166xx build

[Perpetual]

Hello My Fellow Reperzens citizens

Been away from the rep game for some time catching up with life, decided to take a peak at some of the sub forums and stumbled upon a Sillian case set and...yes, took the plunge for yet another 166xx build.

Packaging was good and shipping was lighting fast as some other members pointed out. 7 days after payment it was in my front door .

Let's put some white gloves on and take a closer look as this case may-be worthy

The crown is tucked away inside the case and the 16610 engravings are taped off?? I'm going to say it's for security purposes...

Right off the bat, the bezel action was my first test and yes...it's sloppy, loose, and clicks like a cheap nh35 Aliexpress bezel assembly with absolutely no resistance. To my surprise the crowntube has inner teeth to unscrew it, and to confirm it is indeed a screw in and not a pressure fit.

Amy worked with me on the sale and put together the items I wanted so I didn't have to purchase 2 case sets. You have to order the (sample) item to purchase 1 case 250usd I added a VS3135 movement along with the deal.

Everyone knows this beautiful movement and boy does it look beautiful glad to see these are still widely available

Please do stay tuned on the unfolding of this build.

Hello again to all who remembers formerly knows as Lawlessflyer

 

[KJ2020]

Hello My Fellow Reperzens citizens

Been away from the rep game for some time catching up with life, decided to take a peak at some of the sub forums and stumbled upon a Sillian case set and...yes, took the plunge for yet another 166xx build.

Packaging was good and shipping was lighting fast as some other members pointed out. 7 days after payment it was in my front door .

Let's put some white gloves on and take a closer look as this case may-be worthy

The crown is tucked away inside the case and the 16610 engravings are taped off?? I'm going to say it's for security purposes...

Right off the bat, the bezel action was my first test and yes...it's sloppy, loose, and clicks like a cheap nh35 Aliexpress bezel assembly with absolutely no resistance. To my surprise the crowntube has inner teeth to unscrew it, and to confirm it is indeed a screw in and not a pressure fit.

Amy worked with me on the sale and put together the items I wanted so I didn't have to purchase 2 case sets. You have to order the (sample) item to purchase 1 case 250usd I added a VS3135 movement along with the deal.

Everyone knows this beautiful movement and boy does it look beautiful glad to see these are still widely available

Please do stay tuned on the unfolding of this build.

Hello again to all who remembers formerly knows as Lawlessflyer

Howdy bro, glad to see you back on again! I'm not surprised to hear the bezel is bad. There were several suggested fixes in the ARF and RAF threads, I think a better click and doubling up on the flat washer were some popular choices.

Before you get to mounting hands, you should probably evaluate how your VS3135 DW sits in your dial's date window. There have been a LOT of examples of dates sitting low with these movements recently. I did a thread on how I fixed one of mine.

A fix for the low VS3135 Datewheel

Looking forward to another awesome build from you!

 

[Teamdsi]

Following

 

[Perpetual]

Howdy bro, glad to see you back on again! I'm not surprised to hear the bezel is bad. There were several suggested fixes in the ARF and RAF threads, I think a better click and doubling up on the flat washer were some popular choices.

Before you get to mounting hands, you should probably evaluate how ypur VS3135 DW sits in your dial's date window. There have been a LOT of examples of dates sitting low with these movements recently. I did a thread on how I fixed one of mine.

A fix for the low VS3135 Datewheel

Looking forward to another awesome build from you!

KJ! Nice to hear from you bro! Still loaded with knowledge on all levels of the rep game some things never change

I did not know this on the VS movements... I hope this one will be a good one as I've never used this one before I've always had the VR versions this VS would be my first.

Thanks for the link!

 

[trash3939]

I have learned a lot from your past assembly of 16613 and others.
I am looking forward to seeing this sillan case watch as well.

I built this one using a sillan case.

 

[ffnc1020]

The problem with these cases is that the crown guard looks really short. I recently bought a 8mm end mill and counter sunk bits and hopefully it will allow the crown to tuck closer into the crown guards.

 

[Perpetual]

The problem with these cases is that the crown guard looks really short. I recently bought a 8mm end mill and counter sunk bits and hopefully it will allow the crown to tuck closer into the crown guards.

Yes their a little stubby, but when dealing with old submariners some gens appear stubby too due to refinishing/polishing under unexperienced persons..not a big deal.

Side note: watch out on counter sinking too far where you can run the problem of bezel and crown contact in result none crown movement.

 

[tribal]

Hello My Fellow Reperzens citizens

Been away from the rep game for some time catching up with life, decided to take a peak at some of the sub forums and stumbled upon a Sillian case set and...yes, took the plunge for yet another 166xx build.

Packaging was good and shipping was lighting fast as some other members pointed out. 7 days after payment it was in my front door .

Let's put some white gloves on and take a closer look as this case may-be worthy

The crown is tucked away inside the case and the 16610 engravings are taped off?? I'm going to say it's for security purposes...

Right off the bat, the bezel action was my first test and yes...it's sloppy, loose, and clicks like a cheap nh35 Aliexpress bezel assembly with absolutely no resistance. To my surprise the crowntube has inner teeth to unscrew it, and to confirm it is indeed a screw in and not a pressure fit.

Amy worked with me on the sale and put together the items I wanted so I didn't have to purchase 2 case sets. You have to order the (sample) item to purchase 1 case 250usd I added a VS3135 movement along with the deal.

Everyone knows this beautiful movement and boy does it look beautiful glad to see these are still widely available

Please do stay tuned on the unfolding of this build.

Hello again to all who remembers formerly knows as Lawlessflyer

Where is this Case from?
Is the Bezel Construction gen spec?
Would love to see some details pictures of the construction please?!??

 

[Perpetual]

Where is this Case from?
Is the Bezel Construction gen spec?
Would love to see some details pictures of the construction please?!??

Case is from Ali-baba,
Gen bezel construction indeed.
Here's some pictures

 

[trash3939]

The bezel of the sillan case is slightly smaller, and when a GEN Bezel Insertis installed, it is necessary to lightly shave the outer diameter.

 

[tribal]

Looks like JF/ARF/ROf to me.
But Cg's looks weird I think?!?

But thanks for the Info.

 

[trash3939]

Looks like JF/ARF/ROf to me.
But Cg's looks weird I think?!?

But thanks for the Info.

I also handled JF and ARF.
I believe these sillan cases are the same or from the same supplier.

I think it is a good inexpensive case that you can get for $200.

 

[Perpetual]

Moving further on case inspection the crowntube insert will need to be bored/counter sunk for Genuine tube to fit/sit nicely against the case

Just for Curiosity and informational sake I've done a side by side comparison to my heavily used Ginault OR2

Not Horrible, crown gaurds obviously need more meat vs the OR2

Also for anyone wondering the ginault bracelet fits quite nicely with no issues

 

[Perpetual]

Looking through my parts bin I knew I had a Gen insert!

Cracked pearl...but I'm not bugged about it.

Quickly went to check the fitment and...yep, doesn't fit the Sillian bezel as mentioned by @trash3939

Next step, sand down the Gen insert? Not sure I'd like to do that...

I'll have to dig into my parts bin again I may find another way around this..In the mean time I'll work on removing the bezel assembly.

Now I have another problem...upon bezel assembly removal the retainer got bent to no return!! Is this material light gage stainless steel?! This is a first that the retainer bent like this..

Also take note there isn't a rubber gasket present under the crystal tension ring🫣

 

[trash3939]

Looking through my parts bin I knew I had a Gen insert!

Cracked pearl...but I'm not bugged about it.

Quickly went to check the fitment and...yep, doesn't fit the Sillian bezel as mentioned by @trash3939

Next step, sand down the Gen insert? Not sure I'd like to do that...

I'll have to dig into my parts bin again I may find another way around this..In the mean time I'll work on removing the bezel assembly.

Now I have another problem...upon bezel assembly removal the retainer got bent to no return!! Is this material light gage stainless steel?! This is a first that the retainer bent like this..

Also take note there isn't a rubber gasket present under the crystal tension ring🫣

ARF's 16610LN also had one without a retaining ring gasket.

 

[Perpetual]

Alright back in action! Found a TC bezel and a Gen crystal tension ring

Here's some comparison shots between Sillian vs TC bezels

First thing that pops out to me is the teeth/shape is wrong compared to the TC. Sillian looks more of a 6 digit bezel ring and TC a true 5 series ring.

The inner teeth are better on the TC as well.

Nothing more to expect from sillian than an over polished bezel ring from the top of the bezel

Gen bezel insert snaps into the TC bezel ring flawlessly as we all remember. Moving back to the case set someone said to replace the case back? I've got a case back from German gmt case set from long ago but it's not that great to be honest... the finishing is poor and even the weight is lighter them that of the sillian?!

The finishing is bad on the inside no big deal but why lighter in weight?? It does sit slimmer though. I went with the original due to weight.

Next step was to reduce the sharp edges on this case mainly the opposite side of the crown (underside) and at the SEL lug VERY SHARP!

 

[Perpetual]

Upon addressing these sharp edges on the inner lugs I've noticed the spring bar holes were quite large got the thinking these Sillian cases are ment for drilled lugs! ...also would explaine why these type of spring bars are included along with the case set. See pics

Here it is compared to my Ginault spring bar holes, significantly smaller.

This only makes sense to drill the lugs this will be a future add on

 

[trash3939]

 

[Perpetual]

This build has changed direction game changer Managed to pick up this immaculent gen tritium dial!

 

[Karbon74]

To fit the gen insert, you can sand the inside of the bezel instead