freddy333 Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 For comparison, here is a gen DRSD caseback And my modded (paint-stripped/sanded/polished) MBW caseback Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest carlsbadrolex Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 I think yours looks incredible! In fact, I would LOVE to have a tutorial on how you did it. I am building a DRSD and would really like that case back. NOW, to answer your question, I dont think it is any better than the MBW one and would require the exact same work that you put into yours. After looking at the pictures for several minutes, Im convinced yours is a better representation of the gen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poopypants Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 (edited) what does it matter between phongs, mbw, or even the cheap CH model? they are ALL engraved... and the original was stamped... BTW, you have acheived the look perfectly! Edited January 23, 2008 by poopypants Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted January 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Carlsbad & Poopy -- Thank you for your compliments, but I have to admit to being a bit surprised by them. I must be seeing something that neither of you are, or seeing it differently. I think the (sanded) crown (by itself) on my caseback is closer to the gen, I agree with you there. But that is only because the gen crown is worn & mine has been sanded to appear to be worn (I used the gen in the picture as a reference when I modded mine). But Phong's caseback is not only in new & pristine condition, but it is also painted (as the MBW caseback was before I stripped out the paint). So maybe that is throwing you? While the lettering both the MBW & Phong's is engraved, Phong's engraving looks deeper, wider & less sharply defined (which is an indication that the engraving was made with modern equipment) than the MBW. So, to me, the more coarsely engraved lettering on Phong's caseback (particularly along the bottom half of the caseback) looks more authentic......or could be made to look more authentic after the paint has been stripped off and the sharp edges of the engraved letters are sanded. Or am I the one who is missing something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellomen Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 (edited) Phong's caseback looks nice... but only seems to be a better starting point for modding than an MBW caseback. The engravings are deeper and wider, but still way to sharp to look anything like a genuine vintage 1665 caseback. If you remove the paint and try to smoothen the edges of the engravings this could well be a perfect caseback... but the caseback of my 1665 looks spectacular as well and was done by the same mysterie modder that worked on Stephane's vintage collection. Edited January 23, 2008 by yellomen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted January 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Look at the location of the dot that sits midway between the words VALVE & PATENT on each of the casebacks. On the gen, the dot is located in line with the top of the E in VALVE & the top of the T in PATENT. Same for Phong's caseback. But it is lower on the MBW & most other rep DRSD casebacks I have seen. There are some other, smaller details that Phong's caseback matches also, but the location of that dot is the 1st thing I look for on a DRSD to see if it is a rep. So far, Phong's is the first non gen caseback that gets the lettering correct. And I think that if you apply the usual modding procedures (sanding/buffing) to Phong's caseback, the result will be alot closer to the gen than anything else out there because you are starting with accurate lettering. These are small details to be sure, but I think the details are what can make the difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torresp Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 The best assets in Phong's caseback aren't visibles, they are inside Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted January 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Phong engraves a serial number on the inside of his casebacks, but that is of no real value to me since I am not planning on selling or appraising my watch. I am only interested in how the caseback looks when fitted on the watch. With proper modding, I think Phong's caseback might do the trick. But I am not sure it is worth the $450 he wants for it. That is the big question........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmg Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Phong engraves a serial number on the inside of his casebacks, but that is of no real value to me since I am not planning on selling or appraising my watch. I am only interested in how the caseback looks when fitted on the watch. With proper modding, I think Phong's caseback might do the trick. But I am not sure it is worth the $450 he wants for it. That is the big question........... Hi Freddy, I think yours looks great, I see what you mean about Phong's engraving. But at $450 I'm not so sure either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted January 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 I think yours looks great, I see what you mean about Phong's engraving. But at $450 I'm not so sure either. Thanks & that is the BIG question. I wonder if Phong would be amenable to more realistic pricing if we made a group buy? I wonder how many people here would be interested if the price was $200? $300? $350? Beyond that, I think it only makes sense for those who have shoehorned a gen 1570 into their MBW or Viet case. Still pondering that fork in the road myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellomen Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Oef... i think $200,- is quite steep already but i am interested. This is no hard yes, more a maybe. I guess for around $125 would be good for me, maybe $150... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephane Posted January 24, 2008 Report Share Posted January 24, 2008 Phong's caseback looks nice... but only seems to be a better starting point for modding than an MBW caseback. The engravings are deeper and wider, but still way to sharp to look anything like a genuine vintage 1665 caseback. If you remove the paint and try to smoothen the edges of the engravings this could well be a perfect caseback... but the caseback of my 1665 looks spectacular as well and was done by the same mysterie modder that worked on Stephane's vintage collection. Freddy you might be right about the outside of Phong's. The inside misses something though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted January 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2008 The inside misses something though What is missing on the inside of Phong's caseback? It looks fine to me.....I see it even has your custom serial number engraved on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest carlsbadrolex Posted January 24, 2008 Report Share Posted January 24, 2008 $200 and Im in... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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