silvio

For crystal, I used Lenspen (http://www.lenspen.com/) and air blower I purchased at a camera store. The lenspen has 2 function on each end: a cleaner (sort of a little round mop) and a soft brush. But you need to work carefully though as they do leave residue. Additional note is that I wipe the crystal with a clean microfiber cloth before using the lenspen. And make sure you work on well lit and closed area. Always recheck the crystal against a light source before reassembling it, mostly deposits gather on crystal edge. I wouldn't use this on the dial, except a light blower action to blow off dust. Better stick to freddy's and The Zigmeister's advice imho as watch dial is very delicate and you might risk scratching it. Hope it helps.

@alligoat: Thanks for your tip.... Understand the hole need to be enlarged and yesterday I stupidly use a thin file rather than x-acto, what a great input. Appreciate it. @yaron: I've saw some of BK's posts and I admired his work quality. Especially the CG shape of the 16610 he modded, very good. But somehow i can't find any of his post on SSD, whether he uses aftermarket insert for it. I saw one of BK's post where he uses the WM pearl only, on the rep's original insert, which is exactly what I had in mind. Thanks for your reply.

Hi guys, I scratched my rep insert pretty badly while trying to enlarge the hole to make it accept Watchmaterial pearl. Now I'm insertless and looking for a good replacement, heard that the Jewelry Outlet ones are pretty decent. - But will it fit the rep? Does it needs further sanding/trim? As I understand the SSD bezel size is slightly different than gen. I'm quite hesitant if we need to sand the outer circumference of the insert too much, afraid the result won't be perfect round with my wobbly hands. As a note, I have had a problem with Wholesale Outlet/Faisal Ali when I ordered a vintage insert for my MBK. Item never shipped, but luckily he refunded my payment. - Is Jewelry Outlet the same company as Wholesale Outlet? Reason I ask is they both have pretty much the same style look and description. Thanks a bunch guys.

Awesome shots Ubi! Have heard of the idea but never once seen the result and it's great.

Congrats and all the best for your forthcoming graduation. Gen is the best rep

Beautiful pair. They look amazing. Love the detail on the bracelet and correct era buckle If you have the chance to get the correct era triplock - the one with the slimmer crown logo (24-702?) I think you're all set. Thanks for sharing!

Told myself some of that points everyday, and I end up having like 8 reps and several frankens.. :-) To each his own.

LOL... I should check myself to CEAA (Center Endlink Anorexia Anonymous)...

Excellent idea, Stephane. My humble suggestion of what to work first for rep 1665 cases is definitely thinning out the lugs and midcase. Most 1665 rep cases I saw are way too thick and 'symmetrical' compared to the gen. Or if you to save some time of course take the vietnam midcase, as it's quite spot-on (As a matter of fact that's what the viet casemaker does: case slimming ;-) ). But the viet bezel is still off, and I'm not sure if a gen bezel will fit without further machining. Good luck! :-)

Thanks for the comparison, Tribal. Very interesting. Looks like the MBW (the one on the right?) is more spot on from the outside part, as for the inside the left one is more correct. From the backside, both looks spot on, unlike the backside of the SSD2 version. But it's quite dissapointing that none of these endlinks are relevant to the gen one. As a matter of fact a way to quickly spot a rep is to check the endlink - yet no one has produced a decent SEL to the present. I think it's high time for the maker to address this. I borrow your pic (hope you don't mind) to illustrate this problem. The center part of the endlink has always been off on all rep, main problem is that the center part on the endlink is incorrectly angled. On the gen, when viewed sideways, the center part should slope more downwards as illustrated. That's one reason why gen SEL bracelet looks more "fit" to the wrist - it "hugs" the wrist better. This problem has always bug me long. So I tried modding the SEL centerlink of my SSD2: grind off the upper part of it, which connects to the watchcase. Although it still can't replicate the gen SEL (impossible unless remanufactured) but it definitely improves the overall look. No more bulgy ugly protruding center part, or well maybe it's just my sick mind... :-) Here are some pics of my modded endlink: Note how the center part should not bulge too much and create a more "rounded" to the wrist impression, just like a non-SEL (IMHO, the gen SEL should look like a non-SEL when worn on a small wrist...confusing I know, but my English is very limited to be able to explain that, lol :-) ) Hope this problem can be correctly noted and addressed on future make. It's trivial but really bugging to say the least.

Great comparisons Tribal. Vintage Rolex DOES have CG shape variation as they are hand finished.

Congrats on your purchase. The watchcase is awesome! P.S.: On the gen the crown engraving on the crystal isn't very visible to the naked eye either so I think it's more desired that way on the rep....

I kinda agree with The Zigmeister's opinion, this is a very dangerous subject to even brush with. Don't think it's worth the immense risk. As for CNC, it IS a CNC on a higher-end side and continued with detailed non-CNC process which utilized robotic technology to replace the old hand finishing process... that's all I got to say if you trust me.

Stephane, sorry to hear about your problem and I'm glad it worked in the end. That is always the problem when outsourcing works, no drama intended here but I learn from firsthand experience :-(... so I can relate to that. Those are great looking 1680s anyway.Congrats!

Freddy, Your is the best one I've seen here. Truly great work, you never know how hard it actually is until you've done it Thanks for sharing the link on the He-valve rework, will be a good starting point to learn. That through-cut you made looks quite similar to the viet's... kudos! One question: would you recommend a Watchmeister datewheel for the best replacement, or any others? Is there anyway to source them nowadays?

Oh schweet! That's a beauty. Congrats! Thanks for clarifying the fact on the neat end-link. @iFini: Thanks for the update! I know nothing about the rubberclad nor any AP. Will check on that....

Sorry to hear about it. Hope nothing serious, like on most rep. which are china-made usually the problem is just dirty movt. Debris and hair somehow stuck. Please keep us updated on your problem, good luck on your resolve.

That has crosses our mind several times and will pose huge challenge I understand. I just hope our nerve are steady enough to round up the inner part of the CG. It'll be flat after we trim that area and making a concave shape inside is not an easy job, but hopefully doable . Thanks for pointing this out, The Zigmeister. Definitely noted, need accurate measurements. But I notice the gen sometimes have some micro-millimeter still protrudes out, not very perfect either, so that definitely is a plus in mind. My theory is the uncorrect/flawed design is either "purposely" made, an intended mistake like "POLEX", etc or just a case of undetailed measurement, CNC scans gone bad... can't think of other explanation because the Vietnam case is just spot on. Many thanks again for your inputs, The Zigmeister.

Here is a frontal pic I just took to prove my point on the elimination of fatter right lugs. As on the gen, the right lug area which seams to the CG should dissapear slightly behind the bezel, approx. to the outer edge of the '0' in the number '10' and '20' markers of the bezel insert. Please note that the distortion caused by the lens "hides" the protruding case/CG groove and sometimes varies the look. I regret I don't have a pic of the watch before it's modded for comparison. Please pardon my lack of photography skills.

The Zigmeister, Many thanks for your reply. Highly appreciate your input on this! I definitely feel much safer to continue work hearing from you.

Hi guys, Long time no post. I'm in the middle of modding my 1665 GW to look as close as good as possible (aren't we all? ). I'm quite lucky to have owned a viet 1665 (pics link on my signature) and use that as comparison and a good friend's 1665 as reference point. Last year I got my first MBK from TTK. At the comparison, the MBK is good but not as accurate as the viet-case, most notably are the lugs and their shapes: the right lugs - on the side where the CG is - is much fatter than the left one. This is the most notable flaw I first notice. Second flaw, is the uncorrect thickness of the bezel, on the viet the bezel is considerably thicker and very similar to the gen 1665 (we used a friend's 1665 as reference). Thirdly, is the non-working He Valve. But other than that, most features on the MBK is very good despite the fact to make it accept a 1570 movement we have to fabricate a custom movement seat. To address this problem, I have an excellent lathe operator to work my case lightly, first is to evenly thin the right lugs and create "shoulders" - which is our term for rounded lugs edge, as commonly found on polished gen vintage Rollie. I also work on the CG outside and inside part. Here is the pic after this light mod, sorry I don't have a frontal pic, but you can see your unmodded 1665 from the front and backside to check my point of the unbalanced lugs. Trust me, it'll look much better and closer to gen. Actually some gens have unbalanced lugs (mostly the right lugs are thinner than the left, but to discuss this would divide this forum in two and rollie's hell break loose ) >> Shortly, mods done are: 1. Right lugs thinned out to even out with the left. 2. Rounded up edges 3. Clarks Superdome installed To be done: 4. Retap tube hole, install gen tube & correct period triplock crown (thinner crown logo) 5. Enlarge lug holes to accept gen springbar 6. Gen insert 7. Flat top 3 datewheel (still no luck getting these, the gen silver datewheel won't fit 2836's. Appreciate your lead on this?) 8. Change movt to slow beat ETA 9. Gen endlink & bracelet OR Option B - discard point 7 & 8 and fit a 1570 in?... very tentative I'm lucky to be able to locate some gen parts to install, but holding it out until I'm finished and really sure with the case. Gen parts are cosiderably easier to install imho compared with getting the right case shape. One feature that bugs me now is that the case-side which houses the tube (please see pics below to understand what I mean - the red marked area) protrudes too much beneath the bezel edge. On the gen, when viewed frontal, it's concealed and should not stick out of the bezel edge. What's holding me to trim it out is this question: * Trimming that area out makes the crown, thus the winding stem will sink deeper into the movement (keyless work). To avoid that we need to trim the outer side of the stem (that attaches to the crown) for about +/- 0.8 millimeter, which brings us to the big question: Is there a minimal stem length required for ETA2836-2? Would it be okay to trim out the outer part of the winding stem? Understand that the MBK is based on gens, and the length of the case edge where the tube sits will fit the Rolex 1500 series movt's stem well, but I don't have any idea on how this will work on the 2836-2 stem length. On the logic, it should not pose any problem putting in mind that only very little part of the stem is removed, but then again I need to be sure not to ruin the good case before I move on. My watchmaker told me it's done all the time (the stem cut), but again I need any available input on this. Is there any attempts ever done to modify this? Would value your knowledge on this very much. I think it is an essential issue need to be dealt with, or it's just my over-anal geeky rep obsessive sick mind Many thanks for looking guys.

Great indepth review!~~ Very informative. This post should be pinned imo. Thanks a lot for your effort, Corgi!

IMHO: Because it is adding considerably much amount of work, plus it brings more risk if you ruin the watch. I would think the modding alone would cost almost up to 50 to 70% of the watch sales price itself... But I think the main reason is the risk part.

AMAZING watches, Kye. Very sui! :-) You should get the EF-S Macro 100mm lens to get a better pic imo, but those are great!

If it's true that Eurotimez is offering a 5512/3 it'll be great. But then again, they would have to make an entirely different case than the 1680 or 1665. The 5512/3 case is thinner than the previous and have some different features. I do hope they can make it right, it'll definitely be a best-seller! No more date flaws, magnification nor silver date wheel resourcing problem.