DRSD - gen vs. vintage MBW

[Nanuq]

A few people have been asking me to take some comparison shots of my ancient MBW next to the gen.

Remember the MBW has a gen Superdome tropic 39 and the gen has a gen "flat" tropic 39. That will

distort some of the images. Enjoy!

Dials #1

Dials #2

Back #1

Back #2

Lugs #1

Lugs #2

Case Profile

HE valve

[malumouse]

Thank you for this.......very similar....IMHO...dial and date window ..alittle off..and the bezel(teeth)..and ..insert(font to thin)..but very very close..(red is also off on the dial..) gen looks more ..neon pink..(and pops)..

[ahchard]

looks like mbw has deeper rehaut... lol... or is that due to superdome effect?

[docblackrock]

What I've been waiting for - thanks

Apart from the few little niggly 'modifiable' details (caseback, HeV, CGs etc.), this exposes the obvious weak link in the MBW - the crappy dial.

I'm still mesmerized by that Mk II chocolate beauty - it feels like being slapped in the face repeatedly by a cold salmon without flinching

Tsk, I notice you've STILL not popped one of your hoard from Andy on there to make it more 'original'. You'll cave in eventually I'm sure!

[Stephane]

Great post Nanuq.

It's true that the dial differences are obvious, but hey, these MBW are so close.

No way to spot a fake on a wrist in real life in my opinion.

You really need to take it in hands for several minutes !

Cheers

Stephane

[FasTTaP]

ok... noob question here... whitch one is the rep ???

[docblackrock]

*HOCKEY PUCK....HOCKEY PUCK!!!!*

After all your "me and my gen 1665 in the Alaskan outdoors" talk, I'm surprised you've gone soft already, pfff.....all mouth no trousers

I mean, it's been down to classified depths of the oceans and knocked around by your friend aboard a commercial rig, I'm sure it can cope with a lickle ickle crystal swapout Pfff, I mean what's the worst that can happen? You have a spare crystal or two.

(p.s. seriously though ignore my jealous baiting, of course if it was mine I'd do it myself with a Bergeon press or take it into somewhere trusted and local, but would not let it out of my sight ever again, never mind entrust it to any postal service/courier - just think of the worst case scenario and how it would haunt you )

[yellomen]

Very informative Nanuq! Thanx for taking these pictures and sharing it with us. Stephane is right... when some parts have been modded it's almost impossible to know if the MBW is a rep or not You gotta love it!!

[offshore]

Mate,

You and I know, there are only two places in this world that needs to go for any work.

And your hockey puck is not one!

One is Zurich, the other, a lot closer in your region.

And one has to be mailed... the other could be hand delivered.

I know who I would trust more!

Offshore

[Dizzy]

very nice pics!!! You can really see how real you can make an MBW look. I think your gen needs that superdome!! this is probably the best side by side comparison we will ever see! thankyou!

[Jetsons]

This is the best gen/MBW comparison ever but how may folks on the planet own a gen RR 1665 and a modded MBW?

Interesting how close they are. I've seen posts picking apart the MBW but at the end of the day, it's one fine piece of work.

Many thanks for taking the time & sharing.

PS: My suggestion would be to travel due east to have your crystal installed.

[freddy333]

I wish to add my kudos to the growing list of admirers of that brilliant photo comparison. More than the crystal (which is fine), the weaknesses, to my eye, are the wider/thicker crown, thicker crown guard profiles (viewed from the lug ends), narrower bezel insert font and MBW dial. And even with those, I doubt that most people would be able to ID the MBW on its own--a testament to the quality of both MBW and the artist(s) who improved on its original design. It is that good. On the other hand, it just goes to show you that no matter how much effort & care goes into accurately remanufacturing the case, the MBW dial remains a watch's Achilles' heel. Though, to be fair, I think the dial's inaccuracies are somewhat mitigated when the rest of the watch is so convincing. I realize it sounds a bit contradictory, but, as we all know, with so many variations in the gens themselves, identifying a rep at this level of refinement becomes more art than science and the rules become somewhat fluid, if you know what I mean.

[Pugwash]

I've put the images inline so we can peruse them all on the same page without clicking. I hope you don't mind.

[Guest porsche356a]

:cloud9: This is all too much. Great pics, and very nice comparo. Thank you so much!

[Kollektor]

We are all lucky to see such a comparison. Thanks! Without the gen reference it would be very hard to differentiate.

To my eyes biggest differences are crown, crowngaurds, rehaut depth, dial obviously... bezel teeth and bracelet. Of these only the crown and CG seem to be of any significance.

Astounding job though. Can't wait to get my MBW 1665 GW back from the plastic surgeon...

[drop]

Just adding my thanks, this is fantastic!

Very timely as well, the pics will really help as I shop for a good insert and work on carving down the lugs a bit...