Tons of 1665 Yuki case pics(pic heavy)

[highoeyazmuhudee]

the 1665 from MBK is a good value case. i would only consider the phong and maybe the NDT over it. for the price tho MBK is excellent value. Yukis 1665 was never worth it, the yuki 5513 might be better than MBKs 5513 case but ive never had the pleasure of finding out.

less than half the price, non functioning he valve = no leak liability and really what do you need a functioning valve for? there are threads on this board about fitting gen movements in here as well.

[Original Scope]

Thanks for the great input. Ihave started modding the case some. Drilled the lug holes, smoothed down the bezel, smoothed down all edges and started(slowly) modding the crown guard.Yuki is sending another bezel insert with a centered pearl.On a old cheap

rep braclet until I score a proper one.

[chiman12]

IMHO...and based on side to side comparo's of many pics of gen drsd and GW, I found that the MBW case is incorrect for an early drsd build, because the bezel and case back is too thick, while it is more appropriate for a later GW build. Here is the 1st gen Yuki case from my drsd build. The bezel grooves may look shallow, but they are not, I'm just a crappy photographer...

I don't know why other say that the He Valve is wrong, because it looks pretty good to me.

So OP...it really depends on which 1665 you would like to build with your Yuki case. But it does look like you have a different gen of Yuki case.

[freddy333]

I don't know why other say that the He Valve is wrong, because it looks pretty good to me.

The problem is that, beginning with the 2nd version of the 1665 (the 1st version had a 'low-profile case' with a vertically-centered Hev), Rolex placed the Hev slightly above the vertical mid-point in the side of the case in an effort to avoid the valve's pin coming into direct contact with the pillar plate when the valve operates (this slightly high location of the Hev is 1 of the improvements you get with Phong's case)

Unfortunately, Rolex's scheme was only partially effective, so they had to notch the pillar plate (the main plate onto which all of the movement's components are fitted) to provide sufficient clearance for the operation of the valve's center pin. If you look closely, you can just see the notch cut out of the pillar as indicated by the red arrows just below the end of the Hev's center pin (if you install a working Hev in your case, make sure you notch your pillar or provide some alternate method to provide sufficient clearance for that pin)

[Original Scope]

Very interesting, Thanks Freddy

[theblueprince]

Yep, great info Freddy, thanks

[chiman12]

Very interesting Freddy...when did the second version of the 1665 come out approximately? Because here is a shot of a drsd with a Mk3 dial circa 1972, with my hash marks imposed on the pic. The He valve seems pretty centered to me and the pic is from a reputable gen vintage collector. So did the second version come out after 72???? I'm curious if I have the right case for the right dial...

[coolfire]

Wonderful information, as always from freddy.

Would be great if someone could do some comparison pics with Yuki's V1/V2(?), Phong's & MBW/MBK casesets.

[freddy333]

when did the second version of the 1665 come out approximately? Because here is a shot of a drsd with a Mk3 dial circa 1972, with my hash marks imposed on the pic. The He valve seems pretty centered to me and the pic is from a reputable gen vintage collector. So did the second version come out after 72???? I'm curious if I have the right case for the right dial...

That case looks like 1 of the low-profile 1st versions watches, which did have a centered Hev. All later versions of the 1665 had slightly thicker cases with the Hev slightly elevated above case's vertical mid-point. I am not sure of the dates for the various versions except that version 1 came out in late 1967.

[panerai153]

Looking at Freddy's 1665 from the HEV side it appears to be slimmer than the Yuki case. That may be and optical illusion, as Freddy's case is more rounded (like a genuine that has been polished a few times), whereas the Yuki Case appears to be More "slab sided" which may make it appear taller even if it isn't. It would be nice if someone would post the height of the various cases, MBW, Phong, Yuki , etc.

So i suppose to really play it safe, you would need a "low profile" case with the centered HEV for a DRSD, or a "high profile" case for a GWSD. The only problem here, is Rolex like lots of other watch manufacturers,especially during the troubling years of the 70's, didn't have hard and fast transitions during a model improvement. this has been demonstrated time and time again with watches with absolutely impeccable proveniences, one owner, never serviced, or every service receipt kept, and yet they are out of the norm by serial number. I just read today that meters first 1680's stopped at a particular serial number, yet some keep cropping up with later serial numbers, not like 4 million later, but 100k to 50mm later numbers. i expect what Rolex did was use up the dials, and then they switched to feet first.

If your case is a high profile, like later 1665's, it's and impossible fix to move the HEV up to the correct position. Possibly this would be the case of the MBW case, and possibly Yuki as well. Are we "picking nit' again? After all, how many folks in the real Rolex world could tell at a glance that your HEV is .005mm too low? In my case I doubt very, very seriously that I would ever be in a situation where I was sitting across from the likes of James Dowling, Mike Wood, or any of the other dozen or so real Rolex "experts", discussing DRSD's over a wee dram of single malt.

[highoeyazmuhudee]

After all, how many folks in the real Rolex world could tell at a glance that your HEV is .005mm too low?

it seems like you can.

and thats who im building my reps for. to be tested against your discerning eye.

when my franken 5513 is done id love the input.

as for the yuki case, am i to understand it didnt accommodate 2mm bars without you having to drill it? as for the insert ive seen many vintage gens with asymmetrical pearls, its happens more often than youd like to believe

[freddy333]

Looking at Freddy's 1665 from the HEV side it appears to be slimmer than the Yuki case. That may be and optical illusion, as Freddy's case is more rounded (like a genuine that has been polished a few times), whereas the Yuki Case appears to be More "slab sided" which may make it appear taller even if it isn't.

A couple of points -

1st, it was only some of the version 1 double-reds that had the lower-profile case (similar to the old MBW DRSD mid-case, which is what I used for my franken). Beginning with version 2 (probably around early 1968 or thereabouts), Rolex redesigned the 1665 with a thicker (higher profile) case, which remained in use until the end of the 1665 production run in the early 1980s. So, unless you have a version 1 double-red dial, the higher-profile case (with the slightly elevated Hev position) would be more correct. It was sheer luck that the dial I happened to settle on was essentially a version 1, which made the MBW mid-case more or less correct. If I had a later double-red or great white dial, the MBW case would be wrong.

2nd, I specifically modeled my case after 2 well-worn gens, which is why my case appears more aged than Yuki's (or any other new aftermarket case before it is modded).

as for the yuki case, am i to understand it didnt accommodate 2mm bars without you having to drill it?

I believe that the 2mm springbar issue affects only the rivet bracelets.

[chiman12]

I've been trying to wrap my head around when the 2nd generation case was introduced. Based on my findings, I've determined that the 2nd gen case occurred somewhere between 3,2xx,xxx and 4,xxx,xxx serials. In other, words the higher He valve occured during the introduction of the Mk4 dials. I seen some Mk4's with higher He valves, some not.

With this, here is a perfect side shot of a GW from my Japanese handbook...

Without a doubt all GW's had the He valve situated higher on the side of the case. So...sorry MBW fans...except for the thick bezel and case back, the MBW case is incorrect for a GW build and is more proper for a drsd build. But then again, as P mentioned, we are splitting hairs, but this is why this forum is so great, the knowledge and the need to know!!!

Have a Merry Christmas everyone!!!!