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R.W.T. · 10 April 2016, 10:23 AM

It looks old..it's 26 years old...that's old...right?

I bought this as a project.

Wet watch. :-/
I've done this before and my mentor did them for people who had no place to turn from time to time. I guess I grew up kind of not being scared.
Still you never know til you get in there what you've got and this one looked fairly good assembled...once I got it...I realized it was pretty bad. The water had really gotten under the dial and rotted the complex calendar mechanism/train pretty badly. The calendar bridge on the 3185 is unique to that movement and not nearly so common as the 3135. Everything there was toast and I had to break some screws just to get it apart. Some screws were rusted very badly to the main plate and well it wasn't a happy situation.

Most of these parts are in high demand by guys who are still trying to work and have lost their accounts. Not a lot of these watches being parted out so to speak yet as the movement is still current.

I did finally after a long process get the main plate clean and usable. I lost some of the rhodium/nickel plating in the process but assembled you can't really see it. It doesn't affect the watch's function in any way.

Remarkably the balance assembly was undamaged as was the pallet. I replaced with brand new or good used every single wheel in the train.

I wanted to keep the original main plate at all costs if possible because the serial number goes with the case serial number. We may never see those records but Rolex has them and they know...what came with what. It just feels better to me. I could have replaced the whole movement but even slightly cosmetically challenged I like this better.

It's really not too bad all put together.

I decided once I realized it was never going to be perfect that functional parts even if they were not perfect cosmetically were not worth replacing as long as the function was 100%.

I had a friend's 16570 in for service so I could photograph the tear down to know exactly how to put this back together visually as it had been almost a year since I started tearing it apart. I have the service bulletin on the 3185 but you know...a picture is worth a thousand words was never more true. It's not terribly complicated but if you don't work on the new ones everyday there are a lot more parts and the order is kind of specific. If you did modern watches all the time you'd just learn by repetition.

Anyway, I was happy to get the main movement up and running and see that a little adjustment in the timing and I was going to have an excellent runner!

Got all the calendar bits hooked up, new crown and tube, gaskets, new reversers and drive wheel for the autowind. It functions like new. Since it has settled in I'm gaining about a second or so a day.

I had the yacht master second hand so I added a bit more color to the dial scheme.

Got a nice luminova dial from a friend and I had the other hands from a 16750 that I corrected a few years back.

I have a tritium version and matching hands if I ever decide to sell it and the buyer wants that.

It's a great watch! Would I want to do it again....mmmm maybe not. :-)

Still I had fun and the result is super! Great daily driver!

chessebj · 10 April 2016, 10:44 AM

Looks great!

linesiders · 10 April 2016, 11:10 AM

Came out great! You need to show the before photos to show how far this came back from the abyss. IIRC you posted them before.

Richard Carver · 10 April 2016, 12:11 PM

Good job TT!

R.W.T. · 10 April 2016, 08:05 PM

I didn't photo this one when I was working on it.

Here are the photos from the sale when I bought it.

You can't really see how bad it is because it's all together but note the area where the stem goes in...

andromeda160 · 11 April 2016, 05:04 AM

Back from the grave. I like how you've retained the original movement parts. Even if a bit of platings worn off.

Vincent65 · 11 April 2016, 05:14 AM

Nice save!

toneafficianado · 11 April 2016, 03:39 PM

Fascinating. Thanks for posting. Great watch now.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

linesiders · 11 April 2016, 10:07 PM

I must have been thinking of another you brought back

Great Job!

arguscanis · 17 April 2016, 12:37 PM

bringing the dead back to life....a worthy pursuit and a beautiful result.

droptopman · 17 April 2016, 01:05 PM

Awesome work. I love seeing resto projects.
Dig the red YM hand. Turned out great.

10 April 2016, 10:23 AM	#1
R.W.T. "TRF" Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Central Texas Posts: 1,973	Enjoying my new toy...not so vintage but... It looks old..it's 26 years old...that's old...right? I bought this as a project. Wet watch. :-/ I've done this before and my mentor did them for people who had no place to turn from time to time. I guess I grew up kind of not being scared. Still you never know til you get in there what you've got and this one looked fairly good assembled...once I got it...I realized it was pretty bad. The water had really gotten under the dial and rotted the complex calendar mechanism/train pretty badly. The calendar bridge on the 3185 is unique to that movement and not nearly so common as the 3135. Everything there was toast and I had to break some screws just to get it apart. Some screws were rusted very badly to the main plate and well it wasn't a happy situation. Most of these parts are in high demand by guys who are still trying to work and have lost their accounts. Not a lot of these watches being parted out so to speak yet as the movement is still current. I did finally after a long process get the main plate clean and usable. I lost some of the rhodium/nickel plating in the process but assembled you can't really see it. It doesn't affect the watch's function in any way. Remarkably the balance assembly was undamaged as was the pallet. I replaced with brand new or good used every single wheel in the train. I wanted to keep the original main plate at all costs if possible because the serial number goes with the case serial number. We may never see those records but Rolex has them and they know...what came with what. It just feels better to me. I could have replaced the whole movement but even slightly cosmetically challenged I like this better. It's really not too bad all put together. I decided once I realized it was never going to be perfect that functional parts even if they were not perfect cosmetically were not worth replacing as long as the function was 100%. I had a friend's 16570 in for service so I could photograph the tear down to know exactly how to put this back together visually as it had been almost a year since I started tearing it apart. I have the service bulletin on the 3185 but you know...a picture is worth a thousand words was never more true. It's not terribly complicated but if you don't work on the new ones everyday there are a lot more parts and the order is kind of specific. If you did modern watches all the time you'd just learn by repetition. Anyway, I was happy to get the main movement up and running and see that a little adjustment in the timing and I was going to have an excellent runner! Got all the calendar bits hooked up, new crown and tube, gaskets, new reversers and drive wheel for the autowind. It functions like new. Since it has settled in I'm gaining about a second or so a day. I had the yacht master second hand so I added a bit more color to the dial scheme. Got a nice luminova dial from a friend and I had the other hands from a 16750 that I corrected a few years back. I have a tritium version and matching hands if I ever decide to sell it and the buyer wants that. It's a great watch! Would I want to do it again....mmmm maybe not. :-) Still I had fun and the result is super! Great daily driver!

10 April 2016, 11:10 AM	#3
linesiders 2024 ROLEX DATEJUST41 Pledge Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: RedSox Nation Watch: U Talkn Bout Wilis Posts: 5,425	Came out great! You need to show the before photos to show how far this came back from the abyss. IIRC you posted them before. __________________ I'm a sailor peg. And I've lost my leg. Climbing up the top sails. I've lost my leg!

11 April 2016, 05:14 AM	#7
Vincent65 "TRF" Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Switzerland Posts: 14,293	Nice save! __________________

11 April 2016, 10:07 PM	#9
linesiders 2024 ROLEX DATEJUST41 Pledge Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: RedSox Nation Watch: U Talkn Bout Wilis Posts: 5,425	I must have been thinking of another you brought back Great Job! __________________ I'm a sailor peg. And I've lost my leg. Climbing up the top sails. I've lost my leg!

17 April 2016, 01:05 PM	#11
droptopman "TRF" Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Real Name: Mark Location: Washington State Watch: SUBS and GMT's! Posts: 9,664	Awesome work. I love seeing resto projects. Dig the red YM hand. Turned out great. __________________ Judge Smails: Ty, what did you shoot today? Ty: Oh, Judge, I don't keep score. Judge Smails: Then how do you measure yourself with other golfers? Ty: By height.

10 April 2016, 10:44 AM	#2
chessebj Banned Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Ohio Posts: 158	Looks great!

10 April 2016, 12:11 PM	#4
Richard Carver "TRF" Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: US Posts: 2,237	Good job TT!

10 April 2016, 08:05 PM	#5
R.W.T. "TRF" Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Central Texas Posts: 1,973	I didn't photo this one when I was working on it. Here are the photos from the sale when I bought it. You can't really see how bad it is because it's all together but note the area where the stem goes in...

11 April 2016, 05:04 AM	#6
andromeda160 Banned Join Date: Dec 2012 Real Name: Greg Location: michigan Watch: Rolex Oyster Posts: 4,046	Back from the grave. I like how you've retained the original movement parts. Even if a bit of platings worn off.

11 April 2016, 03:39 PM	#8
toneafficianado 2024 ROLEX DATEJUST41 Pledge Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Real Name: Alan Location: Australia Posts: 2,201	Fascinating. Thanks for posting. Great watch now. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

17 April 2016, 12:37 PM	#10
arguscanis 2024 Pledge Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: cape cod Watch: my subs Posts: 171	bringing the dead back to life....a worthy pursuit and a beautiful result.

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