MBW 1665 with mods (and a question about what's left to do)

[mezzanine]

This is my first modded vintage rollie, and I have to say that I'm very impressed. The watch is a classic, and I believe that the ability to mod these with genuine parts is one of the coolest aspects of our hobby. I love the history behind these watches, and the whole culture of vintage rolex collecting.

Since receiving this watch from a member here, I've swapped the insert out for a genuine off of a '73 red sub.

You wouldn't really think that an insert could make that much difference, well, I'm here to say that it might be one of the most significant mods, especially when it comes to making your watch look as old it's supposed to be. One thing I notice about the genuine inserts is that they're made of a different material than most of the aftermarket ones. For example, when reading about how to age an insert, I discovered that the genuines are much more resilient, in terms of how it reacts to bleaching agents and the like.

Here is a comparison between the two inserts, the first is the old one that is a good aftermarket, and the following pic is the genuine insert fitted to the SD:

What I'm asking myself right now, is whether I should swap out the rep endlinks that have been modded to accept the gen springbars with a set of 580 endlinks that I've got. The 580's are correct for the 1665 (so would be 585's), but the current rep ones are working just fine, so I'm not sure whether it would be overkill. I'm pretty sure I'd have to bend them a bit to fit the thicker case of the Seadweller, after these endlinks came from the same red sub that the insert came from.

The dial is a transitional dial between the 1665 and the modern Seadwellers. The markers look tremendous- they've got dimension and texture, and are said to be gen tritium...but I wouldn't know. I really like having a different dial than the standard MBW one. I haven't been super-impressed with the rep Rolex dials. Moreso for the subs, but also with the 1665...

The Ubi datewheel makes such a huge difference that it would be difficult to overstate the impact on the overall appearance of the watch. I've never been a stickler for datewheel font accuracy, but with these well-known classics, every detail takes on additional significance, as one thing out of place can spoil the whole. I felt similarly with the insert- as solid and nice as the aftermarket looked, the watch looks more it's age with the older vintage gen insert.

Also, what do you think of the crown guards? I was thinking of sending the watch in to The Zigmeister at some point to get them touched up, as I have a couple of other things I need to get worked on anyways-