r/retrotime

Hi, I recently found out franken builds was a thing for watches. I've always wanted me a Rolex and I'm also very mechanical interested in building a watch. So my question is, do these parts fit to make the watch? It's chatgpt that made this, so I'm not trusting it at all lol, and I'm completely new at this. Any help is appreciated:)

I just got a caravelle sea hunter reissue, with plans to brush the lugs, do some other light modifications. Wearing it just two days the mineral glass already has a nic. It most likely got it while I was grinding out some metal for a bezel modification for another watch. But still, can't have this.

Either want to replace with sapphire or acrylic. Acrylic being the more period correct, but sapphire just being more durable to scratches. will either of these drastically alter the water resistance? I don't need 666 feet, would be fine with 333 feet.

Also, having trouble finding it, i could have sworn I had seen at least one other person who attempted or completed this mod on the reissue. Anyone help point me in the right direction?

Hi everyone,

I’m selling my TMF Submariner 16610LV “Kermit” (No Rehaut version), purchased new in January 2026. The watch has been barely worn and comes with several mods and extra parts.

Mods / Extras:

- Bracelet smoothing treatment
- Pressure tested to 10 ATM
- Horlogear bezel ($85, brand new from the US, not installed)
- EWatch Parts bezel friction ring + click spring
- IWP extra click spring

The original TMF bezel will also be included. It’s unfortunately broken, but the pip is still intact.

I can provide receipts for all parts and mods upon request.

- Price: €500
- Payment: PayPal F&F

Shipping:

- Preferably within EU
- Worldwide shipping can be discussed if the buyer provides a prepaid label (especially for US buyers)
- Shipping costs are the buyer’s responsibility

Once shipped, responsibility transfers to the buyer.

Feel free to message me with any questions. I can also provide references/feedback from previous sales if needed.

Thanks everyone, and have a great day ☺️

I finally completed my first full build from scratch — and what better excuse than making custom watches for my groomsmen for my wedding.

Specs for the build:

Raffles updated case, crown, hands, dial, updated bezel, open 6 & 9 date wheel and Jubilee bracelet, Alibaba VS3135 movement, and Alibaba box set.

What an absolute adventure this turned into. Somewhere between “this will be a fun little project” and me turning my house into a questionable underground watch factory, I learned a ton. There were definitely moments where I questioned my sanity, my eyesight, and whether tiny watch screws are actually engineered to launch themselves into another dimension.

Huge shoutout to this Retrotime community — especially ClarktheRealtor, Jumpy, Defqon88, Archaedin, Jbusta2202, and No_Candle8699. Everyone was incredibly helpful anytime I had questions. And despite me probably sending Clark enough questions to qualify as a part-time apprenticeship, he always responded, helped me troubleshoot issues, and pointed me in the right direction.

Big thanks also to my friend Matt for helping with the diamond-tip engraving on the DJ casebacks and the laser etching on the glass casebacks. Add in a few custom 3D-printed jigs, some trial and error, and somehow these turned out way better than I ever expected.

I even managed to rope my dad into helping out in the sweatshop during assembly — which honestly made the whole experience even more memorable.

For anyone on the fence about getting into watch building: just jump in and do it. If I can figure this out with a little patience, a few tools, YouTube, and mild emotional breakdowns, anyone can. It’s an incredibly rewarding hobby… and apparently a very slippery slope.

Thanks again to everyone in this community for the motivation, advice, and support along the way. Excited to keep learning and building more.

Also want to thank Ken at Raffles dials. He is such a great person to work with. He was always friendly and answered all my questions. Shipping to USA only took around 2 weeks.

Cheers 🍻

Commission 2 pieces: Tropical Explorer and Tudor Buckley. Custom-aged both, and I felt like an artist again. Haha. The Raffles Buckley is 10mm thin, surprisingly good, and similar to Gen.

The only issue was the Raffles o-ring in the Tudor crown was too thick and unable to screw down. I have swapped it to a thinner one so that it could be screw down while resisting water (splashproof).

Both movement regulated and healthier than I am. I need to regulate myself too and get some sleep.

Today is a special one a project I’ve been wanting to do for quite some time. This is the watch that started it all, or at least that’s what some experts say THE Paul Newman Daytona, reference 6239.

The original sold for an incredible $17 million, setting a new standard and inspiring a whole new wave of vintage watch collectors. This one may not be as fancy, but I put a lot of effort into making it as accurate as possible within the boundaries of what can still be considered affordable.

Built for a client who has now become a friend. Enjoy!

JK base watch with the correct bezel and dial, fully aged and reworked bla bla bla

Hi! I'm trying to sell this dial since I was able to get parts to try to build a blue or black 16200, I didn't use it its in perfect condition if you need any more proof I can do a video call no problem

PRICE 150 USD + SHIPPING

I can take PAYPAL

any question im happy to answer them

What’s one watch that’ll never leave your collection? Here’s mine!

Hi all! Sadly selling this beautiful 5 digit sub u/ClarkTheRealtor made for me last summer. I don’t wear it nearly enough with another sub, so freeing up budget for a new build.

PRICE
$1500 for watch shipped with steel and nato (what I paid)
+ $100 for Steel-reef ‘on the fly’ adjustable half link ($150 msrp)
+ $300 for matching authentic rolex papers, holder, and green hang tag matching this serial (planned to keep this piece for life, so wanted the ‘full set’, purposefully had this serial build if you’re into that)

SPECS
Custom viet case with drilled lug holes and p serial engraved
GEN crown
GEN crystal
GEN date disk
3135 movement
ARF dial
93150 raffles oyster bracelet
GEN papers matching p serial date (2000)

No aging, looks new. Feel free to age as you see fit. I would like to sell the full package ideally, but feel free to message about just watch. This piece has been worn <5 times.

I will ship out the same business from Virginia, USA.

Thank you all for reading!

Finally done, had fun and learned plenty doing this and pretty pleased how it’s turned out. Objective was to create a well used ~1967 transitional big triangle model 165.024

Specs:
Hruodland F025 base, aged. Bezel teeth ground and brassed.
Crown tube from alix, push in crown from ebay
Domed acrylic from Alix, shaved down base to fit
NH35 movement
Raffles big triangle dial. Lume plots aged with blowtorch (previous attempts to use oven turned the numbers also) and espresso
Hands from Alix, aged with espresso. White second hand from separate alix set
Case back engravings sanded down

Thinking about making it a full milspec version with upgrades to dial bezel and caseback engravings

Hi guys! I would like to sell this 16030 Datejust with a GEN dial.

Movement: vs3135 auto
Dial: GEN 16030, unique patina, a few normal signs of wear
Case: 36 mm Raffles
Mirror: Sapphire
Strap: Black gen. leather
Price: 349 Euro
The source of the parts are Rafflesdials and Ebay. The dial is from First Class Dials.
I would prefer to sell it in the EU but possible UK and US also!
Shipping is 25 Euros via fedex or UPS within the EU. To the UK or US a bit more, about 30 €.
Payment: Paypal f&f - g&s (+15€!) or Wise

Feel free to ask me anything.

In case of delivery outside the EU, the buyer is responsible! It is usually not a problem, I have had not a single customs issue so far, but due to random customs inspections, there is a 1-2% chance that the package will not reach its destination. For this reason I prefer to ship it in the EU.

Delivery is via UPS or Fedex, with a tracking number in each case.

Delivery time within the EU is 1-3 working days, outside the EU 7-10 days.

I live in the GMT+1 zone, usually respond to any messages in 1 hour between 7 am and 22 pm.

took sometime to gather parts, coming out very good. some work on the bezel to age it. slightly. case also needed some work. will be putting up soon for sale. VR3186 serviced.

I have a genuine 16014, I am looking to buy a GENUINE ONLY blue dial, ideally a roman, but would be open to a stick dial or anything else. The only ones on ebay are $300+ with patina, really looking for a clean one. If anyone has recommendations for where to buy a dial or if anyone is selling one, please hit me up!

Have a full raffles 5513, PT5000 movement, just put it together, no case shaping, but my sibling gave me a dive watch for graduation, enjoyed the building phase more than the wearing for this particular one. What's a fair price CONUS?

Rendered image of what fantasy build I will be making. Only difference is that my day wheel will be aged and in italian. Lets hope everything works out 😎

Appreciation post for the work of u/NamelessTaco and u/Jovanotti18. NamelessTaco built this increadible watch (my third vintage build from him). Jovanotti providing the wonderful Buckley dial!