Dizzy

Its an ok bracelet with an average quailty clasp. Not as good as the noobfactory or hollow MBW bracelets. If you are building a nice franken then plan on replacing it with a better one. The hollow links are nice and loose and after some oiling it wasnt too bad, and mine came with 280 end links that fit gen 2mm bars, but the clasp was quickly replaced with an old MBW one. The watch is a nice cheap base for modding but its no MBW. But at less than half the price (especially with the ETA 2846 with silver datewheel) you cant lose. dizz

I didnt intentionally round off the corners. The top right hand corner wasnt even touched. My files may not have been "sharp" enough to replicate exact 90 degree corners on such a small scale.... but Yes, like i said, I could have remade the bevel around the edges but i was too concerned about the touchup paint not matching the rest of the dial and making a mess so i left it as is with only a small area inside the window to touch up. If you re-beveled it, there was be a lot of metal showing through that would require touchup and refinishing. This is the first time I have ever tried pulling off a dial and modifying it. This was just a fun project for me to see if everything worked and lined up and it did. If someone is concerned about the bevel and other small details like that, I would suggest just buying a Yuki dial for $180 and installing that. A gen dial will fit this case without modification as the stock PT dial is over 27mm in diameter. dizz

A few weeks ago Freddy posted a link to an absurdly expensive vintage big logo bracelet... it sold for $3500 or something rediculous, but it seems to have started a trend... Check this one out... ebay

Update Watch is back together. Datewindow looks awesome! Date font is centered in the window and a nice spacing around the numbers. With the naked eye you cannot tell the window was modded. It just looks correct and now you can really see those sweet flat top threes!! Im very happy with the way this dial turned out considering how easy it actually was to do. Took some time, but anyone with the right tools can do it. I'll take some pics in the next couple days.

I love the look of a nice dinged up and gouged crystal thats been polisThed out. The distortion always looks great! I agree with Nanuq, I prefer a nice black insert to a faded one. I usually refinish the insert to take the shine off, but i leave it black. I have a faded insert on my 5514 and i always get the urge to tear if off and replace it... but im trying to leave it as is. dizz

Its not that bad guys! All it needs is a bezel, maybe an insert, crown and a servicing (and maybe clean all that grease off the dial and hands) and its good to go. Even after a good cleaning and some light restoration, you will have a very wearable auth red Sub for about $7500 or so. Yes its a well worn beater, but a original Red Sub none the less!

A rasp hey? Thats a little extreme but I guess if you want that hardcore "tool watch" look you need to use some specialized tools such as this. Do you use that before or after you burn the watch for a half hour at 1500 degrees? lol

Looks good!! Ive been looking at datejusts more and more lately. Yours is really nice Justin. Im starting a Datejust project as well.. gen 16000 case made for 3035 Rolex cal. engine turned bezel gen plexi gen silver dial gen jubilee bracelet and clasp gen crown and tube ETA 2836 movement Clarks hands Gunna need a movement spacer...

How about ebay?

The rolex "date" 1500 series was 34mm and the "datejust" 1600 series was 36mm. You could probably also go to an Airking dial because they are 34mm case also. The problem you are going to have is with the datewindow not lining up with the new dial. Would be really easy to swap out the crystal to one without a cyclops and install an Air King non date dial.

Can you still fit the hour hand without it rubbing on the dial?

Wow you guys are getting picky when it comes to those little "M" lining up. I would have to have a pretty amazing submariner rep all around to worry about something so small I also think if thats the case, then I agree that you may as well look around for a used or NOS gen dial. Ive seen 16610 dials for three or four hundred bucks on ebay. There is no way anyone is going to call you out on your noobmariner or WM9 dial unless they are holding it and inspecting it SUPER closeup. By the time they get that close, if they are that much of a WIS, they will have already seen all the other flaws in the watch Dont forget.. .a noobmariner recently fooled the best of the best self proclaimed rolex uber-EXPERTS over at The Rolex Forums. Not a cool thing to do, but none the less it was funny to hear all those guru's praise this new member new Rolex. The thread even had closeup pics!!!! It was only the big goofy replica crown that first arroused suspicion I believe. They have since deleted all the threads regarding this. Pretty funny. Anyways... Noob dial = good dizz

The replica crystals that come on the watches just dont look the same as a quality aftermarket or gen. Its just something you have to see to understand. A gen plexi just sparkles and looks really CLEAR compared to the 75 cent plastic that comes with the watch. I never believed there was that much of a difference until i put a gen t-39 superdome on my MBW 1665. Now swapping the crystal is the first mod I do when i receive a watch. Even the clarks brand crystals look 10x better than the stock ones.

I dont have any other pics yet.. Lets go with your measurement of 10.66mm because as I said, mine was only aproximate. Im pretty sure that the issue here is only the silly small datewindow. When i put a gen dial onto the movement, the font was perfectly centered in the window.

No I dont... If we cant get an answer, I can pull apart my gold 1680/8 as I assume it would be the same as the steel version.

I like the 1.5mm holes better. Thats what I drill mine too also. Simulates 30+ years of springbars rubbing around inside there.

Mines already sort of back together.. but it looks like about 10.75mm aprox. Hopefully someone can give you a better answer.

You are correct. I took a little too much off the bottom but after I filed it, it wasnt even so i had to take more off. I was in a hurry when i did it. Next time i will take my time. No need to take off the dial feet. The height needed to be filed anyways but i just took too much off. No big deal as it looks pretty darn good at actual size. Im not too worried about it. dizz

Yes i opened up the width quite a lot by filing the inside closer to the dial center. Also a little bit of height to center the font. The dial still has the feet on it so there is no adjustment. I kept placing the dial on the movement and removing more material slowly until it looked correct. Yes i lost the bevel on 2 of the edges but you cant see it without magnification anyways. Like i said, you can re-bevel it if you want to run the risk of your touchup paint not matching... remember, after you file it out, you will have bare metal exposed... needs touchup

The PT dial is slightly larger than my ndTrading dial. The ndT dial would have worked in the PT case as it didnt fall through the rehaut... would be very close but it would work. I'll go measure mine, hang on... Ok I'm back PT1680 case rehaut 25.89mm ndTrading 1680 dial 26.16mm PT1680 dial 27.03mm MBW 1665 dial 26.50 Even thought the ndT dial is smaller, the datewindow lines up perfect. The only difference is that the diameter is smaller and the minute markers are shorter because of the smaller outside dia. Looks correct when mounted into the case. There should also be no problems mounting a gen dial (without mods) into this case as the PT dial is already larger than the MBW dials. This PT dial actually looks really good now. The matt clearcoat and 5min marker modding made a BIG difference. I see no need to put in a more expensive dial after doing this mod. dizz

lol exactly

I think the 1665 is the nicest Rolex ever made. I love those side shots Alligoat. The thickness of the case and bezel and those lugholes... mmmmm dreamy

Would be nice just to know its still in the works... for all we know, with the popularity of the DSSD, he may have scrapped the 16600 project all together and may already be working on a Deep-sea... I guess will will just have to wait and find out.

I like it. nice and old looking. I bet some matt clearcoat would cover up that bleeding issue freddy mentioned. Overall it looks like a winner to me. Do you know what methods he used?

The case might need to be milled down to get a clarks crystal to fit. Mine snapped on hard and now i cant get it off. I assume it will end up cracking one day with pressure changes. I know that JMB sometimes needs to put the case on a lathe and take some material off the outside of the rehaut... dizz