drainaps

Very interesting and thanks for posting. While I'd qualify your approach as a bit of a "brute force" one, in view of the results, I have learnt a lot. Thanks for posting.

Hi again and thanks for your words and pictures. I believe I wrote "most" not "all" SDs, and made specific mention to Stern Dials. As for lume color being a give away or not, the debate can be long indeed. I'd never qualify a dial as original or else based solely on the lume color, but, at least in my case, it sets the bells ringing, especially darker yellow tones as the OP's recent purchase. In the part of the world where I live, I've seen far more reps in dark colors than originals, and a few of these have transitted through my hands or through dealer friend hands (your third picture is from a well known HK Dealer, the first one from another well known reference Dealer). As said by JKay, how the lume evolves depends on the luminescent pigments that were exposed to the Tritium, and general consensus is that the longer the dial has been exposed to sun light, the lighter the color of the plots. In any case, for the OP, keep what speaks to you, and in case you want to let go of the lighter dial/ watch, please PM. Enjoy your day.

Both crystals are Ok though. Super dome and T19. Cannot assess from the pics if genuine or else.

Both crystals are Ok though.

Clearer dial is a much more credible alternative, even if the "m" in 610m is a give away. Yellower dial has a lume color that is not so credible, plus puffiness (looks like it but not sure, pics are so so) which is another give away. These dials, especially the Stern dials (Comex 1665s, Rail 1665s) have slightly textured lume plots, similar to a sheet of thick, quality paper, but never puffy plots. The "m" confirms it as a replica. Most original DRSD dials, or 1665 dials at large, never have such dark yellow / caffe latte lume plots, or strong color transitions within the same plot. They are naturally aged, and look like 40 year watches, not 65 year watches (Bond Subs). After all, these watches are not that old. There are many examples of dark colored dials in these pages that look pretty to the eye, and are proof of their owner's countless hours spent in taking care of them, but that are loud and clear giveaways, I'm afraid.

Hi and thanks for your heads up. I did research the thread you kindly mention before buying, but I frankly thought the bezel was not as lose as it really is. A PITA. Frankly, I was not into upgrading the replica, as I already own a gen 1665 rail, but rather into using it off the box, so, a priori, it was not a major issue to me. Only the loooose bezel made me upset, once i got the watch, hence the bezel surgery that followed. As mentioned in my previous post, that bezel is a deal killer to me, both for its usability off the box (or rather lack of), and the impossibility to upgrade it without serious metal cutting. A pity as hands and dial are quite good, and CGs meaty enough for a decent reshaping job.

Thanks. Really appreciated. Other than the bezel issues, and the newish look, I'd say it looks quite the part. I have a gen 1665 rail and also have sourced the 1665 Comex from Pure Time (exact same Stern dial on both, one with, one without the Comex logo), and it's quite good off the box. Biggest tells IMHO: - Crown guards and crown size. -Lugs not beveled in PT's. -Shiny lume plots in the rep. Color-wise, they are quite ok. - "Less than" sign in T< 25 too open. -Seconds hand lume plot too far from tip, but there are different generations of gen seconds hands for subs and SDs, so this one can be forgiven. Instant give aways for people familiar with the real thing, if you give more than a casual look to the watch, but still 70% good. It's sad that the bezel is a mess, and a deal-breaker to me, as it could otherwise be a great starting point towards a great build. I'll start looking for the MBW case.

Good morning, I just got hold of a Pure Time ETA-based 1665 Double Red yesterday. On arrival, bezel spinned quite freely and I decided to pop the bezel out., something I've done regularly to gen watches. I was in for a big surprise (or not, after all it's a replica). The bezel came out with the plexy and found myself staring at the nude dial and hands. No panic as I'm familiar with watches, but on dissecting the Pure Time Bezel, I could realize how many shortcuts had been taken (nylon gasket, bezel -retainer ring set, etc) to make it cost-efficient. I also realized there's no way this base can take a gen bezel without some serious modifications. I'm a practical boy and before getting into machining, I'd rather savage the movement, dial, hands, etc and move everything into a midcase that can take a gen bezel. Would any of you gents tell me where I can find that mid case? I might also consider buying a full watch with a case that can take gen parts, and just write off the Pure Time as my entry ticket into this fascinating world. Your help will be most appreciated.

That dial is not gen. The minute ticks are poorly printed vs. gen and looks overall too clean to be true. It imitates a MKIII singer, not too convincingly though.

It helps and thanks. I'm reasonably aware that dial lume puffiness comes back and forth in the 70s/80s sports models too, depending on specific dial makers, but just wanted to make a quick point without making a dissertation (I'm not qualified to make one anyway). Point taken though, with thanks. :-) Thanks for the heads up. Any suggestion on how to find a good dial "modder"? I'm new to this world and I'm looking to replace a 7928 Tudor Sub Rose dial. Rest of the watch is the real Mc Coy. In any case I see Yuki dials are World Champions in the puffiness department for models that should have flat lume....

Gentlemen, I've painstakingly browsed the forum, and I have come to realize that many of the Tritium-like dials used in the very nice watches presented can be spotted as not being the real thing from miles away. Lume plots are, in many cases, an immediate eyesore. Speaking of the non-gilt dials of the later 1960s to 1980s, with very flat (never puffy) lume plots in the real thing, can you please recommend a source of credible aftermarket dials that do not scream "not original" from miles away? Your help on this topic will be greatly appreciated. Enjoy your Easter Sunday.

I vote fake based on a very deep (so it seems) "Rolex" stamping inside the clap, next to Steelinox. The base of the coronet in that stamping is usually a good giveaway too, but in your pic it's not clearly visible. Looks like the base of the coronet is off, but difficult to tell without macro pictures. The lettering to the left of the "Rolex" engraving is clumsily stamped too. Never such a poor stamping in the real thing.