r/repbuilds

I’ve gotten my toes wet building watches, and this Raffles V3 1675 is one of my first projects. Here it is beside my genuine 1998 16710 and 1966 1675 for comparison.
Now that I’m more confident with builds, I want to dive deeper and build a better-spec late-60s 1675, including a higher-end/gen dial.

I’ve read a lot about Phong and MQ and contacted both. I was quoted around $1,500 USD for the case. That’s quite a jump from Milk (~$450) and BiVintage (~$500).

For those who have experience with these:

Is the Phong/MQ case really worth the premium over Milk/BiVintage?

Which Viet case is currently closest to a late-60s gen 1675?

Which dial is closest to gen?

What about hands?

Which lug engravings are closest to Late 60's typeface?

If money wasn’t the main concern, what parts would you use for the most accurate late-60s build?

I’m particularly interested in case shape/lugs, crown guards, bezel, dial printing/lume and hands.

I’ve got the genuine 1966 as a reference, so I’d love to hear from anyone who has actually compared these parts/cases against gen.

What would you guys build if starting a late-60s 1675 today?

I’ve been wearing this 40mm Clean Sub for the past two years, and I’ve really grown to love it. Today, I’m very happy to have finally acquired a genuine Rolex 3135 movement exellent. I installed it to replace the clone movement, and everything went perfectly smoothly. The installation was straightforward, and the watch is working flawlessly without any issues whatsoever.

I’m genuinely very happy with the result.

Definitely one of my favorites is this raffles build. Reshaped the crown guards and switched out the insert with one from EWP and a custom DWO. Thanks for looking!

Getting out of the hobby! I built a few watches I absolutely love and wear every day so I'm calling it there. I am selling the last of my build parts for a raffles 1675 and a raffles new style 41mm datejust as well as a couple other random parts. I would like to sell the 1675 and datejust as a set. Please DM me if you have any questions or need any more photos.

******* US only, or local pickup in the Los Angeles area. Payment via Zelle, Venmo, or PayPal. Watch kits ship for $10; shipping on small parts is free. Everything is sold as-is, as described and pictured. All sales final, no returns or refunds. Items are packed carefully, but buyer assumes responsibility once tracking is issued********

SOLD - 1675- All raffles parts except for the ETA 2836 - Asking $275 -- Paid around $290 before shipping and tariffs

1675 - Tiffany Dial Yellow Lume -
1675 - Case, acrylic crystal, signed crown, Pepsi bezel
1675 - Hands (4x) Silver w/ yellow lume
1675 - Jubilee bracelet w/ signed clasp (slight use)
1675 - Blue Bezel
ETA - 2836 w/ DWO from factory that aligns with the 1675 date window ( I also have a raffles dwo that ill toss in)

- 41mm Datejust - All raffles parts except for the ETA 2824 - Asking $225 -- Paid $250 Before shipping and tariffs

Raffles 41mm Datejust Kit Fits 2824 - Case w/ Signed caseback and serials, Fluted Bezel, Signed crown, signed jubilee bracelet, black dial, Silver hands

ETA 2824 - New in case

-- Random Parts --

SOLD - Tudor 29mm glossy Tudor Ranger Franken black bay Rosellina gilt dial and $39.99

2x sets of gold snowflake hands for 2824 $15

16610 Ghost blue bezel - $15

Just a fun build using up 2836's I had and some v3 cases.

OC drilled lug case

Custom dial

Sillan hands, aged to match dial lume

Gen crystal, bezel, crown, open 6&9 3135 datewheel (hard to find!)

Selling my awesome neo-vintage mostly gen 36mm Rolex Explorer. All gen parts except movement. The case is in great shape and has never been polished so the lugs are sharp. Unfortunately I don’t have parts packaging or receipts. I purchased this watch from a gentleman in my area that used to mod and built watches. The dial has aged with what some call stardust. To me it gives it a really cool grainy surface (impressively even) on the dial, almost matte and more utilitarian.

Drilled lug holes.
Bracelet can fit up to a 7.5 inch wrist.
Gen case puts it at a 1993-1994.
Dial and hands were purchased as a set so they match perfectly.
Older tritium dial so next to no lume but indices reflect the light beautifully.
Movement runs great (just had it checked by a local watch shop), I can’t remember which movement the builder used but you can prob identify it by looking at the photos.

Price: $2,900 (net to me) shipped
Payment via Zelle or Venmo.

Hey everyone! Wanted to share this overhaul project I’ve been working on lately.
I didn't buy this watch—it was actually given to me as a gift in absolutely terrible condition. The previous owner had abused it badly: it had been dropped, and they even tried to force the caseback open with a knife, leaving deep gouges and heavy scratches all over the case and the caseback.
Inside was the infamous DG2813. When I opened it up, the movement literally fell apart right into my hands, with loose parts rattling everywhere. To make matters worse, the dial feet were completely snapped off inside the movement from the fall.

Here is how I brought it back to life step by step:
1. Ronda R150 attempt: Initially, I tried fitting a Ronda R150 movement inside, but I quickly realized the case dimensions just wouldn't accommodate it.

2. The Miyota 8215 swap: I ended up buying a Miyota 8215 off AliExpress (back when prices were a bit lower)—a huge step up in reliability compared to the DG.

3. Saving the original crown: The winding stem had snapped off flush inside the crown threads. Following an AI suggestion, I soaked the crown in acetone overnight. By next morning, I managed to unscrew the broken piece with small precision pliers and saved the crown!

4. Case restoration: I spent a ton of time sanding down the deep knife gouges, reshaping the case contours, and doing fine finishing work (even using razor blades for sharp details) before giving the case a thorough wash.

5. Lathe work on the caseback: Since the caseback was also in horrific shape from knife marks, I mounted it on the lathe to resurface it. I shaved off a bit of material to remove all the gouges and brought it back to a clean, polished finish.

6. Dial & Hands: Since the dial feet were broken, I secured the original dial using Dial Dots. The stock DG hands didn't fit the Miyota pinion sizes, so I sourced a new set of hands from AliExpress.

7. Reused parts: Thankfully, both the original crystal and dial were still usable!

Even though the base case wasn't anything fancy, I had a blast working on it, turning it on the lathe, and bringing it back to life. I totally forgot to take tear-down photos during the process (my bad!), but the end result was well worth the effort.
With enough patience, I turned a literal piece of junk into a solid, functional timepiece. Let me know what you guys think!

If you go to my Reddit profile, there’s still the post from when I was asking what movement was inside this watch—and it turned out to be a DG2813.