alligoat

Remember the 1655 is a plastic crystal watch. You can always start with the rep from Josh and see how you like it. More expensive options exist like yuki, NDT and Phong but they will require more money. Some nice frankens have been built- you might try searching and see if you can find a few of them.

Sometimes it's even more- like when you put it on a president's bracelet other times it's just subtle, or maybe elegant, even a workhorse, It is the most popular watch in the Rolex line up.

That's a pretty good line up of parts and the two coaches are fantastic. Seems like I saw somewhere where someone was able to skinny up a 1680 dial- maybe turning it on a drill and filing the edge. The edge of the dial fits under the chapter ring so you couldn't tell it had been modded.

Looking good M! Now get back to the books!

Has anyone tried the Yukiwatch 16610 dial? http://www.yukiwatch.com/catalog/item/6380817/9247346.htm Only drawback that I can see is the swiss-T<25 when you using it on a newer sub, and maybe weak lume...

I like the Chrono-tac for $79! But certainly the best one is the Josh 1655 which everyone turns into a 1675

Looking good A! That gen spec case looks nice- I like the flatter area between the lugs- just like the Rolex 18K cases

For the deep stuff, I cut a hole in a 1/8" piece of plywood with a Forestner bit and used it as a spacer- it may have been a 35mm bit which is what all the European hinges use- can't remember!

Looks aftermarket to me

Can't you just buy a crystal press from Harbor Freight for $10-15?

What makes you so sure it's fake? Diamond dials are quite often aftermarket. The size looks more like the mid size to me. Date mag is a little small, but frankly Rolex could care less about date mag. Fit of the end pieces isn't the greatest, but on older watches it used to be atrocious. Without seeing the movement, I would just let this one ride. It's covered by paypal anyway.

You might ask Narikaa if he can possibly get a MBW 5517.

This is my idea of a great rep! Great parts list and a 2846-2 engine. I think a watch like this is every bit as good as the original watch that Rolex put out 30-40 years ago. Congrats. That 702 crown and tube is cool too!

The $67 DJ still runs, looks ok on a leather strap, but I really only bought it for the case and then I changed horses and didn't use the case for the project. But the movement ain't much- it's not even a dg2813. The bracelet is ok, I just couldn't get the end links to fit on the 16013 case and the end pieces are marked 455B

What do you mean by 'thicker DS case'? The best case would be an MBW case with the fixed lugs, but I don't know if it's available. Second would be the Josh case with the stubby crown guards, but the caseback is wrong and it might have an HE valve http://www.1-pc8838.com/rlsv01002-vintage-5517-military-submariner-asia-2836-p-7699.html

John Holbrook says the 16803 debuted in 1984. http://luxurytyme.com/en/rolex-reviews/comparative-review-the-rolex-submariner-16613-vs-the-rolex-submariner-116613/ I saw one 16803 in Antiquorum that was dated to 1983.

My 1803 DD has a 16013 case and I couldn't get the rep president's bracelet on it. The bracelet came from a Silix special DJ which I paid around $67 for I got the Josh folded link 7836 with 455B ends to fit perfectly I'm also going to try a jubilee w/ the 455B ends which is currently on my 16014 DJ franken- it should fit fine also. KBH saif he had a presidents that fit the 16000 DJ cases.

There was a dealer a few years back that had a vintage cream dialed Explorer II- prowatch-polo. Don't know what happened to Polo, he's no longer a TD here and his website is gone. The watch had a few flaws- but I don't recall what they were. The white gold surrounds in the pic are ok for a 16550 model as well as the steel hands. Later Rolex switched to black surrounds and black hands- maybe when the 16570 came out. These days drilling lugholes would be a job for PBdad or jmb. None of the cases have them since Rolex did away with them 5-7 years ago- even the rep makers are keeping up with the times!

This is my way around the bling of yellow gold- the 1803 DD in stainless Low key

If the gen is 2.5, I'd say it's 2.3 maybe- it's pretty close. And frankly, I don't think Rolex really cares about it too much. My gen 16800 came from Rolex service w/ a new DW and the mag was puny. Then I put in a NOS DW and all my problems were solved!

I do a lot of straps- here's a washed out iPhone pic of the 16013TT on a brown croc strap I also do the 1550 gold shell on a strap

You're on the right track- you'll have two nice vintage subs!

3 ticks and 5 ticks are a standard Rolex variation- we've seen it on the 16610LV also. Fading Red Yachtmaster print wouldn't surprise me either. I believe the YM debuted in 1992, so that would go back to the Swiss- T<25 dials and maybe even a bracelet w/o SELs, but I really am not a student of the YM. Since this is a Z serial though, fading shouldn't be as much of an issue since the dial's only 6-7 years old. But what if it was a WM9 case and someone put a 3035 in it? And the Rolex story is made up or the case really fooled an unsuspecting Rolex employee. It may have even fooled the seller.Then it would be a $1500-$2000 watch at best.

Why mess with a messed up watch?

Can't help you with Cubic Works, but what about a BK or TC DWO? They will work even though they aren't like an original Rolex DW with the open6/9s and flat top 3s. Now days if Rolex were to service a 1500 and put in a new DW, it would look just like a BK or TC DWO. I've got a gen 1500 with the newer DW- it's on the left in this pic. The 1550 gold shell on the right has the old style DW open 6/9s and flat top 3s