Hello boys, girls, men who turn into women, and vice versa -
I have gotten a lot of questions regarding case choices for my favorite watch, the Rolex 1675. Most of these questions are along the lines of, "whats the best base for a 1675 build?" or "is the Cartel 1675 the best watch to start with?
Yes and no - as with everything in rep world, the budget is the most important.
Many of the modders do amazing work with the infamous Cartel 1675 case - tripdog, ncrich, myself, etc. The crownguards on the case can be shaped pretty well into a rudimentary PCG, or a stubbier SCG. For the money, it is absolutely THE best, unless you can acquire the old 1655 cases with longer crownguards.
Custom builds on a Cartel case are drastically easier vs Gen Spec - movement rings are plentiful, dial opening is perfect, crown tube height exact.
However - if budget is not a concern, a Vietnam/Phong gen spec case is miles closer to gen. And yes, I've compared them in person with a gen buddys 70s GMT.
Why so?
- Overall profile. It is much thinner on the wrist. A now out of stock RT caseback makes it a bit better, but still profile is wrong. No matter how much reworking of the case you do, the structural dimensions are incorrect.
- Crownguard shape. The Cartel CGs slope downwards from the inner to the outer. Gen SCG cases have CGs that extend straight out. For PCG or Eagles Beak, you can achieve a close look with modding a Cartel, but not exact.
- Dial depth. This is the biggest problem with Cartel cases. The dial sits too low inside the case, giving the dial a "sunken" look. Compare the pics - youll see that the dial on my Vietnam case sits very close to the crystal. Again, its a construction difference between the two.
- Crown size. Gen is 5.3mm, Cartel is 6mm. Wrong. Nuff said.
Cons you ask on using a Vietnam case?
- Impossible to find a movement ring to fit an ETA movement. I make my own out of brass rings, rudimentary, but works.
- Dg3804 movements dont fit. Period.
- Dial, dial spacer, movement, all need to be fine tuned to work properly. Remember, this case is made to fit a Rolex 15xx, not an ETA movement. Car guys, its like putting a Honda motor into a BMW chassis.
My consensus? Again, back to budget. If money is no issue, go gen spec. But for 150 for a cartel 21J plus mods - it is the perfect candidate.
Pics below! And no, neither of them are for sale [emoji106]
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
I have gotten a lot of questions regarding case choices for my favorite watch, the Rolex 1675. Most of these questions are along the lines of, "whats the best base for a 1675 build?" or "is the Cartel 1675 the best watch to start with?
Yes and no - as with everything in rep world, the budget is the most important.
Many of the modders do amazing work with the infamous Cartel 1675 case - tripdog, ncrich, myself, etc. The crownguards on the case can be shaped pretty well into a rudimentary PCG, or a stubbier SCG. For the money, it is absolutely THE best, unless you can acquire the old 1655 cases with longer crownguards.
Custom builds on a Cartel case are drastically easier vs Gen Spec - movement rings are plentiful, dial opening is perfect, crown tube height exact.
However - if budget is not a concern, a Vietnam/Phong gen spec case is miles closer to gen. And yes, I've compared them in person with a gen buddys 70s GMT.
Why so?
- Overall profile. It is much thinner on the wrist. A now out of stock RT caseback makes it a bit better, but still profile is wrong. No matter how much reworking of the case you do, the structural dimensions are incorrect.
- Crownguard shape. The Cartel CGs slope downwards from the inner to the outer. Gen SCG cases have CGs that extend straight out. For PCG or Eagles Beak, you can achieve a close look with modding a Cartel, but not exact.
- Dial depth. This is the biggest problem with Cartel cases. The dial sits too low inside the case, giving the dial a "sunken" look. Compare the pics - youll see that the dial on my Vietnam case sits very close to the crystal. Again, its a construction difference between the two.
- Crown size. Gen is 5.3mm, Cartel is 6mm. Wrong. Nuff said.
Cons you ask on using a Vietnam case?
- Impossible to find a movement ring to fit an ETA movement. I make my own out of brass rings, rudimentary, but works.
- Dg3804 movements dont fit. Period.
- Dial, dial spacer, movement, all need to be fine tuned to work properly. Remember, this case is made to fit a Rolex 15xx, not an ETA movement. Car guys, its like putting a Honda motor into a BMW chassis.
My consensus? Again, back to budget. If money is no issue, go gen spec. But for 150 for a cartel 21J plus mods - it is the perfect candidate.
Pics below! And no, neither of them are for sale [emoji106]
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
