panerai153

I looked at a few photos of genuine and on every one, the "Swiss <25 is further up from the rehault. Also this one looks like the minute markers run underneath the rehault. I know it's a different watch, but i was just looking at my genuine 16610, and on it the hash marks stop before the edge of the rehault. . "1970's. The serial number has been rubbed down so we are unaware of the exact production date". Could this be a little Clue as to possibly a rep or aftermarket case? <BR class=clear>

Very nice. I really like the AR look on the cyclops.

If it's genuine, all the big boys will come in in the last few minutes and seconds. It could sit there around 20 bucks for 7 bdays and then jump to 2 grand in 2 minutes! If it's aftermarket, then it may be a bargain, but if it's real, it's probably out of all of our price ranges.Would be very nice for a franken build, but for sure not @2k!!

Welcome to the forum. you will probably regret ever stopping in here .This is a very addicting hobby. The only way to learn to swim though is to get your feet wet. All of the guys who posted up above me are masters when it comes to making up beautiful "built up" watches. All i do is find stuff and send it to someone else for the build. i will second what some have said, never assume something is going to fit, just because it looks like it will. Quite a lot of the reps are made to "resemble" the genuine, but some are only superficial resemblances, and fitting parts from other watches, or genuine parts is often and expensive and frustrating experience. I will say, with the right skill set, and the advice and counsel of many of the folks who have already "Been there, done that", you will be amazed at what can be put together. To answer your question in your first post about what is a Rolex, in my opinion, and others may disagree, it's not genuine unless everything is genuine. So even though your wonderful vintage 1680 has a Rolex 1570 movement, Crystal, dial, hands, bezel, insert, crown and tube, it's not a Rolex unless the case is genuine as well. So no matter what you build up, if parts are not genuine, it's in the purist sense of the word, not genuine.As long as we recognize that and stay within our world, everything is OK. It's only when someone attempts to pass off a "Franken" as a genuine that everything starts to unravel.If i tried to sell a vintage Rolex Datejust on the Vintage Rolex Market, and the watch had a nice Alligator band, nothing is wrong with and aftermarket band as long as it's stated, everyone does that especially with leather straps. Where I would get in trouble is trying to pass off a strap that is stamped Rolex, but is not genuine Rolex. Same with other parts, like bezel inserts and even hands.

I have one with the following mods: [] SSD case with working HEV [] Gen dial (rare) [] Gen bezel insert [] Gen tube and crown Here is what it looks like, so you can compare. this image was borrowed from the sales ad. I hope the previous owner doesn't mind, but it is and excellent photo, much better than mine. You can see how good this one is! Only thing that I would change would be to get a lumi pearl, and the hands need more superlumionova, as they don't glow like the dial indices. other than those two very small items which can be easily remedied,I can't find much to fault the watch.Honestly, you just can't beat a genuine dial, as it's what everyone sees first. This is the top one of the two in polexpete's post. I was fortunate enough to pick this one up from a guy who bought it later after pete sold it. It's a great watch, keeping COSC time!!

I never was much on the 1016, but after seeing yours, it sort of grows on you.Certainly not your typical Rolex project. I am glad that I was able to play a very small part in this beautiful project. :thumbsupsmileyanim:

I want to be the first to say CONGRTULATIONS !!! :thumbsupsmileyanim: That is as good as it gets.Genuine 93150 and 580 Endlinks, and brother you have a 1680 that you can wear anywhere.

I'm thinking about my next project seeiing that my 1665 is pretty close to the end stage. Thinking about a 6538. I'm looking at an MBK version that another member is selling me. I'm looking from some feedback and advice from folks who have either made up a nice modded version, or at least have spent some time thinking about what it would take. After spending a small fortune on genuine parts for the 1665, this one is going to have to be kept in the "modded" catagory, not a move up to "Franken" . I have already in hand a Yuki 8mm Brevet crown/tube. Wondering about the motor? What about a 2846-2 or a 2873? both are slow beat, and I happen to have both of them around. what else outside of some case dial insert aging? If anyone has photos of a completed 6538 project , post them so we can all see what they are supposed to look like Thanks

You can pick up a genuine Tudor snowflake for around 2.5-3k. Tudor uses an ETA movement that is pretty readily available. You can find genuine dials on VRM and Ebay. Be careful with hands, because there are some out htere that don't look correct.Quite a few folks have built them up here on RWG. Do a little searching and look at the sales forums, as complete watches and parts have been for sale Comparing a PT 1680 to a phong Tudor is really comparing Apples to Oranges. The 1680 is a nice watch for the money, but it has some real flaws that have to be addressed to make it correct.i.e. Crown/tube, bezel insert/pearl ,caseguard shaping, and probably a movement service as the 2846's are very old movements and most are dry and dirty.

That is the biggest "tell" when someone tries to build a 1675/16750 using a different case. the Crown guards are proportional to the 5.3mm crown on the genuine case. When you use a case with a 6.0 or 7.0 mm crown, the space is too wide and looks strange when you fit a 5.3 mm crown. You can shave away excess material on the case or CG's, but you can't put new metal in where there isn't any. all the 1675's and 16750's use the small 5.3mm Crown. I don't believe Rolex went to a larger crown until the 116710 Ceramic GMT IIc

Not sure you could call it a transition, but as chief stated, the matte dial, no surround "Oyster Perprtual" vs "Oyster Perpetual Date" could be considered either a transitional or a case of Rolex using up a bunch of 1675 dials that were still around when the 16750 was introduced.1n 1979. From what i can research, the matte dial w/o surrounds was not offered for very long, as other watches in 1980-81 were appearing with the White gold surrounds on the indices.

That is the correct serial for 1999. "A". I just bought a "P" Serial which was a 2000 year 16610 for 3250.00 USD with no box.papers, etc. Nice thing about this one is the owner wants a face to face. i would pick a Rolex AD, or better a reputable jeweler with a watchmaker who works on Rolex, have them look at the watch, maybe pop the back, just to make sure there isn't any corrosion, correct movement, etc. What is the service history? this is a 10 year old watch, so it will be needing a service, if not now, pretty soon.Definitely a bonus if it has been serviced in the past couple of years. I believe that this is a fair price, as that is about what they are selling for on VRF,TZ,Rolex Forum, WUS etc.

Awsome dress watch. Man this one would look great with a Tux or dark suit.

I really do like the silver dial with black subdials model. The Tudor hasa lot more utility for me, because i need a watch witha date function. i had a genuine Daytona probably 30+ years ago, and didn't keep it a month, couldn't get used to the manual wind and no date!! I wish now i had gotten used to them and kept it. Unfortunately, the prices of genuine Tudors are going up as fast or faster than Rolex prices

Ronin, Incredibly several have been flipped already!! i know of two that have their watches in hand, one was bought on ther WUS sales corner, another was a plank owner that sold his "Position" and the watch was delivered to him and then on to his buyer. Several more are sold in the same way, watch will go to the original buyer and then forwarded to the second buyer. Lot of speculation on the forum that upwards to 20% will be flipped quite quickly. As you know most WIS are forever looking for "That greener grass on the other side of the fence". I cannot tell you how many watches I have salivated over, scrimped ,saved , sold and traded for, only to get it in hand and realize it just doesn't resonate with me. I would watch the WUS sales forum as a couple have shown up there. Big problem now is the plank owners are getting around 1200-1500 USD for the watch plus parts kit. i'm sure that won't hold up, especially when more hit the market. All that have been sold have been no dates, and most folks got both bezels one red, one silver, so either would be available on a "Plank" watch. I feel pretty comfortable about the ordering process, and parts selection. Bill made it very clear in one of his earlier posts that all 300 would have the same choices of dial, hands, date-no date, bezels, etc. I feel like it is and inordinately long process, but he is such a perfectionist, it makes the whole thing take much longer. I believe that what everyone thought was the first 100 watches would be visually inspected, possibly run for a couple of days and then, cleaned up, repacked and shipped to the owners. Alas, Bill is taking every one apart and doing little internal "tweeks" that are very time consuming.

All of the dials from the above dealers are made to fit a genuine movement (1570) So if you buy a dial from them and intend to use it with an ETA movement, you will need to cut the dial feet off. Jewelry And Watch only shows Feet first Red Sub dials.

This guy known affectionately as "Mr Slimeball" has a long history of being difficult to deal with, wrong items, stuff not as described, problems with returning items. personally, if i could find anyone else, i would stay away from him. Lots of GMT bezel inserts around. What watch are you looking to replace the insert on?

I wouldn't say they wil ban you in a heart beat, but they will in a few beats!! . most all of the forums are pretty closely moderated, and they will delete posts and lock threads if what you post is controversial enough. What a lot of folks don't realize is, sites like WUS are private. WUS is owned by Earnie Romers. All of the watch companies up in the first section on the site pay for their forums. So it's actually a private forum bought and paid for by the watch companies. These are the ones that are the most closely moderated. When you get down to the open forums like the Dive watch forum, Rolex forum, Omega forum, etc. quite a bit more liberty is given to posters opinions. The MKII forum has gotten a little crazy lately, primarily because of the Kingston, which is a homage to the 6538/5510 "James Bond" Rolexes. It is a very limited edition of 300 watches, which were sold in three groups,, the first "plank" orders receive the watch along with and almost complete second watch in parts, dial, hands case, bracelet. I'm not positive, but i believe it doesn't come with a movement and caseback. The second group had the option of buying the "parts kit" for a reduced price. the third group only gets a watch. The problem revolves around Bill Yao the owner of MKII who is a perfectionist watchmaker.The watches (parts and assembled have crossed the pond 3 times!! The parts are sent to Bill in Pennsylvania from wherever, he inspects every part and then repacks the parts and sends them to his assembler in Switzerland. the watches are assembled , repacked and then sent back to Bill in the USA. Even though the first 100 watches (parts) have gone to Switzerland,were assembled and returned to the USA in mid December, Bill essentially takes every watch apart and does all the fine tuning. This is great from the standpoint of the buyer receiving a watch that has been very, very carefully assembled and regulated, but it plays holy hell with shipping. As of today it seems like only 16-17 watches of the original 100 have been shipped out since mid December. Also because the watches are available with two different lumes, gilt or silver dials/hands,Date or Non-date dials, red or white triangle bezel insert and either regular (Adjusted to two positions) and custom (adjusted to 6 positions) You can see what a nightmare that is. no one including Bill himself can tell anyone about when a particular watch will be shipped. Lack of communication creates concern, and when you get, that and then throw in a fair number of buyers who got in on the first "plank" order, but had never dealt with Bill or any other custom watchmaker, it soon evolves into a toxic mix. Most of the folks who had low numbers and were in the first 100 watches delivered, assumed that they would have their watches by Christmas.When that didn't happen, the tone of several posters became very hostile. Also because the first 100 were all non-date dialed watches, a buyer could be say # 5 in the order list but ordered a date dial, which won't be delivered until the second batch of 100 watches are assembled and delivered. So poor # 5 could actually be pushed back to around #105 or further as his watch won't be delivered until the first 100 non-dates are all done. Sound confusing, well it really is. And there are quite a few unhappy folks out there, and several of them are keeping the pot stirred on the forum. Ronin and I are "General Order" which is the third "Tranche", watches 201-300. We were supposed to get our order ticket to choose the configuration of our watches and pay the balance owed, back in November or December. Realistically, I would expect that it will be late spring or summer before we complete our orders and probably fall or winter before we get a watch. Sort of sounds like WM9 doesn't it!!! Difference here is Bill Yao is a very upstanding, reputable guy, and we all know where he lives! Comparing the MKII to the Raven and the Taernan are like comparing apples oranges, or probably more like comparing oranges to tangerines, similar but very different. Everyone who has owned a MKIi will attest to the quality of the watch. And considering that until recently the watches were selling new for 500-700 USD they were a real bargain. The newer ones are more expensive, some are up in the area of 1200-1400 USD. It wil be interesting to see how they sell at the higher price points, as the competition moves up a notch as well, and he is now competing against watches of much higher quality than the 500 USD watches in the past. Here are a few photos of the Kingston

Very nice project. I'm going to agree with Freddy and Aligoat, I would be on the lookout for a genuine movement. once you get it together, and running, you can take your time sourcing a movement.With a genuine mov't, you have a genuine 1675, no need to look any further. Also looking at prices of genuine, the early matte dial 1675's aren't cheap. nice ones are going for 5-7k, as opposed to late 1675's and 16750's that can be had for less than 4k.

Ronin, I am also waiting patiently for my kingston. unfortunately, I'm in the general ordering group, so mine is a ways off,I'm afraid. I go over to the MkII Forum almost daily, just to read all the posts by the crazies over there!! Absolutely incredible how the forum has disintigrated over the past few months. Everyone was civil and courteous, until it got to the actual shipping, and then the loonies came out in force.

I'll play likewise no 3 in 1 shots. Trio of genuines Rolex 16750,16610, Tudor 9411/0 And the Reps Rolex 1680, 1665,16660

It looks great. I like the aged insert, it seems to really go together with the 1680's. It's supposed to be a 40 year old watch, so it should show it's age, gracefully.

Guys, I have been collecting vintage fountain pens for 25+ years. I probably have 200 or more. My primary focus is a long gone brand made in Toledo Ohio, name Conklin. They were endorsed by Mark Twain!! What i like about them are the incredibly flexible nibs, which seemed to be readily available on lots of older pens, but completely non-existant on modern pens. I've probably had over 100 modern pens, some costing several hundred dollars including a Mont Blanc Meisterstuck 149, which I bought new in 1973 for 50.00 USD! It's now 750.00 USD. I found it to be one of the worst writing pens i have owned. It's nib was a stiff as a board, and it skipped like crazy. I sent it back to Mont Blanc twice and they never fixed the skipping. I sold it a few years ago for 300.00 USD and felt like I made a killing! Like watches, vintage is where its happening!!! As to Replicas, I would suspect that they are of very poor quality when it comes to the nibs, which is the heart and soul of a fountain pen. Most of the really good nibs are 14k gold and palladium. Cheaper nibs are steel. You aren't going to find a nice 14k nib on a 15 dollar pen, because quality nibs cost more than that to produce. If you want a nice fountain pen, one that sucks ink from a bottle, go to a vintage pen store, and find a nice vintage. There are lots of them around, fully restored for less than 100 USD. If you enjoy writing, do yourself a favor and buy one with a flexible nib, medium or broad width. Amazing what it feels like in your hand!

I bought one from NP trading (Natalie's Passion) on Ebay. buy it Now is 150.00. I took donerix's advice offered 95.00 USD and got it. I'll post a few photos when it gets here.

E, Unfortunately, I was one of those who paid WM9 directly.