alligoat

As long as the blue color is ok, you might as well go for it. Don't worry about it being a $25K+ watch if it were real!

If you get a case from jmb, it will take a 2824-2 eta movement. Check with him to make sure that it will take a T-135 crystal which is what a 16030 takes. You could ask jmb if you need to change cannon pinion, etc, but I'm thinking you don't need to change those. heck, you might be able to get jmb or stonep to build the watch for you and save yourself a few headaches!

https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/cyclops-glass-mineral-with-date-lens?code=C8511 Check out Cousins UK- this one looks to have the correct side profile for the 295-C

If a DJ comes with a roulette DW, it would be a modern one. A link to the watch you want to purchase would help. You'll have to ask Andrew about the extra bracelet and I don't know why he hasn't replied to your emails. I just got a watch from him a month ago and communication was fine. Maybe you could try another dealer.

That is a page out of "Vintage Rolex Sport Models" by Martin Skeet and Nick Urul. It's copyright 2005 and although it has some mistakes in it, it's a pretty good reference covering the period from the early 50s thru around 1980.

It's a good looking watch! The only thing I'm not crazy about is the flat top T-16. I'd prefer to see a domed crystal on there, but if Domi used a T-16, I guess a T-39 or T19 wouldn't fit. My PT 1665 from 2008 had a non-gen bezel assembly, but with jmb's help I was able to modify it to gen spec- he turned a crystal retention ring and I was able to fit the PT bezel to it. Here's a gen GWSD with a domed crystal Mine ended up with a T-39 from GS I do think the PT 1665 is a good watch to start with, but you do have to change out the dial for a better one and your dial is tops!

It would help if you posted a link. I've never seen a replica Van Clef & Arpel watch even though the brand itself has been around forever- guess it's not that popular.

Yeh, selling the dial might be the best idea. Building a franken 1680 can easily run $2500-3000 with a good case and a 1575 movement. I built a 5508 and a 1803 with rolex movements and they both cost me around $2500 and that's been 5-8 years ago.

If you had an MBW case, you could dremel the inside of the case at the dial seat and make the gen dial fit without shaving it down. Or you could try a cartel case and maybe the 26.5mm gen dial would fit. Thirdly, you could check a Yuki 1680 case and maybe try that- it's cheaper than a Phong. If you don't get a 1575 Rolex movement, next best is an ETA 2846-2 but then you cut the dial feet! Finding a 1575 for around $1,000.00 would be hard these days and getting parts for them is even harder.

Silver DW on a 1575 movement- Rolex's little quirks!

501Bs are correct for the 16610/93150. 16800 and 168000s came with 593 ends on the 93150 580s are for the 1680, 5513, 5512 and 1675- the subs all came with 93150s after 1976.

Gen left, rep right- color is just fine on the rep- slightly different but not anything to worry about.

Actually Joey the 6 is closed on the 26 on the DWs for the 1500 series movements like the silver DW for the 1680 or the DW for the 1675 GMT. One of the little idiosyncrasies of vintage Rolex. But I've never seen a roulette wheel on a 1680. I'm not sure about the 6542 DW, but this looks like a nice one at any rate.

That case looks similar to the old noobmariner where the crystal sits inside and the bezel snaps over the outside ring of the case. Non-genuine construction! You could use a better crown and a better pearl in the bezel insert. Price is ok but you didn't get a steal.

Typically there's something on the balance that allows you to adjust the timing- however, that tab on the bottom of the balance bridge doesn't look very adjustable from the picture. At that point I'd say you need to go to a watchmaker and see if he can do something- if it's an easy fix, it's a $10-20 deal. If not, you may have just learned the pitfalls of the A2836-2 converted to look like a 3135.

That gold colored screw to the right of the balance might adjust the speed.

The 118208 (118238, etc.) series is round between the lugs. The last flat between the lugs was the 18238 series, the 18038 and 1803 were also flat between the lugs.

Flip the rotor around so that we can see the balance wheel- that's where you adjust it.

After taking those pic, I noticed that the rep lugs were a little thicker and the crystal sits a little higher. I also realized that the crown on the gen has the two dots, not the slash/bar. I guess that signifies gold which is pretty obvious on a YG watch, less so on a WG one. But overall I consider the rep a very nice approximation of the gen. Also, just thought about the crown position, appears to be slightly lower on the rep and that could also account for the thicker lugs- the 2834-2 (mine says 2836-2 on it from 2008 or so) may be a little taller than the 3155. I also noticed a few variations between the two gen dials- Swiss Made is further apart on the dial in the rep case, print looks lighter also on that dial.

gen left both pics

Could you be a little more specific? Are you looking for a side case profile shot....

A few years ago I ran across a gold 118208 with the white dial- it was on ebay for a low price- maybe $11.9K- can't remember, but it caught my eye. It looked nice but it appeared the oyster band was slightly stretched. At any rate, I wasn't ready to buy. I had built an 1803 from parts- a 1556 movement with a redone dial in a phong modified 16000 case I called it the Sportman's DD, since it was an ss case and bracelet. I wear it as a semi-beater and it's done well. But alas, I signed a big O&G lease this year- I'm not an O&G guy- I just have some property from my grandfather- and with a windfall I decided to cut loose. I found a nice 118208 which turned out to be in very nice shape and I bought it I got a good deal on it and the pleasant surprise was that it was in almost mint condition. So then the next thing I did was set out to build a rep of it to wear around- save some wear and tear on the gen. So I went to MMM and told him what I wanted. I had a decent 118238 case, but it got screwed up by USPS in shipping, but luckily the old Swiss eta movement survived. Matt got me a gen DD white dial with gold sticks and put it in a DJ 116208 case, I put the old YM oyster bracelet on it and it look pretty good. But it wasn't what I really wanted. So I went to Andrew/Trusty Time and ordered a 118208 which had a gold stick dial and told him that I wanted that watch with a white stick dial. A few days later he came back and said the factory didn't have that dial. So I asked for the watch with the white lume dial. He was able to get that dial so I went with it So my plan at that point was to swap dial/movement and end up with a nice 118208 rep and another 118208 so so watch. The gen dial/swiss 2836-2 fit in the Trusty case/ bracelet and it's on the right in this photo. The oyster bracelets are nice- clasp on the rep isn't gen spec but I hope it holds up One last note- rep gold is as good color-wise as the gen- please forgive my photo talents- any variations are due to my picture taking. The Trusty dial ended up in the MMM Dj case and it looks like a good beater or I may sell it to recoup a few dollars.... But all in all, it's nice to have a gen and a few reps to help keep the wear and tear off the gen!

There's an article over at VRF by Jed on the Early Military Submariners and it discusses the A/6538- wish I could cut and paste it for over here but damned if I can figure out how to do it. Worth reading. Look forward to seeing how the watch turns out Dlf!

It's a good looking watch, but salmon isn't really my color. Interesting how you got the dial from raffles