creation88

Thanks guys – you just saved me $198. I can put that towards a gen 93150 bracelet.

I have an MBK/MBW Great white Seadweller, which I'm slowly modding piece by piece, and one thing that bothers me is the date window seems small compared to gen. I'm less bothered about the white date wheel as some gens have them as service replacements. My question is, has anyone bought the Yuki 1665 dial for ETA and if so, how much better (if at all) is it than the MBK/MBW?

The Big Block Chronos and Montecarlos use 589 endlinks. 605 endlinks are for the Tudor Prince Date Chrono (792X0).

Who's willing to take the risk on this one? http://replicaswisswatch.net/rolex-daytona-cosmograph-16520-p-38.html it's a great replica – it bears a startling resemblance to this one: http://www.watchfinder.co.uk/Rolex/Daytona-Watches/16520-c7033-watch.aspx

A French man and his Rolex: Bet he's glad he wore a long sleeved shirt! Back on topic: I'm not too keen on polished mid links; I prefer the tool watch look of the older models. Apart from that, there's not much I'd change.

Thanks!

I'm new to this.. what tool(s) do I need?

It's looking like there'll be a new Explorer: Post on TZ Orange is the new red.

Not having imperfections the drive you mad is one of the joys of owning gens. Having imperfections that drive you mad enough to get your tools out is one of the joys of owning reps.

Thanks for the speedy replies

What's the best (easiest, safest) way to remove the black paint from an MBW 1665 case-back? Any advice would be welcome... Thanks

I tried on a gen white dialled 16520 today. I have to own one now. It wasn't a bad price either. Do I need to be a VIP member to sell a kidney?

What did you do about the nylon gasket/tension ring issue? I still haven't come up with a workable solution. Having said that, it's academic really as I managed to screw up the keyless works on mine while changing the crown (never mod a watch with a hangover) so it's off to our very own Domenico for a bit of love and attention.

Thanks!!!

All I've done so far is change the crystal to the WSO t-39, dull the hour markers on the dial with a Bergeon scratch removal pen, shave the crown guards, sand the case edges, shake the bracelet around in a bag of nails (30 years worth of wear in about 5 minutes). I'm waiting for delivery of a new crown and then, I think that'll be it.

That's the one. It's a tight fit - there's not much space between the crystal and the bezel insert, so the bezel's now very stiff - but the overall improvement looks-wise more than makes up for a stiff bezel (for me anyway). CGs look good... I had a look at a few gen DRSDs last week - one of the joys of living in London - there are some fantastic vintage watch shops to go to for "reference" and no two were alike - some tiny (like a modern Sub or Seadweller) and some just like yours, so I'd say "nice work"! @ShawnBeever: The datewheel alignment's a tiny bit low on the first half of the month but seems pretty spot on from 14 onwards

Two weeks on... The movement is great -- really accurate and great power reserve. I've replaced the PT superdome crystal with a Wholesale outlet T39, which completely improves the dial as the markers aren't so huge and distorted and the date window is no longer so stretched. While the crystal was off, I used a Bergeon Scratch removal pen to take a bit of shine off the hour markers as that was really bugging me. Still waiting for my replacement crown to arrive (although it doesn't look too bad in this pic). @brendo22: I ended up using electricians tape to replace the knackered nylon gasket -- worked a treat, although I don't think I'll wear this fella anywhere near water. All in all, I think this one's a keeper!

You know?... It might just work! I'll give it a go...

I suppose I could get a Yuki bezel and retention ring for the PT (for another 165 clams) add that cost to the original cost of the watch and we're talking MBW money. The PT 1665s are getting to be more trouble than they're worth. I'm thinking it may be time to cut my losses and just transplant the movement including the DW into my MBW GWSD.

The gen crown looks great -- real improvement on the PT one. Did you manage to get the bezel assembly back together easily after reseating the crystal? I damaged the nylon gasket beyond use and the retaining ring is too big without it. Anyone know where I can get another nylon ring? Don't say Puretime -- he's not exactly rushing to sort out my knackered, clasp links so I think I may be pushing my luck asking for anything else.

I had exactly the same problem on the same link. I've emailed Angus twice and no reply in almost a week.

Here's a side by side of mine with a gen Version IV DRSD. The dial marker size isn't that far off, much of the size is down to distortion from the massive PT dome.

Don't be too disheartened -- I've read that a few gen owners remove the divers extension too.

I'd probably go for the ends of the Puretime bracelet because they fit gen springbars and MBW (or other clasp) although the Puretime has the right (plain) fliplock. Maybe a hatchet job between the two.

My Puretime 1665 DRSD (dial 2) arrived today -- just over a week after I ordered it. First impressions are mixed. Firstly the bracelet is unusable, a screw sheared off in the last link by the clasp making it unwearable, so I'm wearing it on my spare bracelet which is put together from a load of spare parts. Good news though -- it does in fact contain the slow beat ETA 2846 movement and it seems to be beating well (for at least the past two hours anyway) and "ticking" like a true vintage Rolex. The spring bars are 2mm and the lug holes are drilled accordingly although I'm not sure about their position. The bezel assembly is, to all intents and purposes, the same as my MBW and I think the MBW bezel would fit on the Puretime case although i'm not going to force it. The Bezel insert is nice -- no real need to replace that. The crown is terrible -- way too fat and the crown guards need work, but there isn't that extra bit of metal the shows between the bezel and the crown that you get on MBW cases. The He Valve seems better than the MBW in that it appears to be real rather than a cosmetic dimple -- what effect that has on Water resistance I don't know and don't plan to find out. On to the dial. Not sure what to say here -- from some angles it looks good, the lume is quite a convincing colour in the flesh (and the hands match unlike on my MBW GW) but it is too shiny to be convincing and the lume dots seem very big (compared to the GWSD anyway). The crystal is in my opinion better than the MBW stock one, but unfortunately it isn't seated properly The date window isn't the right shape, but the date wheel is silver and has flat-top threes. I've attached some photos, but I don't have any lights and it's a dull day in london, so I can't get very good dial shots. My conclusion is that for the money, it's a pretty good rep (apart from the bracelet which I hope Angus will sort out). If I could get hold of a decent crown and sort out the crown guards, I'd consider frankening it with my MBW GW -- MBW dial and caseback, Puretime everything else although I'd end up with .