FxrAndy Posted August 10, 2010 Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 As you all know when you get the vintage Rolex bug it bites hard, After the white 1680 i made a red and white 1665 but had to sell those to pay for a bike repair, but with the knowledge, experience and parts gained i started another project a red 1680, this is a birth year watch as i originally intended as the whites appeared in 74 and i was born in 70 along with the hacking 15xx movements, the details are as follows:- MBW 1680 case, marked 1680 not 5513 lugs drilled crown guards modded inside and out back and front to get rid of the droop to the back my old scratched clarks 127 crystal fitted new gaskets MBW crown turned down to give the appearance of a 702 crown and to give a bit of distance from the case (i was surprised how easy and effective this looks to me, i would appreciate any comments about the angle on this, i would have like to rep the cripmed look but could not work out how to do it. Faded MBW insert with a home made pearl that i turned out of a square of the crapy MBW crystal, this took a lot of time to get right and turning things this small is a bit of an art in its self (if any eu members want to come in on a group buy of O frie pearls let me know) relumed the dial and gave it a bit of a coat of matt spray but it looks a bit to glossy to me so i may do this again. MBW 93150 hollow link bracelet and 455B endlinks drilled for gent spring bars. And that is about it, i am leaving the white date wheel and 2834 movement in there. rater than fitting a slow beat, a 1970s one could have been hacking and the date wheel changed on service. Thanks for looking guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cats Posted August 10, 2010 Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 Nice work Andy ( as usual ) . I don't have any experience with the angle of the crown but it looks great to me. Could we get some better profile shots of the new beauty i would like to see the crown position and crystal form the side. Nice work wear it well. Carpe Diem Cats ( by the way when do you start with a 1675 ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sly Posted August 10, 2010 Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 Very Nice, I am big fan of the 1680. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted August 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 Thanks guys, a phone pics of the crown for cats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorilladame Posted August 10, 2010 Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 Crown looks excellent!! Give it a nice vintage look. I would be in for a group buy of pearls... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted August 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 Just received your dial Dom. If you want a crown modding let me know, its pretty easy with the lathe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted August 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 any one got a link to the pearl on ofrie i cant find them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cats Posted August 10, 2010 Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 Here you go. http://www.ofrei.com/page_150.html#9131 Carpe Diem Cats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted August 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 Thanks mate hmm $20 each not cheep are they, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cats Posted August 10, 2010 Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 I know but they are very good. I have on in my DRSD . Ultimate combo is PMWF insert and Ofrei pearl. Carpe Diem Cats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted August 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 That is what i had on the 2 1665s as well but that is $100 easy with postage easy just for bezel insert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwatch Posted August 10, 2010 Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 Looks great Andy! Nice pair!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted August 10, 2010 Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 I would not worry about the datewheel either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted August 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 what do you think of the crown freddy, do you recon it is a worth while mod to do? to me it looks better but with the crimped pattern on the gen 702 noticable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted August 10, 2010 Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 what do you think of the crown freddy, do you recon it is a worth while mod to do? to me it looks better but with the crimped pattern on the gen 702 noticable I only/always use gen crowns. That goes without saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serotonin Posted August 10, 2010 Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 hi fxr andy iam in with 2-3pearls,and would be do a order of the other normal pearls from xxx please contact me andy tryptamin@arcor.de for the details for the pearls... Greetz andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted August 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 I have one pearl on the way from a friend but i am going to investigate other options on these as i am sure they are not exclusive to Otto frie so give me a bit of time and i will get back on this issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephane Posted August 11, 2010 Report Share Posted August 11, 2010 Andy, I'm very happy you have the Rolex passion now! You're doing very well in building them. Sure I'd prefer gen crown, but come on, the result of yours is very very realistic in my opinion. I have to build a new 1680 with Tribal as you know. So it's time to start to look for a new white dial Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted August 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2010 Thank you Stephane, i will keep my eyes open for a white dial for you. Thanks for the comments on the crown, as Freddy said gen crowns and tubes would be the best solution but a gen 702 crown and tube could cost the same as the watch again and are not that easy to find. This is a cheep and easy (with a lathe) solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted August 11, 2010 Report Share Posted August 11, 2010 I like what you did with the crown. I guess you could carefully do this with a dremel also. It gives you the old Triplock/702ish look. I think the newer 24-703 crowns look out of place on the old 5513-1680-1665 watches.. Im going to try to dremel down one of my extra gen 703's right now and see how it looks. I guess you just have to be careful not to mangle the threads too much since the outer wall the other crown where the threads are is pretty thin... Dizz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted August 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2010 The wall on the 703s is very thin and i dont think you have enough metal there to do it, This is a thicker MBW crown, if you want one doing send me the crown an i can do it on my lathe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted August 11, 2010 Report Share Posted August 11, 2010 Absolutely fantastic work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted August 11, 2010 Report Share Posted August 11, 2010 Andy, marsupilami is doing, or did a batch of the 702 tubes and he's over in the EU- Germany. They were in the $30-35 range as I recall. Moelarrycu- Mark Greenberg- on ebay has the 702 crowns for $69-79 from time to time. So you could put together a 702 crown and tube setup for a little over $100. Kinda like the PMWF insert and Ofrei pearl- another $100! But I bought a used 5513 service insert from Italy for $80- keep your eyes peeled on the VRF market. Watch looks good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted August 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2010 Thanks Aligoat the way i am thinking is that using gen crowns and tubes like i did on my white 1680 and the two 1665 and PMWF inserts and OFrei pearls makes what is a fun replica a pretty expensive watch in the end. I know one member has invested over €1000 in a 1680, right now i am thinking i can make a pretty good looking watch for €400 plus time and a bit of lume, I am lucky that i can do all the work myself but when you send it off for this to be modded and that, postage ect these are getting a lot of value. Any way got to go i am working on a 5512 that i want to finish before tonight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted August 11, 2010 Report Share Posted August 11, 2010 I agree Andy, you've got to set a budget and try to live with it! I guess that's what I liked about my PT 1665- decent watch for around $400 w/ the mods, which I did myself, and it's WR to boot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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