denimhead Posted May 31, 2012 Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 After owning numerous watches over the years including Gen's and Reps I decided recently that it was time to realise a dream and acquire my own1665 GW. At 6k a pop owning a Gen simply wasn't on the cards so hopefully this comes close. Many years ago i lived in a small village in Nottinghamshire where in the corner of the local pub resided an older guy who had worked on the oil rigs in the 1970's as a commercial diver. His 1665 was like looking at a Biography of his life. It had travelled the World and judging by the crystal had seen its fair share of action not only below the Oceans of the World but in numerous Bars as well. Very useful for removing beer bottle tops by all accounts. While I do love the look of aged Tritium dials and faded fat font inserts on the 1970's Sub models, the price of the Gen secondhand parts these days would simply not fit into my build budget. I also felt that I wanted my watch to look a bit cleaner and as it's going to be my daily wearer the watch had to be reliable,waterproof and legible at night. I have to initially thank a fellow RWG member who shall remain anonymous at this stage of the game and would simply like to be known as The Mystery Modder part 2. I think a few of you may guess the identity of this gent when I tell you he also shares my taste in Luminova dials. He has now become a good mate and I'm eternally grateful to him for agreeing to build the watch for me and without his skill and patience it would never have happened. I would like to thank Tutima for selling me his old school MBW GW and where the story starts. Many thanks to Modelizer for his help on GW Caseback comparison info. You learn something new everyday,Cheers A. Many thanks also go to Freddy333 and Ubi for confirming my doubts about whether I'd bought a Gen caseback or an MQ job, thankfully the seller was an honourable chap and I was refunded accordingly. So onto the build spec - MBW Mid case and bezel - serial dated 1978, Mr Modder gently worked his magic on the crown guards Phong Working Helium Valve installed MQ Caseback, really the best I've ever seen No idea on the crystal, I'm sure someone will enlighten us Gen crown and tube Gen 1570 Hacking movement with Gen silver date wheel - fully serviced Gen Luminova service dial Gen Luminova hour/minute hands Modded eta Seconds Hand. Its a long story ending in me owning a Gen 5512/5513 hand if someone wants to buy it Gen bezel insert Gen 93150 with 580 endlinks date stamped VD-1979(only one year out!) Apologies for the rush job pictures, nice deep scratches on the crystal before you ask. Hope you enjoy the watch as much as me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelizer Posted May 31, 2012 Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 There it is! Simply stunning! It has been a pleasure to follow this project closely and I must say that 'The Mystery Modder 2.0' (or v2?) has done a GREAT job (as usual)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denimhead Posted May 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 Cheers A, your a star Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toocan Posted May 31, 2012 Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 That's a stunning effort. A serious dream build. What was the time investment to get everything put together? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwhitesox Posted May 31, 2012 Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 (edited) That is a watch that I have been wanting to build forever but very few have the contacts needed for a build of this caliber...It looks fantastic!! Also where was the caseback from or is that secret squirrel stuff as well? Edited May 31, 2012 by bwhitesox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woof* Posted May 31, 2012 Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 That's it. I am going to procure a 1570 no matter the cost.. or whatever I have to do to get one. Denimhead...beautiful! You have a watch that will last the rest of your life, it can also be handed down. One of the nicest I've seen. What is MQ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denimhead Posted May 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 Hello from Sheffield, Not very long to be honest. Find a nice older MBW, then keep an eye on RVF for Gen parts. Ebay for the movement, but make sure its a good un. That's the easy bit, trying to find someone skilled enough to do the assembly is not, especially when you put a working He Valve into the mix. I think there maybe a handful of members here who can do it properly. Your going to be looking at around 2.5k to 3k by the time you've finished up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denimhead Posted May 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 Hi Woof, How you doing? mqvintagewatch is a Vietnam based dealer who makes the best case backs I've ever seen. $500 a go though. There was quite a bit of head scratching on here as to its origin. I bought it as Gen but when it arrived a few things gave it away. Luckily the vendor was ok about a refund. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woof* Posted May 31, 2012 Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 Interesting, I know the top tier casesets..no matter who sells them, (Ndt/phong etc) are all rumored to come from VN. Even my vintage sm300 caseset originally came from there. I have a Yuki GW case back on my mbw 1665....btw mines off getting the Phong hev installed as we speak Boy! that's some Seadweller you have denim! Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denimhead Posted May 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 Interesting, I know the top tier casesets..no matter who sells them, (Ndt/phong etc) are all rumored to come from VN. Even my vintage sm300 caseset originally came from there. I have a Yuki GW case back on my mbw 1665....btw mines off getting the Phong hev installed as we speak Boy! that's some Seadweller you have denim! Congrats! Thanks Mate, Let me have a couple of shots of it when its Done. Is J installing the valve for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woof* Posted May 31, 2012 Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 Will do...and yes Btw your crystal really looks the part and genuine. The nicks appear to have been earned honestly....instead of man made/helped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mapman57 Posted May 31, 2012 Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 great job .....congratulations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarface Posted May 31, 2012 Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 Wow , a passionate build , congrats Sent from my Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted May 31, 2012 Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 Beautiful watch and a great build. Only thing i would change and it's just a nitpick, but the correct endlinks for the 1665 are 585's. not a biggie for sure as no one would ever know unless you handed them your watch to examine. Congratulations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woof* Posted May 31, 2012 Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 Beautiful watch and a great build. Only thing i would change and it's just a nitpick, but the correct endlinks for the 1665 are 585's. not a biggie for sure as no one would ever know unless you handed them your watch to examine. Congratulations. That would be nice, but even most of the gens for sale on VRM have 580's. 585's are going for 400-600$ a pair right now 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denimhead Posted May 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 Beautiful watch and a great build. Only thing i would change and it's just a nitpick, but the correct endlinks for the 1665 are 585's. not a biggie for sure as no one would ever know unless you handed them your watch to examine. Congratulations. Hi Panerai153, they're on the way! and many thanks for the nice comments Cheers DH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gw4k Posted May 31, 2012 Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 Now this is what repping is all about...passion. Great build and wear it in good health. cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted May 31, 2012 Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 Wow, nice build Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolfire Posted May 31, 2012 Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 Congratulations on the beauty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionsandtigers Posted May 31, 2012 Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 stunning. enjoy her Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielv2000 Posted May 31, 2012 Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 Congrats! I've been planning a DRSD Franken with a 1570 for awhile. Just waiting to clear my current list of projects. Like someone said, this is a watch you can pass along! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwatch Posted May 31, 2012 Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 Very, very nice!! I hope my 168000 turns out as nicely as that one did! Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillycheez Posted May 31, 2012 Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 Dayum! This is sick. Super jealous. Wear it well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted May 31, 2012 Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 Absolutely stunning. Clearly a work of art and love. Wear it well. And that MC parts site is a great find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klocklind1 Posted June 1, 2012 Report Share Posted June 1, 2012 That really is a stunning franken Wear it well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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