alligoat

you're missing the point. If a rep watch says 300m, that's just what the dial says- it doesn't mean it, If a real watch says 300 m you still don't need to worry- you will never go that deep. 100m or 200m will work fine.

Actually all three Rolex movements are very similar in size 1575- 28.5mm x 6.3mm 3035- 28.5mm x 6.15mm 3135- 28.5mm x 6.0mm But as you say, the 1680 has a thicker profile when looking at the lugs. And a shallower case back.

I guess that the lugs are a wee bit thicker on the 1680. Whereas the 16800 and 16610 share some similar parts, particularly the crystal and bezel assembly, the 16800 was a definite departure from the 1680. The 16800 also has a thinner caseback than the 16610 and the two casebacks are not interchangeable. I consider the 16800 and 16610 as definite improvements over the 1680- especially as noted by the improved depth ratings.

The Seiko NH39 is referred to as a GMT movement but it says 3 hands and 24 hours, so I'm not sure about it. There also may be some more expensive Seiko GMTs, but I haven't run across them. There's also quartz GMTs but I've never messed with them. The DG 3804 is a chinese GMT- I've got a couple that have hung in there well. Next up would be the 2836-2 asian clone with the GMT feature- these are maybe a step above the DG3804. A Swiss 2836-2 can be modified (typically by the chinese) into a GMT- this should be a little more reliable than the asian clone 2836-2 GMT. A Swiss GMT watch would use either the eta or Sellita movement, but it would be a complete watch and run in the $500-1000 range or more. Mathey-Tissot GMT Automatic Batman Bezel Men's Watch H903ATNB H903ATNB - Watches, Mathey-Tissot - Jomashop I'm not sure which movement is in this Mathey Tissot- but it says automatic. I recently picked up another M-T watch- no GMT and it had a Ronda R-150 movement- it's not an eta 2824-2, but it's the same size and takes eta hands and dials. It first came out in 2016. There are also Rolex clone GMT movements, but I haven't tried any of them out- they may need to be serviced and there's maybe no parts avaiable. So you could easily spent over $300 and still be SOL.

The best Rolex clone 3135 movement is the VR3135 at this time. I picked one up recently for $155 shipped to CONUS. As automatico says, you may need to have it serviced at some point- there's a couple of guys that do it- Tickleshoes and Michael at Watch Service NY- you might do better looking for them at RWI. Mine is in a late model TC case- a 16610. I've been doing Seiko mods for the last 1-1/2 years- I really like the NH35/6 movements and there's a whole slew of mods that you can do to customize your Seiko watch. I've used Namoki and DLW Watch parts on mine as well as Dagaz. The world of Seiko mods is mind boggling. I particularly like taking a $200 Seiko watch and ending up with a Rolex homage for $500 or less. You might check out Seiko Mods Dubai on Instagram- he does some cool watches. There's a whole list of modders doing these Seiko mods- check it out at DLW Watches or Namoki. There's really no need to worry about 300m WR- you'll never go more than 100-125 ft as a recreational diver. You might want to read up on saturation diving and learn about heliox, trimix and nitrox. Also, check out nitrogen narcosis- that's what happens when you go too deep with the wrong air mix. Also, you'll need some good equipment to test for 200m WR. My friend has a Bergeon tester and he only tests to about 3 atm even though it's rated for 6 atm- apparently it's risky pushing a tester to it's limit. You'd need some specialized and expensive equipment to test for 300m WR, but if you have deep pockets, go for it.

The MBW 16610 came out around the time the WM9 first showed up. It was not gen like bezel const, but I was able to buy the parts to make it gen like. Crystal compression ring, flat washer, click spring and finally a bezel that fit. It is WR to 3 atm which is all the tester I have access to will do. Originally it had a noobmariner dial and hands but I got a WM9 dial and hands which have good lume. I also put a Clark’s crystal in there.

With Rolex prices skyrocketing, it's always a good idea to keep a rep handy and leave your expensive watches at home. The other reason I like reps more and more is because if you tear them up, it's no big deal. Last weekend when I went hunting I wore a MBW 16610 in lieu of a gen 16800. I used to think of the 16800 as my beater, but alas no more- that watch is now worth $8-10K- crazy!

I thought the BPF Factory was chinese for the BP factory! Maybe it's another factory altogether- it's hard to keep all of these factories straight. Since the rep factories have never made a decent 14060 or it's later iterations, why would anyone expect them to start now? Nevertheless, this one from Andrew doesn't look too bad to me ROLSUB0378 - Submariner 124060LN 41mm SS/SS Blk BPF A3230 [ROLSUB0378] - $328.00 : Trusty Time Watch, Your Trusty Watch Shop Of course, I wouldn't get the 3230 movement, I'd downgrade $50 to the asian 2824-2. For $278 I figure it's going to be as close as you're going to get at this point.

That is one beautiful watch. Sure would love it if you would share the build specs on it!

You might want to check again- she was telling someone last week she had them w 580 end pieces

You might check Mary and see if she has them marywatch88@gmail.com

ROLSD053A - Vintage 1665 Great White SD Asia Eta 2836 [ROLSD053A] - $238.00 : Trusty Time Watch, Your Trusty Watch Shop Looks very similar to the JKF. The Puretime GWSDs from long ago had a 2846-2 which was nice along with gen like springbars and a correct datewheel. This dw looks ok also.

The quartz movement is around 4mm thick- you can google the specs. It's a little more tricky to find specs on the WAF2111 BA0806 movement in the Aquaracer Automatic movement. Tag has used the eta 2824 and refers to it as the Calibre 5. ETA has also modified the 2824-2 and come out with a seiries of new movements that are detuned so to speak and run at 21.6K with a longer power reserve. Maybe CO811 or something like that- Tissot uses them and they're referred to as Powermatic. But I can't tell what the WAF2111 movement is- WAN2110 is a Calibre 5/2824-2/SW200. The 2824-2 is 4.6mm tall. So it's a crap shoot! BTW, hand sizes for the Quartz are 70/120/20 so you'll need new hands if you go with the 2824-2. Good luck!

The crystal retaining ring should be tight against the case. Later models (1680, 5513) even had a groove in the underside of the retaining ring for a gasket to help with WR. The retaining ring/crystal assembly needs to be tight to achieve WR. The tension ring and bezel can ride above since they are not really part of the WR assembly. Your crown looks to be a 700 crown which is fine with the 9401 and what was originally used. A 703 assembly would be a later service assembly. You have two sets of springbars in your pics- the shoulderless ones are correct. Correct movement is not a 2824-2- that came later. Is an eta 2776 correct- look it up, but good luck finding one? The movement you have does not appear to be a true Tudor- don't see any of the decorative perlage on the plates- probably someone just put a Tudor rotor on there. The caseback is beat up and the case itself is pristine- definitely could use some judicious aging. The nice thing about Tudors is that they pretty much fly under the radar- no one has ever commented on mine (a 79090).

Jewelryandwatch.com It might help if you sign up and login.

Day Dates have gotten expensive, as have all used Rolexes. 10 years ago you could have picked up a DD for under 10K. That's getting hard to do these days. Back in the day, you maybe could have picked up an 1803 in WG w/o bracelet for $5-7K. Not now. Have you tried checking with Phong to see if he could turn a 16000 DJ and fit a 3055 in it?

Startime Supply has a case for a Rolex 3055 movement- only it's white gold and pretty pricey. Generic 18K Case for Rolex, -- RMC18K(3055)-W: Star Time Supply You'd have to buy a few more parts and pick up a suitable dial for a WG 3055 DD. It would be a nice watch, but expensive.

Years ago I sent Phong a 16000 DJ case. I believe what he did is turn the inside chapter ring (rehaut) so that a 1556 movement would fit in the case. I had a pie pan 1803 dial and I built an 1803 out of stainless steel. <a target="_blank" href="http://imageshack.com/f/poCtQzdXj"><img src="https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/150x100q90/924/CtQzdX.jpg" border="0"></a> Don't know if this imageshack pic will show up- my subscription has expired. It wasn't a cheap build- I spent at least $1000 for the movement and $400 for the dial, and around $2500 for the completed watch. You'd have to find a DJ 16000 case and those are hard to find these days at a fair price. [URL=http://imageshack.com/f/poCtQzdXj][IMG]https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/150x100q90/924/CtQzdX.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

I don't know. Typically DWOs are a little more tricky on the 2824 than on the 2836. If you used a spacer, you might have to swap over to a H4 canon pinion which is taller, but I'm not a watchmaker so I can't say for sure what challenges you'll encounter.

The biggest challenge is placing the date wheel overlay on the movement- check rafflesdials.com, they have the flat top 3, open 6/9 overlay whichis pretty close to the gen one. Overlays - Page 1 - Raffles Dials I think this #2 movement ring will work to keep the 2824 in place. Movement Ring for ETA 2824 / 2836 or others that fit Size#2 | eBay A few screws and movement tabs can also be picked up on ebay. Hands can be found at clark's watch Supply- nostalgia-2000 on the bay Hands ETA 2824 Shiny Silver in color For Rolex Tudor Date or Dress with luminous | eBay Good luck

Mostly genuine parts is going to be tough and expensive- you might do better just buying a gen on Chrono 24 or somewhere else. Fake and replica parts abound and you could easily get burned.

Check out 9401s on the internet- print up a few pics of the gens and compare them to your watch. Your crown guards have been trimmed but could use a little fine tuning. The crown appears to be a 24-700 which is early and I guess ok. Tudor Collector says the 9401 was introduced in 1976, but it seems that I had read as early as 1970. 1976 would be a 24-702 crown- which you can get from Athaya, but you'd need to change out the tube also, so maybe you just go with the 24-700 crown for now. You need to ditch the pearl- that small metal surround just doesn't cut it. Get yourself an all acrylic pearl. Try Ofrei or Athaya. I can't tell if the lugholes have been drilled- looks kinda like it. The bevel on the lugs is fairly pronounced- maybe overly so, but like I say- look at some gens. The Rolex springbars would be nice if they fit. If you don't have a Tudor bracelet, a Nato strap would be fine, or I like those leather straps from cheapnatostraps.com. You don't say which movement it has, but a 2824 or 2836 would be fine. Crown position on the case looks good- maybe it's a 2824. A little light aging of the dial and hands- maybe with a tea stain- can't hurt. I'd say enjoy your watch!

Newer tooters = Neutered tooters imho. Ha! Interesting! I don't know how new you're referring to. This is slightly off topic and I apologize, but I recently picked up a Trusty 79090 Tudor sub and am very happy with it. This sub dates from 1990 to 1995 say. The original had a 2824-2 movement. The rep has a 2836-2 clone which is doing well. My friend poo-pahed the buy since it doesn't have a 2824-2, but I didn't really mind. This watch reminds me of the 1680- plastic crystal, 200m=660ft depth rating, same bezel construction as the 1680. The 79090 is a rehash of the 1680 and at a lower price point, but that doesn't bother me- I've always been an economically minded individual. Part of the reason I became interested in the 79090 was because my 1680 MBW encountered a problem. I was deciding to finally do another set of mods to the watch but in taking the watch apart I realized the caseback and case had become cross threaded- yuck. So that project is now on the back burner. On to the 79090- I picked up a 703 crown, will pull the current crown and tube and trim the crown guards, install a new AM 7030 tube and the 703 crown. Next I'll drill the lugholes and install the Rolex springbars. Lastly, I'll age the dial and hands slightly. BTW, the 79090 has great lume. This is the JKF model and it's really a pretty good deal for the price. It's got me looking at the 9411 rep and the 1680. I just love it when I can take a $250 rep and make a few mods and end up with a great beater for $400.

The case will be solid SS so no worries there. I got some springbars from Jules Borel a few weeks ago. You can get a rivet bracelet from rafflesdials.com. I can't remember but I think I also got a 6538 dial from raffles dials, or was it Helenarou. Can't remember! Helenarou also has a 6538, but it's a little more pricey and you have to ask for the Rolex marked dial and crown since they don't show them on their site, but I understand they're available if you ask. 6538 Connery Bond Submariner Vintage Watch Case (helenarou.com) Silix-prime is another place to get the 6538, but it would need a better dial and bezel pearl also Submariner ROL234 watch, Cheap Submariner ROL234 watch online for sale (silix-prime.es)

It's an easy starting place and maybe you could make some improvements. The little metal surround on the pearl is too bad, but maybe you pop it out and possibly an Ofrei pearl might fit in there. Or just leave it w/o the pearl. Tea staining the dial and hands would help age the watch some, beat up the case and bracelet. Drilling the lugholes would help as would the correct spring bars. This is the kind of deal where you're not going to fool a WIS, but then again, your chances of running into one a slim anyway. 99.99% of the population will never know what you're wearing. ROLSUB0184 - Vintage Sub Ref 6538 Big Crown James Bond A-2836 [ROLSUB0184] - $238.00 : Trusty Time Watch, Your Trusty Watch Shop Oh, you could swap in a 2846 eta with the slower beat- 21,6K. Rounding the case might also help. google Rolex 6538 and look at some gens and use those as a go-by.