Stephane Posted April 21, 2007 Report Share Posted April 21, 2007 Dear All, First, if you have the kindness to reply to this thread, please do not hit quote or reply because there are about 30 pictures in my own post and it would make the thread very heavy to load and unpleasant to read. Please be kind to use Post Reply or to edit what you quote so the pictures are removed. I sincerely hope to get as much tips as possible from Sub experts about eventually having this MBW modeed. I now own several subs reps of various categories of prices and the real dream is of course to own a MBW: - a 40$ one from some mysterious Chinese eBay seller - a 149$ So Called Perfect from Paul - a 458$ Ultimate from Andrew. I intend to go for a TW best too but my first choice and opportunity was MBW as I was pushed to it by some reference members. It comes from TTK. It's a Modern Sub 16610 and here is my pictorial of it. About the deal Not easy to comment the deal as it was a group buy. It doesn't really make sense but I like non sense As usual with group buys some members pay fast some needs more time (which is understandable of course). It was kind of frustating to wait to get the watch, but I must say that, at the end, TTK is a great "collector" and delivers. If you read this and never dealt with TTK, you should be aware that you need to learn how to communicate with him. Once you know, things are much easier than with any other "collector" It's my opinion and though I know not everybody will share it, I do confirm that he is a gentleman. About the gen Brand: Rolex Series: Submariner Model No: 16610 Size: 40 mm (the MBW is closer to 41 crown excluded but teeth of bezel included ) Case Material: Stainless Steel Dial Color: Black Bracelet / Strap: Stainless Steel Movement: Automatic Bezel: Unidirectional rotating bezel 120 clicks Crystal: Scratch Resistant Sapphire Crown: Screw Down Case Back: Solid Water Resistant: 300m/1000ft. Price range: 4.000 $ / 3.000 for second hand and 5.300 $ / 3.900 New Here is a picture of a gen I've stolen from RWG member, Watcher. Here the wrist shot of the MBW About TTK's MBW It's powered by an Eta 2836-2. First impressions When I first hold it I said to myself "hey this is really different I'm must admit", but wasn't too sure it was a good sign. Then I sized it and, nice surprise, had no troubles at all with any screws (tested them all just for fun). I removed the spring bars to shoot Polex and that was not quite easy as one of them seemed to be of a very poor quality. I changed it and everything is fine now. What is also a big difference is when you set time and date it's much more smooth in one way but also you feel very confident in the solidity of the crown in the other. Screwing down the crown back is perfectly smooth too. Some details - Dial: pretty damn close to gen IMO although it sounds the noobmariner one is better according to some expert members. - Rehaut: is conical, yes, but no so much and it is deep. - Case back: it's thicker than regular Sub Reps. Gives it a more "solid feeling" when opening. The inside is the Shitinerand engraved version. - Magnification: I have no idea if it's precisely 2.5 but it's the best one I've seen so far. - The cyclop position is right (not too far right I mean of course, correct in fact). - Date: very well aligned in height, but some dates are not in width. I'll show you some dates in the pictures so you can comment the font. - Bezel: it's made of another material than my other subs and I have no idea if it's correct but assume it will get a gen insert probably anyway. - The pearl: looks also good to me. - Crown: The crown is only 5 mm which seems to be inaccurate as I read it should be 7 mm. - CG: The CG are a bit too fat but much lesser than other reps and they are covering the crown not so wrongly. It would cover perfectly a 7 mm crown though. - Bracelet: it's a solid mid link version which is not correct but better for the overall weight. Conclusion Great purchase from TTK. No regrets in my choice of this MBW Sub which is a much better value for money than any other of my Subs. Putting any $ in something else is not a good idea even for a noob, unless it's a budget matter. A 250$ Sub will never be as good as this MBW that costs only 100$ more as we got them at 350$ in the group buy. I'll wait for my 3 other MBW to arrive and then decide with which one I'll start the mods. I would be delighted if you could give me an advice: 16610 - 1680 - GMT Master II - 1655 Great White ? My guess is 1680 will be your favourite! Thanks for reading, and now let's see the pictures. Pictorial AND FINALY THE POLEX Links Sorry for other members, but there are so many Sub threads that I decided to go for a generic of a well know member, By-Tor. By-Tor started a "Tribute To Rep Submariners. Let's See The Classics!, The most hated/loved rep ever" that you can find HERE A member posted a link to a video by Richard, author of the Replica Watch Report, that compares Gen vs Rep (while looking at the gen presented and looking at my MBW, although there are mods needed on a MBW, I personally can see that much difference): hxxp://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=1146346587689437065&q=rolex+watch Another member posted this link to the history of subs by an Italian with tons of pics. As I discovered it lately I wanted to bump it: hxxp://www.rumiz.it/subs.html (Please remove the xx and replace with tt as mentioned in the upgrade forum rules that you can find HERE) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seadweller4000 Posted April 21, 2007 Report Share Posted April 21, 2007 Great review, interesting read und nice pictures! Thank you very much for putting this up! Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justasgood Posted April 21, 2007 Report Share Posted April 21, 2007 Stephane, Very nice review and pictorial. I think you are correct in your advice. MBW's are the way to go. As for mods, aside from the crown and tube, the 16610 MBW is fine as is. I think the nost aesthetic mods are to the vintage pieces. Especially drilling the band and cases to accept the Gen spring bars. Nothing says Rolex like seeing those rounded springbar ends inside the lugholes....just MHO of course. Good luck and keep us all posted as yopur mods progress. Regards, Kurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephane Posted April 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2007 Thanks guys....I will surely keep you posted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eunomians Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Stephane, Very nice photos and informative review. I really like the MBW 16610 and I agree that it is an essentially perfect rep (aside from the tube/crown. Cheers PS. Long live the Shitinerand pieces out there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetsons Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Very nicely done & great photos, Stephane! Congratulations, you are the proud owner of the "best Sub"! The TW Best or MBW are terrific and by no small margin, have a superior case. All I have done to my TW (old version with the side case holes) is install an OEM insert and spring bars. Other small details have been to polish the inner ring, bezel & case, lubricate the bracelet. and clean the inside of the crystal. It's not perfect but the TW looks fantastic and has terrific presence on the wrist. With regard to the TW GMT Master and MBW 1680 & 1665, I highly recommend all three. The TW GMT with the 2893-2 is a stunner with a fantastic movement, case and super thick sapphire crystal. With regard to the vintage sport models, both are excellent platforms from which to build but I'll give the nod to the 1665 for its massive case. Thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brook0 Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Great review. Great pictures. Agree you can not lose by starting with MBW because it will always hold it's value. Also TTK is is one of the main ingredients of what makes this hobby cook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bklm1234 Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 good stuff, stephane. I have one coming from TTK too. I was hoping you have more shots of the CGs. The reason is George's batch of MBW 16610 (at least the LV) looks like the top CG's bottom has a bad cut. From the side pic of yours, the CGs look fine. Thank God. I know very well what things to improve on this watch: - the cyclop has too much magnification just like the TW Best from River. I changed that on my TW Best already. I bought Toni's legendary MBW 16610 LV (modded by palpatine). Its cyclop also has too much mag. I now have 2 MBW to change their cyclops. - replace the insert pearl. watchmaterial's inserts have really good pearl, shinny and has good lume. - put a noobmariner bracelet on it. My TW Best and MBW LV both have it. The fit is unbelievably, as if it's made for the heads. - changed to a longer second hand. Same problem in TW Best. - sand the inside of the CGs - mill the insert thinner so it sits slightly recessed in the bezel. I milled a gen for the TW Best. Gosh I burnt a lot of elbow grease. the crown looks alright. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TTK Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 (edited) Just in case Stephane didn't cover every angle....(phew...how could he not have.....great review AND photos Staphane... ).......here's my photos of the 16610......maybe have some details that people are looking to check....plus it gives me an opprotunity to show off my fotys... Edited April 22, 2007 by TTK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolfire Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Erm dude, isn't that the 1680 instead? Sweet, though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolfire Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Erm dude, isn't that the 1680 instead? Sweet, though! Wow, you changed those pics real quick, eh? :thumbsupsmileyanim: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TTK Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Obviously not quick enough.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolfire Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Obviously not quick enough.... Well, I just happened to be in the right place, at the right time... Btw, is the date font on the MBW 16610 a tad too thick? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephane Posted April 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Again, thanks to all for pointing what should be done. @TTK: your pics are absolutely stunning; you should send them to Rolex so they can have a nicer web site @ALL: i will try to shoot more CG's pictures today (if wife doesn't shout at me "pack your stuff we're moving next week" to often) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephane Posted April 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 ...I was hoping you have more shots of the CGs... Well, I took 10 more pictures of the CGs and here they are. I hope I got all possible angles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bklm1234 Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 cool, stephane. the CGs don't have bad cut on the bottom. nice. looks like they need minimal sanding only. the date font shouldn't be a problem. it appears bold because the cyclop mag is too much. my tw best's date font used to look that but after i changed the cyclop, it looks alright. also, the rehaut isn't conical (well a little bit as the gen's is also slightly conical). here's my mbw lv i bought from toni. i doubt the factory changed the rehaut shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephane Posted April 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 here's my mbw lv i bought from toni. Looks very very nice , thanks for your comments and pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torresp Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Both nice watches :clap3: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
700club Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Ahhh, my favorite watch in the entire world, an MBW 16610. Wear it well my friend. Enjoy 700 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 A member posted a link to a video by Richard, author of the Replica Watch Report, that compares Gen vs Rep (while looking at the gen presented and looking at my MBW, although there are mods needed on a MBW, I personally can see that much difference): hxxp://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=1146346587689437065&q=rolex+watch Another member posted this link to the history of subs by an Italian with tons of pics. As I discovered it lately I wanted to bump it: hxxp://www.rumiz.it/subs.html (Please remove the xx and replace with tt as mentioned in the upgrade forum rules that you can find HERE) No need to do that with your links, buddy. Shortly after I posted the rules, I tweaked the forum software so that all links posted will automatically be anonymized Other than that; Greate review! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephane Posted April 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 No need to do that with your links, buddy. Shortly after I posted the rules, I tweaked the forum software so that all links posted will automatically be anonymized Other than that; Greate review! Hi Admin, Thanks for letting me know. Cheers Stephane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ludeboy12 Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 damn the mbw lv looks good. I keep telling myself i'm going black but pics like that keep making me want the lv more and more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donce Posted May 6, 2007 Report Share Posted May 6, 2007 Hello YA'll(Frm TX), Do the MBW's always have that randomly engraved case back and the POLEX between the lugs??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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