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Rolex 1680 - Gen vs. Rep Comparison


LifeTrekker

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So, my boss has a gen 1680 he picked up about 15 years or so ago from the original owner. IIRC, he said he paid somewhere around $1,000 for it.

 

Last spring I asked him if I could take a bunch of pics as I would like to build a rep of it and needed some reference photos. He handed it to me and said go for it.

 

As it turned out, I didn't have to build the rep myself. Instead I lucked into one already built up with a host of gen parts that I could purchase at a reasonable price.

 

So, for comparison purposes, here are a couple of pics of my bosses gen and also of my recently acquired rep.

 

Pics of gen are first, followed by a pic of the rep from a similar angle.

 

For those that are interested, here are the build specs as I understand them.

 

Case: Polex (laser etched 5513)

Dial: gen Rolex service

Hands: gen Rolex service

Crystal: gen Rolex service

Crown: gen Rolex service

Crown Tube: gen Rolex service

Bezel insert: gen Rolex service

Movement: Gen ETA 2836

Bracelet: Tiger Concepts with WSO 580 end links and a TC 93250 clasp

Pressure tested to 5atm by misiekped, who I also understand completed the original build.

 

Let me know what you think. I also have more pics I will share later on in the thread.9edbb1691baf8411822e145afe11c406.jpgb3e6ae4764eea1f001be951a91b926d5.jpg77199dc4de1e237523bf1cc4f71d597d.jpg1b8200c5ff3922ce691191272bb42885.jpg

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

 

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Looks really good to me, I did the same comparison years ago, but unfortunately the Pics are gone
Within the next few weeks, I should be able to get them together for some actual side-by-side pics. That will be quite interesting. At least for me it will be.

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The 1680 is a wonderful watch for sure. 
Congrats on the built.

Here is a blast from the past with some pics of a genuine I owned and some pics of the first rep that a fellow helped me bring to life.

 

A Rolex 1680 From 1978 and some more photos !

2 hours ago, Tribal said:

Looks really good to me, I did the same comparison years ago, but unfortunately the Pics are goneemoji848.png

Too bad we did not save all those pictures back then 😤

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Agreed.

Very nice looking !

Wish I could have kept mine

Enjoy and wear it in good health 

 

Thanks for the nice comments. I really appreciate it.

 

At this point the only thing I think I may do to "improve" it would be to bleach the bezel insert slightly in order to dull it a little. Not much. Just enough to get rid of the new "shine". Other than that, and maybe a crown swap, I think I'll let it develop some of it's own natural patina.

 

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Gen 702 is definitely a worthwhile upgrade! LifeTrekker yours is a great effort that can still be even better than it is. Keep refining it. Do the 702 next you will love it.
0f62fd0641e3af8a971824982aeb9808.jpg&key=4eca689c74f4af4ef4a55ba360617c613ab77bd8cc709b38059b18779e0af06f877c2d36a9e39dd401d9c24a4c9a8482.jpg&key=c0c132fa41195c544c92ddcdfe759c17f56fe452f343787908a3af47b7b31e9d5822cce204a1880ee2d89fde7688dfdd.jpg&key=da766d37d937ca082c69f782e50bdb9d9f2cfaf1237b733f8a3bc151d81f3f56
 
 
Okay. I think you've convinced me. And as the 702 crown definitely looks more like (exactly the same as?) the crown on the gen 1680 I am referencing, it will bring it closer to gen look as well.

So now I'm off to find a gen 702 crown. Wish me luck.

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Be careful, the 1680 is totally addicting! This is my 5th one and they get increasingly expensive. This one has a Phong case and back with Clark bezel. All else is gen including a 1570 and silver date wheel. That’s why you have to be careful. $$$$$ 1680 addiction can get very expensive!
Still a nice gen whitey will set you back $10-12k so a franken at this level is still less than half that.

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Be careful, the 1680 is totally addicting! This is my 5th one and they get increasingly expensive. This one has a Phong case and back with Clark bezel. All else is gen including a 1570 and silver date wheel. That’s why you have to be careful. $$$$$ 1680 addiction can get very expensive!
Still a nice gen whitey will set you back $10-12k so a franken at this level is still less than half that.
Personally, I'm totally okay with keeping it powered with the ETA movement and just going for an esthetic equivalentcy, and not a total functional and esthetic equivalentcy. That should save me a little money at least.

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Absolutely, you will save a bunch. Just the gen 93150 bracelet has became ridiculously high now. I have seen very well done aged bracelets using rep parts. I did the same with my red dial build and am very happy with it. The case on it is a DW and will take gen 1570 but it doesent bother me to have 2824 power. I have the white with gen movement and 1 is enough. Keep posting as you change it. It’s your art, keep it coming.

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"Absolutely, you will save a bunch. Just the gen 93150 bracelet has became ridiculously high now. I have seen very well done aged bracelets using rep parts."

 

I've cobbled a few together and it seems the hardest part is finding a bracelet stamped '93150' with hollow mid links as most have solid mid links.  If you come up with a bracelet with HML it is not too hard to scrounge up a proper clasp and dive extension.  The catch is you need a clasp made for a rivet in the hinge end, not a plain spring bar.  For this you will need the proper flip lock lever made to accommodate the rivet.  Not as easy to find as the models with spring bars.  Genuine riveted hinges have a spacer on each side between the FL lever and the clasp blade to keep the FL from getting out of alignment.  The rivet type FL lever is wider or has a relief cut in it to clear the rivet.

 

Next you need to decide if you want an old style 'holes in a row' clasp or modern type with 'spaced holes'. 

Last but not least is the crimped 'keeper dent' in the clasp cap skirt on many of the older 93150 bracelets.  It helps keep excess links and the dive extension from dropping down every time you take the watch off.  I made a tool to put the dent in the clasp cap out of cheapo strap notching pliers.

 

Then there are the flip lock levers without grooves, clasp caps without fingernail notches etc but they are few and far between on replicas so I won't mention them...

 

Spaced holes with keeper dent:

 

Image result for rolex 93150 clasp

 

Holes in a row with keeper dent:

 

Image result for rolex 93150 clasp

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The 703 crown is ok for a 1680- it's what Rolex would use in a service if they replaced the crown- they'd also replace the tube since a 703 crown won't fit on a 702 tube. The 703 crown and tube came out in the early 80s. You can tell the 703 assembly by the tube- it has a gasket on the outside of the tube at the base of the case. Your 703 looks like a 'tall crown' which is the old style of 703 crown. The newer crowns are shorter. Also, there's the 704 which is all ss and not wrapped like the 703s. 

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"Also, there's the 704 which is all ss and not wrapped like the 703s."

 

A few years back, I bought a couple hundred used rlx crowns aka 'take offs' and there were a few 704 types in the mix making the 704 older than I thought.  Most of what I got in the mix were 530-8 with maybe a couple dozen 600-8 gold.  All except three or four 704-0 were wrapped/capped crowns.

Wonder when the 704 types came out?  I could not find the date when I bought them and they were probably 3 to 5 years old when I got them.

 

Prices fyi:

I have some nos 703-0 crowns that I bought in the early to mid 1990s when parts were still available from supply houses.  All the nos crowns I have from back then are the type with crimped caps. 

The 702-0 and 703-0 were $35 each back then.  I did not buy any 702-0, should have loaded up on them. 

Steel 5.3 and 6.0 were $20, gold 5.3 and 6.0 were $35, 703-8 gold were $75.

A set of 3 hands was $23, a set of 4 GMT hands was $30.50. 

A full set of screws for any automatic caliber was $25. 

Tropic acrylic crystals were $15.50, cyclops $17.50. 

One reverser complete $25.

Spring bars $2.50 each.

 

It's too bad my time machine went to Woodstock and never came back.

Have not heard from Max Yasgur in a while either...

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