Stephane Posted July 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 Yes, it is a fantastic watch! And again, poor me, how the hell gather all the informations about the numerous variations @Togasa: if you have some spare time it would be cool to make a short summary of your bible about the 1655 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docblackrock Posted July 25, 2008 Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 Yes, it is a fantastic watch! And again, poor me, how the hell gather all the informations about the numerous variations @Togasa: if you have some spare time it would be cool to make a short summary of your bible about the 1655 Stephane there aren't actually that many variations of the gen 1655 - basically two in fact, early version (early 70s for a couple of years) with straight secs hand and smaller/thinner bezel font, and then mid-70s all the way to the 80s (standard 'bubble' second hand and larger/thicker bezel font). Of course there was the limited run on the rail dials in the mid/late 70s, but other than than any variations you see (4th hand colour) is down to ageing and the 'Law of Siegfried' (as described by Nanuq and I). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephane Posted July 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 Stephane there aren't actually that many variations of the gen 1655 - basically two in fact, early version (early 70s for a couple of years) with straight secs hand and smaller/thinner bezel font, and then mid-70s all the way to the 80s (standard 'bubble' second hand and larger/thicker bezel font). Of course there was the limited run on the rail dials in the mid/late 70s, but other than than any variations you see (4th hand colour) is down to ageing and the 'Law of Siegfried' (as described by Nanuq and I). Thanks for clarifying Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolex001 Posted July 25, 2008 Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 There are four confirmed dial versions of the 1655, four hand variations and four bezel versions - and yes - two case versions too. Dials were done by Singer or Stern mostly, especially the rail dials were all made by Stern. Of course there is also the RSC Lumi dial. There is a T dial with normally shaped coronet, and one (mark I) with a tipped, very weird looking coronet. The bezels all differ in size and lengths of the intermediate I's and in the number shapes and fonts. Also the build looks different, with the RSC repalcement being a very high and massive bezel. There is a case with very wide CG's, that's the older version, and a newer version with rather short GMT Master 1675 like CG's. The hands are as mentioned either with non-bubble secodns and orange hand. The second variant is a red 24hr hand and bubble seconds and then there is the RSC Lumi replacement and a later Tritium set with again orange hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triosLescano Posted July 25, 2008 Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 ....mmmm an eta movement , a good case $ 1500, a good aftermarket dial from timemen, jewelryandwatch ecc.. $ 300/400, glass, hands, crown, a good rep band (MBW ?).........., final price is TERRIFIC !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southcoast68 Posted July 28, 2008 Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 Hi all I thought I'd contribute to this since my 1655 rep is yet still different than the ones shown here already. First, I'll tell you that this had come from Belial2k, a dealer that was on RWI a year or two ago, and I do not know of his source. Take a look at the pictures, hopefully they will give some additional information on these. These pics can also be forwarded to your vendor of choice in case anyone would want to try and source this one for a project. The bezel IMO is pretty accurate looking, I was looking to get one that had "flat tops" to the number 4 on the bezel, and this one does have that. The dial is a heartbreaker, the sub hour markers do come all the way to the edge, and the dial is a nice matte black, but the "oyster perpetual date" font is horribly wrong. It also has the "T SWISS<25 T" at 6:00 'oclock. The case has lug holes, but they appear too close to the edge to be properly drilled out. The crown guards are short and fat and the crown is small and sits rather low in the case. The bracelet is a correct looking non-fliplock logo style, but the case back seems all wrong. The end links are stamped 580, and the bracelet is stamped 78360, correct??I don't know. Another heartbreaker, the date font I quite like, its numbers are thick black and clear on a slightly off white background. However, the date window is not quite wide enough and a little too far to the right to line up with the magnifier. This photo is taken at an angle, but when looking at the watch straight on, the magnifier is definately to the left of the date window. It also has thinner hour and minute hands, still not correct looking, but thinner than the others pictured here. It also has the bubble seconds hand and dark orange GMT hand. One thing that bugs me about this model is that people call it the "Steve MqQueen" model when there is no proof the man ever worn one personally or in a film. If anyone out there has and definative proof he made this model famous at one time, please share it here and proove me wrong. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docblackrock Posted July 28, 2008 Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 One thing that bugs me about this model is that people call it the "Steve MqQueen" model when there is no proof the man ever worn one personally or in a film. If anyone out there has and definative proof he made this model famous at one time, please share it here and proove me wrong. He didn't 'make it famous' the 1655 was merely his own personal watch as evidenced by archive photos of the man off-duty. Everyone goes on about the Monaco (which he did 'make famous') but he only wore that for the filming of Le Mans, never in real life. Similar issue with the Apollo mission flight-approved Omega Speedmasters which got all the resultant PR, when in fact archive photos and personal testimony revealed many of the astronauts also wore and, in fact preferred their own personal Rolex GMT's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
togasa Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 (edited) Southcoast it looks pretty good, the bezel indeed looks right. Dial looks good also (it's the style of late 70's, the last generation of the 1655), although something tells me that it's probably a refinish (extremely high quality). As for the date wheel, i've also seen the same thing on another watch with gen dial. I think the date wheel was taken from a different model. it's also possible the wheel is aftermarket. Nonetheless, i wouldn't worry about that too much, unless the date font is wrong (yours looks right). As for the case, it is indeed aftermarket. the lug holes are too small to accept rolex spring bars and the positions are off, as you pointed out. The bracelet number and the end piece numbers are correct but they look too deep, and the clasp shape doesn't look right for that model. Now, one recommendation for you is to replace the hands. It's a relatively inexpensive to do so and will make your watch look much much better. Here is my illustration of differences: Good luck. Great piece, Cheers! Edited July 30, 2008 by togasa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
togasa Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 As far as 1655 history, the bible says that there were 4 models (as another member pointed out). A) Early 70's. Straight seconds hand, ROLEX in slab-serif font B ) Mid 70's. Seconds hand with 2 dots, same font as (A) C) Mid 70's. Same as (B ) but slightly larger numerals on the bezel D) Late 70's. Same as © but, ROLEX in serif font, Different shape cornet You notice that slab font is used in almost all models since 70's. Before then, a few other fonts were used, depending on models and production years. Illustration for the 2 fonts and cornet, both of which are tough to describe : cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
togasa Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 I have to take back my comment about the dial of southcoast. the font is a bit off. Still excellent print tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephane Posted July 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 Great informations again guys. Thanks for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southcoast68 Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 Southcoast it looks pretty good, the bezel indeed looks right. Dial looks good also (it's the style of late 70's, the last generation of the 1655), although something tells me that it's probably a refinish (extremely high quality). As for the date wheel, i've also seen the same thing on another watch with gen dial. I think the date wheel was taken from a different model. it's also possible the wheel is aftermarket. Nonetheless, i wouldn't worry about that too much, unless the date font is wrong (yours looks right). As for the case, it is indeed aftermarket. the lug holes are too small to accept rolex spring bars and the positions are off, as you pointed out. The bracelet number and the end piece numbers are correct but they look too deep, and the clasp shape doesn't look right for that model. Now, one recommendation for you is to replace the hands. It's a relatively inexpensive to do so and will make your watch look much much better. Here is my illustration of differences: Good luck. Great piece, Cheers! Thanks for the input, its much appreciated, however, please note that my 1655 is ALL REP - not modified at all and not a franken as far as I know. This one came just as pictured and since then I have not found a similar example from any other rep vendor. I like the idea about changing the hands. Some folks have said that OMEGA Flightmaster hands will work for this, but will those hands fit an ETA which this rep has in it? Does anyone out there have any good photos of the MBW 1655 offered a while back? @togasa, your 1655 looks absolutely fantastic! I whish it were mine Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertk Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 Great info. I just received TTK's version (for $100) and it looks very good (I'm comparing pics here). Same flaws listed here. I'll post some pics this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmg Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 Thanks for the input, its much appreciated, however, please note that my 1655 is ALL REP - not modified at all and not a franken as far as I know. This one came just as pictured and since then I have not found a similar example from any other rep vendor. I like the idea about changing the hands. Some folks have said that OMEGA Flightmaster hands will work for this, but will those hands fit an ETA which this rep has in it? Does anyone out there have any good photos of the MBW 1655 offered a while back? @togasa, your 1655 looks absolutely fantastic! I whish it were mine Cheers SC, the Omega hands will fit (my one bright idea I get every blue moon ) and they're cheap!!!! one of the hands will need broaching though. Click on the 1655 details link in my sig line for the run down. Your version is far better than the old MBK that was in short production. I can't find any pix of it but I think Namor had one FS not long ago. I think yours is a variation of the one I purchased from TTK that was a "supposed" MBK but with lug holes and later version dial with the T Swiss 25< T . Sadly the case I used on my 1655 has faux lug holes that don't line up with the inner holes for the springbars. BTW, I think your lugholes could be drilled out and not look bad, see my photo below of my 1675 with the holes drilled out for gen springbars -the hole placement doesn't look that far off from mine. Bear in mind that you're really taking a fraction of a mm off when you drill it. Before After Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southcoast68 Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 SC, the Omega hands will fit (my one bright idea I get every blue moon ) and they're cheap!!!! one of the hands will need broaching though. Click on the 1655 details link in my sig line for the run down. Your version is far better than the old MBK that was in short production. I can't find any pix of it but I think Namor had one FS not long ago. I think yours is a variation of the one I purchased from TTK that was a "supposed" MBK but with lug holes and later version dial with the T Swiss 25< T . Sadly the case I used on my 1655 has faux lug holes that don't line up with the inner holes for the springbars. BTW, I think your lugholes could be drilled out and not look bad, see my photo below of my 1675 with the holes drilled out for gen springbars -the hole placement doesn't look that far off from mine. Bear in mind that you're really taking a fraction of a mm off when you drill it. Before After Awesome!! thanks for the info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvio Posted August 1, 2008 Report Share Posted August 1, 2008 According to some members, a good one can be build from mixing two "average reps" (Josh/Andrew plus...in example) and adding gen parts from all over the internet. Some others would prefer to go Phong/NDT for the Vietnamese route. But then, would a ETA fit such a case ? What is your experience, what is your advice ? Excellent idea, Stephane. My humble suggestion of what to work first for rep 1665 cases is definitely thinning out the lugs and midcase. Most 1665 rep cases I saw are way too thick and 'symmetrical' compared to the gen. Or if you to save some time of course take the vietnam midcase, as it's quite spot-on (As a matter of fact that's what the viet casemaker does: case slimming ;-) ). But the viet bezel is still off, and I'm not sure if a gen bezel will fit without further machining. Good luck! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timepiece Posted August 17, 2008 Report Share Posted August 17, 2008 OK, here is what I know after having researched and gone through the process. Trusty's 1655: ... -Bezel has thinker font and is smaller diameter than Joshua ... The pictures I see for Andrew's (ETA/Asian) 1655 today show a different bezel font (sans serif?) than most pics shown here before. Can anybody please comment on that?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timepiece Posted August 19, 2008 Report Share Posted August 19, 2008 The pictures I see for Andrew's (ETA/Asian) 1655 today show a different bezel font (sans serif?) than the rest of the pics shown in this thread. Can anybody with an ongoing 1655 project please advise on the cases he/she uses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolex001 Posted August 19, 2008 Report Share Posted August 19, 2008 Wow, this has to be one of the worst rep-fonts. They didn't copy it, they invented their own font. The case, hard to tell, but the lugs look very massive - a bit too massive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmg Posted August 19, 2008 Report Share Posted August 19, 2008 The pictures I see for Andrew's (ETA/Asian) 1655 today show a different bezel font (sans serif?) than most pics shown here before. Can anybody please comment on that?! TP, stock and parts change a lot with the factories and often the photos are old. The catch with drop shipping is you don't know 100% what you're going to get. For the dealers that drop ship I hear you can ask for them to have it hand first and send you some photos before shipping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mas_uch Posted September 28, 2008 Report Share Posted September 28, 2008 Good idea Stephane! I don't know much about this watch, either. I only know that Steve McQueen never wore the Explorer II, still this model is called "McQueen" which is a bit weird. I also know that both red/orange and yellow 24h hands are accurate for this watch. Well anyway... how about some gen pics for reference: My local dealer (Tourneau in NYC) has one of these available. It felt really solid compared to the current Explorer II (obviously). They are asking $25,000!! An absolute beauty nontheless... Go check it out if you live in the area! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peyups Posted October 27, 2008 Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 Is this really authentic dial: http://cgi.ebay.com/Genuine-Rolex-Explorer...A1%7C240%3A1318 ? I was read the 1st page of the thread and it says the hour markers should touch the case, but this one (it shows a pic of it fitted in a 1655 case) has the hour markers not touching the case.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmg Posted October 27, 2008 Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 That's a redial/aftermarket, it may be a gen base though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peyups Posted October 27, 2008 Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 It says genuine dial.. thou yeah maybe the base is gen due to the markings,etc. Well odd thing is it seems he is selling the whole watch as when you buyitnow he will put the movement,dial and hands on an aftermarket case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arty909 Posted October 27, 2008 Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 If only we could buy that one ... I know I'm a couple months late, but why can't we? I swear I've got the same version (minus the box / papers / caseback sticker). Granted, I bought it several years ago, but I thought a couple dealers still had it. I'll get into further detail if I find that I'm understanding the 'if only' comment correctly. Thanks, Arty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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