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Newbie to the group, but I thought someone might appreciate a comparison between two 16610 Submariner options. Photo heavy, and I haven’t mastered dropping photos so bear with me. Below was my first Frankensub, a Raffles 14060 case with a cyclops added to make it a 16610 build. As y’all know, Raffles doesn’t advertise his case compatible with a 3135 movement, so this was his recommended method to ensure date window alignment with the Rolex clone movement. I’m a sucker for cheap, vintage, beat to hell dials, so I couldn’t pass up this water damaged beauty for a beater 16610 build. Took me mastering case clamps/screws to get this thing aligned well enough for the auto works to function properly. The first thing you’ll notice is the bezel and lugs on Raffles case is way off from genuine. The bezel assembly is flatter, and uses and octagonal retention spring. It’s otherwise pretty solid. I had to sand the gen beat up insert to make it fit the bezel. In hindsight I wish I hadn’t done that as you’ll learn shortly.
Welcome to the pointy lug club! I’ve since used this same case for my franken 16700 build as it’s way closer to gen for that than a sub!
After learning the error of my ways, and catching hate in the Reptime Reddit land of miserable souls, I set out to find a better case. I landed on an AliEx shop called Pengliang.
Just found this amazing item on AliExpress. Check it out! $436.93 | 904L Stainless Steel Watch Case For Vintage Submariner 16610, Fit to 3135 Watch Movement, Watch Parts
I thought it pricey at the time until I learned a little more and realized it’s a bargain compared to Viet cases like Ruby’s
. I messaged the shop and through WhatsApp I got a link to their website where it’s cheaper. I opted for a little AliEx buyer protection this time and paid a little more. It arrived yesterday. It came cleverly packaged in a Bergeon plastic parts dome tray and box. The case was wrapped tight, placed in the dome, wrapped for days in Saran Wrap then boxed in the Bergeon box. Nice protection, but I assume it was to dodge customs scrutiny. Here’s the tray doing its job protecting another project.
The case came with engraved case, case back, case clamps and screws (I didn’t use them as they looked too small) case back gasket. The nice thing was the crown came pre-attached to a 3135 stem. I didn’t even have to cut to length. I thought that was a nice touch. Now for the Pengliang case photos:
Casing my dial and movement went smoothly as using case clamps/screws ever goes. I re-used my Raffles 93150 bracelet. It gave me no trouble installing.
Finished build:
The biggest things I notice is that the bezel feels more gen spec. It uses a retainer ring like gen instead of retention spring in Raffles. It has very little back play, and I believe a gen insert would snap in as this one is a snap in style. Since I sanded my gen insert for the Raffles case, it wouldn’t secure in this bezel. I fiddled with adhesive but the juice wasn’t really worth the squeeze in the end. Didn’t feel confident it would stay put without cement - and I suck at cementing inserts. I usually glue it to the crystal. So the fake went back in. Had a bit of a time snapping it back in, but a case opening knife with a cloth to protect the case did the trick. The bezel rotates with solid clicks but it does feel like chunkier clicks than I’m used to. Maybe I’ll swap a gen assembly in at some point. In these photos the gen insert is on the left.
The other big difference is the crowns and the lack of lug holes. The crown on the Raffles case is less polished and sort of flares up to the top of the crown. Peng crown has deeper grooves and a cleaner angle toward the crown top as well as better finishing all around. As for the lug holes I’m sure I’ll get around to adding them one day when my skills improve. I don’t dare try it with a dremel!
Now for comparison photos between cases. In these photos the Raffles is without bracelet and Pengliang has the bracelet installed.
I couldn’t tell you what factory this case is from. Could be ARF or RAF or something else entirely. For the money I’m very pleased with it. The case shape seems better than Raffles. I did some digging and Pengliang has been mentioned before in other posts with great reviews. On their website it costs $380. https://www.watchpartscn.com/Watch-Case/Top-904L-Watch-Case-For-Vintage-Rolex-Submariner-16610LN
After learning the error of my ways, and catching hate in the Reptime Reddit land of miserable souls, I set out to find a better case. I landed on an AliEx shop called Pengliang.
Just found this amazing item on AliExpress. Check it out! $436.93 | 904L Stainless Steel Watch Case For Vintage Submariner 16610, Fit to 3135 Watch Movement, Watch Parts
I thought it pricey at the time until I learned a little more and realized it’s a bargain compared to Viet cases like Ruby’s
. I messaged the shop and through WhatsApp I got a link to their website where it’s cheaper. I opted for a little AliEx buyer protection this time and paid a little more. It arrived yesterday. It came cleverly packaged in a Bergeon plastic parts dome tray and box. The case was wrapped tight, placed in the dome, wrapped for days in Saran Wrap then boxed in the Bergeon box. Nice protection, but I assume it was to dodge customs scrutiny. Here’s the tray doing its job protecting another project.
The case came with engraved case, case back, case clamps and screws (I didn’t use them as they looked too small) case back gasket. The nice thing was the crown came pre-attached to a 3135 stem. I didn’t even have to cut to length. I thought that was a nice touch. Now for the Pengliang case photos:
Casing my dial and movement went smoothly as using case clamps/screws ever goes. I re-used my Raffles 93150 bracelet. It gave me no trouble installing.
Finished build:
The biggest things I notice is that the bezel feels more gen spec. It uses a retainer ring like gen instead of retention spring in Raffles. It has very little back play, and I believe a gen insert would snap in as this one is a snap in style. Since I sanded my gen insert for the Raffles case, it wouldn’t secure in this bezel. I fiddled with adhesive but the juice wasn’t really worth the squeeze in the end. Didn’t feel confident it would stay put without cement - and I suck at cementing inserts. I usually glue it to the crystal
. So the fake went back in. Had a bit of a time snapping it back in, but a case opening knife with a cloth to protect the case did the trick. The bezel rotates with solid clicks but it does feel like chunkier clicks than I’m used to. Maybe I’ll swap a gen assembly in at some point. In these photos the gen insert is on the left.
The other big difference is the crowns and the lack of lug holes. The crown on the Raffles case is less polished and sort of flares up to the top of the crown. Peng crown has deeper grooves and a cleaner angle toward the crown top as well as better finishing all around. As for the lug holes I’m sure I’ll get around to adding them one day when my skills improve. I don’t dare try it with a dremel!
Now for comparison photos between cases. In these photos the Raffles is without bracelet and Pengliang has the bracelet installed.
I couldn’t tell you what factory this case is from. Could be ARF or RAF or something else entirely. For the money I’m very pleased with it. The case shape seems better than Raffles. I did some digging and Pengliang has been mentioned before in other posts with great reviews. On their website it costs $380. https://www.watchpartscn.com/Watch-Case/Top-904L-Watch-Case-For-Vintage-Rolex-Submariner-16610LN
