J!m 289 Posted August 7, 2014 (edited) OK I've been collecting parts to seriously improve my 1680. It is a "cartel" model so it has its problems. Anyway, I got a Whoopy dial, sent it with some WO990 hands to Kwazy for a lume job (which came out great of course). Meanwhile I have a few NOS 2879 movements kicking around, so I pulled the day wheel from that, and added an overlay to the date wheel. Like everyone else, I was going to use a silver one, but it looked too dark. Compared to the (several) gen 1969 1680 pictures I have, it seems clear that it is/was a white date wheel. No problem, I got one of those too- and self adhesive... It was a bit of a bastard to align, but it looks good finally. Set the dial with date wheel spacer ring of course, and the date does not advance with the crown. Too much friction somewhere, so the dial has to come up a bit. OK that is working right, looks good! Set the hands, date clicks at midnight exactly. Put seconds hand on *WHOOPS* tool slid off the seconds hand and bent the tail *ouch*. No problem- 20 minutes or so with a loupe and tweezers and it's pretty straight. ready to case up- no FU&!NG WAY! the dial is too big! Measure, clean paint of dial OD- no chance... Dial is 26.5mm which is correct for the 1680. Check my other loose cases- nope. I need a case. None are large enough To be fair the Cartel case is not spectacular, but really looks fine for the most part. I think it is an excellent candidate for a 700 crown early (pre-1965) 5513 or 5512 with short, pointed crown guards. I may reshape this case that way and build up something. Anyway, I have a nice low-beat Swiss movement humming away under glass next to my not running Rolex 1570 movement. Anyone with a case, please let me know Even just a (gen construction only please) mid-case would do it. I have collected a gen crystal and will get another WO990 bezel assembly for this. With the 702 crown from Althaya Vintage, it will finally be done. Except for a bracelet... Thanks for listening to my pointless drivel... PM me about a case! Edited August 7, 2014 by J!m Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
J!m 289 Posted August 7, 2014 Does anyone have, or know, the dial dimensions of the Trusty Time 1680 case? It looks like a better than cartel dial, but does the gen size dial fit that case? If so, that may be the low cost option for me... Unless someone has a case! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BC1221 44 Posted August 7, 2014 (edited) not sure about the TT case but yea, id read about the cartel case not being big enough for gen spec dials. your best bet is puretime as its built to gen spec. i think the only gen spec on cartel is the crystal. i have a cartel 1680 on the way. i know about its flaws so i dont plan on modding it too much. ill just give it a lume job and shave the CGs and see how i like it. im also waiting for PT to get 1680s back in stock. theyve been out for what seems like ages. i thought about using a TT case bc its cheap as hell for a 21j model and comes with a nice rivet bracelet. if you decide to take the plunge, id be interested in how it turns out. if itll fit the cartel dial or the whoopy dial. overall, i like the cartel. the dial , the dwo.. etc are solid. the big flaw is the stubby crown guards. youre joking about TT dial being better than cartel right? the ones i saw looked like it had puffy foam yellow stickers as markers and the coronet was WAAAY OFF. Yuki case should take gen spec dials too. itll also take a ETA with the adapter he sells cases are kinda pricy though. i think RolexAddict mods the cartel cases to take gen spec dials. basically mills out the rehaut to make it wider. if you have the tools and the patience to do it, id say go for it. Edited August 7, 2014 by BC1221 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
J!m 289 Posted August 7, 2014 not sure about the TT case but yea, id read about the cartel case not being big enough for gen spec dials. your best bet is puretime as its built to gen spec. i think the only gen spec on cartel is the crystal. Well, that is confirmed! i have a cartel 1680 on the way. i know about its flaws so i dont plan on modding it too much. ill just give it a lume job and shave the CGs and see how i like it. Crownguards are already a bit stubby... Good candidate for an early, pre-'65 pointed CG case. I think they will shape that way really nicely. im also waiting for PT to get 1680s back in stock. theyve been out for what seems like ages. This may be a problem... i thought about using a TT case bc its cheap as hell for a 21j model and comes with a nice rivet bracelet. if you decide to take the plunge, id be interested in how it turns out. I do need the bracelet, and the case (assuming it works). Movement and the rest are all sorted already. This might be the way forward, but I'd like confirmation before I buy ANOTHER watch... if itll fit the cartel dial or the whoopy dial.overall, i like the cartel. the dial , the dwo.. etc are solid. the big flaw is the stubby crown guards. youre joking about TT dial being better than cartel right? the ones i saw looked like it had puffy foam yellow stickers as markers and the coronet was WAAAY OFF. No; the TT dial looks pretty damn good from what I have seen. The Cartel dial has a small 12 o'clock triangle- actually all the markers are a bit small. The printing is fine on the dial however. Remember there were at least three dial manufacturers making Rolex dials back in the day. You may like one coronet and another text style that never occured on the same dial. You have to study a lot of gen photos, and thanks to the internet, this is not difficult... Yuki case should take gen spec dials too. itll also take a ETA with the adapter he sellscases are kinda pricy though. I just ned the case. I have the adapters, clamps etc. The movement is all built up ready to drop in! i think RolexAddict mods the cartel cases to take gen spec dials.basically mills out the rehaut to make it wider. Actually from what I have seen he reduces the dial OD to fit the case since that is much easier than opening the case. For a few tenths of a mm this is not a huge deal, but the difference is substantial here. if you have the tools and the patience to do it, id say go for it. I don't have the fixtures, lathe or tooling to open a dial lip on a rehaut... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jdog 1 Posted August 7, 2014 Hey Bud. Angus' 1680 case is the closest and only one I've seen take a gen dial. Spoke with him last week. At least a couple months from what he said to get them back in stock. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BC1221 44 Posted August 7, 2014 oh wait. im getting Trusty time mixed up with TSWatch. Trusty time is the same as PC. they sell the exact same model aka. the cartel model. TSwatch has a super cheap 21j version that has a really bad dial but comes with a rivet bracelet and decent crown guards. the only Gen spec case that exisits now is puretime (i think intime sells the same version) or a MBK if you can actually find someone willing to sell one. i got tired of waiting for angus to get them in stock so i figured id pick up a cartel 1680 for the time being and mod that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
J!m 289 Posted August 8, 2014 So I guess it's Puretime or Yuki, yeah? The puretime I get a complete watch for less than a case set from Yuki... Sell the other bits off I don't want/need and it gets even cheaper... Looking now, but will ask Yuki for a quote now anyway. Not cool waiting "a couple months" to finish this off, but good info Jason, thank you. Maybe go that route for a 5512 case when I get around to it... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mystery Shopper 5,887 Posted August 8, 2014 If it has tits or wheels, it will give you headaches and cost you money. I think Confucius came up with that one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jdog 1 Posted August 8, 2014 If I remember the price for Yuki its around $500. GS's need a bit of work IMO and if it were me shelling on that's $ I shouldn't have to mess with it. Not sure when Reg is headed back west but he can usually get ahold of some very nice versions when hes there for around $250 iirc. Might be worth a shot to reach out to Sora next door as well. He was able to get ahold of some very decent versions a few a few months ago. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
J!m 289 Posted August 9, 2014 Yuki is $600 plus $50 to have a correct serial number of my choice. He does not do the case back date code however, which is a bummer. About a month lead time too... I have a mid case I got from Jerkstore for a 5512 that looks like it will work. The shape on the outside is a bit curvy, like a DJ or YM but it is a nice case. Tried my gen crystal and it fits a bit loose over the rehaut... Need a bezel assembly from WO990 and a case back (maybe I'll get that from Yuki?). I need to do some movement dial spacer tweaking too before I case it up. Maybe in a couple weeks it will be done. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rg500 0 Posted August 9, 2014 Will the WO990 bezel assembly accept a gen insert? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jdog 1 Posted August 18, 2014 Will the WO990 bezel assembly accept a gen insert? Yes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
miquel 0 Posted August 20, 2014 Just to add, the MBK case will NOT accept a 1680 gen sized dial...that case is based off the 5512/5513 case which uses a smaller dial (26mm). So don't waste your money or time on that case unless you want to build an awesome 5512/3. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
J!m 289 Posted August 23, 2014 I do want to build an awesome 5512.. Where do I get thos case and what is the cost? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
miquel 0 Posted August 26, 2014 I think you can still get the MBK 5512 from Narikaa. Last time I checked they were around the $450 mark... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yelow69 0 Posted September 12, 2014 Has anyone tried to fit a gen spec crystal to the TS Watch 1680 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yelow69 0 Posted September 12, 2014 Here the reason I ask... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
