ubiquitous

That's the way to do it!! Great work! I love it! Nice, complete watch with a very impressive list of ingredients...

Haha... Sorry, J... No parting with either of the Daytonas... They be keepers, methinks

After some problems developed with my 16610 (dial lume fell out, minute hand got bent, etc. etc.) I finally got the old Sub back together, and ironed out the troubles. I took advantage of the downtime and did some work on the case- rebrushed the lugs (front and back) and refinished the bracelet/clasp. Polished everything up and tightened the SELs to fit the case better. Now, it's back on my (right) wrist for some stress testing. So far, so good... Still not enough to overthrow the Daytona for daily wearer though Some days I toy with the idea of getting rid of my 16610... And I must admit that I was very close to listing this one recently for lack of wrist time. However, my recent time spent working on it has rekindled the flame... I'll hang onto it for just a while longer Thanks for looking. All the best... R

Too cute!!

Yep... It's a legit MBW/WM. $350 is a great price, BTW... Perhaps even a bit low...

Nicely done! Looks great and with gen parts to boot! Excellent work

S- Wow... A beauty! And from one of the nicest guys on the forum! Be sure to hang on to that one... Quite the rare piece these days, and highly sought after! Wish I still had mine; hindsight is always 20/20...

Hmmmm... 2894 would be the best candidate... Considering that the Caliber 17 is based on the same movement. But cost and movement availability would be of concern.

My supporter membership appears to have been expired (for how long, I dunno), and I only just now noticed it :blushes: Talk about oblivious! Anyhow... Problem remedied...

How about a head-on frontal shot with time set to 8:11? Hack, or non-hack?

This is a pair of genuine datewheels from a 1570/5...

...wasted breath (or in this case, wasted keystrokes)... Please do yourself a favor and physically handle a genuine 1680 or 1665... It's good education.

Nope. The 3's, the 6 in 26... Nothing like genuine, or even remotely close. This is accurate:

Skeet and Urul book is probably not the most accurate... But probably okay as a reference. I was gifted the Dowling and Hess book by a great forum member here... Still the only Rolex book I own, but I still rely on my personal notes for reference. With each genuine that I've handled, I've scrawled details, observations, etc. etc. along with my other experiences in the matter into my little composition book... But a good portion of that knowledge has also been retained in the ol' noggin as well. EDIT to remove double post...

Sorry, but no.

Friday... Saturday and Sun...

Have them in hand... I will be going over the wheels tonight/tomorrow...

God... How many times have I done this? Too many... Me thinks... 2 of these... 3 - 5 of these... Some of these (I think I lost count)... Plus a bunch of other watches (Royal Oaks, 16610, 16610LV's, so on and so forth). Most that I buy are usually dial variations, but the same core watch (MBW's, WM's, DW's, etc). Wish I had some of my old watches back... And some, I just wish I had the money I spent on them back

Doh! Looks like I'll need to build 3 more then... Keep your eyes peeled, fellers... 20 more EP400 rotors are sure to turn up on ebay soon!

I'll mail ya in a bit

Haha... You're like the 12th person to tell me that this week!

Nicely done! Looks great! And very nice to know that you had a hand in some of the mods as well! Always nice to see members giving this stuff a try; it's not as hard as some may think with the right tools and a bit of practice. Enjoy your 1680!! Looks like a timepiece that will be getting a good amount of wrist time, eh?

One of the reasons why I have kept the original Ebel and Movado rotors/bridges on my frankies I have no interest in selling... No interest in passing these off on the 'Bay as gen and no interest in spending money on two little items that I'll never see. I built these watches for my enjoyment, and to give one to my son when he's old enough to properly take care of it. Oh... And I just love Daytonas Maybe I'll just keep both and build my son his own. Oh wait... That's what I had intended with the first one... And then the second one... So... Let me change my statement. Maybe if my son wants a Daytona... He can build one for himself! Haha....

Aestehtically speaking, I agree- Top is the one that better matches the feel and character of the watch. However... I'd probably just leave the new insert in for wear (at least for the time being). The split at 12:00 on the original, even if holding for now is a bit risky as the pearl, or worst case, the entire insert could potentially fall out if knocked hard enough. My advice would be to put the original aside for now and keep an eye out for an insert of the same vintage for sale. I tend to see inserts of comparable condition missing their pearls for sale more often than complete inserts... Once you are able to land one, simply swap the pearl, and instantly restore the old glory to your 5512.

Hmmmm... I have found that minimal work was needed to get the gen parts to fit my watch. The only items that needed to be slightly worked were the lug holes (which I didn't do, as it was already done for me when I bought the watch) and slightly expand the end links to fit against the case. Otherwise, everything else fit perfect- No modification needed for the crystal, tube, or insert. But... The CG's need further work on mine. Something I may or may not get around to one of these days. To me... They don't really bother me that much As for the movement- I changed the movement out in favor of a slow beat ETA 2846 as the beat was better matched to that of a genuine 1570/5 (21,600bph v. 19,800bph). With regards to the springbars- Yes, there are two ways to tell if they are genuine or aftermarket. The first is tension. Gen springbars are very firm in tension, and pressing the ends in requires more effort than aftermarket. This is the advantage, as with genuine bars, you never have to worry about them failing, even after numerous R & I's. The second is quality of material. The gen bars are much more durable in material. It is difficult to bend them without a fair amount of effort. Aftermarkets tend to be a bit more flimsy at the tube, and will cave/collapse with some moderate pressure. As for finding parts... Yes, it can be very difficult on the secondary market. Even my usual suppliers (who are running low on their existing old stock) are finding that parts are in very short supply, though they still have a good amount of what I need (but not everything). Most, if not all ind. watchmakers have been officially cut off from the RSC's with whom they held accounts with. Parts are still out there... But as RSC's have started to turn collectors away for service, it could get messy out there on the secondary market as competition may be fierece; among us, and with genuine collectors (though most will have their own sources for parts off market). I still maintain that the MBW vintage is the better platform to modify from; most notably the 1665 SD. Parts just seem to fit better, gen dials will go in without trimming, etc. The 1680 requires a little more work- So, for a prospective buyer, it all depends on the amount of work he/she is willing to put into the watch, and how much they prefer one over the other. The modern Subs are nice, but finding the right case can be an issue (we all know the problems there), and then of course, modifications have to be made in order to fit genuine parts. I've only built one 16610 that I feel is worth keeping... And putting this one together was a bit of a fluke. It took some work fitting a genuine insert, and I farmed out the tube installation. There are two things I absolutely despise doing- Tube installs and lug drilling. I can do both... But prefer not to Personally, I think the 16610 is too much hassle (I'd rather build another Daytona)