NEW! 1675 GMT case set offering from Raffles.

[WatchN3RD]

I am no expert here so what i have been looking at is this Sternkreuz from cousinsuk:

Rolex 116 (Ø300mm), Sternkreuz XS300.158
C19225

This clarks:

Crystal Ref. # 25-116 116 for Rolex "CLARK" crystals

and this one from the Ebay seller sabaec:

25-116 Rolex Crystal
https://www.ebay.de/itm/164143046857

Now the Sternkreuz is the only one with the correct bevel. However, as you can see in comparison, the cyclops is situated too far towards the center of the crystal. (And not as sharp and crisp as it is on the other crystals btw. Maybe the pressed XS302.450 version is better?)
Strangely the schematics on cousinsuk states that the span from the middle of this cyclops too the center of the crystal is 9,8mm.
In comparison to the Sternkreuz XS302.450 where the span is 8,7mm. So this one is even further towards the center and even more misplaced?
I sense that there might be a mistake? maybe its not nearer to the center but the other way around so maybe correct?

Has someone with a gen spec dial tried the Sternkreuz XS302.450?

I believe the measurement is the distance from the center, so 9.8 would be closer to the outside of the dial, 8.7 would be closer to center of the dial. Sounds like I'm reading it that the same way you are.

 

[Shieek]

First build for me friends, can anyone give me some hints on how to installl crystal and bezel? I cracked the original crystal unfortunately anf ordered another one with gen specs. How is the bezel supposed to hold? Crystal doesn't hold on its own very good.

Thanks

 

[EnryDJ36]

First build for me friends, can anyone give me some hints on how to installl crystal and bezel? I cracked the original crystal unfortunately anf ordered another one with gen specs. How is the bezel supposed to hold? Crystal doesn't hold on its own very good.

Thanks

In the Raffles bezel assembly there is a Teflon gasket between the crystal and the ring, it is used to press the crystal. I highly recommend you throw away the Raffles bezel assembly and buy a Gen spec one that will secure the crystal perfectly.
If the gasket has been lost, it will not be found anyway because it is a detail that exclusively fits the Raffles case.

 

[EnryDJ36]

I see from the photo that the gasket is there, yes however the assembly with the original crystal is not as it should be, the crystal will never have the right seal as it should have with the Gen bezel assembly this is because Raffles is glued into the case

 

[Shieek]

I see from the photo that the gasket is there, yes however the assembly with the original crystal is not as it should be, the crystal will never have the right seal as it should have with the Gen bezel assembly this is because Raffles is glued into the case

Can you point me in a direction where I could get a gen spec bezel assembly?

 

[EnryDJ36]

Can you point me in a direction where I could get a gen spec bezel assembly?

You have to try searching on Ebay or the web. The advice I can give you if you find it is to look for a Viet bezel assembly that are of high quality, the ones offered by WSO are not of great quality.

 

[Danza1813]

If you have both, could you please compare the position of the cyclops? Is the 302.450 more to the center of the crystal in comparison or the other way around?

I k ow we had a chat off topic, but for the benefit on anyone else following this.

The 302 crystal cyclops is marginally closer to the centre of the crystal than the 300. By about .5 of a mm.

 

[deadaglev]

Wait, you said it is the other way around. And your picture confirms that. The 302 cyclops is closer to the bevel of the crystal, not the center. Therefore probably gen spec.

 

[Danza1813]

Wait, you said it is the other way around. And your picture confirms that. The 302 cyclops is closer to the bevel of the crystal, not the center. Therefore probably gen spec.

Yeah my mistake the 300 cyclops is closer to the centre. Got myself confused!

 

[Danza1813]

I can confirm a gen 93150 bracelet also fits the case perfectly with gen springbars without need to drill the holes, which will be useful for me as I have a gen 14060m to be able to wear it on a gen (although I know I know, not period correct) Rolex bracelet.

 

[choate]

I've wanted to do a 1675 for a while, so before spending big bucks on the vn case sets I decided to give the raffles set a try.

Some of my observations are below, and I hope they are useful to some of you.

1. The bezel & insert is, as others have already covered, junk. Not necessarily because it looks bad, but because it will never hold a crystal on and it spins freely. The od of the raffles bezel is 39.2mm vs Gen spec 39.6mm, something to keep in mind if you are cutting the crown counter bore deeper. I cut mine 0.2mm.

2. Crown counter bore: I cut it 0.2mm deeper, and to a diameter of 5.9mm. I think 5.8mm would have been better.

3. Raffles crown tube is 2.8mm. Wtf. Most of his other cases are 2.5, like a Gen spec tube. Other helpful people have already covered this on this thread. A Gen crown fits the raffles tube just fine though. Also a 530 or 531 Gen crown is around 30$ on ebay so why bother with an athaya and their sometimes wonky clutches? Ofrei and cousins have tubes for around 6 bucks, if you need one.

4. I decided to make my life harder and install an nh34. Several reasons for this;

A: it's not a Chinese clone movement.

B: stem height is 1.92mm, which means I could move the crown,

C: it's not a Chinese clone movement,

D: it's low beat & 40$

E: did I mention it's not a Chinese clone movement?

5. I moved the crown up 0.25mm & drilled and tapped it 2.5mmx0.25.
It seems raffles played fast and loose with the dial seat vs. Stem height and I could do another 0.1mm easy which would put the crown in the correct height vs. The bezel.

6. I managed to machine a movement holder, which screws to the movement with two 1mm drilled and tapped holes get the dial feet holes in, plus machine the NH date wheel, move and machine the crown and counter bore, just to make an arse of the bottom of the crown guards. I cut too much. Damn new files. This is why I bought 2 cases, I knew I would mess something up!!! I stopped the case shaping there and threw it together while I wait for dial and hands.

Also thanks to deadaglev for making me see the what now looks like a micro bevel on the Clark's crystal...

 

[maikols]

Thank you for all this detail .

So what is your opinion abaut the case ?

Not all can do the upgrade you do in the case and crown .

So is it better to get a vn case for you or this Ken new 1675 case ?

Ty

 

[choate]

Thank you for all this detail .

So what is your opinion abaut the case ?

Not all can do the upgrade you do in the case and crown .

So is it better to get a vn case for you or this Ken new 1675 case ?

Ty

i would hesitate to recommend anything raffles unless you want to have fun reshaping cases, reluming dials and realize that without some serious rework it's unlikley to be water proof without a bucket of glue or look like the gen version. This new case is probably the most promising by far, since it's got a nice thin profile. even with a tall clarks crystal mine is at 13mm thick. also i haven't seen any mid 60's "flat top" vn cases so i decided to give it a try. the fact that it takes a gen spec 27mm dial is another good thing.

Many members here with better skills than me have built some very nice raffles based watches, and i still think it's a great starter option; build your favorite model with raffles parts, without spending too much time shaping it in any way and if it's a watch you keep wearing step up to a vn build. It's kind of like trying out a cartel rep but the ikea version where you have to build it yourself and a couple of screws are missing...

 

[deadaglev]

Very nicely done. Thanks for sharing!
It looks gorgeous. From this pictures the inside of the CG looks good to me.
Sorry for the crystal I have the sternkreuz 302.450 incoming. Looks like it could be a solution. I will post the outcome here.
Could you point me towards a place where one can get a gen 530 crown for 30 bucks?
The last time i checked, which was right now, good ones start at 100 and go up to 250.
if you could please tell us how exactly you raised the position of the crown/stem?
This is the one thing that’s bothering me and a solution would be absolutely awesome.

 

[EnryDJ36]

i would hesitate to recommend anything raffles unless you want to have fun reshaping cases, reluming dials and realize that without some serious rework it's unlikley to be water proof without a bucket of glue or look like the gen version. This new case is probably the most promising by far, since it's got a nice thin profile. even with a tall clarks crystal mine is at 13mm thick. also i haven't seen any mid 60's "flat top" vn cases so i decided to give it a try. the fact that it takes a gen spec 27mm dial is another good thing.

Many members here with better skills than me have built some very nice raffles based watches, and i still think it's a great starter option; build your favorite model with raffles parts, without spending too much time shaping it in any way and if it's a watch you keep wearing step up to a vn build. It's kind of like trying out a cartel rep but the ikea version where you have to build it yourself and a couple of screws are missing...

How did you close the hole for the crown tube on the case? Laser welding, TIG filling or something else? I ask you this because in the event of having to replace the crown tube one day, the only possible solution is to install the tube with a 2.5 x 0.25 mm thread. Also because the original or aftermarket 5.3 mm crown fits only and exclusively on tubes with thread on the small case side. Unfortunately the Raffles case was drilled and threaded 2.8, this for me is the biggest flaw, the others are small things.

 

[choate]

Check out the ebay seller fiery gems, they have several 530 & 531 crowns coming up tomorrow! i got a 531 for 29$ a couple of months ago; they had maybe 10 up for sale during that week. i had all of them in my watch list and none of them sold for more than 40$.

I tapped the hole to 3mm and installed the threaded portion of a screw before tig welding it. since i had to cut the counter bore by 0.2mm there was little risk by welding it. you could just use a button head bolt and use jb weld or something and then machine the head off, but in this case since it needed to be machined anyway i went for the guaranteed waterproof method. Laser welding would be a much safer option!

would be great to know how the 302-405 looks! I might just machine the chamfer on the clarks crystal, i really like the cyclops on it. mag is great and it's really clear.

When i do the other case since i ruined the bottom of the crown guards on this one (still can't believe i screwed up the easiest part to reshape! lol) i'm moving it up another 0.1mm and i'm hoping it gets closer to the gen look.

 

[Danza1813]

My own thoughts so far.



Yes the bezel is terrible, but it’s an easy fix. it accepts gen spec crystal, full bezel assembly, dial, crown and bracelet. But a Viet bezel, gen or Athaya crown and you are good.



The dimensions are pretty much spot on. With Sternkreuz or Clark’s crystal it is 13mm in height (exact same as the 1969 to 1979 1675s, earlier ones were 12.7 and referred to as the thin case)



With a bit of steady work around the crown area with varying grades of sandpaper and a small file set you can fully replicate your favourite crown guard shape and size. It’s actually quite rewarding too!



The diameter of the mid case is 38 (same as gen). Lug to lug is 47.3 compared to 47.5 on a gen.

The width of the case including crown guard (after shaping) is 41. Viet bezel is gen spec diameter at 39.3.



So in my opinion and just for a couple of hours work you can save so much money with one of these compared to vietnam or milk cases. There isnt actually anything about viet cases that justifies the phenomenal price difference between the case sets

Picture below still has raffles crown. Soon to be replaced.

 

[JordanEleven]

Guys, which bezel group are you replacing the stock Raffle one with?

 

[Danza1813]

Guys, which bezel group are you replacing the stock Raffle one with?

Vietnam.

 

[Danza1813]

So I tried the Sternkreuz 302 on the case and after a few minutes before I even tried to put the retaining ring on I heard a crack! Must be tight tolerances.