AKTime Posted March 21, 2021 Report Share Posted March 21, 2021 (edited) Just a little motivational shot. Was cleaning out the watch box and realized that I have accumulated some really rare and cool pieces over the last 10 or so years. It all started with that mymanmatt Datejust build. Learned a lot and met some really great people here. The TC and JF LV came from members on this forum as well. You can really see that Gen LV insert pop next to the stock JF in this photo. Last pickup was a year or two ago when I lucked into a Factory Direct TC Yachtmaster. Waiting on some things to come together to build a 16750 with a genuine tritium dial with a beautiful patina at the moment. Once that is done and I find a TC YM Elabore I think I have climbed the peak of 5 digit goodness and need to move on to something else. Thanks to everyone over the years for the knowledge and assistance. This site is a treasure trove of information and none of this collection would have been possible without you all! Edited March 21, 2021 by AKTime 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikrnic Posted March 21, 2021 Report Share Posted March 21, 2021 Nice bunch you have there. Three 5s for me...Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKTime Posted March 21, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2021 51 minutes ago, nikrnic said: Nice bunch you have there. Three 5s for me... Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk Love the 14060! Prefer it to the 16610 in many ways. Unfortunately it never got any love in the rep scene. Such a great classic. And everyone needs a Datejust! Details on that build? Mymanmatt built mine on a Gen 1601 case set but it’s built as a 16XXX. I went with a 5 digit dial, sapphire crystal, and switches from the engine turned bezel to fluted. Hard to beat a gen vintage case I love the wear you only get from years of wear and love. Can’t replicate that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikrnic Posted March 21, 2021 Report Share Posted March 21, 2021 1977 - 16030 Buckley dial, it's been in the family since new.Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
automatico Posted March 21, 2021 Report Share Posted March 21, 2021 "Waiting on some things to come together to build a 16750 with a genuine tritium dial with a beautiful patina at the moment." AKT...Great collection! ...and a trip back in time. Most replica watch interest is in the latest models but I am firmly stuck in the past...4 and 5 digit models, I held on to a few 5 digit replicas in new condition from back when they were available. Genuine four digit 55xx, 1680, 1665, 1655/75 have made a huge $$ comeback but now the 5 digit models are really jumping in price too. I sold/traded all the genuine models a long time ago when I was attending shows etc but kept the replicas because they did not cost much. I am glad I did because if there is ever going to be 'collectible replicas' these models will surely be at the top of the list. In addition to the 'swiss' models (swiss ETA mvts) I accumulated a 'collection' of the same models with china movements...same cases, dials, bracelets but with china movements, DG 3804B in GMT/Ex II models etc. The dials on all these watches are very good and the bracelets are top replica quality...hollow mid link oyster types and finely finished jubilee styles. Have a few 'noobmariners' too but the BK, TC etc watches eclipsed them in popularity. Maybe they will make a comeback some day. I'll be ready. Top replica quality...that's a new one. Ha! Where the '55, '56, '57 Chevrolets are the 'vintage classic' Chevrolets the 5 digit models are the 'later classics' like the Big Block '66 through 70 Chevelle. I kept a new '16750' with lug hole case/printed markers from back when they came with nos swiss ETA 2836/china 24H modification and it looks like they have disappeared from TD etc. Mine has the common flaw from back then...it has the word 'Date' on the dial like later models with applied markers. "1977 - 16030 Buckley dial, it's been in the family since new." A classic! All I have left is the case, dial, and black hands. A set of black hands is near impossible to find now. I ordered them 3 or 4 times when we had a rlx parts account and they never showed up. Had one 16xxx with a white dial and one with a silver dial like yours, still have the silver dial but it got scratched up over the years from being handled at watch shows. "Love the 14060! Prefer it to the 16610 in many ways." Me too. Kept 2 or 3 that I got from watchloverdavid aka WMD in 2001. They used the same cases as a 16610 and solid mid links but they do have lug holes and new swiss ETA 2836. The dials are fair to middlin'. Anyone who watched the Harry Bosch series on Amazon Prime will remember the Harry Bosch no date submariner, it is in a lot of scenes. Watch Bosch Season 1 | Prime Video (amazon.com) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eazye Posted March 22, 2021 Report Share Posted March 22, 2021 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKTime Posted March 22, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2021 Love the two-tone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eazye Posted March 22, 2021 Report Share Posted March 22, 2021 Thanks. It’s actually like this now. Has the dial and insert swapped recently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKTime Posted March 22, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2021 15 hours ago, automatico said: The dials on all these watches are very good and the bracelets are top replica quality...hollow mid link oyster types and finely finished jubilee styles. Funny that you mention this. Vintage model quality overall has gone downhill. I was looking at my cartel 1665 today and the rep 93150 on it is really top notch. My most recent and last TD purchase was from SEAD in my never ending quest to find a decent 16710 base. I was expecting an LF V1 but got a V2. I was in Europe on vacation after I ordered and for some reason never got QC pics. I got home and the watch had been delivered and when I opened it I was shocked at what I saw. The V2 was built in a 6 digit case with the worst rehaut I have ever seen. It is shockingly bad. I tossed it into a drawer in disgust and hadn’t thought about it until yesterday. I thought surely this was some mistake but after doing some reading apparently this was how they were built. Really makes me kick myself for the multiple noob/BP 16710 models I sold over the past few years. Thankfully it looks like some nice options for 1675/16710 Gen spec cases are available now. Plan on using a VR3186 and genuine dial/hands/insert with a milk or Viet case set. Haven’t settled on a 16760 or 16710 build yet. If I found the right tritium 16710 dial it would make the decision easier since the 3186 movement would be more technically correct. As it is I have a beautifully spidered 16700/16750 dial and I’m leaning in that direction at the moment. I stepped away from the scene for a few years and it’s simply astonishing how quickly things change. Funny to think of reps as collector items but I would consider the TC V6, the JF 16610LV, and the TC YM to be in that category simply because at their time they were the best and today there really aren’t any acceptable substitutions. I’m on the fence about TC re: honesty and business practices but you have to admit that he changed a lot of things in the 5 digit Rolex world for the betterment of the rep scene. Doubtful we see anything like that again but who knows! One person can have a huge impact like JMB and his work for the 1016 world. All it takes is one person with the skills or connections and a passion for a specific model. Damn that thing is sharp! Hard to beat a Bluesy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
automatico Posted March 22, 2021 Report Share Posted March 22, 2021 "Funny to think of reps as collector items but I would consider the TC V6, the JF 16610LV, and the TC YM to be in that category simply because at their time they were the best and today there really aren’t any acceptable substitutions." I still have 3 or 4 new F520117 swiss ETA noobmariners from 12 or 15 years ago and it seems they have disappeared from sales boards in the past few years so they are becoming 'rare'. Ha! The noobmariners and a few sapphire/swiss ETA submariners and GMT are the cream of my small collection of 'classic replicas'. The F520117 bracelets have thin stainless tubes over the screws in the removable links like oem. Pretty good stuff overall. Kept a few older swiss ETA 5514 and 1680 from 'Paul/Abay' and they have good cases and bracelets, better than most vintage models come with today but the non oem bezels were not good. The case necks are oem spec so bezel kits from ST, Clark etc will fit. The removable bracelet link screw holes have blind sides where the leading end of the screw should show so I substituted hollow links from ST and made a couple pretty good bracelets. The 5514 have oem spec helium valves but the leaf springs might be too weak to make them seal. Noobmariner - greg_r's Lounge - for watch chat - RWG: Replica Watch Guide Forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Posted March 24, 2021 Report Share Posted March 24, 2021 Awesome collection. It would be nice to see a resurgence in quality 5 digit Rolex reps. The 4-digit stuff seems to be handled well enough on the Vietnamese side, but 5-digit is lacking now. If the factories put the effort they do into the 6-digit stuff (i.e. VSF 126610), that would be great. It seems like the ARF-16610 is the last decent 5-digit being produced. It would be nice to get CHS 16710's and 16570's rolling... Do we really need a "V13" NOOB 116610? If you can't nail something by "V3".............. 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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