- 8/6/20
- 158
- 94
- 28
Managed to put this piece together while I was in China and now enjoying it in Canada
The build consist of:
- BP 16710 watch
- Gen 16710 coke insert
- Gen crystal no AR
- Gen GMT hand & aftermarket second, minute and hour hands to fit the VR3186 GMT movement
- VR3186 GMT movement (CHS)
- JF factory 16610 bezel (teeth are less pointy than BP 16710 factory bezels)
Work done by the Chinese watch modder:
- case reworked to fit the VR3186 GMT movement and gen crystal
- Reshaped CG out after steel was added to it (Honestly, I still can't tell a difference compared to it right out of factory and this cost almost $400)
- Gen GMT hand lume refilled so that the color is in line with the new aftermarket hands
- 6 and 9 hour mark rework so they are rounder and more gen looking
- hand base redo so that it's not hollow when looking down from top
- Endlinks were sticking out and looked higher than the lugs. I had him to sand down the edges of the endlinks now the endlinks have the recessed look. But now the endlinks are slightly showing a weird curvature since only the edges are sanded down. I still prefer this looking than endlinks being higher than the lugs. I guess if you are lucky and do your QC right, you can avoid this in the first place
Work done by me (LOL):
- Sand down the case back so it sits lower on my wrist. However, I would have a completely flat case back down to the teeth with no brushed look. I'm satisfied with the result since I'm not gonna take off my watch in the public
- Factory clasp was very tight so I used a screwdriver to loosen it up. Not it goes smoothly when I close the clasp
Work still needs to be done in the future:
- Crystal height is not gen-like. Need to find a higher crystal gasket. I've done my research and I think the gasket from a sea-dweller would work. I will try to order one from JF factory and see how that goes
- Bezel teeth are still not gen-like and still pointy. Also, the outer lower part of the rim should be brushed and not polished. the I can either try to work on the one I have or order a good aftermarket one on a low budget basis
- BP cases have this unnecessary chamfer on four brims of the case. I had the watch modder to remove the polish and they are less obvious. But I'm still hoping to get the case redone and get rid of the chamfers
- DW are not centered. Some gen 16710s don't have centered DWs as well but not by this much. I think replacing the VR3186 DW with a good aftermarket one or even a gen one will solve this issue
The total cost for this watch is about $1400 USD. The only thing that went more expensive than my expectation was the case redo. But at least it's still a lot cheaper than Viet 16710 cases and get the job done by fitting the movement and crystal.I'm at 90% satisfaction level with the amount of money thrown into this project. Labor is supposed to be cheaper in China and the watch modders do a lot of modding every day so I guess they are more "clinically" experienced.
I've modded a daytona 116520, a submariner 116610, a GMT 116710 and an oyster perpetual 116200. They were super easy to mod since I would just swap in gen bezel, dial and hands and no other work is needed. Modding this BP 16710 was fun but frustrating at the same time. But I guess that's what we all enjoy here.
The build consist of:
- BP 16710 watch
- Gen 16710 coke insert
- Gen crystal no AR
- Gen GMT hand & aftermarket second, minute and hour hands to fit the VR3186 GMT movement
- VR3186 GMT movement (CHS)
- JF factory 16610 bezel (teeth are less pointy than BP 16710 factory bezels)
Work done by the Chinese watch modder:
- case reworked to fit the VR3186 GMT movement and gen crystal
- Reshaped CG out after steel was added to it (Honestly, I still can't tell a difference compared to it right out of factory and this cost almost $400)
- Gen GMT hand lume refilled so that the color is in line with the new aftermarket hands
- 6 and 9 hour mark rework so they are rounder and more gen looking
- hand base redo so that it's not hollow when looking down from top
- Endlinks were sticking out and looked higher than the lugs. I had him to sand down the edges of the endlinks now the endlinks have the recessed look. But now the endlinks are slightly showing a weird curvature since only the edges are sanded down. I still prefer this looking than endlinks being higher than the lugs. I guess if you are lucky and do your QC right, you can avoid this in the first place
Work done by me (LOL):
- Sand down the case back so it sits lower on my wrist. However, I would have a completely flat case back down to the teeth with no brushed look. I'm satisfied with the result since I'm not gonna take off my watch in the public
- Factory clasp was very tight so I used a screwdriver to loosen it up. Not it goes smoothly when I close the clasp
Work still needs to be done in the future:
- Crystal height is not gen-like. Need to find a higher crystal gasket. I've done my research and I think the gasket from a sea-dweller would work. I will try to order one from JF factory and see how that goes
- Bezel teeth are still not gen-like and still pointy. Also, the outer lower part of the rim should be brushed and not polished. the I can either try to work on the one I have or order a good aftermarket one on a low budget basis
- BP cases have this unnecessary chamfer on four brims of the case. I had the watch modder to remove the polish and they are less obvious. But I'm still hoping to get the case redone and get rid of the chamfers
- DW are not centered. Some gen 16710s don't have centered DWs as well but not by this much. I think replacing the VR3186 DW with a good aftermarket one or even a gen one will solve this issue
The total cost for this watch is about $1400 USD. The only thing that went more expensive than my expectation was the case redo. But at least it's still a lot cheaper than Viet 16710 cases and get the job done by fitting the movement and crystal.I'm at 90% satisfaction level with the amount of money thrown into this project. Labor is supposed to be cheaper in China and the watch modders do a lot of modding every day so I guess they are more "clinically" experienced.
I've modded a daytona 116520, a submariner 116610, a GMT 116710 and an oyster perpetual 116200. They were super easy to mod since I would just swap in gen bezel, dial and hands and no other work is needed. Modding this BP 16710 was fun but frustrating at the same time. But I guess that's what we all enjoy here.
This is definitely on the mod list for this case.
nice to see for us all that there is an alternative route that BP makes happen to enjoy the 5 digit gmt subs/exp. 
