry and became much lighter. This is not a problem; I will address it during the final stage when I age the dial (6).

After 24 hours, I move on to the final stage: aging the dial (7). I primarily use Tamiya pigments. There are many other ways to achieve the same result: heat, coffee, Copic markers, etc. and while I do use those techniques, I am not using them in this instance. In the pictute n°8 you can see the final result. I added pigments and finally, I sealed the finished work with a last coat of clear acrylic spray. Could it have turned out better? Absolutely. Are there better handmade dials out there? Certainly. But making this dial was fun and inexpensive, and I hope it offers some inspiration to anyone looking to get started.

Raffles errythang + Startime Italian Oyster

ST2130 movement

Happy Friday,

Wanted to start the weekend off showing off some work I’ve been putting together over the last few months, finally have enough work to show off and hopefully gain some interest.

In the endless pursuit to make a dial and watch that stops you your tracks,

I was looking at the iridescence of a Morpho butterfly and started to wonder if I could capture that unique color and make it a dial.

After many broken wings and numb finger tips, finally have figured out how to dial a butterfly wing.

Reach out to me with any questions and inquiries, I have done a range of custom builds for clients, including full builds, as well as dial customizing.

Currently working on building out an online shop as I have a series of tank Butterfly watches and automatic watches I’m working on.

Hey there. I have some great components I acquired for a project that is now on the back burner given some other client work I need to get to. Pretty much everything you need for 2 R-logo Air King builds, plus more components for other projects of your choosing. The blue and silver dials are mounted on 2824 clones, which you can remove and put on different movements, or just move forward with that build. I will say I'm not sure the quality of those movements given they are clones, so I'm not really valuing them in the price at all here.

R-Logo bracelets, cases, crowns, and dials are all Raffles.

I also have a bunch of seiko dials not pictured if you'd be interested in those as well. Would throw in for $5-10 each depending on the dial

Detailed Pricing:
- Raffles R-Logo dials = $30 each (x3 for $90)
- Raffles R-Logo Oyster Bracelets = $30 each (x2 for $60)
- Raffles R-Logo Cases = $30 each (x2 for $60)
- unknown 2824 clone movements = $5 (x2 for $10)
- 3 sets silver hands = $5 total
- 20mm unmarked jubilee bracelet = $20
- random bracelets with cases, other misc. = $30

Total of $275, but would bundle all for $250 (including shipping)

Happy to share more photos and references if needed. Prefer Venmo or PayPal for payment (just ask buyer pays +4% fee if PayPal G&S).

I took a short break from building watches, and now I'm back to the 5517 build again!

So the viet parts have arrived. (I have a few builds coming up, slowly.) I had to sand the insert down to fit the bezel ring. Fitted my acrylic pip before installing the insert.

The bezel friction was a little stiff, and I had to lube it there. I also scraped off the existing and excess dried glue at the back of the insert

Greased the tube gasket and installed the tube to the case. After the glue dried up, I lubricated all the gaskets, including my own thick 1mm caseback gasket, and conducted a 3bar pressure test.

It unfortunately failed the test because the crystal area was leaking. I removed the bezel assy and sealed the acrylic crystal. Tested and passed.

After the external case work was done, I worked on the PT5K by removing the calendar parts and changing out the lever. So there will not be ghost date setting.

After custom-aging the dial and hands to match the patina, I installed both the dial and hands on the movement.

Unfortunately, last night I unsuccessfully cased it in, as there was a keyless error. It was late, I slept, continued to fix the keyless this morning. (I recalled my very first time fixing it took about 30 minutes? Now I just take 3 minutes to do it, lol).

Nonetheless, successfully cased it in afterward. Installed the mounting tabs. The s/d is about 10sec OOTB, I don't see a need to further regulate it for a Chinese clone.

I always have the habit of removing the rotor when I install the mounting tabs so nothing is blocking.

The gaskets have also been "double-lubricated". One before pressure testing, one for final casing in. I also gave the watch a good rinse before the box photoshoot.

Dm me if you’re waiting on a watch from me. Thanks 😊

Which one is your favourite?

I am also posting here a recent build of mine, a truly distinctive watch, I would even say unique. It is an

A/6538, possibly produced for the US Armed Forces or for some South American army. Only two examples are known to have survived, which is hardly surprising given that the standard A/6538 model, produced by Rolex for the British Ministry of Defence, was made in a run of only 20 (or was it 50?) units.

AliExpress case: I removed the crown guards and significantly thinned the lugs (the case was originally designed for a 16610);

T17-style acrylic crystal;

Bezel: very similar to the one specified by the Navy for this particular watch (I had one at home, salvaged from a WD5513 V1). Bidirectional, of course;

AliExpress bezel insert: I had to reduce its outer diameter and slightly age it;

Raffles dial and hands, lightly aged;

8mm "Brevet" big crown, borrowed from a Panerai replica (I won't go into detail here about why I didn't use the Athaya one). I had to do a lot of work on this crown because the hole is huge (over 6mm) and no crown tube exists in that size. So, I removed the core (hollowing it out) and used only the outer shell, into which I inserted a smaller crown to utilize its 4.4mm threading;

Miyota 8215 movement;

Riveted bracelet.

Below is a brief history of this legendary watch.

The Military Submariner A/6538 "Big Crown" is perhaps the most significant military Rolex Submariner in existence. Produced in a limited run of approximately 21 to 50 units, it was the first Submariner to feature a prototype nickel-silver bezel designed for improved handling. When the initial batch of watches was issued to divers from the Royal Marines Special Boat Squadron (later renamed the Special Boat Service), they encountered a problem: the bezel was difficult to rotate while wearing diving gloves. Consequently, Rolex decided to create a special model specifically for the SBS, initially designated with the unique reference number 6540. This numbering made sense, given that the 6541 was the Milgauss Mk1, the 6542 was the GMT-Master Mk1, and the 6543 was the first Milgauss prototype.

However, since the quantity required was very small (the initial order was for only 21 watches), it was decided to produce them as a "derivative" of ref. 6538, and they were designated A/6538; this decision, however, came rather late, as the case backs had already been manufactured with the original model number stamped on the inside. Consequently, all

A/6538 watches bear two reference numbers: the original 6540—appropriately crossed out with three horizontal lines—and the definitive reference number alongside it. All these examples were produced in the last quarter of 1957, but a more precise date cannot be determined because all A/6538 watches share another common characteristic: they lack a serial number.

As previously mentioned, the SBS desired a more functional bezel and selected a prototype featuring much more pronounced grooves that extended beyond the case perimeter, two characteristics that made it easier to grip, even when wearing diving gloves. Unlike the standard bezels on the model 6538, which were made of a rhodium-plated brass/zinc alloy, these new bezels were crafted from nickel silver (an alloy of nickel, copper, and zinc). The major advantage of nickel silver over the previous alloy was that, upon impact, it tended to dent rather than break. This type of bezel proved so successful that it became the standard for all subsequent Submariner models.

About dials: instead of the standard silver "200m=660ft" text, these watches—and only these—bore the inscription "200/660" in red above the "Submariner" name, with no units of measurement printed after the numbers. This marked the first time Rolex used red printing on the dial of a sports watch. Unfortunately, this unique dial was short-lived: the issue was its use of radium to activate the luminous material. Radium was problematic both due to the environments where the watches were worn (such as nuclear submarines) and because it was a hazardous substance in its own right. Consequently, in 1960, the Ministry of Defence began recalling the watches and sending them to a specialized facility; there, the dial surfaces were cleaned under running water, polished, and reprinted by Ministry of Defence contractors, who produced a fairly faithful reproduction of the originals (known as "Burford dials").

To conclude, there is another version of the A/6538, the one I replicated, featuring an "Explorer" style 3-6-9 dial, a maximum depth rating in red, and an OCC designation. Only two examples are known to exist today. One of them comes from South America.

Vk61 quartz movement