dieselpower

I have this watch (bought from trusty). It is as far as I can tell a very good rep. I have studied photos of the gen and can see no glaring faults. The piece I have lets water in quite badly so no showering or bathing but thats just the luck of the draw. I do not know of any mods that would make it better other than some ageing to case and dial. The only obvious flaw is the movement (mine is eta 2836 - I think) which ticks too finely, the original would not have been that good!!

ETA DRSD 1665 from UK dealer (swisstime - now defunct) the watch is the basic submariner conversion case. Interestingly it fogged up on first immersion in a hot bath. I opened the screw down crown and left it to dry out then bathed in it again and it has not fogged up since. I call it my 'workhorse' and it has been immersed in all sorts of crap and has been snorkelling more times than I can remember - no problem. Also MBW DRSD 1665 from George it bathes quite happily but has not been swimming - yet!

Sorry Rosnik, my watch is not with me and I have no photos of it. It is a standard issue DRSD 1665 (MBW). I have not got a very good camera but will try some pics when I get it back. Now where is that photo tutorial by Pug.......? I seem to remember something about pillows.......

Alot of what we do here is based on trust. I say ban if they can be definitely identified. Don't want characters like that lurking about.

Thanks for the link Kasigi! I have ordered the ones you said and will be sending them off with the watch to my step dad as soon as they arrive. Will report back to the forum on how he does with his first attempt at lug hole drilling! Fingers crossed.

Thanks for the advice, I have already looked at Ofrei but two bars incl posting to uk comes to a shade over $80! A little pricey I think you'll agree. Anyway thanks for the info about size. 2mm bar - does that mean the holes in the lugs need to be 2mm aswell?

My MBW 1665 is in the US being modded as we speak. I was asked if I wanted the hour markers to glow or just to be aged to look as they would were it a genuine dial. Having read the responses from the esteemed members in this thread thank God I opted for the non-glowing aged look. It would be nice to be able to read the time in the dead of night though but imho authenticity is more important.

I have looked in the usual places but am not sure which to buy as some say to fit other makes and I have also seen various thicknesses for sale. Just don't want to make a stupid mistake on something so inexpensive. Cheers one and all

I am entrusting my 'workhorse' 1665 SD rep (not an MBW but the adapted sub-cased version) to my step father who is going to drill out the lug holes so I can fit new thicker springbars (he is an amateur engineer). The question is (I live in the UK) what size (thickness) should the springbars be (1.5mm?) and where can I purchase them from? Obviously I would like to have the same sized bars and holes as on the original. Thanks in advance for your help. The gap between the lugs is 20mm by the way - just in case you were wondering.

For me, on pure aesthetics, black all the way. Good luck with the build!

I have a 1665 (Double Red) which I can shower and bathe with no problem. Bought a 1665 (Great White) from the same supplier for a friend of mine - he can't even wash his hands without the watch glass misting up! I guess its the luck of the draw.

I'm no technician but will throw my opinion in just for the hell of it and based purely on aesthetics. My vote goes for the round top three - absolutely. For some reason the flat top does not seem to marry as well with the overall look of the watch, which is pleasing because I have an MBW DRSD with Joe at the moment for mods and I was wondering weather to ask him to do something about the datewheel, now I know that the gen came with both round and flat top I am quite happy to leave the MBW wheel as it is. Thanks Freddy333 for the post I have not only learned something but actually been able to make a decision that has saved me some $$$

I have a pre-daytona rep (different dial to the one you are referring to but I believe same case) and a sapare steel bezel from an EE Daytona. I have tried the bezel for fit to the pre-daytona but the glass diameter is too wide for the bezel to fit. It's close but the bezel will not push on at all. Hope this is of some use.

Superb work Falco. I'm a fan. Admittedly a jealous fan.... but a fan nevertheless.

Superb post. Thanks for taking the time and effort to do it. Fantastic.

Fantastic! Well done for putting it all together - I admire your fortitude. Ubi is a real gent and a great asset to the forum. Oh, I can't believe that the second hand on his white daytona does not reset to twelve properly it must be the angle of the photo, I'll have another look...... Looks square on to me. I'm sure there is some legitimate reason for this, he stopped it just after twelve on purpose, he must have, he must have Sorry to digress love the watch, wear it well and what's next in the pipeline?

Thanks to all for the invaluble help. Truth is I can't remember what the subdial configuration is! I'm sure I can catch him out armed with these clues though. Now the big question is weather to call him out around the dinner table in front of everybody or to quietly have a look in private and tell him he may fool everybody else but not me! I think the second option is best, then he will forever be wondering if I decide to 'go public' with my discovery of his secret! Ha ha I wish you knew him - he is a total [censored].

Classic.

There are communities in the USA where it is a REQUIREMENT to own a gun to join that community. Question: Should this stance be adopted throughout the States? Discuss.

Everyone who owns a gun should use it once........on themselves.

It was me.

Thanks for the tips. Just one thing to note, the watch is gold. I have been reading up and somewhere it says that a gold Navi is not made yet. I presume this is not true?

Hello Breitling fans. I am dipping into your area to ask for help. I have an uncle who is a bit of an AH. He bought a few reps in the Middle East and then got all snobby about them and said that he would not wear reps any more and only the real thing was good enough for him. He then appeared with a new gold Navitimer which he bragged was a gen and I asked to look at it. Now you must understand I know absolutely nothing about Breitlings - I thought the watch was gen and I had no reason to doubt it, the man can afford these things. I started the stop watch to look at the tick of the second hand and it was all very nice until I noticed that it did a strange sort of hesitant stutter at about the 4 o'clock position. I have no idea if this is a thing one would expect or accept from a genuine expensive watch like this but it most definitely is a fault (albeit quite difficult to spot). I have seen a similar thing on asian 7750 movements and was wondering if this AH had bought a quality rep and was trying to pass it off as gen to impress the family. Here's the question - is there a sure fire easy way for an admittedly ignorant Breitling person to spot weather this watch is a fake or not? Like I say the overall feel of the watch is one of great quality and the dial printing is superb etc etc but I would love to be able to call it out if it is indeed a rep. PS If it is gen I am not very impressed with the above mentioned ticking issue - should he take it to an AD to have the movement looked at? Cheers.

I thought I would relate a recent experience. I have a good friend and neighbour with whom I go for a fortnightly drink to a local pub. He has a good job and likes to spend his money. Cars are his big thing and he owns a classic Aston Martin and a racing Porsche amongst others. We talk about our interests and I always bang on about rep watches and he listens but always had an air of distain about them. His attitude seemed to be that if you can't afford the gen then you shouldn't be wearing a fake, they are an insult to the original and that shows a lack of respect/taste. I would argue to the contrary and explain my reasons for owning reps. Anyway, one day I bought a Panerai rep for my wife (from Josh) and she showed it to the neighbour. He was amazed. He admired the watch a great deal and could not believe the quality of the piece. He really loves Panerai's so I told him to look on their website and choose a piece and I would try to find a decent rep of it. He was a little unsure at first, after all he had implied before, it was something of a watershed moment for him but he came back to me with a list of three and I set about trying to find a decent rep. After a few hours on the forums he seemed happy with a 111h. I don't know much about Panerai's but thought Davids watches seemed pretty good so I got in contact and ordered said watch. 4 days later it arrived (in UK from HK) and I handed over the un-opened box to my pal. It was like looking at a childs face at Christmas. He was so pleased with every aspect of it, the efficient delivery, the quality of the watch etc. it was strapped to his wrist immediately and has not left it since. I don't think he is going to be a serious repaholic and have mods done and all that but he is a true convert and is singing the praises of David, the watch, the whole business and is now planning his next rep purchase. So there it is. All credit to the great people of this wonderful hobby and another satisfied customer, who I quietly suspect enjoys the slightly cloak and dagger aspect of our little world - which one of us doesn't?

Good luck with the move Pugwash. From Parisians to the Scots - quite a contrast. People will actually talk to you in a friendly way and mean it, will you be able to cope? I'm sure you can. Will miss your ascerbic posts, hurry up back on line I need a laugh. All the best.