FxrAndy Posted March 30, 2012 Report Share Posted March 30, 2012 Hi Guys on a lighter note from some of the other things going on i thought i would post some info. My MK XVI Well it arrived with a bad crystal gasket to start with, The AR was not of the standard that i like the lume was a bit crap, the movement had low amplitued, it was not water resistant, on top of that the seconds hand was too fat and the date wheel is a bit poo. But on the whole still better than a lot of gen watches in the $200-$300 price range and now after the out lay of less than $100 and a few hours work, weaqual to watches well over that price range. So what did i have to do to get it to the standard i wanted? Well as the crystal had to come out any way that got sent to sweelwatches.de for AR but i needed a new gasket, i mesured it to be a 342 0.8, and the closest i gan order is a Sternkreutz 340 0.8, well it fits well and i have a couple left, so that is the AR and the crystal sorted. The seconds hand was too fat so that was sanded and repainted (but i would still like to get a gen seconds hand if one comes avaialable. The hands and dial were relumed with Tritec, that solves the lume problems The movement was serviced and now runs far better. A very good friend happend to be able to order me a gen date wheel and it fits the asian movement perfectly, the detials are in the 7s, 4s and 1s, even when compared with an ETA one but here is the rep and gen Quite a difference, but dont ask me to get you one, this was a one off! Now the water resistance, as you all know (or at least those that read any thing i postz that i want my reps water resistant and i have 2 WR testers to check them, a dry vacume one from Elma and a Bergeon & ATM wet tester. Now after the crystal gasket issue i was expecting probelem there but i was supprised that the problem was in the case back gasket, after cleaning and relubing a couple of times it was still leaking like a leaky thing!! The issue is the supplied gasket is a 0.6mm one and it is just not fat enough to fill the gap, what you need is a 37mm out side diameter 0.8mm o ring. Now if some one knows where to get one let me know as non of my suppliers have one. So i had to make one from a larger 0.8mm gasket (not dead easy) but with that done it passes 5 ATM. Before i forget the rep strap is a shit as well, so a BOB 20mm moo croc pilot was added and i think i am done, so a couple of pics And the wriist shot Comments? thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrgod Posted March 30, 2012 Report Share Posted March 30, 2012 Very interesting. The changed datewheel really does make a big difference. I was not aware the rather bad fit of the crystal and caseback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryaku Posted March 30, 2012 Report Share Posted March 30, 2012 Excellent upgrade Andy. I can't justify a Mark XVI as I have a 3717. I'll buy a Mark XVI Spitfire for sure sooner or later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gasdoc Posted March 30, 2012 Report Share Posted March 30, 2012 Let me know if you want to sell it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted March 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2012 Another quick point is the dial, hands crystal clearance in these is tight so fit your hands with care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cougar1 Posted March 31, 2012 Report Share Posted March 31, 2012 Very nice job on the datewheel Andy, it certainly makes a huge difference to the whole face. My dw is crap aswell. Finished product looks great, nice wristshot! Also it's been a few years since I had one in my hands but I held a gen 3717 beside my unmodded mark xvi rep yesterday....obvious differences that I can see in dial colour and AR are; gen dial much darker, almost black whereas mark xvi has a dark greyish dial, (I actually kindof like it the grey, it gives a more deep matte effect) The gen ar is blue tinted but not excessive, the ar effect is very strong, the rep out of the box ar is quite good, still not sure what colour tone it is a mix of blueish yellow methinks? but seems to have a slightly less transparent effect to gen. This is all assuming the 3717 gen dial is similar to the mark xvi dial in gen. Just some observations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
concepta Posted April 1, 2012 Report Share Posted April 1, 2012 Here is a gen XVI for some comparison Spitfire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted April 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2012 Here is a gen XVI for some comparison I think the only differences in the dial is the the tone of my aftermarket AR, the standard rep AR did not seam to have any colour to it and also not a lot of AR effect also, I know one of the things Uwe is always trying to do is get the blue tone as it is more gen like on many watches but the lad cant do it right now, we had a long discussion in it the other day, Caused by the fact that from a large run of similar crystals that 2 turned out with a blue tone and the rest were gold, and no one knows why. @ Concepta, PM Me if you happen to have a set of gen hands spare please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cougar1 Posted April 1, 2012 Report Share Posted April 1, 2012 Lovely pics Concepta, that spitfire is amazing. Maybe the AR is having an effect then, but I do think the gen vs rep dial shade is more than just AR differences, Gen is definitely darker, hard to see from pics, I needed side by side to confirm, clearer more transparent AR would certainly help bring them closer, that's for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiman12 Posted April 1, 2012 Report Share Posted April 1, 2012 beautiful build Andy...I've been really leaning towards IWC lately, like the simplicity of some of their models Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted April 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2012 That was one of IWCs strong points untill the new line of multicoloured Aquatimers came out, but they still have some nice understated models Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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