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About this time last year, TC Sub club faced a huge challenge. I was running out of usable TC 16610 and TC 16610LV dials. The dial supplier, due to China's crack down on counterfeits, stopped the rep dial production. The only thing I could do back then was to build each TC 16610 Sub and TC 16610LV Sub from the pile of dials which were taken out from QC issues. I had to first choose a dial with no scratch on the surface and then piece by piece re do the indices to the dial. During that time I wrote a short intro for TC Sub LV Type 3 but skipped the review on the TC Sub V5. I spent most of my time on piecing together the dials. Hence, many new members who did not follow my blog from the beginning were probably confused. If you do not know the story, please read Bumps in the road - 16610 dial maker and the following TC Sub LV Type 3. OK, let begin. A Submariner 16610 watch consists of 7 major parts or part assemblies. They are "watch case set", "bezel insert", "dial", "hands set", "crystal", "bracelet", and a power engine, the "movement"; To make a proper Submariner 16610 rep watch, we have to add on 2 more important parts. They are "date wheel overlay a.k.a DWO" and "movement holder". Watch Case Set TC Sub V6 is based on the tried and true TC Sub Watch Case Set. This is actually the second case set I picked up. It's a keeper because it has all the aesthetically gen features and constructions. That is to say, crown height at gen position, gen construction bezel assembly that houses gen insert without modding or sanding. The mid case could also house any other gen bezel assembly, gen case back, or even gen dial and movement. I wrote a blog entry to review this watch case set shortly after I picked up this hobby. If you're interested, please take a look at TC Sub Housing Gen 3135 & Gen Parts. Bezel Insert Following the Caddell Vintage Insert. It took me over an year to develop this bezel insert. If you're interested, I documented the first received batch of sapphire crystal pearl in TC Gen Spec Bezel Insert & Pearl - Project Update. I then found Rolex's secret in luming the sapphire crystal pearl in TC's Pursuit of the Perfect Sub - Progress Update. Caddell Vintage Insert is not a 1:1 to gen bezel insert. It has a curved or rounded look surface while gen is flat. However, when installed to the TC Sub V6, it provides some what of a vintage effect like those of Vintage Omega Seamaster or Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. Therefore, I throw in a Caddell Vintage Insert free of charge for each TC Sub V6 members ordered. Dial If it is not the Kensington High 16610 dial, I would not give this timepiece its designation: TC Submariner Version 6. The dial and indices looked very simple; however, I learned that the KH 16610 dial is in fact extremely complicated and troublesome to manufacture. It really tested the producer's craftsmanship and capabilities. I never knew such complicated production process were originated in the old kingdom then brought to Switzerland by Rolex. Nowadays, this progress of dial making is used only by Rolex. In my opinion, most other Swiss watch power houses cheapped out on the indices if an indices dial is used at all. Ever since the possession of these KH 16610 dial, I became addicted to these dials. I don't think I could ever go back to the old TC 16610 dials anymore. The problem is, supply of KH 16610 dial is limited and slow. The lume job was done magnificently! Hands Set The next thing I would like to talk about is, TC 16610 Hands Set V2. I have been putting the new TC 16610 Hands Set V2 on members' TC Sub V6 for a while. A forum member who's also active on gen watch forums introduced me the V2 hands set maker early this year. He bought a TC Sub V5 with KH 16610 dial and told me everything on the TC Sub is great but something is a bit off. That was the hands. Gen Rolex Submariner's hands set are a tad thicker in comparison to the old TC 16610 hands and provides more of visual 3D effect. V2 hands set is improved upon by this gen feature. The effect of the hands set along with the craftsmanship on the KH 16610's indices reaches true harmony when light shines on the dial creating the ambiance of perfection. That's something only the best craftsman in Europe can produce. That's also something we can only see in genuine Rolex watches. Gentleman, may I present TC 16610 Hands Set V2. Bracelet In my pursuit of the perfect Submariner, a good, tight, and gapless solid end link is as important as a good, clean, shiny dial. The Chinese TC 93250 V3 bracelet maker had done a great job eliminating the ugly gap whenever matching a bracelet to a TC or other rep sub mid case. The Thai TC 93250 V4 bracelet maker pushed that bar higher in making the very best coronet stamp on the clasp. However, members have reported the V4 bracelet art not as good in detail finishings. Besides, the first link of the V4 bracelet does not fold all the way in as gen does. So here it is, the TC 93250 V5 bracelet. I documented the details in TC 93250 V5 Review. Since the time I received KH 16610 dials, I felt the drive to push the bar for quality a step forward. I started to use a caliper to measure mid case lugs distance before matching bracelets. Then I found out TC Sub mid cases lugs distances have variances, and the variances may be dramatically big. So I placed an order of 2 different SEL specs from the bracelet maker this time to solve the problem once for all. The specs are 20.10 (+/- 0.02) mm and 20.15 (+/- 0.02) mm. Here's the detailed explanation: $59 TC 93250 V5. Movement The powertrain inside TC Sub V6 is TC 2824. Right after I picked up this hobby, I knew I had to find an alternative movement source other than ETA. I've tried Sellita and the Chinese but those didn't pan out. I documented the journey in TC 2824 - An ETA 2824 Super Clone Part I. Luckily I met TC 2824 maker at EPHJ, an fair that my line of trade would pay visit every year. I have only two requirements to the movement I should use. One being to perform on par with ETA standard grade ebauche. Two, it has to have H4 cannon pinion. Why it has to have H4 cannon pinion? Because an H2 would make the hands stack sitting too close to the dial when fully assembled. That is UGLY! TC 2824 maker is the only movement maker I reached out who's capable and willing to make me H4 cannon pinion 2824 movement. I dissected a TC 2824 and an ETA 2824, and made a side by side review in TC 2824 - An ETA 2824 Super Clone Part II. Date Wheel Overlay The Date Wheel Overlay is a thin stainless steel overlay with gen or gen like font dates printed on it. It has to be manually attached or glued to the 2824 movement's original date wheel in order to display dates in the right position of a gen Rolex 3135 movement in a rep watch. I hated doing so in the beginning because it is damn difficult to get it right. But there is no other way around if a 2824 movement is to be used in building the rep. I learned to appreciate doing it a little while later because it requires me to fully focus with no fuzz in mind in order to execute the task correctly. I realized in doing so, it really provided me a peace of mind. This is exactly the reason I picked up this hobby after an ugly divorce. I needed peace in mind. DWO in TC Sub V6 is the 4th version I cooked up along the journey. The first and second version were supplied by the TC Sub Watch Case Set maker, in plain English, the original rep 16610 maker. TC DWO V1 and TC DWO V2 does not transcript gen Rolex date font 100%. Thus I took a detour to Japan during a business trip to Asia and made TC DWO V3. Although TC DWO V3 is a direct transcript of gen 3135 date wheel, font and position. It often sits left justified in the dial's date window when fully assembled. To correct this issue, I made another detour to Japan and made TC DWO V4. TC DWO V4 has the correct white base color. The font is genuine Rolex. The date print is raised in high gloss. And the best thing is, it sit spot on the center in the dial's date window. That's about as detailed and thorough review covering all the latest parts or part assemblies of a TC Sub V6 can get for now. Some more V6 shots. Thanks for reading. TC 8/24/14

How about some GMT action?

I like how the droptopman thinks:

I got my hands fr rafflestime and they were ok- but that was maybe 2 years ago. You might ask Ken if he happens to have the 'old style' mercedes hands. I also got the small GMT hand for $25, that was before he upped the price!

I've had lots of Sub and SD reps that have all tested well enough for swimming and even skin diving. The BP SD is a great watch for the price and with silicone greasing of the case back and stem/tube it's almost guaranteed to be fine. As always though, it's best to have it tested if you have a local watch maker that will do it. When most replica dive watches leak, the most common area is the crystal gasket.

I did have an old noobmariner that did ok in the water swimming. But I doubt it could have gone diving. It had the lugholes drilled and had a relumed 16800 matte dial. But the noob crystal is just pressed into a nylon gasket I finally put the dial and movement in an ST case and feel much more confident about swimming in it- but this isn't a $200 watch! I guess if I were going for a WR Sub, I might buy a $100-200 vintage sub from Josh and then get out the silicone grease and maybe even glue the crystal on. But KBH is right- you can't put glue around the stem- only a light coat of silicone on the gaskets. This William Marshall is a $200 dive watch- been down 125 feet with it- swiss eta 2824. But I got it 8 years ago! these days, I'd probably get a Seiko SKX007 or something like that for $160.