Dizzy

I personally wouldnt be too concerned about a functioning valve. I do like the idea of drilling it out part way and making a better looking valve though.. those MBW fake valves are terrible. Thats the one mod I havent done to mine yet. Now that summer is over and the hotrods are parked for the winter, its time to play with the watches again.

Cool watch! Did anyone ever figure out if these watches actually came from the Rolex factory with the white dial? I know there was a HUGE debate on VRF about it, and of course Rolex wouldnt confirm anything. Either way you have recreated an interesting piece of Rolex history! Well done presentation.

Ive ordered lots of parts from the original DW david wong, and never had any problems. I have never heard of anyone named "steve" working with him. I do remember someone else opening a similar website to his but it wasnt DW.

I drilled mine to 1.3mm because it was the only bit size that I could order. Just dont go any bigger than 1.3 because it will start to look funny.

The MBW 1680 bezel will fit on the 1665 but it looks funny because its the wrong thickness. The 1665 bezel is about twice as thick. The MBW bezels also fit on gen retainer rings, and gen bezels fit perfectly on yuki retainer rings. The inserts for the 1680 and 1665 are the same size. I put my MBW1680 bezel on my 1665 once and it looks ridiculous. Its completely wrong. gavidoc - my MBW retaining rings are the same on the 1680 and 1665, and they are pretty much the same as gen. I have not seen a gen 1665 retaining ring for comparison so I cant say its different. Have you seen a gen one? Is it thicker? dizz

Gonzo!

Sounds like a cool project. Heres my advice. Gen bezel should fit No i personally wouldnt bother spending the money on a gen bezel. Use the money saved on the bezel to buy a gen 93150, or at least a gen clasp and 585 end links to fit on a rep hollow link bracelet. Use a gen crown If you are using an ingod dial, why spend $$$$ on orig tritium hands? Get some good gen or aftermarket hands and vintagize them accordingly. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a PM cheers dizz

I used dial dots to mount my gen dial to my movement, then the movement spacer ring keeps it all nice and centered. easy. I was surprised how well the gen dial fit in the expII case. I was expecting the worst and it turned out to be a non issue.

I was going to use my MBW16610 case for a 16800 but the rehaut is too deep. The 16800 has a shallower rehaut than the 16610. The 16610 Noobmariner is pretty much bang on, except that it wont take any aftermarket crystals. If you found a Noob case, drilled the lugs, installed a gen dial, crown and insert, you would have a pretty smokin 16800 franken. As for the bracelet, find a nice hollow link 93150, add 580 end links and a gen clasp and you are set. dizz

EASY to add stretch to a 7206. Working on the backside of the bracelet... Gently wedge a small flat head screwdriver into the spot where to middle link metal comes together. Carefully twist the screwdriver to open up the middle link slightly. What you are doing is essentially making the middle link slightly longer allowing the bracelet to bend side to side replicating "stretch". If you make about a 1mm gap in each link, you will get some nice stretch. Just be careful not to spread the link too far open otherwise they may fall apart. WARNING. Once you "gap" the midde link to add stretch, there is no way to reverse the process without deforming the link (ask me how I know this). Do a little at a time and repeat the process if you want more "flop" in the bracelet. You can use the exact same process to loosen up a 7836 / 9315 folded bracelet. Makes it a lot more comfy to wear also. dizz

You need to shave about 0.5mm off the gen 1680 dial all the way around to get it into a Polex 5513 case. You're right about the 1570 movement alignment. I would stick with a 2846 as you suggest.

nice build my friend! You're work is always top notch!

Love the 702 crown!

Ive built many of these franken 9315's. Mary folded bracelet with gen 9315 or 93150 clasp. Easy to do and looks awesome. Much more comfy to wear than a 93150.

1:1 hilarious Some things never change

Heres mine, Cartel 1655 case set Gen Rolex 1675 dial from VRF gen Rolex bezel gen Rolex retaining ring gen Rolex naturally faded insert DG- GMT movement and hands Modified folded bracelet with gen Rolex 93150 clasp.

The more the bracelet flops around on your wrist, the faster it will stretch. If its snug on your wrist, the links dont constantly move and it wears slower. On the other hand, the snugger it is, the better chance you have of breaking a pin or deforming a link if it gets torqued on by the sudden movement of your wrist. For example if you fall or something and brace yourself with your hands.

Cool watches guys! Ive got nothing new lately to show. I need to gather some parts and finish off some old projects when i find some time...

I bought a genuine SWISS made grade AAA +++ Submariner replica about 12 years ago... turned out to be an MBW made in China. At the same time, I also bought a Japanese grade Exp II and guess what? Made in china! lol Ive learned a LOT in the last 5 years.... dizz

Very cool project. Ive been waiting a long time to come across a decent 5512 dial (for a reasonable price) and well.. Im still waiting. One day hopefully I will come across something and then it will end up in my MBW1680 case set.

Now THATS a story i like to hear!! Congrats on your find!

Not sure how you can modify a sloped 16xx calandar ring into a straight 15xx ring on a lathe. You would need to add metal, not shave it off. You can find the rings on ebay sometimes but they are NOT cheap. I suppose you could made another spacer ring with a bevel to fit between the movement and the new case to take up the gap and seat the movement. That might be a solution and maybe thats what Domi is going to do. Get him to send you some pics as hes doing it. Would be interesting to see.

The most used movements are the ETA2836 varients and the ETA7750 and Asian copy 7750 for chronograph watches. Those are the ones you will find in most replica watches.

$300 for a gen bezel? Thats not too bad. My 1675 Franken started out with a Yuki bezel and retaining ring. Then i came across a gen bezel setup. It snaps tight onto the Yuki retainer. I really like my gen bezel and gen faded insert. its got a lot of character.

awesome watch my friend!!!!