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The 1016: The Under Appreciated Thread

trash3939

trash3939

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dpd3672 said:
Found some alternates to our cases of choice (Raffles, TC, etc). All have lug holes drilled all the way through, and some are very attractive prices. Some of these might be the same case from different sellers, I didn't scrutinize them all, and one has a (bad) Datejust fluted bezel...but if you happen to have bezels on hand, or are ok with reworking them, it's an option.







None seem to have Rolex crowns or caseback engravings, they're sterile, and the bezels are just ok, but the lugs are actually a bit more gen than the unmodified Raffles case, imo.

Since many are replacing bezels and crystals and crowns anyway, and engraving isn't too hard to do (I'll be available to engrave any day now, going to do some of my own Raffles cases first to fine tune the technique, with others doing saltwater and photo etching for others and on their own), it's maybe the right option for some builds, especially on a budget.

I'm curious how cheaply one can actually build a passable rep 1016. With a 2813 or A2824 costing about $15-30, these cases going for about $20 or less, and a waterslide/photoresist dial going for almost free, once it's all set up, a good 1016 might actually come in for about $50, more or less.

So if one of these cases passes consensus approval (assuming, of course, some case work is done), what are your thoughts on this build? Again, not going for perfection, just a solid, no apologies, "how cheap can I build this and not have embarrassing tells from 6 feet away?" daily driver, beater.

1. Case ~$20 (from above list, $18 is the cheapest)
2. Crown/tube $1 or here, cheaper if bought in bulk (like $.40 per crown/tube)
3. Hands...tons of options on AliX for $2-3 per set. This isn't a bad option. I use these on a lot of builds, which work out to about $.50/set.
4. $4 here, or upgrade Crystal $15 (Clarks or Sternkruz or whatever you can get cheaply, or live with the sapphire that comes with the case, it's not awful. You could pop off the cyclops with a razor blade until you upgrade.
5. Movement $13 2813 or $21 2824
6. Dial $1-5 (Waterslide decal + Brass Blank + lume) or even Raffles ($35) if you want to splurge.
7. Nato or leather Strap (any number of $1, $2 up to ~$10 straps from AliX). Add a Rep Rolex buckle if unbranded leather bothers you for $3. You can get an absolute shitter Jubilee for $5 if you can stand to look at the clasp, lol)
8. Case engraving (free to $100, depending on how "DIY" you are)
9. Work required would be any case shaping, bezel and crystal tweaking or replacement, case engraving, making the dial from scratch, engraving, and assembly.

I'm getting under $40 at the minimum...maybe a hair under if the AliX coupons knock a buck or two off the order. For a complete, working, 1016 with a decent movement and a bit of passionate working of the various components...this is not intended for a purist, but for a builder that likes to add the perfection himself, rather than buying it. Reasonable, "bang for the buck" upgrades (2824 or NH38 movement, Raffles crown and dial, Raffles bracelet so you can skip the lug engraving) would add about $100, give or take.

Thoughts from my fellow enthusiasts? Anything I'm not seeing on these cases? I'm on the verge of ordering a few to play with, give me a green or red light, lol!
Click to expand...
I also bought the case for link 1 and 4.

I received them in hand today and will look at them in various ways.
K5BK5D.jpeg
 
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dpd3672

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Caboose said:
And the problem there is then you have to buy a crown which is like $20 so the savings becomes not worth it. Not to mention you gotta swap the crystal.
Click to expand...
Gonna try my luck with the cheap AliX crowns and tubes. Only one way to find out if they're rubbish, lol.


 
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dpd3672

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Caboose said:
Please let me know how you end up liking those!
Click to expand...
I tried one of the ones on one of the 5500 cases, but the crown won't screw onto a gen case...the tube that the stem screws into is too thick to go into the case. I think it's actually for a later model, not the early ones (Triplock instead of Twinlock or something like that).

That said, if the crown and tube assembly is replaced, they should work. They might not be correct, but they're really not bad in person. I think they do screw onto a gen case tube, the threading is close or the same, but it's all or nothing for these cases/tubes.

Interestingly, I have had a bit of trouble with the GEN crowns. The spring pressure is a bit lighter than the Raffles ones, and it's very difficult to use with the 2824 movement. I can click to the time setting and date setting positions, but it goes soft to click to the winding position...and there's so much travel it engages the threads of the crown tube before it clicks home. Will sort that eventually, but tired of messing with it at the moment.
 
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369mafia

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New Dial discovery!!: mk 0 Matte dial?
Except from this IG post 1016 dial

An early candidate for my best find of 2024 - a 1016 with a previously undocumented dial! At first it looks like a regular matte dial … but instead of being one of the known variants, the Rolex and SCOC text are from the Type 2 gilt dial (picture #2) and the Swiss T<25 text is from the Type 4 gilt dial. When I first saw it, I assumed it was a redial, but if you swipe right you can see how it matches the printing cliches of the Types 2/4 (mash-ups in pictures #3-4, side by sides in #5-6). The Type 4 is the earliest 1016 with a T<25 designation and non-chapter ring dial, which is probably why that was used for the Swiss text. The “bandaid” texture lume matches other watches from the 1.7m serial that this watch has (pictures #7-10), so it wouldn’t make sense as a service dial either. Moreover, the dial is unblemished and it has original parts down to the crazed crystal and scuffed but unpolished case. Much like the 1675, we now have a “Mark 0” matte 1016. Excited to hear if anyone has seen another! Thanks to @_michael_morgan for sourcing this from the original owner and the various people I conferred with about the dial printing.

 
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316lad

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369mafia said:
New Dial discovery!!: mk 0 Matte dial?
Except from this IG post 1016 dial

An early candidate for my best find of 2024 - a 1016 with a previously undocumented dial! At first it looks like a regular matte dial … but instead of being one of the known variants, the Rolex and SCOC text are from the Type 2 gilt dial (picture #2) and the Swiss T<25 text is from the Type 4 gilt dial. When I first saw it, I assumed it was a redial, but if you swipe right you can see how it matches the printing cliches of the Types 2/4 (mash-ups in pictures #3-4, side by sides in #5-6). The Type 4 is the earliest 1016 with a T<25 designation and non-chapter ring dial, which is probably why that was used for the Swiss text. The “bandaid” texture lume matches other watches from the 1.7m serial that this watch has (pictures #7-10), so it wouldn’t make sense as a service dial either. Moreover, the dial is unblemished and it has original parts down to the crazed crystal and scuffed but unpolished case. Much like the 1675, we now have a “Mark 0” matte 1016. Excited to hear if anyone has seen another! Thanks to @_michael_morgan for sourcing this from the original owner and the various people I conferred with about the dial printing.

Click to expand...
Ummm, so true first of the frog foot service dials?
 
369mafia

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316lad said:
Ummm, so true first of the frog foot service dials?
Click to expand...
I guess? They seem to think its first of the matte dials but to me it looks closer to a mk2 so I would have considered it a mk 2.5 as the cornet looks closer to a mk2 thank a frog foot... interesting find none the less.
 
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369mafia

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Caboose said:
As Raffles' #1 customer, you should get him to make those for us.
Click to expand...
#1 perhaps but top 10 likely haha
I can definitely ask but I think he would see it as overlapping

I was thinking of asking him about folded oyster bracelets I dunno if Mary still offers them but they dont seem to be an option on watchs from cartel bp any longer
 
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316lad

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dpd3672 said:
I tried one of the ones on one of the 5500 cases, but the crown won't screw onto a gen case...the tube that the stem screws into is too thick to go into the case. I think it's actually for a later model, not the early ones (Triplock instead of Twinlock or something like that).

That said, if the crown and tube assembly is replaced, they should work. They might not be correct, but they're really not bad in person. I think they do screw onto a gen case tube, the threading is close or the same, but it's all or nothing for these cases/tubes.

Interestingly, I have had a bit of trouble with the GEN crowns. The spring pressure is a bit lighter than the Raffles ones, and it's very difficult to use with the 2824 movement. I can click to the time setting and date setting positions, but it goes soft to click to the winding position...and there's so much travel it engages the threads of the crown tube before it clicks home. Will sort that eventually, but tired of messing with it at the moment.
Click to expand...
Yep, the 2824 click positions are more like “clunk” positions!
You can try gently rounding off the detents on the click spring to make them lighter.
 
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