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hanski

Why's Everyone Always Swapping Out Endlinks On Their 1680's?

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hanski

A short analysis of WSO endlinks in my quest to adequately modding my JKF 1680 Sub. 

I see it on all the vintage watch M2M sales, mods, posts, etc. The endlinks have been swapped out with gen, WSO, or some other such one. Since I was all ready purchasing a crystal and bezel assembly from WSO, I thought I'd try the 580 endlinks too. 

But before I compare the JKF endlinks to WSO, I'll digress a bit. Why is it we're all seeking out the 580 endlinks? It seems like we'd be looking for 9315 4-digit bracelets and 280 or 380 endlinks if we were purists trying to upgrade as close to gen as possible. And what's up with 501B endlinks? I could ask myself the same questions - I'm working with the 580 because of price point and my interest in building something solid and decent. 

My first impression with the WSO endlinks wasn't great. They didn't fit the lugs perfectly, the relief on the topside wasn't as crisp, and the 580 was printed large enough for a blind person to see it under a rock. But after tweaking the bend a little bit and refitting it AND substantial Google searching with my eyes 1cm from the screen I came to terms with the WSO endlinks being pretty good. In fact, better than the perfect-lug-fitting JKF ones. 

Granted I am relying on Google to tell me what a genuine 1680 looks like, it appears many of them DON'T have perfect fitting endlinks to the lugs. And in the end, I like that. I also like that the WSO doesn't have the spring bar cut out. 

Here's some pics - the WSO endlink has the larger 580.  And one of it on the watch not perfectly fitting the lugs. 

m0ZDFDv.jpg

 

VQoRXdC.jpg

 

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