What do you think about this 1680 dial?

[kbh]

Just picked this up and would like to hear from the pros how good/bad this is.

Lume (in a semi-bright room):

[ubiquitous]

Hmmmmm... This isn't a 1680 dial per se, but rather a version (and a pretty bad one at that) of the 16800 sapphire/matte Submariner with 3035.

Not entirely sure where to start with it, but all around, the fonts, the coronet, the datewindow... All not exactly good.

[Ronin]

Hmmm, wouldn't even come close to passing the "arms length" away test. Sorry....

[Nanuq]

Zee elusive Zubmariner, as viewed in a mirror?

Hey I've seen worse. The first canal street version I bought was a SUPERLATIVE CHRONOMETR.

[kbh]

ll you're right about the 16800 matte dial. It's a refinished gen by International Dial in Wilmington Ohio.

Fortunately it looks much better when it's not magnified 10x and I got it for next too nothing. The printing does look pretty crappy when magnified though.

[bruce79]

Seeing as there aren't any rep 16800 matte dials that I've seen, this one is the next best thing.

[kbh]

Zee dial iz not zo bad when smaller, no? And it does have excellent lume.

[ubiquitous]

There are a couple of reproduction 16800 dials out there; they all have their faults, so you have to figure out which ones bother you the least/most and choose accordingly. At the end of the day, you're building for you

[preacher62]

I really is kind of a mess. The coronet may be among the worst that I've seen on a rep. The dial looks like it was printed from a computer program without font smoothing...or something.

Sorry!

[mjmj]

I really is kind of a mess. The coronet may be among the worst that I've seen on a rep. The dial looks like it was printed from a computer program without font smoothing...or something.

Sorry!

+1

[freddy333]

I have to agree with most of the previous comments. Could be worse, but could be better.

In general, try to avoid vintage dials with glowing lume (a 30+ year old Rolex dial will have little or no glow).

[kbh]

To be perfectly honest I got the exact responses that I expected. But as Ubi said, "at the end of the day you're building it for yourself".

This is going into a old MBK cased Sub that had keyless works problem that I paid $60 for. So I'm going to have a newly superlumed vintage Sub with a refinished gen dial and an a nicely working clone movement for less than $125 . So what if it glows like Chernobyl?

I'm pretty damn sure I'll get my money's worth of fun out of it.

[ubiquitous]

Indeed- We can discuss the +/- of any dial or part to great lengths and extent, but what really matters is how you feel about the dial/parts/project

[kbh]

Indeed- We can discuss the +/- of any dial or part to great lengths and extent, but what really matters is how you feel about the dial/parts/project

Yep! Never had a super franken in mind.

It would be interesting to have International Dial give us their opinion on this thread, since they're supposed to be one of the top dial refinishers.

[preacher62]

To be perfectly honest I got the exact responses that I expected. But as Ubi said, "at the end of the day you're building it for yourself".

This is going into a old MBK cased Sub that had keyless works problem that I paid $60 for. So I'm going to have a newly superlumed vintage Sub with a refinished gen dial and an a nicely working clone movement for less than $125 . So what if it glows like Chernobyl?

I'm pretty damn sure I'll get my money's worth of fun out of it.

That's what it's all about...

[dluddy]

That is what this hobby is all about

[highoeyazmuhudee]

personally i think the print is very sloppy/incorrect (size, thickeness) and wouldnt believe it was gen.

i do love the 16800 despite it being the most 'unpopular' sub ref tho.

[alligoat]

FWIW, I'm certainly partial to the 16800 matte dial sub. And I especially love good lume on a rep or franken.

And kbh, if you have an MBK case with lugholes, all the better! Some of my favorite watches are the ones I have the least amount of money in!

Like my MKII 'Exploder'

An old Silix 6694 w/ a T-12 crystal,MKII dial and hands and a Swiss eta- I paid $130 for the 6694 4-5 years ago!