Pugwash Posted August 11, 2007 Report Share Posted August 11, 2007 Reposted from another thread on another forum. You may find it useful. Any corrections and comments would be appreciated. Here we go ... Once upon a time, there was a German bloke called Maria. He lived in Thailand and bought replica Rolexes (and other watches) from a stall in the MBK centre, Bangkok. Some of these Rolex replicas (mostly the vintage 1665 and 1680 models) attained legendary status when people realised they were made the same way as the genuines, meaning the bezel construction was a 1:1 copy of the genuine version. What this meant was that people could fit genuine Rolex acrylic crystals and bezel inserts. From this, a myth about their superior quality came about, with people believing they were 100% accurate replicas, when this wasn't actually the case. The steel they're made of is superior to that of other replicas, but the log holes are the wrong size, the crown guards are completely and utterly wrong and the dials on the red-print versions is basically not very good. When Maria sold these watches, he did so under the name of Maria's Best Watch, which itself took on a mythical quality as he was a bit of a belligerent fellow, not wanting to deal with some people, adding a rarity to the whole proceedings. When he stopped selling the watches on the forums, he had a friend called Luckyyy who sold them in his place under the MBW banner. Luckyyy later ran off with a few members' money and disappeared. Once more, MBW watches were impossible to get unless you knew a mysterious George, who was based in Greece and only dealt with people that he trusted, for one reason or another. He never openly advertised and people passed the password to his Photobucket around like the key to Pandora's Box, veiled in mystery and myth once more. At this point, $450+, and a lot of legwork, would have got you one of these mythical 1680/1665 replicas until some upstart called Leonado posted the location of the mysterious stall in the MBK shopping centre and invited members to go blow the lid off the whole thing. He promised at one point that he would in fact become a dealer in MBWs. (You may note at this point that Maria no longer has anything to do with proceedings and therefore the name MBW should no longer be used, but as mythical a name as that doesn't go away easily.) I got the address and sent my brother, a Bangkok resident, a request to pick me up a couple of watches. I mentioned this and when I refused to set up shop, Leonado went on a witch hunt for reasons never adequately explained, but the upshot was that I was not willing to organise a group buy through my brother as he likes his residence/work visa and selling contraband, with the little experience he had, was simply not worth the risk. In steps, at this point, the saviour of the rephound, TTK. TTK sees that there is serious demand and decides that he will do a group buy, offering the hitherto unheard of price of $350 a watch. It was a great success and since then TTK has offered MBWs (even though they no longer should carry the name) as part of his regular range. Any details about individual watches are mentioned in various threads throughout the forums. Enjoy your reading. My not-from-Maria MBWs follow. Mods by yours truly. Pre-mods 1665 and 1680 with the standard ETA 2836 movements. Lightly Modded 1665: Heavily Modded 1680: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chubbchubb Posted August 11, 2007 Report Share Posted August 11, 2007 so much for another episode of MYTHBUSTERS.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted August 11, 2007 Report Share Posted August 11, 2007 Thanks Pug, should be default reading for all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazarini Posted August 11, 2007 Report Share Posted August 11, 2007 Thx for the writeup Pug nice read Can u tell me is the mbw 1665 a bigger watch then the mbw 1680. Regards Laz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephane Posted August 11, 2007 Report Share Posted August 11, 2007 Thx for the writeup Pug nice read Can u tell me is the mbw 1665 a bigger watch then the mbw 1680. Regards Laz Laz ?!? You should get both soon You'll see Cheers Stephane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FasTTaP Posted August 11, 2007 Report Share Posted August 11, 2007 Sure has more authenticity than the Grade AAA [censored] A true brand, with a true history Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazarini Posted August 11, 2007 Report Share Posted August 11, 2007 Stephane hehe ure right the 1680 shoud be back from modds soon The 1665 deal shoud be finalised next week so probably still some time before it arrives ... But u have both mbw pieces so maybe u can be so kind and answer if the great white is bigger (wears bigger) then the 1680 ... regards Laz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephane Posted August 11, 2007 Report Share Posted August 11, 2007 To my opinion, it's same same sir. But I did not measure them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fr@nk Posted August 11, 2007 Report Share Posted August 11, 2007 very good read Pug!! had really no idea when I read it in other posts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r11co Posted August 11, 2007 Report Share Posted August 11, 2007 Next episode - why the super reps are not that super after all. Oh, hang on. We've done that one..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chubbchubb Posted August 11, 2007 Report Share Posted August 11, 2007 Next episode - why the super reps are not that super after all. Oh, hang on. We've done that one..... Yep... but maybe we should have a regular "Mythbusters" section..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted August 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2007 Yep... but maybe we should have a regular "Mythbusters" section..... I've already done a few. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kollektor Posted August 11, 2007 Report Share Posted August 11, 2007 Interesting AND entertaining. Definitely worth a chuckle or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victoria Posted August 11, 2007 Report Share Posted August 11, 2007 Stick Sticky Sticky! Had a Lord of the Rings quality, with all that nebulous mythical crap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chronus Posted August 12, 2007 Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 Stick Sticky Sticky! Had a Lord of the Rings quality, with all that nebulous mythical crap. Don't know what you're talking about, I never bothered watching the lengthy films! Ok, I admit, I read those children's books when I was 10 or 11. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted August 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 Had a Lord of the Rings quality, with all that nebulous mythical crap. Maybe I should Tolkienify it. Mariethiel, of the dark forest of Germanthia, Forged thus a watch so mighty he could rule all the other watches. Georgeo, wielding Geneva's Bane, lusted for the power that only the mythical title Ahaem-Bae-Daenebulael could bring. (Interlude for a song about beer) Young Neil Stoutfoot from near Lanarkshire, a proud people with strange accents, set out on the quest to rid the world of nasty prices and to bury the myth of Ahaem-Bae-Daenebulael in Pattayanatha, by way of Uae-Eillem-Essesse. (diatribe on the language of Pattayanatha) etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornerstone Posted August 12, 2007 Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 Maybe I should Tolkienify it. :lol: Great write-up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted August 12, 2007 Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 Thoroughly entertaining. And yes TTK has brought them to the masses. I kind of liked it when they were mythical. Here is one of mine from the Dark Ages. The Falco 5513: Slow beat movement, gen dial, insert, pearl, crown and the usual host of case mods: At the end of the day the best part of these watches is that you can slap on all those gen parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slay Posted August 12, 2007 Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 maybe you should add, that luckyyy was just a little stall boy and nothing more. not a "friend". and its not true that those watches are not being sold anymore. there are places where Maria or some other dealers are still selling those watches for less than the 350$ they are goin for now. But those forums have closed memberships. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rek001 Posted August 12, 2007 Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 I believe Maria also did custom work, as seen in Tanfo's collection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted August 12, 2007 Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 Heres something for ya, I wonder what the "real" name for the watches known as the MBW's really is? What i mean is, when Maria went to buy them... who did he get them from? And you hear of "old MBW" cases from who knows how long ago. Where were they orig from? What was the name of that shop? Or were they just known to the guys in the factory as "RIG-BP" (Rolex is gunna be [censored]) LOL that would be funny Would be interesting to find out the real original name for these highend vintage watches is something like "Jimmy Polex Market Manufacturing Version A". So then in the for sale threads we would see.... Wanted: JPMM-VA 1665 Rolex DRSD with Gen crystal and Bezel. ha ha ha And what about the "DW" daytonas? Maybe made by the same guys that make the "MBW"? Do they make a MBW daytona? One day I'll find a secret guide to whats avail in the "MBW" level and then i'll be broke hahaha LOnnie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
By-Tor Posted August 12, 2007 Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 Nice writeup Pugs. Very funny indeed... it was like a fairytale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted August 12, 2007 Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 DW is a different story and if you have to ask... How many folks's movements are still working? Mine is. But then again it came by way of Ubi before he amassed the 16520 collection. It took me years to get over the fact that I would have to live with a dead hour subdial to get the correct pusher placement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
316L Posted August 12, 2007 Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 2004/2005 you got it for 180-240 us-dollar (buy on the spot) at the beginning of the year 2007 for round about $ 280 (buy on the spot). i have had read the latest mbw's don't take gen parts without case mods, e.g. tube. is that correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seagull11 Posted August 12, 2007 Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 DW is a different story and if you have to ask... How many folks's movements are still working? Mine is. But then again it came by way of Ubi before he amassed the 16520 collection. It took me years to get over the fact that I would have to live with a dead hour subdial to get the correct pusher placement. My DW Daytona is comically unreliable, thus living up to its near-mythical notoriety! Twice my watchmaker has solved a problem with it but each time another reveals itself. It's probably one of my favourite reps but, since it invariably fails to tell the time, it doesn't get a huge amount of wrist time!! Still, at least I know I didn't strike unlucky and get a dud one; it seems the majority are! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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