phillycheez Posted April 13, 2013 Report Share Posted April 13, 2013 If you are using a gen movement it's pretty much mandatory that you will need gen hands to fit it. No upgrade later!But damn I really want to buy a gen 1675 and and swap dial, hands and bezel to make a 1655. Such a great idea.Marty made an amazing super franken. I imagine he will see this thread sooner or later.But it's pretty much fact you can't fit a sapphire crystal to a 1675 case. In the rep or gen world. But I guess you might be thinking of a 16750 case... Not sure if a dial would fit but worth the research I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CptTripps Posted April 13, 2013 Report Share Posted April 13, 2013 If you are using a gen movement it's pretty much mandatory that you will need gen hands to fit it. No upgrade later! But damn I really want to buy a gen 1675 and and swap dial, hands and bezel to make a 1655. Such a great idea. I'd thought about that too. I can usually find a 1675 for +/- $4,500. NDT has the bezel, face, and hands for $750. I'm at about $5,200 at that point, but I've got a gen watch (for the most part) With the right case, I can do the same thing for about $3,000. I just need to decide if an GEN watch is worth the extra $2K. I have a gen 116400, Seamaster, a PAM-98 and PAM-89, so this would be my first rep watch. Just seems like it'd be a fun project/hobby to get in to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillycheez Posted April 13, 2013 Report Share Posted April 13, 2013 You can always swap back and sell the gen without losing much (or any at all) . Especially if you got a fair deal on it. May take a hit on the rep dial, hands and bezel on the boards though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost Posted April 13, 2013 Report Share Posted April 13, 2013 i was wondering about the 16750 too. Jocke on the rolex forums did this. Not sure if it was with a 1675 or 16750 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CptTripps Posted April 14, 2013 Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 The more I look into it, the more I like the idea of using a gen 1675 and swapping out a few parts. Finding the appropriate case seems to be the determining factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
correctime Posted April 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 I broke the 116 so I thought I'd drop a gen 295-C in. Nope. DW is in the eta position so I removed the cyclop from a BK TW 2mm crystal and repositioned a gen cyclop. Not perfect but it worked and I was in a hurry to seal it back up. I'd originally considered transplanting the guts to the discontinued NoobFactory 16570 Exp.II case (for a correct fitment of the 295-C Sapphire.) It's too big in diameter to fit that case. This case has a very good shape to it already....the case isn't wider than the bezel at the 2, 4, 8 and 10 positions like the Cartel offering is. And I noticed this 1655 case has a groove cut much like that in a gen case for the mvt. screws. Is this typical of the Cartel case and others being offered....??....this case may very well accept a gen mvt. but I dunno. I've decided to either go with a gen T116 plexi or the sapphire conversion crystal. IMHO the watch "needs" the tall crystal profile (and the correct open 6/9 DW) to look it's best. I'm unfamiliar with what's available for the 1655 and the various versions but the hands on this one have a much wider lume surface than the gen and than the Cartel offerings and others I've seen....which makes it a perfect candidate for a SL job should I decide to go the "retro" direction with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CptTripps Posted April 14, 2013 Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 That looks brilliant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted April 14, 2013 Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 I saw a post a while back where some guy took a gen 16750 and changed out the bezel,hands,etc to make a 1655. he used all gen parts. This is certainly doable, but I woud bet that you will be at 6-7K by the time you are finished. Being a GMT fan, I think this is foolish, but to each his own,! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost Posted April 14, 2013 Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 Yeah i think that was that jocke chap. Wasn't sure about whether it was a 16750 or 1675 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost Posted April 14, 2013 Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 http://www.rwgforum.net/topic/149323-franken-watch-on-rolex-forums/?hl=1655#entry1135954 Here we are Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msp Posted April 14, 2013 Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 I believe the member Stephane used to build an awesome 1655 franken by using Omega Flightmaster Hands which the Mystery Modder had installed.. Trying to find the thread. I really wanted that one but it was sold in a rush Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CptTripps Posted April 14, 2013 Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 I wish I could find something that compared the 16750 case to the 1676 case. Those are reasonably easy to find for $3k, and if I can just swap the dial/hands/bezel. I'm still ok with just doing a 1675 like the one in that thread. That's certainly close enough for what I'm looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CptTripps Posted April 15, 2013 Report Share Posted April 15, 2013 I ended up talking to Phong and found that he had almost all the parts that I wanted. The only thing that I'll be adding after-the-fact is a sapphire crystal. I'll have to see if I even want to use it after I get the watch together though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillycheez Posted April 15, 2013 Report Share Posted April 15, 2013 I ended up talking to Phong and found that he had almost all the parts that I wanted. The only thing that I'll be adding after-the-fact is a sapphire crystal. I'll have to see if I even want to use it after I get the watch together though.How do the crown guards look? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CptTripps Posted April 15, 2013 Report Share Posted April 15, 2013 I'll post pics when I get everything later this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CptTripps Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 So here's what I've got...Phong's Case, Bezel, Dial.Gen movement, Crown, Tube, Hands, Crystal.I'm waiting on a Gen bracelet to arrive later this week...that'll complete it for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CptTripps Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 ::: I'll take better crown pics in a bit. I have to charge the batt on my camera ::: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillycheez Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 Looks amazing! I can't believe you were able to get this build so fast. This is model is my grail. Could be the angle of the pics but it looks like they drilled the lug holes too far out..? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 Wow you managed to find a gen movement! I was of the opinion that finding it was the RATE-LIMITING factor! Erm, if i'd the gen movement in hand, i'd track down a 1675 case, a service bezel, dial and hands to complete the picture. Regardless, it's a magnificent build u have there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CptTripps Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 phillycheez: I think it's the angle. They don't seem to cut in that far. There's a contour to the case that makes it closer on one side than the other. ghost: I found a few movements actually. To be fair though, I was willing to spend the money to get something !NOW! and that certainly helped things along. In my haste, I ended up buying a few extra pieces-parts, so I have an extra set of HQ 1655 hands (Not the cheap-o ones on eBay) and an aftermarket saphire crystal that I was thinking of trying. I may pick up a "Trusty Time" 1655 to compare this one to for future builders. I'm not sure it'd be all that different from this one, and would certainly be a lot less $. (I'm in pretty deep on this one, but have a 90%+ GEN watch.) The ONLY thing that I'm nervous about are the lugs and pins. All my Panerai's and Bell & Ross' have big-ole-honkin' lugs to secure whatever strap I'm using. I've never been nervous about having a nato strap on a watch before. With this one, I'm nervous that the pins are going to pop off and I'll be out a watch! I suppose I'll get over it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CptTripps Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 Erm, if i'd the gen movement in hand, i'd track down a 1675 case, a service bezel, dial and hands to complete the picture. I was MINUTES from going that route...on more than one point. I'd have done it with buying a GEN 1675. I found 3-4 that I could grab for under $3,500, and if you think about what you could sell-off the parts for, it was almost a wash. On eBay, you'll get $200 for the bezel...$200 for the dial...$100 for the hands. Now you're at $3,000...but need to buy a GOOD bezel ($250) face ($250) and hands ($150). You're then at $3,600-ish and have a Franken that's got the wrong size crown and back. I was ALMOST ok with that, and honestly was going to do it 2-3 times. For me, to go THAT FAR and not have everything perfect, it was like running a marathon, and then borrowing rollerblades for the last hour. I've got more than that into this one, but have all the right pieces in place to feel like I've got a GEN on my wrist. If I was ever "called out" I'd have no problem telling them they were FOS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillycheez Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 I wouldn't bother buying another 1655 to compare. The info is all out there. To this day there is no good 1675 or 1655 case (unless you went your route) cause the crown guards are completely off. RA did a nice write up on modding the CG's extensively for a 1675 but it still had issues... Like fitting the correct crown. Let me know when you are ready to sell... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
correctime Posted April 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2013 That looks brilliant. Thanks Brother Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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