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RUSTY Rolex Restoration - 1996 GMT Master II

A full 3 weeks of restoration, recording, and editing. The upload to YouTube
itself took almost two days.

You will notice the difference: Michael's videography is simply next level.

A bit of background: this 1996 Rolex GMT Master II suffered badly. Soaked in water, it spent two years in a drawer. The amount of rust was unbelievable. Actually, apart from the case and bracelet, only 8 of close to 100 internal parts were preserved.

But the core challenge was to preserve the mainplate: the very base of the
watch that holds all components together. The main plate bears the Rolex serial number and preserves the very identity of the watch. If the mainplate is replaced, that GMT Master II is no longer the same watch.

Of course, Rolex would not bother with any of the restoration that I
undertook. They would simply replace the entire movement. Even a
half-brained monkey can do that kind of 'restoration'. Instead, I've spent a
whole week soaking the mainplate in vinegar, dissolving and removing the
rust, brushing it off, reaming out broken screws, inserting new jewels and
posts. Finally, the mainplate was rhodium plated and you, the viewer, will
have a hard time believing it is the same component.

Would I and could I do it again? That depends on the availability of Rolex
spare parts. The current state of supply of parts to Australian independent
watchmakers is unchanged since 2013: none, zero, and no chance. My parts box is now almost empty and new replacement parts are now so expensive that any restoration work is next to impossible.

In a way, this video should be simply titled: "The last Rolex restoration".
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*** What is RESTORATION?
====================================

Before we go any further, let's consult a Cambridge dictionary:

Restoration: the act or process of returning something to its earlier good condition.
Hardly any room for misinterpretation: fixing a broken watch and returning it to an 'earlier good condition' is essentially a restoration. What is not defined as a restoration is regular maintenance: ensuring that a watch which is already in good working order continues to perform for another period of time - until it's due for next scheduled maintenance. We call this kind of work regular servicing.

The recent YouTube video opened a floodgate of comments: "Oh, that video is not a Rolex restoration, it is just a video showing a lots of parts being replaced, not restored." Those comments unfortunately come from ignorant viewers who simply lack the basic understanding of the restoration process.

Was the watch broken at the beginning of the restoration process? Yes. Actually, it was at the point of a total write-off. Has it been returned in working order? Yes. The end of the story.
However, what may confuse some viewers is the misplaced hope that almost all 100 of the rusted out parts will be restored themselves, individually, one by one. Well, if that was the case, the video would be titled: "restoration of winding stem" or "restoration of barrel arbour" and would have taken 6 months.

But the end result of such lengthy 'restoration' would be a total disaster. Finely machined then rusted out watch parts are not designed to be restored. A rusted escape wheel cannot be restored. Ditto to the rest of them. Except for some bridges and in some rare cases, the base plate which holds all components together. We call that part the 'mainplate'. Due to the fact that it is made of brass which is non-ferrous (not containing iron, therefore no rust) metal, the mainplate can be restored. Since the mainplate contains pressed in steel pins, jewels, and internally and externally threaded steel posts, which are not meant to be removed because they are factory set and adjusted, restoration of the mainplate is time consuming and has to be undertaken with great care. This is a very difficult job and could take days - if not weeks.




Restored by Nicholas Hacko, Master Watchmaker
Recorded and edited by Michael Johnston
November 2020.

Email: [email protected]

Music:
0:10 Back in a jiffy - Nocturnal Spirits
3:31 Got that feeling - Peter Sandberg
9:30 All the good things - Nocturnal Spirits
13:03 Under a smiling moon - Peter Sandberg
17:25 Thats how i like it - Oakwood station
20:38 Midnight call - Magnus Ringblom quartet
21:42 Whisky on the rocks - The flax
24:54 The prophecy - Dream cave

https://www.nicholashacko.com.au/
http://clockmaker.com.au/
  / nicholashackowatch