A pair of 16800's

[alligoat]

On the left is a gen 16800, matte dial, early 80's. I bought this watch a couple of months ago because I was so frustrated in trying to build a rep 16800 that I finally went out and bought a gen. The markers have faded to a light yellow. The bezel insert was replaced last week with an old tritium insert which was in a lot better condition than the original insert. Of course I kept the old insert.

On the right is my rep. Last month I got lucky and bought the noob case from Omega- he had drilled the lugholes and did an absolutely fantastic job. A month earlier, Stephane had put a gen sub dial in his noob case- suddenly I realized it could be done! I've always liked the noob case for it's shallower rehaut- a key feature for the 16800. Dial is a gen matte dial which was relumed by Ziggy a year and a half ago. Dial is 27.38mm and the inside of the case rehaut is 27.0mm, so you've got .2mm on either side when placing the dial in the case. Gen crown and tube, 2834 w/ the old style datewheel- open 6's and 9's and the noob insert w/ a watchmaterial pearl. I was going to put a gen insert in there, until I realized you have to file it all the way around to make it fit- the noob bezel is slightly smaller than the gen bezel. Like BK, I wasn't too keen on potentially wasting a gen insert- I'll save it for another project later. I might try the Jewelry Outlet insert later- yes, file it down, but the fonts on the numbers might be thinner- the noob bezel fonts are slightly too thick compared to the gen insert on the left.

The bracelet is a rep 93150 with hollow mid links (from Paul's DRSD), gen 593 end links and a clasp from Paul's 5513 which has no lines on the safety clasp part- a feature of the older bracelets- both my 1680 and my 16800 have the smooth safety clasps.

On the side pic, hopefully you can see the similar rehauts- the gen on the left is slightly more shallow than the noob on the right- but they're close. Typical noob issues are the shallow crystal height, crown is slightly lower and a better bezel insert would look a little better. A better set of lumed hands would also help- Ziggy's lume job lasts thru the night, but the hands fade by 4 or 5am. But a rep with good lume sure is nice- it's the one advantage over the gen- I can't go reluming the gen dial w/o destroying the value of the watch.

Thanks to lionsandtigers for the dial, Ziggy, llsteve80 for the extra noob parts, Omega, Stephane, bklm and everyone else- it's the sharing of info on this forum that makes it possible to build these cool watches.

[Sir-Lancelot]

Looks great alligoat.

I would also like to do a 16800 project. Best of both worlds, sapphire with a matte dial.

A very well done replication, thanks for sharing.

[ubiquitous]

MD-

Looks great!! All your time and patience finally paid off

Off course, that seems to be how things always work out, right? Get fed up with a project, so you end up buying gen. And just a few weeks later you end up with the project finished anyways. *sigh*

Enjoy that beauty! Good stuff indeed!

[Tribal]

AAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHH,

fantastic watches.

The Rep looks really good with the Case

from Bobbie.

I'm searching for a good Dial so long now

but no luck.

Really great work, would love to see some detail Pics

of your fantastic 16800.

Still waiting for the good Case to build mine.

I think its the best Submariner ever made from Rolex.

Congrats to this nice timepeace.

[JoJo35]

Nice job on the 16800!

Every now and then an old insert pops up on the bay, which would make a great doner for your pearl.

I've been searching for a good gen 16800 for a while now with no luck

Enjoy your watches and wear them well!

[HauteHippie]

Very nice duo! You're lucky to have the old style date wheel for this one. It really makes the watch!!

[Stephane]

Fantastic watch Alligoat, I sincerely love it.

And yes, the old style date wheel makes a huge difference.

Nothing is so exiting than finishing a loooong term project !

Congrats to you and Ziggy.

Cheers

Stephane

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Oh, by the way...I guess you might sell me your gen now

[alligoat]

Thanks guys for the compliments. As much as I like the vintages, I guess what I really like about the 16800 is that it is kinda a crossover- and it is becoming a vintage in its own right at this point. Finding the matte dials is getting tougher all the time. Mine was in pretty rough shape, but Zig went above and beyond the call of duty to get it right on the relume- he actually had to infill some of the matte black paint under the markers before he could apply the lume. But it sure glows nicely at night. Finding matte dials these days is just a matter of watching the bay- hoping for a sleeper- anything under $200 would be a good deal.

The noob case is probably the best thing out there right now for a 16800 and Bobby's back from vacation- hopefully he'll continue drilling lugholes. MBW/MBK and TWBest cases will work (with lugholes of course) but the rehaut is too deep- geared more towards the 16610- and the two gen cases are different as far as the rehaut (bezel assembly and crown/tube are the same from what I see).

I bought a Rolex Comex dial from Mark Greenberg a few years ago (probably aftermarket- but Rolex size and dial feet), I might try a 16800 Comex next. My 16800 rep is WR, good for light swimming, fishing and washing the dog- just like my cheapo noob.

BTW, putting a gen or aftermarket case tube in is a PIA- when you countersink, it cuts into the backside of the case slightly, but still WR. Just a slight wallow on the back side.

[bruce79]

Great project! I see what you mean with the shallow reahaut...I guess instead of a 16800, I have an early model 16610...no biggie since there are no engravings on the case anyways...

Amazing work though.

[freddy333]

Great work, Alli. I have to agree with Chief about the datewheel -- it makes the watch.

[alligoat]

I guess instead of a 16800, I have an early model 16610...no biggie since there are no engravings on the case anyways...

Bruce, you were my inspiration for this project! I guess I should have scratched the 16610T and F520117 off the case. I guess with your dial- Swiss- T<25- an early 16610 would be more appropriate- 501B end pieces on a 93150 and you're there.

Some of the early R serial 16610's are starting to get that aged tritium effect. I actually think an R serial 16610 would be a good investment- but Rolex prices have gone up so much in the last year, it's driving me crazy. It's much easier to build a $6-700 rep and easier on the wallet, also.

[bruce79]

I guess with your dial- Swiss- T<25- an early 16610 would be more appropriate- 501B end pieces on a 93150 and you're there.

Not sure if you already knew this but I do have 501B end links on a 93150.

Ok, I'm officially declaring my sub an R series 16610 instead of an 16800... ...seriously though.

[Stephane]

Not sure if you already knew this but I do have 501B end links on a 93150.

Ok, I'm officially declaring my sub an R series 16610 instead of an 16800... ...seriously though.

Cool, then mine is a early 16610 too

[alligoat]

Yeh, but Stephane, yours with the noob case has the shallow rehaut- that makes it a 16800 or 168000. I did see a 16800 on ebay yesterday with 580 end links- it looked all original. I also think I saw another 16800 last week with 501's (no B ). While 580 would be correct for a 1680, 593 for the 16800 and 168000, and 501B's for the early (pre- SEL's) 16610's, it's the same old Rolex story- variations do occur.

[Stephane]

Yeh, but Stephane, yours with the noob case has the shallow rehaut- that makes it a 16800 or 168000. I did see a 16800 on ebay yesterday with 580 end links- it looked all original. I also think I saw another 16800 last week with 501's (no B ). While 580 would be correct for a 1680, 593 for the 16800 and 168000, and 501B's for the early (pre- SEL's) 16610's, it's the same old Rolex story- variations do occur.

Of course, stupid me...

So, what I need is to find the correct mvt to host the correct date wheel then...

Or even better...buy your gen

[bruce79]

Hey Alligoat, just curious...did you solve the etched crown @ 6 issue?

[alligoat]

No, I didn't, but in looking with my +3.50 glasses which is what I use to do watch work, I can't see it there. So maybe it's not a noob crystal.... llsteve80 sent me a noob case w/ bezel, crystal and case back- all of which I used since Omega only sold me just the case itself with the lugholes drilled.

What I really should have done is tried out another crystal anyway- trying to get a little more crystal height, but when I got all of the parts together, I just went to building. It wasn't till the watch was complete that I realized Omega hadn't trimmed the cg's- so I had to take it apart and go back and do that a couple of nites ago.

[alligoat]

So, what I need is to find the correct mvt to host the correct date wheel then...

I wonder if Chris- Eurotimez- would source you a correct datewheel overlay- like the ones used in the 1680/1665 MBK's?

BTW, I plan on hanging on to my gen- it's an investment, of course! You might keep your eye on VFR- I got my 16800 from Ponycar350. Anything under $4500 for a matte dial is a good price. You can still find the later dial w/ WG surrounds for $3500-3700- here in the USA- I've heard prices are slightly higher in the EU.

[RWG Technical]

Looks great, congrats on getting the project finished.

RG

[dluddy]

looks great

[llsteve80]

That looks great alligoat, lets see some more side by side pics!

So, does that bezel work? I remember it was stuck when it was on my watch and I didn't want to try to get it off to check it out. I'm sure it took some determination to get that baby off.

those 2 watches almost look like twins there. I don't think the rep needs anything done to the dial or hands, I think there are still some gen 16800's out there that are still white. In fact, I think having one with yellowed markers and one with white is pretty cool.

[alligoat]

Heh, heh, Steve! Getting the bezel off a noob is a bitch to say the least- took over an hour. Luckily I didn't tear it up- amazing. Cleaned it up and got it back on w/o too much trouble- had to play with the paper clip retainer thingy a little. Should have pulled the one way prongs up a little more- still a very soft click bezel- not bad for a 25 year old watch, so to speak.

I'd like to get a better set of lumed hands for the rep- to match Ziggy's awesome lume job. That's the nice thing about the rep- great lume on the dial, fun to look at at nite- can't do that on the gen- the lume is pretty much dead- might be on it's last 1/2 life so to speak- a little left when you hold it under the lamp for a while- a faint glow.

The dial on my gen 1680 is in better shape- still white, but the lume is also pretty much gone- don't really know why some turn yellow and some stay white.

Next, I'm on to your MBW case- gen crown, gen insert (I hope it fits w/o filing too much), noob dial, eta movt. Should be easy, I hope. Thanks again.

Mac

[Omega]

Nice watch Mac, congrats! A really good work u did there...

I am also trying to find a gen dial like yours, but it's hard to find one in good condition.

[Stephane]

I wonder if Chris- Eurotimez- would source you a correct datewheel overlay- like the ones used in the 1680/1665 MBK's?

BTW, I plan on hanging on to my gen- it's an investment, of course! You might keep your eye on VFR- I got my 16800 from Ponycar350. Anything under $4500 for a matte dial is a good price. You can still find the later dial w/ WG surrounds for $3500-3700- here in the USA- I've heard prices are slightly higher in the EU.

Yes, that might be an option indeed for the date wheel.

It's a pain to buy a 16800 here in EU. They go for a lot of Euros, not dollars

I don't want to put like 6 or 7K Dollars of course ...

I'll have a look at NYC while I'm there, who knows