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MorningTundra · 27 January 2017, 01:58 AM

This 6518 first made an appearance on TRF in Aug ‘16, when I rather cruelly poked fun at her badly redialled face.

http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=489161

The consensus judgement was pretty harsh, with the exception of user RWT. Turns out he’s known on the vintage circuit as one of the foremost experts on early 6518s and their weird 1030 movements. He agreed to spend some time putting things right... the movement has been stripped and overhauled, the dial has been put right and case corrosion corrected.

It's now finally home and I'm very happy with the results.

RWT, a gent and artisan. Thanks!

offrdmania · 27 January 2017, 02:03 AM

Very nice! Great job on the dial

Kingface66 · 27 January 2017, 02:04 AM

Whoa! It's a whole new watch! That looks stunning. Truly.

MorningTundra · 27 January 2017, 02:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by offrdmania

Very nice! Great job on the dial

Yeah, the transformation is remarkable.

Douglas9700 · 27 January 2017, 03:11 AM

That is an awesome piece - congratulations on a marvelous vintage watch!

R.W.T. · 27 January 2017, 06:00 AM

Thanks for the nod.

In the vintage world, you come across all kinds of things in various states.
Every watch won't be an untouched barn find. So I think we have to take the practical approach.
This is a very cool watch and certainly worth the time and expense. The 6518 has unique flat sided case and polished lugs and satined sides. It's kind of the reverse of everything thought of as normal.

All good examples of this watch that I could find had the OYSTERDATE PERPETUAL designation. Obviously Rolex was looking for new names for certain models. Some things stick and others do not. The more common 34mm size cases, automatic with calendar ended up being called Oyster Perpetual Date and this model disappeared. I had to do a couple of passes on this dial and we were working with the existing plate. Even a used plate for this watch is tough to find so you are limited. I thought the final result that they did was a really solid presentation. There are hoops to be jumped behind the scenes with these things that people are really seldom aware of. The last thing anyone wants to have to do is to call the dial printer and say...this isn't gonna make it and ask them to do it again. :-) Sometimes you have to do just that and hope they rise to the occasion. Definitely the more tenure and rapport you have with people the better you are going to faire in that. They did a great job!

This watch is even more interesting in the fact that it dates to 53 as indicated inside the case back...which makes it one of the earliest 1035 calibres produced, yet it is still falling in the new numbering system which didn't actually start until 1954 according to very reliable sources. An anomaly for sure.

Hopefully it will last another 60 years :-)

Wahlberg · 27 January 2017, 06:19 AM

Great job R.W.T.!

rmlovett1 · 27 January 2017, 06:34 AM

Looking great!

crowncollection · 27 January 2017, 06:47 AM

Nice work

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Shaky · 27 January 2017, 08:55 AM

That is an enchanting little watch. Great work and thanks for sharing it with us

Psmith · 27 January 2017, 10:17 PM

Great result

27 January 2017, 02:03 AM	#2
offrdmania 2024 ROLEX DATEJUST41 X2 Pledge Member Join Date: May 2008 Real Name: Matt Location: Wine Country, Ca Posts: 5,849	Very nice! Great job on the dial __________________ TRF Member 11738

27 January 2017, 06:47 AM	#9
crowncollection "TRF" Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Real Name: David Location: australia Posts: 20,157	Nice work Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk __________________ watches many

27 January 2017, 10:17 PM	#11
Psmith "TRF" Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Real Name: Clive Location: Exoplanet Watch: spring-driven Posts: 38,856	Great result __________________

27 January 2017, 02:04 AM	#3
Kingface66 2024 Pledge Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: The Empire State Watch: 1966 Rolex 5513 Posts: 3,419	Whoa! It's a whole new watch! That looks stunning. Truly.

27 January 2017, 03:11 AM	#5
Douglas9700 2024 Pledge Member Join Date: Dec 2016 Real Name: Greg Location: SO CA Watch: Subs Posts: 307	That is an awesome piece - congratulations on a marvelous vintage watch!

27 January 2017, 06:00 AM	#6
R.W.T. "TRF" Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Central Texas Posts: 1,973	Thanks for the nod. In the vintage world, you come across all kinds of things in various states. Every watch won't be an untouched barn find. So I think we have to take the practical approach. This is a very cool watch and certainly worth the time and expense. The 6518 has unique flat sided case and polished lugs and satined sides. It's kind of the reverse of everything thought of as normal. All good examples of this watch that I could find had the OYSTERDATE PERPETUAL designation. Obviously Rolex was looking for new names for certain models. Some things stick and others do not. The more common 34mm size cases, automatic with calendar ended up being called Oyster Perpetual Date and this model disappeared. I had to do a couple of passes on this dial and we were working with the existing plate. Even a used plate for this watch is tough to find so you are limited. I thought the final result that they did was a really solid presentation. There are hoops to be jumped behind the scenes with these things that people are really seldom aware of. The last thing anyone wants to have to do is to call the dial printer and say...this isn't gonna make it and ask them to do it again. :-) Sometimes you have to do just that and hope they rise to the occasion. Definitely the more tenure and rapport you have with people the better you are going to faire in that. They did a great job! This watch is even more interesting in the fact that it dates to 53 as indicated inside the case back...which makes it one of the earliest 1035 calibres produced, yet it is still falling in the new numbering system which didn't actually start until 1954 according to very reliable sources. An anomaly for sure. Hopefully it will last another 60 years :-)

27 January 2017, 06:19 AM	#7
Wahlberg "TRF" Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Paris Posts: 3,536	Great job R.W.T.!

27 January 2017, 06:34 AM	#8
rmlovett1 2024 ROLEX DATEJUST41 Pledge Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Real Name: Richard Location: GA Watch: YTBD Posts: 22,509	Looking great!

27 January 2017, 08:55 AM	#10
Shaky "TRF" Member Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: UK Posts: 1,125	That is an enchanting little watch. Great work and thanks for sharing it with us

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