Rolex Ref 6542 GMT Master...(In Transition 2)

Err buddies...after ONE year or so...n months of tiring searches...which was seemingly endless...Orchi almost gave up hopes.

At some point later on...Orchi had thought it would be near impossible that Orchi would ever find the complete n original bezel assembly for a Rolex Ref 6542...until Orchi stumbled upon the Vintage Rolex Forum(VRF)...from a tip off by...Buddy Mike at TRF...in here.

Subsequently Orchi posted an Ad in VRF...to look for the complete original bezel assembly for this Rolex Ref 6542...A new hope was growing.

Shortly after that...Orchi received a surprising email from Mr. John Buckley a.k.a Tuscoanyrose...responding to Orchi's Ad in VRF...claiming that HE has got exactly the right Original Rolex Service Replacement parts which Orchi has been looking for...all the long months.

Orchi was in shock...n nearly fell off the coconut tree...after having read the offer price from Mr. John Buckley a.k.a Tuscanyrose...or as HE is widely known in VRF simply by the initial JB...He was then a total stranger to Orchi.

After a couple of email exchanges in betweens...Orchi had fired no less than 1 DOZEN questions to JB...which included...questioning his credentials n the authenticity of the items which he had offered to sell.

Immediately after...Orchi also fired no less than 2 threads in VRF...n TRF asking of the same.

Subsequently...from all the dozens of right n assuring feedbacks of many kind folks in VRF...as well as in TRF who came to Orchi's assistance at the time of urgent need...n there after a couple more exchanges of emails with JB...Orchi made the calculated decisions to deal with JB who was still very much a stranger to Orchi...at that point in time...for the purchase of the relevant items.

Quite swiftly when JB received the TT payment in full from Orchi in Malaysia...JB shipped out the items with full insurance cover...without any delays whatsoever...by FEDEX.

At ALL times...Mr. John Buckley has been very attentive to Orchi's dozens of concerns n questions...He was very honest in all his opinions...He was very willing to share his knowledge...He has also been very considerate of Orchi's worries...n most importantly he was very patient n accommodating to Orchi's constant ranting...

Well folks...these here are the pictures of the assembled Rolex Ref 6542 GMT Master...the images should tell the thousand words...
n a thousand of thanks to TRF...n YOU Buddy Mike!...

...n to Mr. John Buckley a.k.a Tuscanyrose...of NYC...the results are stunning n well rewarding.

Rolex Ref 6542 GMT Master...(In Transition)

Err...from HERE...Over the course of past few months...a fortnight or so ago...Orchi took a detour...to an unfamiliar territory for an adventurous journey...in search of the new resources...to find the complete n original bezel assembly...which was missing from this vintage Rolex watch...for well over ONE year since.

Rolex Ref 6542 GMT Master...1st Generation Non Crown Guard.
Made IV quarter production in 1956
Cal. 1030 signed chronometer movement
Gilt Dial "Oyster-Perpetual Officially Certified Chronometer"
marked "SWISS"
Roulette Dates...(Odd/Even dates in Black & Red).

To be continued...Right here in Part 2.

Rolex Ref 16800 Transitional Submariner...(Back in Transition)

Err...from HERE...the next story involved Orchi having had to deal with lots of regular headaches which had Orchi almost depleted the stocks of Aspirins...in the nearby neighbourhood where Orchi lives...

It began when this Submariner...had apparently lost its navigational bearings...n probably during its highly classified mission...n undisclosed undersea voyage in the unknown n treacherous waters around to the Malaysian shores...it made it to shore next to the beach where Orchi lives...amidst densed plantation of coconut trees.

On one breezy morning...the Old coconut sap tapper...stumbled upon it...n Orchi was immediately summoned to be with him...so he could educate Orchi on his lucky discovery.

As it turns out...the Old coconut sap tapper...refers to it as one of the so called Transitional Submariners Ref 16800 which was Introduced by Rolex from around Circa 1979 to 1988...or so.

He went further to educate Orchi that...from 1985 to 1989...Rolex introduced the Gloss Tritium dial with WG surround markers for Ref 16800...which was before another Transitional Ref 168000 was introduced for only 9 months...until 1989 or so...then he said..."the rest is history...of the Transitional Rolex Submariners"

Immediately after that...he said Rolex released the prior model of Ref 16610 Submariner in 1989 or so...with Cal. 3135 movement...still having the Gloss Tritium dial n WG surround markers...until late 1999 or something like that...prior to the change to Luminova Dial on ALL Rolex models produced from the year 2000 onwards...

This Ref 16800 Transitional Submariner...has:-

Serial Prefix 7,42x,xxx
Circa 1982,
Cal. 3035 movement Automatic,
with Quickset Date
Depth rating 1000ft=300m
Uni-directional turning bezel
Sapphire Crystal
Oyster Case with Triple lock crown n crown guards.

But having all that said thus far...the story hasn't ended there as yet...n instead...it would just be the beginning only...for another story still to be told.

The Old coconut sap tapper would then educate Orchi that...the Original correct dial for this watch should be Matte dial without the WG surround Tritium hour markers...instead.

He would also insist that...the prior commander of this Submariner must have gone mad...n had ordered the Original Matte Dial...to be changed by RSC(Royal Submarine Corp?) to replace the Dial...which would come with the later version of Gloss dial n hands with WG surround markers...instead also.

"So how now...???" Orchi has asked the Old coconut sap tapper...

n then he whispered softly.."Mmmm...that is ALL you would learn from me this time Orchi...!"

"The rest is up to you...from now..."

Err buddies...ever since then...Orchi has been getting this constant headaches...to get this once Transitional Submariner...in transition again...back to its Original form hopefully...

n FINALLY here are the results of Orchi's adventurous journey...



BEFORE:
Arrival of the Matte Dial:
Examination of the Matte Dial Prints:
ASSEMBLY with Tender Loving Care:
Putting the 168000 thru the Test Bench:
Here are the Final Reward & Results:

Rolex Ref 16800 Oyster Perpetual Date - Submariner

Rolex Ref 16800 Oyster Perpetual Date - Submariner

Here's one so called Transitional Submariner,
Introduced by Rolex from around Circa 1979 to 1988
from 1985 to 1989, Rolex introduced the Gloss Tritium dial
with WG surround markers for Ref 16800,
before another Transitional Ref 168000 was introduced for
only 9 months, until 1989, which is
prior to the release of the Ref 16610 in 1989,
both with Cal. 3135 movement, n Gloss Tritium dial n
WG surround markers

Serial Prefix 7,42x,xxx
Circa 1982,
Cal. 3035 movement Automatic,
with Quickset Date
Depth rating 1000ft=300m
Uni-directional turning bezel
Sapphire Crystal
Oyster Case with Triple lock crown n crown guards,
Original correct dial for this watch should be Matte dial
without the WG surround Tritium hour markers,
The prior owner must have had it changed by RSC to replace
it with the later version of Gloss dial n hands with WG surround markers

The watch is in fine conditions and running accurately.