tmg

Great to hear, I had all but given up. It will be nice to see if it has the specs everyone asked for.

Thanks for the update Klingsor!

LAST NIGHT SILIX BOYS HAVE SENT TO ME THE MESSAGE THAT WE WAS WAITING.....

"Yes, th evintage watches are done. I will send u pics shortly."

SO....THE PROJECT IS ENDED

ACTUALLY I'M ONLY WAITING THE PICS TO SHARE THEM ...

I CAN'T TELL SINCE NOW IF SILIX CAN START TO PROVIDE THEM

I WILL HAVE SOON OTHER INFO

IN THE MEANWHILE DON'T MAKE AN ASSAULT.... OK?

EVERY THING IS GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION .... BE SURE OF THIS

M

That's great looking Deltatahoe!

I ordered one from Carl the other day in the all velcro version, I saw them on TZ as well and had to give it a try on my gen Speedy. You're absolutely correct he's a pleasure to deal with and shipped it out the same day I ordered it too.

Just beautiful Repaus,

I have much more work to do on this project. Custom hands and aging the dial are all on the list.

Can you give us more details on yours?

-TMG

Please do some serious aging to the dial - like enlarging the outter markers to the dial edge as per genuine... those lugholes are a MUST. Hands are filled a too broad manner with lume - get a set off CWP - and try fit them in. YOu will have it better and better...

Like mine...

Thanks a lot Euno!

Lookin' good thus far.

Cheers

Here's a quick update with a mix of hands off yet another 1655, I must be nuts I have a 1655 scrap pile going . It looks better, particularly the orange hand but still the same old problem; the lume is too wide on the hands not to mention the hour and minute hands are the same width. I know the bezel is not quite centered, it was a quick and dirty to see how it looks.

On a hopeful note, I did find someone that may be able to drill those lugs through -fingers crossed!

I'd say it depends on how well you know the person, but definitely tell them its a rep.

Beware that you often end up being quality control (especailly if its family) if it has problems and that puts you in an akward position, unless you like working on them.

Just my .02

KKS,

Very nice!

time_holder on ebay sells gen inserts for about $100, just contact him and ask. There has been some question if they're the real article or not, I purchased one and compared it to a gen I have and it definitly is.

You other option is a classicwatchparts insert and watchesandparts on ebay sells the lumi dots.

Beautiful results!

Believe it or not this is a very old look or style if you want to call it that. I've seen pictures from WWII with soldiers wearing their timepieces outside their sweaters, I assume so they didn't have to lift the sleeve or cuff to see the time. Probably a good thing too if you're hands are holding a weapon.

I also remember seeing Ralph Lauren ads from the late 80's showing this look too. You know, those glasses look like they're from the 80's

This style doesn't do it for me either -but hey whatever makes your rep tick!

Hi guys, here's a shameless plug. -I'm open to offers if you don't like the price.

PAM89

opps!

Euno very nice grouping! I'm with ya, I keep a rally strap on one of my DW 6263's all the time, it just has a certain refinement to it with leather or an exotic skin.

I'm trying out my gen Speedmaster with a rally strap for while too .

Go Speed Racer, Go Speed Racer.....

My favorite gen Tudor sub today.

Frozen Kettle One or Belvedere and just look at the bottle of vermouth when you make the martini and I'm a happy camper

Just beautiful, it brings tears to my eyes The Zigmeister your talent never ceases to amaze me.

All in all, the MBW looks like a nice modification candidate. Here are some thoughts/answers to your questions:

There is no doubt that the primary dilemna is the inaccurate BPH of the ETA movement. To mod the case to fit a 1575 movement, you would need to enlist the services of a very skilled individual (such as The Zigmeister). For the lug holes, as Ubi mentioned, the correct tools are needed. Once again, a fine fellow like The Zigmeister could do the job correctly.

I like the bezel width and the CGs on the (supposed) MBW. The overall 'feel' appears to be quite nice IMHO.

As far as the dial size... I am fairly certain that the dial is the same size as the 1675, 5512/3, 1680, 1665.

Like By-Tor mentioned, most aftermarket Tropic 116 crystals have 1.5x - 2x magnification, so your date issues could 'work out'. Remember that OEM T-116 mag is 2.5x

Overall, this is going to be a fun project!!

---> Please let us know how that caseback looks. Is it thicker than the 1675 and thinner than 1680/5513? This caseback issue has always driven me nuts. OEM 1655 sits very differently on the wrist than 1675 or 5513. I try on my aunt's 1655 every year when I see her in Tokyo and my daily watch for the past 15+ years has been OEM 1675. Mmmm...

Euno,

Thanks or the reply and great info as well!

I swapped case back with the TT version since I found it to be more accurate and have since sold that watch to a buddy of mine (trying to finance this project ), so I don't have a pix of it. I can tell you that it was very tall and completly flat. Here's a pix of it with the TT case back on it.

By-tor,

I agree the CG's on the TT version are fugly

TTK,

The watch from Andrew is completely stock.

Here are some updated pix with the bezel removed and sure enough Ubi was right, the crystal does sit inside the lip in a channel and was glued in. I installed a Clarks generic T116 just to see how the fit was and its really snug -in fact I may have cracked the bottom, I can't tell for sure if it's a crack or a scratch .

Now, has anyone ever drilled out the lugs on new case models like this??? I checked with The Zigmeister and he can enlarge existing holes but cannot make them.

Thanks for tuning in.

Thanks Ubi! As always you're a wealth of info and knowledge.

I'm going to take the bezel off this evening and confirm how the crystal is seated and update the post.

The Zigmeister's on the list next to ping!

I decided to give the MBW 1655 "Steve McQueen" a try from the TTK group buy -thanks again for the fast shipping a superior service Neil . I'm ceratainly no expert, but I do know what I like, know the vintage Rolex lineup and can spot obvious details that make or break a rep and have been a gen watch collector/enthusiast for some 20 years.

This is a quick and dirty review of this long awaited (vintage cult following) MBW rep. Well, perhaps this is less of a review than a comparison for modding purposes and to illicit advice on what is possible as a platform to build a decent franken. I won't go into a lot of detail with how it compares to a gen, just brief comparison to what's out there in existing reps.

The MBW is powered by a 2836 ETA and the GMT hand is independently adjustable. You can see the date mag is almost non-existent, the crystal isn't nearly tall enough and the hands are still not correct -why is this detail so hard to get right! . The dial has a flaw with the first minute marker line missing, but otherwise IMHO this is the strongest detail of the watch.

For size comparison here's a side by side with the MBW on the left and a TT Top Grade Vintage on the right. You can see the MBW has a larger dial and bezel in thickness and overall diameter.

Some measurements:

MBW

case width - 39.56mm excluding crown

case length - 47.80mm lug to lug

bezel - 39.47mm exterior, 30.73mm interior

TT Top Grade Vintage

case width - 38.58mm excluding crown

case length - 46.93mm lug to lug

bezel - 37.46mm exterior, 30.26mm interior

I was so excited about this watch I didn't even think to ask or notice from Neils pix that the case isn't correct, the springbar holes are not drilled through . The case back is the thicker and flat and not beveled (sorry I forgot to shoot a pix of that) and has no engravings whatsoever. A key to note is that the Top Grade vintage caseback which is more correct was interchangable with the MBW caseback.

Which leads to the question of what case was used for this watch -the answer...

a modern Explorer II. The Top Grade does have the correct 1655 markings BTW

So there you go, my first review of sorts and here are my questions and requests for commentary on this much anticpated MBW piece.

1) Is this the correct size case for the 1655 i.e. will gen bezel, dial and Tropic 116 fit?

I haven't uncased the movement (I'll have learned to punt here after breaking a rep or two disecting them) so I can't confirm the size of the dial, but I'm making the assumption based on the comparison that it is larger than a submariner dial which I believe is ~26mm, and certainly correct me if I'm wrong but Explorer II dials are 27+mm.

2) Will a gen movement fit inside?

Since there are no good 1655 hands out there for ETA movements, gen or CWP aftermarket seem to be the only correct options on gen movement.

3) How difficult is it to drill the springbar holes all the way through and will any of our beloved and talented watchmakers/modders even do this?

4) What is the overall feeling of the dial, bezel and proportions?

Ubi, Eunomians, Avitt I'd love to hear your thoughts and advice of what you think can be done?

Thanks in advance!

Yeehaw!!! PM sent!!!

Try WCT, Howard is a gentleman to deal with and often ships the same day.

Great news Falco Thank you driving this project!

The correct bezel, accepting a gen dial and crystal would be so sweeeeet! (fingers crossed)

DW Daytona

I also asked them if they plan on producing a T19 Superdome and was told its in the works, albeit quite a few months out.