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Vintage Replica Rolex Submariner 1680 |
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Written by Richard Brown
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Page 3 of 4
When compared to genuine 1680 the only instant noticeable differences are the winding crown and thicker date font. But since MBW watches accept genuine parts these are easy fixes for the "hardcores". Case dimensions are exact... and after "Palp" mods the crown guards are almost indistinguishable from a gen. 1680 originally comes with extremely large date magnification but most of the preowned watches have aftermarket crystals. Therefore generic crystal is a good "budget" option. .
When we make another, more detailed comparison the differencies become more apparent. The dial looks like the weakest link of the MBW. Almost all markings & coronet are incorrect when compared to genuine 1680's... and also the red "SUBMARINER" font looks dead wrong. It should be "cherry" red, narrower and lower. The datewheel is silver on a genuine 1680 but when you get your watch serviced by RSC they often replace it with aftermarket white datewheel. So in this sense it's not necessarily "incorrect" on the replica.
"Out of box" MBW 1680 compared to a genuine:
Then, let's make yet another comparison. Now we compare my modified 1680 to another genuine watch. As you can see the dial is different this time! Now the coronet and other markings look much closer. Compared to this watch the rep dial suddenly doesn't look bad at all. The SUBMARINER text is still too big on the rep, which is the only dead giveaway. But keep in mind: this is the only 1680 example I've found which has even remotely similar dial with the rep. Could it be a redial? God only knows (and perhaps Randy and Nanuq too). But if nothing else, this is a good example that there's a lot of variation among the genuine 1680's. When it's about vintage watches nothing is carved on stone. This fact alone makes identifying a well modified fake very difficult.
Modded MBW 1680 compared to another genuine:
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 26 August 2006 )
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