Advice on 16800 Phong Case

[sfgerl]

Some of you may have already seen the masterful build of my gen/Rolex matte dial 16800 by Trip here:
https://forum.replica-watch.info/for...763635-bods-tc

I love the watch, but as anyone who has built a 16800 knows, there are issues with these builds since there are no factory reps. When I had Trip build it, he did a superb job with the parts at hand, lowering the rehaut on my TC watch to be more gen-like, installing an ETA movement, and using a DWO with open 6/9s (there are no good repro overlays to be had). It looks wonderful, but after it was built, I had the chance to acquire a serviced 3035 movement at a reasonable price, so did.

I simply love the matte dial 16800s, and decided I wanted to have the watch made into a genstein, with the original parts, using the original
palletone/matte dial, 3035 Rolex movement, 3035 Tritium hands, Rolex bezel assembly, Rolex 3035 open 6/9 DW, and a Phong case with a customized S/N consistent with a 1982 watch.

And yes, I know about WMA (or whatever they were) cases, and ST 3035 cases, and finding those now are like finding a unicorn. So my
choice for a 3035 case really came down to Phong, (or maybe MQ)
I have been out of town since 1/2, so just opened the package from Phong today. He did not send me any photos of it other than one photo just prior to mailing it to me. In retrospect, perhaps I should have asked for photos, but I had heard good things about how accurate his cases were so did not. He is also a man of few words, and I suppose I was a bit intimidated.

Photos are below. A couple of things stand out - the caseback has the Rolex logo, which I think did not appear until the 168000 and 16610 lines - and after 1982. In addition, the lug hole on one of the lugs looks a bit ill-placed and close to the chamfer, and it is not well-placed vs. the one on the other side - it looks as though any springbar placed between them would be tilted. Truthfully, I'm surprised at how bad it looks. As far as crown guards, I am not a great judge of those, so am anxious to hear your thoughts.

Please help - we all know that at $1300, Phong cases are not cheap by any means, and this is going to be a special watch. For the price, and for what I had heard about Phong from well-placed people on this forum, his cases were the best to get. I can always ask JonJ to reshape the watch if that is needed, but I want the caseback to reflect the correct age of the watch, and the lugholes on one side bug me - and those things can't be changed.

I'm looking for some expert builders' honest comments here - am I being too picky? If you were in my shoes, would you just accept this case and get on with things?

Has anyone ever dealt with Phong before? Would it be totally unreasonable for me to return the case and ask for one without the Rolex logo and for better-placed lug holes all around?

Thanks in advance for any thoughtful comments/suggestions!

The last photo is the best image of the two mis-matched lug holes, one very close to the chamfer edge.

 

[sfgerl]

I forgot to show the engravings. I think they are OK, only including them so everyone can see what's Phong's engravings look like! (Sorry, the skin on my fingers is as dry as sandpaper from sanitizer use on the plane!)

 

[Rx4Time]

Have you tried installing a bracelet yet to see if there's actually a misalignment on the lug holes? This is where my concern would be. If the endlinks sit correctly then it's a non issue. the engravings look fine to me. The engraved caseback can be replaced with a non engraved one and I personally would reach out to Phong and ask to exchange it.

 

[tripdog]

Did you purchase this off Jensen (in the US) or Phong (Viet') ? Jensen does truly terrible work and shouldn't be selling/working on anything related to watches.

The finishing on Phong cases is awful, they don't look anything like an authentic case. When buying one of his cases you need to ask for the stock version, not his 'vintage' version. The stock version is as it comes from the factory, no polishing or brushing so you need to send it to a professional to have it refinished, plus a little bit of reshaping work too.

I can see the issue with lug hole, the spring bar won't sit straight, and it'll be impossible to get a bracelet to sit correctly.

Contact him and explain the issues, tell him you'd like to send it back and have it replaced with a new case - send him better pics of the lug hole issue, as this renders the case almost unusable - be polite but firm. I've never dealt with Jensen but Phong I've sold gen parts to and he's a perfectly reasonable person to deal with.

Regarding the 'RolexSA' logo stamp, I've never seen one on a 16800 case, so you can ask him to make sure the new case doesn't have that logo stamp.

 

[sfgerl]

I did purchase it from Phong in the US (Arizona). When he asked if I wanted it "new" or vintagized I chose the latter because he made a comment that the new on did not make any sense!

I am glad that you agree with me about the lug holes. I will contact him and ask if I can send this back and get the stock version, with no logo, and better lug holes.

I wrote him yesterday but so far have not heard anything back. I dearly hope that he will respond positively so that I can recommend him to others in good faith.

I'll keep everyone posted - thanks for the comments!

 

[sfgerl]

Sorry, I did not read the above well - the case came from Arizona, but under Phong's name. So maybe it was Jensen after all and not Phong that I was dealing with!