Reference Notes: JAW Vintage Submariner Hand Set

[hanski]

JAW - better known as Jewelry and Watch or Phong. The creme de lá creme of aftermarket parts for vintage Rolex. Your opinion on them probably lands somewhere along the lines of “why would anyone pay that much for rep parts”, “those are only for Tripdog builds”, or “the best out there”.
Here’s a short photo comparison of a JAW vintage flat submariner handset with a gen flat hand set for a 5512.
First I’ll say, for anywhere from 1/3 to 1/8 the cost of a gen set - JAW are a great set of hands. Most of the differences are subtle and if you’re inclined to push a build to be next level, splurge.
I bought the set from JAW for a 5512 and I’m coming at it from that perspective.
Hour Hand

- JAW has slightly thicker frame and slightly different tip profile. Both result in slight less visible lume.
Minute Hand


- Again, JAW has a slightly thicker frame, different profile connect near the tube, and in this case a thin lume profile. I think this may be correct for the 70’s 1680’s but it’s not “maxi” enough for the 60’s 5512’s.
Sweep Hand


- Very close but JAW has a more exaggerated taper at the tip and the tube height is designed for a 1680, not a no date 5512 or 5513.
JAW on left, gen on right.

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[p0pperini]

hanski excellent mini-review, thank you!

It’s interesting how tapered the Phong second hand point is - the gen’s being more subtle. “Your second hand needs a tapered end” is something I’ve noticed being mentioned a lot recently, and it’s probably due to this exaggerated feature of the Phong version!

 

[markiemark]

Excellent review, was looking for this. Do you happen to know if his ETA version are the same quality? Im looking for some good sub hands for my 5513 ETA build

 

[hanski]

Excellent review, was looking for this. Do you happen to know if his ETA version are the same quality? Im looking for some good sub hands for my 5513 ETA build

You know I haven’t actually purchased an ETA based hand set from him. My go to for ETA is Clark’s Tudor Mercedes Hand Set - but that is usually for quality-budget conscious pieces. If the budget was there, I would buy from Phong.

 

[endy]

Bumping this thread with a few photos of Phong's ETA hand set. I don't have a great camera, so the best I can do are some macro shots using a cheap phone camera attachment.

After reading through several threads around who makes the best eta hands for vintage subs, it seemed my options were mostly limited to finding a TC set or using a mixed batch from various makers. After consulting with a couple of forum members who were really helpful in answering my questions (shoutout to hanski and nicholasa1234), I decided to bite the bullet on these despite the inaccurate looking hands shown on the website.

Full disclosure: I'm still learning, but from what I can tell, these are a great option for anyone who might be looking to uplevel their current set of hands as the overall dimensions and finish seem fairly accurate. Similar to the set shown above by hanski, the seconds hand seems a bit too tapered, but it's something I can live with it, and both hour/second hands have a good shape to them. My only caveat here is the price tag as they are almost 4-5x the cost of other sets, but might be worth it depending on what you're looking for.

 

[Dan71]

[mention]enduryu [/mention] Tks for sharing . I can’t see the article on phong website of which price we are talking ?

 

[endy]

[mention]enduryu [/mention] Tks for sharing . I can’t see the article on phong website of which price we are talking ?

Cost is $95. Don't think this exact hand set is listed on the website, so you will have to contact him via email or wechat.