tonton2000 Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 My girlfriend's parents are in Vietnam at the moment, and i am going there with her later this year. I'd be happy to personally bring back some cases if someone can point me in the right direction........ Of course i'd ask her dad to do all the bartering over the price, as i'd probably get charged 3 times as much being a 'foreigner'! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 I have to agree with Avitt that the local price for these cases is probably closer to $100 than $600 (or higher). The prices being charged by most of the sellers that deal in Viet Nam made parts are completely unrealistic. For example, Phong is selling non-Oyster Daytona pushers for $75/ea (which he recently lowered from $150/ea), but these are the same ones that Ofrei sells for $12/ea (yes, the exact same parts). There is a huge markup by these sellers, which will probably drop, alot, as the Viet Nam made parts get distributed more widely (or group sales occur). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cskent69 Posted March 22, 2008 Report Share Posted March 22, 2008 You know - the more I look at that 1665 case back - it is not that great. I still want one of course. Also - do you guys think that lug hole sizes are already correct? I can't tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cskent69 Posted March 22, 2008 Report Share Posted March 22, 2008 Hey - forgot - what do you think about this ND dial for the GW? I have been looking for a better one than the MBW one. This looks surprisingly good. Comments please. Of course the ND price is crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbell6 Posted April 1, 2008 Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 Include me on the list of interested people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mezzanine Posted April 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 I think you guys are crazy that would go after a vietnamese 1665 case, given that we can get pretty good ones from MBK. I am psyched about the idea of going after a GMT. The parts for these seem more readily available in the used market. They're cheaper, too. I am not too optimistic, as it seems like there would be a lot of work in actually tracking down a supplier. Maybe Phong has the market on lock-down. I doubt it, but it wouldn't surprise me if they're difficult to obtain considering how hard the MBW's are, and they're available through retail channels. My opinion of the NDtrading dials is a little different than Freddy's, although I would say that he's a much more qualified person to be giving suggestions on this. My feeling is that even if the NDtrading dials are less accurate than the MBW dials, the quality of the dials themselves are much better. Ultimately that's what's more important to me than minor accuracy issues- the overall quality of the dial in terms of texture, dial print quality, etc.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cib0rgman Posted April 1, 2008 Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 I am in for this, if we can get the price right. $900 is a lot of money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted April 1, 2008 Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 Just to keep the story alive, I would definitely be in for 1 of the NDtrading 1665 DRSD cases at a reasonable price. That is, something below $500. At the price Phong is currently selling it for, I would/will stick with my MBW. The Vietnamese cases have more accurate looking backsides & their (working) HEV is more accurately located slightly above dead-center (it is dead center on MBWs). But their CGs, while nice, still need modding to match a gen DRSD. All in all, I think the pluses of the Vietnamese cases exceed the MBW's minuses, but not for $1,200+. Note -- I am aware of 2 different versions of the Vietnamese DRSD cases. 1 is the earlier 'Patent Pending' & the other is the 'Rolex Patent'. Personally, I think the latter is nicer & a bit less rare so it would raise a few less (knowledgeable) eyebrows if worn 'in the wild', as some of us are known to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torresp Posted April 1, 2008 Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 Note -- I am aware of 2 different versions of the Vietnamese DRSD cases. 1 is the earlier 'Patent Pending' & the other is the 'Rolex Patent'. Personally, I think the latter is nicer & a bit less rare so it would raise a few less (knowledgeable) eyebrows if worn 'in the wild', as some of us are known to do. You're right, there are 2 versions: this one with older case (thin version) but with "patented" DRSD caseback and this one with the last case with 2 crowns caseback (ticker case): Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torresp Posted April 1, 2008 Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 By the way, I have a friend who went to the shop past december and they refused to sell him any case, just gave him the email address of NDt. If anyone know the correct way to approach them I can make another try (need a 6265 case)... just let me know. Toni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 this one with older case (thin version) but with "patented" DRSD caseback and this one with the last case with 2 crowns caseback (ticker case): No, I am talking only about double reds, not the standard Sea Dweller (Great White). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eunomians Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 As you all suspect, I might be interested in some parts. Handpicking via expert is a must though! And Vietnam is thee land of hustlers and handcuff-happy cops. Parts are less than $100. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manuel Posted April 3, 2008 Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 100 usd for a case? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleJay Posted April 5, 2008 Report Share Posted April 5, 2008 You can count me in for a few cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephane Posted April 5, 2008 Report Share Posted April 5, 2008 100 usd for a case? I'll have a dozen Vietnamese cases please and a glass of Bordeaux Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avitt Posted April 5, 2008 Report Share Posted April 5, 2008 100 usd for a case? Figure maybe $10 for the raw stainless steel, $20 for the CNC machining, and another $20 for the engraving. With a 100% wholesale markup, that brings the total case price to ~$100. Add tube, crown, insert, and crystal (all aftermarket) and you're still under $200. Everything on top of that is just what chumps like us are willing to pay.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cskent69 Posted April 12, 2008 Report Share Posted April 12, 2008 Did anyone get a lead on these cases? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avitt Posted April 12, 2008 Report Share Posted April 12, 2008 It's all supply and demand... if you would start haggling with the folks at J&W I bet they show you the Middle one and say "Sorry Sir, never business with juuu"... Agreed, but remember that Jensen is getting his supply from somewhere as well. Finding a source that's closer to the supply is one of the objectives of this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cskent69 Posted April 12, 2008 Report Share Posted April 12, 2008 Does anyone actually own one of these - can't remember who said that he ordered one. I will look back through the thread. If you do own one of these - could you poast some close up pictures? The ones at NDT are not the best for our prying eyes. In particular for me - I was wondering if the HE value is "working". Would also love to see a picture of the great White caseback (versus the double red). Anyone have pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
togasa Posted April 12, 2008 Report Share Posted April 12, 2008 i did one project about 3yrs ago. here is the photo footage. i negotiated with phong for the whole kit. i got a good price but i think he didn't give me the new gen crown... oh well, it still works. i killed the airking but didn't feel so bad bc of the distasteful orange dial. the cases are fairly well made. i've come across a few but there are some quality issues. more specifically dimensions tolerances inside the case is worse than it should be. the sellers will tell u that they are all QC'ed. the engraving is done by a thin font mechanically, not by laser like DW's 1st gen case or 300 reps. the font is still microns thicker than gen. some japanese rolex books critically point out these subtle differences. good luck, everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
togasa Posted April 12, 2008 Report Share Posted April 12, 2008 btw, i initially wanted to do SD but i never believed in viet case's HE valve so i didn't do that project. i was going to do sub project 1680 and bought a dial but put that one on hold for panerai project now... too busy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted April 12, 2008 Report Share Posted April 12, 2008 Phong has good, close-up pictures of his 1665 cases. He describes the HEV as 'Complete Release Valve set with gasket'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
togasa Posted April 12, 2008 Report Share Posted April 12, 2008 I have to agree with Avitt that the local price for these cases is probably closer to $100 than $600 (or higher). The prices being charged by most of the sellers that deal in Viet Nam made parts are completely unrealistic. For example, Phong is selling non-Oyster Daytona pushers for $75/ea (which he recently lowered from $150/ea), but these are the same ones that Ofrei sells for $12/ea (yes, the exact same parts). There is a huge markup by these sellers, which will probably drop, alot, as the Viet Nam made parts get distributed more widely (or group sales occur). what i see is that they bumped up the price in the recent year.... both phong and natalie. the cases used to be ~1000. now they are asking close to 1500. i think this is bc rolex stopped selling parts outside. many high end watch makers don't release/sell parts. now rolex is taking the same route. this is resulting in higher price of rolex parts.... with markup, i was able to find triple lock crown for 100. now they are like 3-500 from some sellers on ebay. completely nuts. but then rep crowns are junk... i guess chinese factories can't do that level of micro machining..and assembly (rep crowns slip over time - sometime within weeks - and u can't wind a watch at that point) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted April 12, 2008 Report Share Posted April 12, 2008 Phong appears to have increased the price on his Daytona non-screw pushers from $75/ea to $100/ea. Meanwhile, ofrei is still selling the exact same pusher assembly for $12/ea. Again, these sellers' pricing is outrageous & based solely on how much they feel they can get away with, nothing more. I am sure that eventually we will locate a more direct source for these Vietnamese cases & parts, which will result in much more realistic & reasonable (MBW-like) pricing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watcher Posted April 12, 2008 Report Share Posted April 12, 2008 I think it was me that you are thinking of as I had a 1665 project going on. I have halted the job for now and not ordered the case set yet from Phong as my gen 1570 went missing in the post as some of you will have read about and has stopped me from progressing at this point. Instead I'm going to convert my MBK DRSD when it arrives from Thailand next week via our new dealer Eurotimez. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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