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BP releases true clone 16710s

heska

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!!!
Very good news for vintage lover
 

cassapanca

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Is gmf same factory as bp?


Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk
 

WatchSmith.US

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No lug holes puts this around 2003. The chamfers appear really wide and possibly fixable. Let’s see what KJ2020 has to say when he casts his expert eye on it.
 

Tobel

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Can't remember the thread but someone posted a pepsi that looked exactly like this a few days ago. Looks good overall with the exception of the crown guards. Good to see that factories are still interested in 5 digits!
 
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catana1981

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You are right.
Also, initially was 904 steel and now it has been changed to 316 F.
I was soo excited about this new release.
 
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KJ2020

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Link to all the new oyster models

https://trustytimewatch.io/index.php...mt0238&x=0&y=0

The case looks to be nearly identical on the outside to BPs previous offerings. I reviewed the 2836 version in the link below. They have just modded the inside of the case to take a 3186. At the $318 price point you aren't going to get VSF quality in any of the parts or the movement.

16710 BP vs Gen

I've added some pics from that review here that highlight some of the main flaws.

CGs are not accurate. The tops angle back toward the crown and partially cover it in an ugly way. This is a simple mod to fix, you just file them back a tad and polish it out. The CGs on these new ones are thicker than before so that is more gen-like plus you have more material to mod with.

The chamfers are way too wide. Again, this can be modded by sanding the case sides to be slightly taller which eats some of the chamfer away.

The bezel rim is too wide (teeth too long and scallops too deep), which makes the insert too narrow. Neither are gen-spec and won't take gen replacement parts. The insert OD is ~37.5mm, gen is ~37.65mm. The new rep inserts are not as good as the previous ones but still better than most aftermarkets. The older insert numbers had serifs, and the double number bottoms followed the curve of the inside perimeter like a gen - look at the 22 in pics below. Pretty rare and quite hard to find on a cheap insert. The bezel is going to have the 8 sided wire clip which is a huge PITA to deal with, though often you can swap a crystal without removing the bezel on these.

The crystal on this one MAY be gen-spec, no previous versions were. They had a straight edge profile, not a stair-step so the opening is too large to fit a gen crystal (without a double gasket mod).

The movement is the biggest disappointment. The BP/GMF SA3186 is based on the original SA3135, the worst of the bunch. The stem is not even gen-spec. This SA3186 is a proprietary movement that has a poor track record. The only saving grace is a VR should swap in 1:1.

j9t6TW.jpg


j9t1gJ.jpg


j9t80S.jpg


j9tnoP.jpg


j9tt5Q.jpg


j9tBBL.jpg


j9tQNR.jpg


With a few mods and a movement swap, this would be a worthwhile rep for around $500, depending on labor costs. Less if you can DIY.
 
Last edited:

WatchSmith.US

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Thank you KJ. I'm still waiting on my case for my 16710 build. I was hoping that this might be an option to the VN and BP offerings, but....I think I'll pass.
 
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KJ2020

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Nembo posted one of these for sale today on RG. He's been great in my dealings with him, I've bought from him 5 or 6 times.

https://www.repgeek.com/nembos-corne...s-3186-bp.html

I noticed some differences between these "same models" on Trusty and from Nembo so it makes me wonder about the promo pics.

The inserts are different and so are the handstacks, both better in the promo pics on Trusty. The actual pics on Nembo (as well as the ones posted in the other thread) show a much less appealing looking handstack where the GMT hand hole surround completely hides the hour hand hole surround. We used to call this the "Frisbee" GMT hand, haha.

Also I noticed this before but it really hits home looking at more pics, the rehaut on these new 16710s is pretty thick. Apparently this was necessary to accommodate the smaller 3186 dial without the rest of the case changing size. Compare to my gen rehaut thickness.

j9CPmo.jpg
 
Last edited:

WatchSmith.US

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KJ thank you for your efforts. You know the details like no other.
 
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d4v3

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I'm going to ask a mod to change this thread title since the factory was listed wrong by Trusty (not OP's fault).

GMF doesn't make vintage watches so obviously this is a BP 316F.

https://trustytimewatch.io/index.php...mt0238&x=0&y=0

The case looks to be nearly identical on the outside to BPs previous offerings. I reviewed the 2836 version in the link below. They have just modded the inside of the case to take a 3186. At the $318 price point you aren't going to get VSF quality in any of the parts or the movement.

16710 BP vs Gen

I've added some pics from that review here that highlight some of the main flaws.

CGs are not accurate. The tops angle back toward the crown and partially cover it in an ugly way. This is a simple mod to fix, you just file them back a tad and polish it out. The CGs on these new ones are thicker than before so that is more gen-like plus you have more material to mod with.

The chamfers are way too wide. Again, this can be modded by sanding the case sides to be slightly taller which eats some of the chamfer away.

The bezel rim is too wide (teeth too long and scallops too deep), which makes the insert too narrow. Neither are gen-spec and won't take gen replacement parts. The insert OD is ~37.5mm, gen is ~37.65mm. The new rep inserts are not as good as the previous ones but still better than most aftermarkets. The older insert numbers had serifs, and the double number bottoms followed the curve of the inside perimeter like a gen - look at the 22 in pics below. Pretty rare and quite hard to find on a cheap insert. The bezel is going to have the 8 sided wire clip which is a huge PITA to deal with, though often you can swap a crystal without removing the bezel on these.

The crystal on this one MAY be gen-spec, no previous versions were. They had a straight edge profile, not a stair-step so the opening is too large to fit a gen crystal (without a double gasket mod).

The movement is the biggest disappointment. The BP/GMF SA3186 is based on the original SA3135, the worst of the bunch. The stem is not even gen-spec. This SA3186 is a proprietary movement that has a poor track record. The only saving grace is a VR should swap in 1:1.

j9t6TW.jpg


j9t1gJ.jpg


j9t80S.jpg


j9tnoP.jpg


j9tt5Q.jpg


j9tBBL.jpg


j9tQNR.jpg


With a few mods and a movement swap, this would be a worthwhile rep for around $500, depending on labor costs. Less if you can DIY.

Excellent review KJ thnaks for posting this information
 
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pompompurin

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- SA3186 movement. Enough said lol
- Bezel looks like the same bezel teeth/contour as the bezels that are used in the BP 16610 / 16613; therefore, this might suggest the BP 16710 bezel does not have gen-spec construction (instead, it could be the the infamous bezel wire assembly that is used in BP 16610 / 16613)
- The rehaut diameter looks possibly wider than gen; therefore, a gen-spec dial might fall through the rehaut and/ or the minute/second dashes might be floating.
- Overall, the case reminds me of a BP 16710 2836-2 version with a SA3186 movement.
- I look forward to someone buying it and taking it apart and/ or frankening it to see what gen parts could fit!
 
Last edited:

Vvvlllooo

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Nembo posted one of these for sale today on RG. He's been great in my dealings with him, I've bought from him 5 or 6 times.

https://www.repgeek.com/nembos-corne...s-3186-bp.html

I noticed some differences between these "same models" on Trusty and from Nembo so it makes me wonder about the promo pics.

The inserts are different and so are the handstacks, both better in the promo pics on Trusty. The actual pics on Nembo (as well as the ones posted in the other thread) show a much less appealing looking handstack where the GMT hand hole surround completely hides the hour hand hole surround. We used to call this the "Frisbee" GMT hand, haha.

Also I noticed this before but it really hits home looking at more pics, the rehaut on these new 16710s is pretty thick. Apparently this was necessary to accommodate the smaller 3186 dial without the rest of the case changing size. Compare to my gen rehaut thickness.

j9CPmo.jpg

Those hands are horrendous
 
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