Barry's 5513

[R.W.T.]

Many months back a gentleman here had some issues wanting his 1965 5513 serviced. He had presented it to Rolex in NY and they insisted on replacing his dial and hands etc...

Barry bought this 5513 brand new in St. Thomas when he graduated college in 1966.

The watch has been his faithful companion for 50 years...he didn't want it to look like a modern submariner. We all know the situation well.

So when it was returned unserviced from New York he sent it to me.



As we see it's a little tired.

So what to do? Barry and I had a lot of discussion here and we went through a lengthy process. Sympathetic restoration...we don't want a pristine watch but we want a well maintained, functioning original watch, that is operating as it should, cosmetically pleasing but retaining it's character.

His band was a Rolex USA rivet... So...it needs a LOT of work and of course I opt to send it to Michael. In addition I realize that he is going to be possibly a bit short after the work so we got Mike to add a link as well. So the band is off to the orient. Now...Barry didn't want his case redone. It's not ever been polished to his knowledge it's all honest wear. I did just kiss the tops of the lugs with the finishing block lightly.

So...a new band..isn't gonna really work. In talking with Mike some refinishing is gonna have to be done to cover the tool marks from the restoration but the clasp is left unpolished and the rest lightly done and it will gather it's scratches back in time I'm sure :-)

Meanwhile we get into the watch.

Immediately I notice the lower barrel bridge screw is missing...

:-/



Luckily it shows up INSIDE the movement..this is why it wasn't running...one would think Rolex would have noticed...and also found the screw and put it back in.



Here is the movement out of the case. It's in very nice shape for its age and personally...I have grown to love the 1530 over the 1520. Maybe I'm just more old school, but overcoil with a slide regulator...served Rolex for a lot of years.

Note the hands...are a bit tired.







He liked the look of the gold hands as did I, so we decided, since they needed to be worked on anyway with regard to the lume to send them and have them gilt plated and relumed.

The bezel had a bad ding and was warped and frozen.



I removed it and trued it as best as could be done and we went with it.

He had lost it on a plane in the early 80's so it was replaced and the insert is from that time. I got a good aftermarket pip that would glow as his dial does due to the period of tritium that it features.

All of this was done at different junctures as outsourced work was completed.

Here is the movement torn down for cleaning.



His crown clutch was toast. It was still an original 700. The tube was in great shape so I had an NOS 700 in stock.


When the band came back from Mike, the end pieces didn't fit up nicely. The USA ends are abysmal really and never seem to fit well to me like the Swiss. I had to completely remove the ends and reform the inner sleeves to make it tight and fit reasonably well.





I'm not a bracelet mechanic but this is way better than they were.

At this point I had tried an aftermarket dome crystal...but was unhappy with the results. It sealed fine but it showed crazing after installation.

So...I took a new tropic 19 and sent it out to LAWW for reprofiling. This is a very good option.

Once that was all in place I checked the case empty for a full pull in the 1000 water tester...pass!

The first go round on the hands was a bit too slick and it seemed to lose the character though the lume was a good match....so...we try a different angle.

LAWW did Barry's originals over and the lume is amazing...it matches 98% perfect in all lights AND it glows and dies at the exact same rate as the original tritium.

So here we are...many moons later and I sent the watch back yesterday to Barry.

I was wearing it and I had it regulated down to + 1 second a day on my wrist.

I brought it down from about +4. Hopefully with his wear habits we are close. At that point the difference in how he wears it could be more than I was trying to correct. His 1530 is a very accurate one and even though it wasn't rated chronometer...it certainly does that for its era at full wind.

It's a fantastic watch!

The problem is starting off being a collector and then becoming a watch repairman...you end up being jealous of your customers :-)

Barry, I must say has been most patient and very gracious covering the expenses, during the long over extended stay at the spa.

Here's what we came up with. I hope I have served the watch well.

Here's to a happy reunion of 2 life companions Barry and his one owner 5513!

[sensui]

Wow. Barry is one lucky guy. Great restoration work thanks for sharing.

[Kingface66]

What can I say? BRAVO!!

[SearChart]

Well done!

[traf]

Beautiful result! Thanks for sharing


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[Richard Carver]

Congrats on a great job Tommy!

[KBM]

That is one beautiful sub. Congrats to Barry and OP for a great job.

[brandrea]

Great story and fantastic job on the restoration! Congrats to you both

[cop414]

Fantastic work, very well done!

[SubKing]

Really enjoyed the read. Great job and thanks for sharing

[jban5]

As a matter of full disclosure, you did mention that he will likely have to do this again around 2066?

Beautiful job and even more beautiful watch.

[Kingface66]

Out of curiosity...and something I've been wondering for a while...was there a specific time frame of when Subs were fitted with gilt hands?

[onthedial]

@R.W.T.
Terrific post!
________
Instagram: @onthedial

[dbhak22]

So cool, thanks for sharing Tommy!

[watchcrank]

great story and a real survivor. lovely watch too.

[greekbum]

Tommy great job!

[stratguy]

Thanks for sharing this. You did a great job!

[JustinK]

Looks great! Thanks for sharing.

[JimSnyder]

Great post, well done

[rootbeer7]

incredible work

[Dr.Smellody]

Great watch, story, and one lucky guy!!!

[subx]

great story, nice watch, I'm totally fond of storied watches, warped bezel and all, it's all part of the story

[roh123]

Great work Tommy!

Beautiful Submariner

[Cantab]

Stunning!

[G-Web]

A few years ago I sent a friend's Bubbleback to Tommy for a hefty restoration.
And a couple times over the course of its repair, Tommy sent me beautiful pics and loving descriptions of the work he was doing, much like this post.

To see the care he puts into his work, and the pleasure he gets from it is really wonderful.

Hats off Tommy. Thanks for your enthusiasm, and a truly great post.

-Grant

[Boaters]

Great job!

[pah5153]

Nice work.

[avilhena]

Wow excellent restauration! Incredible result. And the lume on the hands really matches the lume on the dial!

[datejust24]

Man oh man....that is some fine work.....well done!!!

[R.W.T.]

Originally Posted by avilhena

Wow excellent restauration! Incredible result. And the lume on the hands really matches the lume on the dial!

I have to say...that wasn't a cheap process...but...Edvi and Beau matched that lume...without having the dial in hand...from my description and only a reasonably representative photo. The amazing thing is the light charge...You hold that dial under a fluorescent at night and turn off the lights and the glow is the same and the deterioration is the same. Pretty amazing. The hands are not much different in shade than they might have been if they came on the watch. You would have to stare at the thing for a period of time to even discern a difference in color.