altesporsche

6 hours ago, Nanuq said:

There’s just something about the Double Red. IMHO the pinnacle of 4-digit tool Rolex.

Couldn’t agree more ! I love my double red build.  Likely a watch I’ll keep for a while. 
 

@nanuq thanks again for the pointers on the CG shape 😎🤘🏼

Nice build man ! I just finished mine a few days ago as well. 

Hey lads! Have a few questions for the gurus here on the 16520s. 
 

I’m about to finish up by 1665 build and move onto something else, ive started a 16520 build, just bought a NOS 3019. I know they changed some stuff from the 3019 to the rebranded 400 that the Rolex movement is based on, but not sure if any of it will inhibit the use of the 3019. 
 

what components would one need to convert it fully to work in a 16520 build. 
the 3019 and 400 have a date function, so I assume the base plates are different with the 400 and the 4030 movement. Can the 3019 or 400 be used straight up into the case or need changes first to make it work. 
 

this is only my preliminary work on it, collecting the parts etc... I plan to build it over the next few months, but I want it to be right. Next big obstacle will be the dial 😅 the gens have taken off big time 😅

58 minutes ago, thorne said:

No worries mate.

Of course those Viet cases look brand new, so the case will need to be vintagised and edges will need to be softened to look like a 40 year old case.

Tripdog over on RWI did the casework on mine.

That is an incredible watch !!!  ive seen his work and ive yet to be disapointed with it. 

@Nanuq wow !! thats a freaking stunning watch ! thank you for the detailed photos, its making me see through the photos and things you have all mentioned an idea of what needs to change on my case. 

I apreciate the help everyone!  thank you ! 

@thorne Awesome ! i see what you are saying now. nice way of explaining it. Once i get the case ill have a look and maybe ask some questions if you dont mind. Cheers fellas!!! 

Anyone else who feels thy want to chime in on info for the shaping it could also become a good resource post eventually. 

7 minutes ago, Tribal said:

You need to thin the CG's inside out, maybe shorten them, depends on the Case. They are more rounded on the front.

When i get home in a few weeks, ill have to snap a few shots of the case and compare thoughts on it.  Ive spent a lot of  money on this build lol so i want it to be as correct as humanly possible. The case shaping bit i have not done much of since the days of reshaping Pre V panerai cases lol 

nice one @Tribal! nice build! however Im looking for a dome moreso than the flat top. 

@thorne awesome man !! thank you for the insight on the crown guard. yea its a vietnam case so i suspect ill have to do a bit of reshaping on the lugs and the CGs. 

when you say "Lugs will need reshaping too, the upper edge of the lugs should slope down from the crown towards the tips as below." are you referring to the area i have with the green or the red, case lugs or crown guard lugs ? I notice the top of the vietnam case has the guards very chunky and rounded much like the ceramic subs.   

Hey fellas, looking to get some opinions here on a crystal for my 1665 build. 

Bascically im looking for the dome that doesnt look like a top hat. I have found a few genuine units, but they are service crystals and it appears they are the top hat look, tall an flatish, i dont like that. what are the options out there ? clark ? is there a certian gen i should be looking at for that low domed look that you see most DRSDs with ? 

also been hunting for a while for a side shot of the CGs on these DRSDs and its hard to get them from the bottom or side on to get the profile. I also searched for reshaping tips on the vietnam cases and cant really find anything. Id send it out for re shaping but im good with doing it myself, plus im too excited to get this built. 
 

12 hours ago, Seadweller007 said:

Hi

 I ordered a case from her two weeks ago. Supposedly I will receive  in a few weeks .(45 days after payment).

Thank you

Ouch she’s never usually like that. I ordered last week and it’s at my house already Via DHL 😅

On 5/9/2020 at 7:19 PM, alligoat said:

you might try rubyswatch.com, but I didn't find a 1665 case currently pictured. You'll have to email her and see if it's available.

http://www.rubyswatch.com/Products/watch-cases/sub-c1665

She does show a 5514 which has a HEV, but it a Comex model- not exactly a 1665 case, but close.

MQ over in Saigon is another possibility, but I hear that he's difficult to deal with and quality sometimes is lacking.

You might try negotiating with Phong- if he lists a case for $1400, you might be able to get him to sell it for $1000- I was able to do that quite a few years ago when I was making  a group buy with some other chaps.

Anything you buy is going to need some additional shaping- you can't expect a new case to look like a 40-50 year old watch.

Think I got her last 1665 that she had in stock 😅

On 5/8/2020 at 8:39 PM, Seadweller007 said:

Hi,

 I am looking for a source to buy a 1665 case for a new build. Quality is priority one. I have used Phong cases in the past with no issues (except for brush marks), but I have not been able to find another quality source. Does anyone have any suggestions? Watch build is 1:1 with all genuine parts.

Thank you

I’ll possibly have an MBW case that’s been reshaped and slightly aged. It already has a 1570 in it, so it’s gen spec. 

I ordered Ruby’s 1665 case and I’ll decide when I get home in a few weeks what case I’ll use. 

Or you could always buy one that’s already built 😎

53 minutes ago, automatico said:

"This is for the oldtimers on this board."

I guess I qualify, 5-16-07.   

 

"Just wondering if anyone recognized this bezel."

 

I have a Phong '1655' case from around 2010/2011 and it has a bezel with 'thin line' numbers but in the same font style as in your pics.

I looked on a few rlx websites and bezels similar to mine were from around the late 1970s/early 1980s...probably.  Yours looks more like an early 1970s style.

Genuine or not I do not know but it is very good.

 

Otoh I have a cartel '1655' from maybe 4 or 5 years ago that is 90% as good as the Phong case except for the case engraving and bezel numbers.  The cartel dial is almost as good as many higher $$ rep dials too.  I tried a genuine GMT/1655 movement with genspec 1655 dial in the cartel case and it will fit after machining the case a little bit but the dial is too small...27.3mm for genspec vs 28.0mm for the cartel dial.  The genspec dial just barely fills the dial opening.  Could put a 1575 GMT 'quickie conversion' in it with the cartel dial and have a cool fly-by 1655.

'Fly-by' GMT/1655 = looks good outside and under the hood but not under the dial.  There are a lot of them out there, especially now with rlx parts cut off.

 

This site always has a lot of genuine 1655 for comparison:

https://www.hqmilton.com/timepieces/references/rolex-1655

 

'Fly-by' GMT/1655 info:

https://rwg.cc/topic/168977-building-an-mbw-sub-shortcut-rlx-156070-gmt-conversions/page/2/#comments

 

Yep his looks like early 70’s that’s why I want it 😅 it’s pretty accurate to gen from that era. 
 

I was going to do the 1575/gmt quickey to build mine, but ended up with the actual GMT version of the movement for the final build, using gen hands and MQ frog feet dial. 

23 minutes ago, preacher62 said:

I might be putting this for sale. It was my first major case restructuring. I love it...love to look at it.  Just don't put it on and wear it.

Nice ! It’s a damn fine build. I love the 1655
i finished my build about a month ago. But your bezel is quite a bit nicer than the phong one I have. 

I don’t know but it’s damn nice ! Have any more ? Lol 

16 minutes ago, automatico said:

"I have a phong 1655 case that needs about a .25 of a mill cut inside under the movement screw ring, it seems it’s not machined correctly for my 1570 movement."

 

One fix might be to use a knife edge screw in place of a square edge screw.

Something else when using casing screws with skirts...if the movement and dial does not turn freely inside the case when lining the stem up with the case tube, it can scratch paint off the dial when turning it.

 

I never did mount a complete GMT movement in my Phong '1655' case but did put a 1570 in it with the correct date spacer and dial to see how it would fit and it was Ok except for two tight spots.  I ground a tool bit to remove the burrs inside the groove but never did anything to it because it is close work with very little room for error.  You need to remove the bezel/crystal or carefully clamp over the numbered bezel to mount the case in a four jaw chuck and center it...either that or put it in a 'self centering' three jaw chuck and see if it centers after a few tries.  I decided to try running a small 1 inch OD cut-off wheel around inside the groove a few times by hand (not in a power tool) and see if it would remove the tight spots.  This would probably be Ok for removing tight spots but would be slow going to widen the groove all the way around while keeping the cut-off wheel level in the groove.

 

I have an MBK '5513' with the same problem and I used case clamps and screws in it rather than cut the groove wider.  I have seen a few pictures of a 5513 with case clamps and screws.

Here is a picture of a genuine 1655 with knife edge case screws and afaik many/most of them came that way.  They are easy to spot because the knife edge skirt is wider than on screws with square edge skirts.

https://sansomwatches.com/product/rolex-explorer-2-orange-hand-1655-steve-mcqueen-vintage/

Thanks for the insight !  I have looked at it a few times and thought about taking my time to grind it out by hand with a small bit. Maybe ill try it again when i get home.  Ive just been so busy and want this together so bad at this point lol   I already have knife edge screws for the movement as that is what they used in all of the vintage rolexes anyways.  This is literally a ball hair off from fitting at this point. 

22 minutes ago, oldtools said:

You might check with JMB.

 

https://rwg.cc/profile/24124-jmb/

Yes yes yes, i had a brain fart lol Ive just messaged him. Hes done work for me before. CHeers ! 

Hey fellas, 

looking for someone in North America to slightly machine a case for me. 
I have a phong 1655 case that needs about a .25 of a mill cut inside under the movement screw ring, it seems it’s not machined correctly for my 1570 movement. 
many direction would be appreciated ! Been waiting to get this franken together for almost a year lol 

Beauty ! very nice ! 

Jesus that’s looking good, curious to see this 3235 🤘🏼

On 8/2/2019 at 2:55 PM, astonjenks said:

I tried the gen PAM979 in London's AD last week and bought this from Trusty and can only say in the flesh it actually looks better than the gen due to being slightly darker.

 

This photo has been adjusted a tad, however what a stunner!

Looks amazing !! I picked up the 1616 after considering this 979 pretty hard. I have to say the quality is as good as gen with out doubt. Stunning watches ! 

On 7/12/2019 at 1:49 AM, chileantiques said:

Thanks and sorry for delay.

I share some pics from some last proyects m working on it:

 

This is a moded V72, working on balance, then i need to gold couple wheels.

 

Those are cortebert 616 moded to 618

 

I can make almost any bridge part, engraving and other watch parts. For the angelus 240 for example i made all stem wind parts (including clutch wheel and winding pinion).

Regarding to Keeper, dont worry when i publish any thing to sell will consider that.

PS: english are not my language.

Regards

Jorge

 

 

 

Your work looks incredible !! I would 100% be interested in some parts to convert my 726 and also bridges for a 616 so i can build a 3646 :) 

On 5/14/2019 at 1:04 PM, hologramet said:

Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk

That is a freaking beauty !!! 

On 6/6/2019 at 10:33 AM, swdivad said:

 

Impeccable PVD Jimmy Fu case, Rolli FGD dial, super duper crystal, and proper series caseback coming from Jacob this week. I think it's good to go!

If you ever want to sell it let me know :) 

Hologramet that is a fine build my friend !! Stunning ! 

As for comments about spending too much ? Hmm that’s really subjective. Many fellas on these forums like myself can easily go but a genuine version of the watches we build ..  lol but it’s just not that fun 😁  

where did you track down the dial and hands ? I really really love these dials on a Daytona and want to build one 😁

On 4/26/2019 at 4:09 AM, swdivad said:

PAM 009 superbuild.....

What’s the build ? 😍