Jump to content
When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
  • Current Donation Goals

My 1680 Red Sub


sishac

Recommended Posts

So I recently picked up this red sub from another forum. It is from Reg, and it is an asian 21j version. I would love to hear from people if they think it is the new cartel version...I don't think so as the crown guards seem too long, but Reg sometimes gets some fun stuff (not a MBW of course, but a nice budget vintage I think.) I was up in the air between a 1680 and a 5513, and this came up. I bought it for 2 reasons....first, I didn't have a sub, and I LOVE the matte dial versions, and second, I really like a nice acryllic crystal...and this one had a clark 127 installed (although a bit high).

I paid for the watch on Saturday night and by Tuesday, the watch was in my hands. It came on a nice heavy oyster bracelet, but I soon took it off and put it initially on an olive nato (too high I think) and then onto a simply black oiled strap...it looks great on that I think!!

Anyway, the first thing that jumped out at me was the height of the crystal...the previous owner had mentioned that he didn't shave the crystal at all, and he gave me an idea as to how to do that...so that is on my to do list. In the future, I might try to put a 5513 superdome on it just to see how it looks..I loose the magnification, but I've always loved a domed crystal.

After examining the watch the biggest thing that jumps out at me (other than the crystal) is the date magnification...its HUGE almost to the point of being unreadable...I'm pretty sure that is a function of the clark 127 crystal, and the fact that it is slightly too high at this point. All of the gen 1680s I've seen have great magnification, and on another forum I was told that is one of the things the 1680 are known for.

The other thing that I noticed is that the crown guards are nice and long...I've been looking at this for a while and wanted people's opinion as to how they look...I know that they should be straight (and not curved) on the outside, but to my untrained eye, they look pretty good.

So, this is what I plan on doing to this watch eventually:

1. shave down crystal to a slightly lower height (14mm total watch thickness?)

2. slightly age the case by putting it in a box of coins, screws and such and shaking it up for a while...then polishing the watch with a cape cod cloth...also cutting down the sharp edges of the case with a nailfile.

3. slightly aging the insert by putting it in a solution of 50% water and 50% bleach...waiting until I start to see a swirl of paint and then removing it to an all water bath

4. oiling the bracelet and softening the edges a bit.

Oh, I almost forgot...its got a 2.5mm serial number...I believe that is 1969-1970 production...which I think it correct for a red sub!! Crazy right?!

So, on to the pictures...

IMG_3483.jpg

IMG_3470.jpg

IMG_3476.jpg

IMG_3475.jpg

IMG_3478.jpg

IMG_3481.jpg

IMG_3485.jpg

IMG_3494.jpg

IMG_3503.jpg

IMG_3515.jpg

IMG_3519.jpg

IMG_3551.jpg

IMG_3523.jpg

IMG_3527.jpg

IMG_3535.jpg

IMG_3537.jpg

IMG_3545.jpg

IMG_3546.jpg

Edited by sishac
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

The reason why the magnification is so high is the hight of the tropic 127. When you shave it down it will fix the problem. Just be careful the 127 is a thick plexi and if you take too much off it will touch the hands...

Nice project...

Cheers

P.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Sishac, have you made any headway on this project? Would love to see photos. I have the same watch coming in the mail this week from Reg (along with two others), and am very excited to try my hand at some of the things you mentioned.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Modem burner is just a saying (at least for me)....I'm a FIOS guy.

Concerning the watch progress...honestly I've just been enjoying it and haven't done anything yet. I've worn it on an oyster bracelet, a black leather strap, and my favorite, a simple bond nato strap. I've gotten the new clark crystal, but I think that I am going to try and just sand down the original one first. Strangely enough, I've gotten used to the cyrstal height, but I it just seems a hair bit too high. My understanding is that a gen should have a thickness of 14mm...I don't have a digital caliper yet, but hopefully I will be able to just shave a mm or so off of the crystal to get to 14mm, and my date will be perfect and my height will look better.

I've really been struggling with the whole crown guard thing....how do you think they look? They maybe seem a bit too long, but I was looking on some gen forums and they seem to always focus on the back of the watch....

As I said, I was told that the watch was from Reg...I don't know what version it is though...to me it looks a bit better than some of the other bargain reps, especially the lugs...I love the vanilla of the dial markers....better lume would be nice though. I don't know the dial size yet...

Tom

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...
Please Sign In or Sign Up