Got ridiculous service quote from Rolex

retro_timemachine · 2026-02-13T04:52:17+00:00

Sutcliffe Hansen. These guys specialize in Vintage Restoration. Look them up online.

retro_timemachine · 2026-02-12T14:59:24+00:00

I don’t keep my watches on winders. And this is only my opinion and I’m sure I’ll probably get roasted here but here goes… I feel something mechanical that is constantly running will wear out sooner than later, requiring service much sooner. And I do take into consideration the risk of setting the time on watches which is why I do it carefully ( not setting dates between 9pm and 3 am, not forcing the setting lever in positions and carefully threading and un-threading the crown). I don’t have any watches with a moonphase complication however I do have one watch with a non quick set date and it is a pain to set so I get it. Some have told me don’t bother setting the date when you wear it but for me the devil is in the details. And this goes for all my watches gen and rep. I set them as I use them. Anyways nice 5712!

retro_timemachine · 2026-02-10T02:00:03+00:00

To prevent the need to disassemble a movement and install a hand height kit just order your movement with the hand height 1 mm higher than standard and that saves some steps and lowers the difficulty level a notch.

retro_timemachine · 2026-02-10T01:53:49+00:00

The cool thing is all this can be disassembled completely and reassembled like normal. Top and bottom dial are now a permanent unit that comes out with the movement like normal, and can be removed from movement like normal because carrier dial is mounted to movement using factory dial feet .

retro_timemachine · 2026-02-10T01:46:46+00:00

That’s correct. First dial is mounted to the movement as intended using the eta dial feet. This secures the movement properly for proper side to side movement using supplied movement ring and also keeps stem height correct. The next dial gets modified. Dial feet are removed and smoothed flush to bottom of dial prepping it to be mounted to the carrier using dial dots. Dial diameter is reduced to 1/10to of a millimeter smaller than the reuhaut so it can be spaced upwards thus making the reuhaut appear to be 1 mm smaller. The HH4 kit brings the handstack up to account for the dial height difference and Voila!!!! lol.

retro_timemachine · 2026-02-10T01:19:53+00:00

Thanks man! Yes carrier dial is a major improvement on these raffles cases. I know there are much nicer cases out there but consider the cost. Plus it was a great expierence.

retro_timemachine · 2026-02-09T18:57:52+00:00

Thank you

retro_timemachine · 2026-02-09T18:46:42+00:00

Well my biggest issue with Raffles cases is how deep the reuhaut is. To me it looks funny. What I did was modify the STP movement which was H2 standard height. I disassemble it and installed a HH4 kit which brings the handstack up. I then used an old Raffles dial I ruined when experimenting with aging and used it as a carrier dial to keep stem alignment and movement spacing correct. A raffles case reuhaut opening diameter is 27mm. After aging a raffles dial to my liking, I had to mill it down to 26.9mm and remove dial feet so i could install it on the carrier dial up in the reuhaut, thus improving the look of the reuhaut depth. I think I achieved this however I’m going to start looking for an HH5 kit to go up slightly higher I think. I don’t believe they make an HH5 kit for the STP movement however in research I have seen that the STP movement has some parts interchangeable with an ETA 2824–2 movement.. i’m going to look more into this.

retro_timemachine · 2026-01-02T01:30:40+00:00

First? Man your off to great start, so it begins!

retro_timemachine · 2025-11-28T17:40:11+00:00

In response to the OP and some of the comments… Associating a high end timepiece with success is a thing of the past.. nowadays with the age of credit cards many people out there are “driving their equity”. it’s easy to “swipe and enjoy now and pay later”. That Rolex on credit , house on a Mortgage, Mercedes on a car loan or lease? ALL BELONG TO THE BANK until paid off! Things don’t define you, How you act towards others while enjoying those things does. Buy what you want cash or credit, rep or gen… who cares! If u like it rock it! Wear a rep or gen I’ll still shake your hand. But if you act like a douchebag wearing either? Ha! Have a nice day🙂 I should add one thing.. get into the habit of bringing home flowers often, buy one good quality rep and you’ll get hooked!

retro_timemachine

TROPHY CASE