watcher Posted April 29, 2010 Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 Today I received a 1665 vintage white SD from Joshua. I have been curious ever since Puretime listed these models andJoshua has added what I think is the very same watch. First impression is excellent value for money considering the nice clean 2846 slow beat movement it has inside. Everything on that front seems to be fine! The crystal is awful! as is the crown and cg's but they always are on these budget watches! The dial is not too bad really for the money. Lume is a bit too mustard coloured but acceptable I guess for now. Insert is very nicely done and bezel is good too. Datewheel is nice with flat 3's and open 6 & 9's. Well centered in window too. Case is nice but needs vintagizing and the crown needs throwing away!! Crown tube is a fat one so no need to chage just yet. I will when I properly re-work the CG's but a quick improvement will do for now! HE valve is fake and does not go through the case which does not bother me. Case back is ok but I think is wrong for the GWSD. I beleive 'ROLEX' should be around the outside edge with the other text rather than across the back as in the DRSD. The braceelt is light but so are the old 93150's. THe end links fit well and it has 2mm bars but the holes in the case are not big enough all the way through so they do not stick out to the edge as they should. Fairly easy fix I think. Clasp is ok and the diver's extension clicks in nicely when not needed. The bracelet needed all the edges softening and a good aging polish but good now. Sorry no pic of that until the camera recharges! First job was to remove all the workings and test a better crown on the tube. I have 2 spare BK crowns which fit perfectly so first step is easy. Next I softened the case edges and widened and smoothed over the cg's a little. Then I removed the bezel and crystal and as someone else has said they have used a white gasket to keep the retainer in place. This was not a problem. I had a gen tropic 39 from an old project and this fitted nice and tight over the rehaut! I then re-used the white gasket and pressed the retainer back into place and fitted a rubber gakset onto the case(not provided by rep factory!) before re-fitting the ring. I polished the whole watch and now very happy with it for the costs involved. I will take some better shots of the built result tomorrow. Here a couple of pics as I went on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted April 29, 2010 Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 Gen crystal completely changes that watch! That is a definite must! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickey Padge Posted April 29, 2010 Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 Great stuff indeed, looks very good! How is the dial, well printed and accurate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted April 29, 2010 Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 Very nice. You're very lucky you were able to get the retention ring and nylon gasket back on w/o screwing up the gasket! I think you're right about these watches all being the same, PT, josh and Andrew- all $198. I don't know where they're coming up with all of these 2846-2's! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watcher Posted April 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 The dial is ok but i'm not a true expert on these I'm afraid. The gasket came off perfect and maybe the gen tropic made the difference but it went over the crystal and sat at the base until I pressed the retaining ring on my homemade press! It seems to be on firmly so fingers crossed! They are great for the money and I too wonder where the movements are coming from but it looks very clean and winds smoothly with a positive date click. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted April 29, 2010 Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 How is the dial, well printed and accurate? Dial print is fine, only issues are that the 6 and 9 markers are too narrow and some people don't like the too yellow markers. Here's my PT1665 with an MBW dial the MBW has wider 6 and 9 markers- closer to the gen and a more vintage white color to the markers here's a pic of a gen that I 'borrowed'! Of course it's yellow also. I did have good luck with an NDT 5508 dial which was too yellow- a month in the upstairs window in the sun and the markers are quite a bit lighter. My watchmaker did confirm that my 2846 was a Swiss eta- it's all silver and looked good to me, but what do I know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickey Padge Posted April 29, 2010 Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 Gotta love that gen, thanks for the info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franke Posted April 29, 2010 Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 Very nice working review.. Thanx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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