My Journey To 1665 - A Photo-story

jtiis · December 4, 2012

MY JOURNEY TO 1665 …

Now that I’ve got all the watches I’ll ever need (hahahaha)…. Let me begin again…

Now that I’ve got a small but meaningful cadre of watches serviced and ready for every day wear, I thought I’d take some pics and describe them for my own remembrance and appreciation… and… to share with my good friends here on RWG.

I start (the other watches are to follow) with a piece I only have because of some patient explaining and reassuring by some very long time members/Admins of this forum.

I had purchased a GREAT modern Sub (a TC Frankened) by our friend Justasgood some time back – but decided as good as it was it was too modern for me. Even though a 1665 is a much more expensive watch in fact, its styling generally allow for it to be worn with less attention getting than it’s cheaper/modern siblings – and – for most people who really don’t know or care what you’re wearing – an old Rolex looks more real/believable (at least this is my view of how it works) than a new one … so, I wanted to get a nice “old” 1665 DRSD.

I really was prepared to buy a nice but significantly cheaper piece, but when a member from across the pond posted this beauty I knew I had to have her.

Here’s the details:

Old skool MBW case rounded/buffed/vintagised by Palpatine
Drilled lugs to accept gen springbars by Palpatine
Ubi vintage datewheel, perfect alignment
'Stamp' caseback gen-look mod by RepAustria
Gen springbars on Mary’s 7836 bracelet with gen clasp (here pictured on a uber-comfortable Black Textured Kangaroo Tail Nato which is my preferred mode of transportation)
Gen crown and tube
Gen bezel insert and gen 'latte' tritium pearl
Gen tropic 39 superdome
MY(CWP) dial
Colour matched hands
ETA 2836 serviced November 2012
HeV "trompe l'oeil" mod (zero risk leak)

Now, the seller (docblackroc) was very gracious in the sale so there’s no complaint here on my part whatsoever. That said, there were a couple of areas I wanted to improve on the piece.

First, she was not keeping COSC time and my new watchsmith (see below why he’s new) said the type of oil used to seal the back/gasket (not the movement) was not appropriate for the insides of a watch (he said it was almost WD-1040-like). Also, the metal movement ring was good but it has some play which had a minimal but noticeable effect on winding/time setting and on the date wheel’s visual alignment. Lastly, (and one thing I love, love, love about this watch) is the gen tropic 39 superdome – and I do mean super! But, the bezel and insert were pushed so close to this mountain of plexi that it was nearly impossible to rotate the bezel.
(I didn’t know what was causing the difficulty in turning the bezel at first… only that it wasn’t as I’d like).

Now – how did I get a NEW watchsmith via this watch? Well, I wanted my OLD watchsmith who was OK but a bit of a hack (but the only “smith” I had so…), I wanted him to see what could be done to improve the bezel ring movement. So, I took it to him and he placed this beauty in a cage/vice of some sort to hold her put while he worked on the bezel and – wham – or crumble – or some such catastrophe – my beautiful and expensive gen “latte’ tritum pearl was history. (Originally, I thought the pearl had simply fallen out – but when I got back to the seller he said she was in good, tight and proper (and I’m quite sure he was telling the truth) – so, the only time this damage could have been done was during this work so… ugggh.) I felt bad and just swallowed my tongue and said to myself – “J, you just gotta find yourself a more competent watchman.”

As a consequence I found a super watchsmith (PM for contact info) who doesn’t mind working on reps. His shop is a joy to visit (great equipment both new and historical) and he can do it all). Anyhow, I’ve taken him all my watches and his work is really good, quite fast and reasonably price. That’s not meant as a plug as he’s plenty busy as it is – but it’s my much relieved experience to now have such a guy locally.

Anyhow, he looked at this beauty and said he could enlarge the movement ring (by adding metal to it), could smooth up a couple rough spots on the crown, would narrow the bezel spacer and mod the underside of the bezel if necessary to make the bezel operate as gen, he’d give the back of the case (not caseback) a slight clean-up, do a full service and pressure test… all for $.... well, I won’t say how much but it was amazingly well priced.

Yesterday, I headed down to San Jose and picked up my “upgraded” 1665. I’d replaced my runaway pearl with a modest Yuki replacement. She’s not bad and color matched the dial so I have no complaints except that she’s no tritium gen (maybe someday? – If I go there, I might also move to a 2846 and get the speed more on par with the 1570).

Now she’s ever so COSC and just a joy to strap on. I’m so thankful to the seller in helping her come my way and again, to the several who helped me reach a little higher in my search for a “decent” 1665 DRSD (you know who you are). I’ve got just over 2K in her but it’s a happy 2 and she’s playing nice with her non-Rollie brethren.

Sorry for the ramble, but it’s just my way. And now, photos of the only Rollie in the herd.

Cheers.