polexpete Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Been working on this "chocolate" version of the Red Sub for a long time and finally got the right bits to put it all together. A bit of history for those not familiar is that it seems that all Rolex black dials have a percentage of brown pigment but certain dials (the 200m/660ft) apparently had (maybe by error) a higher percentage of brown pigment in the black varnish and when exposed to natural Ultra Violet light like sunlight, the dial turns brown. This process can take between 35 to 50 years so had to age this rep somewhat to give it a gen feel. I'll let the pictures do the talking feel free to comment... P. Btw i managed to get an original tube without the gasket, with the original crown. Most of these have been replaced when watches were serviced. Not gonna go swimming with this one.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
By-Tor Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Beauty! Where did you source the dial? The red SUBMARINER font looks great... that's not a MBW dial, is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FasTTaP Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 I just love your aged bezel insert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polexpete Posted July 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Beauty! Where did you source the dial? The red SUBMARINER font looks great... that's not a MBW dial, is it? Hey By-Tor, thanks. Dial came from Vietnam had a friend pick it up for me. Its the most accurate rep red dial i've seen. As you know most nearly all are real bad. P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
By-Tor Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Hey By-Tor, thanks. Dial came from Vietnam had a friend pick it up for me. Its the most accurate rep red dial i've seen. As you know most nearly all are real bad. P. Indeed. It's the only even remotely accurate red 1680 rep dial I've ever seen. This dial source/maker could get lots of sales from this community alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polexpete Posted July 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Here's a picture of a gen i used for reference... P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir-Lancelot Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Very nice. I love the crown & the dial. Please let us know more details on that dial and how I can buy one too. Excellent watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tribal Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Me too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1665fan Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 The dial is def good, but it has closed 6.... I've never seen closed 6 on a 200m first dial! But it's a great work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polexpete Posted July 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 The dial is def good, but it has closed 6.... I've never seen closed 6 on a 200m first dial! But it's a great work! Thanks for yer comments. The 2nd version of 200m dial had closed 6's. He's a pic for yer reference... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1665fan Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 OK, great! Always nice to learn something new!! Really great watch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manuel Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Very nice Polexpete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azgjav Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 very very very nice! pls let me know if u intend to sell this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWG Technical Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Looks great, wonderful job and great bit of history I did not know about... Wear it well, RG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Interesting trivia on the chocolate dial that I didn't know. Looks great! When did the silver datewheel hit the Red Sub scene? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigdoggy Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Really great looking dial!! Did it have to be trimmed to fit your case?? BD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmg Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Fantastic PP, that 1680 looks like it went diving daily for a decade! The dial looks like the same one NDT offers on ebay, I believe they're out of Vietanm too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tribal Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Damm nice, by the way,where get get you this old styleTube and Crown Set? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1665fan Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Damm nice, by the way,where get get you this old styleTube and Crown Set? That would definitely be interesting!! Such a tube and crown would also fit nicely to a 1665 or white 1680!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Fantastic PP, that 1680 looks like it went diving daily for a decade! The dial looks like the same one NDT offers on ebay, I believe they're out of Vietanm too Here's a link to a chocolate dial from NDT: http://cgi.ebay.com/Dial-Rolex-Ref-1680-Re...oQQcmdZViewItem They have some beautiful dials, but very pricey. Just like Jensen "Phong" Dinh over at www.jewelryand watch.com/ Would sure love to see more of the "Vietnamese Connection" BTW, Great looking watch Pete! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
$tingray Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Case, bezel & dial in prefect harmony! What a stunner!... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yodaddynukka Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 that is one sweet watch!!! did you pay about the same price as the NDT dial? pretty pricey but worth it if you want that "perfect" rep! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polexpete Posted July 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 That would definitely be interesting!! Such a tube and crown would also fit nicely to a 1665 or white 1680!! Thanks guys for yer positive comments, much appreciated. The crown and tube came from a watch maker in Hong Kong who had replaced these with a new set with the gasket. Apparently the watch had leaked so he replaced the whole lot. You don't see too many sets around although i do have another crown but the tubes are so hard to find coz i think they probably get thrown away after being replaced. Here's a pic you can see the inside is much narrower in the threads than the replacements. Cheers P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted July 26, 2007 Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 (edited) I love the crown! my question is HOW did you vintagize the bracelet and get all the links looking loose and worn out? It looks like the rivits are worn and barely holding the bracelet together. Thats awesome!! I need to know how to do this to mine! This is one of my favorite watches on the forum! Good work!!! cheers Lonnie PS- how would it look with the bezel pearl missing? The pearl just looks so damn perfect for such and beaten up watch. Edited July 26, 2007 by L-dizzle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephane Posted July 26, 2007 Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 Congrats PPete. It's a beauty. Allthough I love Edge's 1680 Red, I must say yours is really "perfect". Cheers Stephane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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