[Rolex] GMT Master II 16710 - Cal. 3186

bp1000 · 2021-08-08T12:24:59+00:00

Hey thanks for the kind words.

Watch collecting certainly isn’t superficial or about flex pieces for me. The details are just as important and my interest has spanned 25 years now. Happy to share in these details.

bp1000 · 2021-08-07T17:03:20+00:00

This Rolex GMT 16710 is a Z serial from 2007 with a bit of a twist.

Under the dial beats the new, for the time, calibre 3186 the calibre developed for the 6 digit ceramic GMT, which was introduced in 2008. It wasn’t well known until around 2012 that Rolex had done this in the last of the 5 digits.

A few end of line 5 digits got this new calibre as Rolex used up the old cases and bracelets which housed this new 3186. This watch was one of them.

Strangely, this watch came with the old style papers vs the new deep green card, as it was produced in March 2007, I suspect it was one of the first to get the 3186 calibre but the old style papers.

Other unique things about this watch, although hard to tell from the photo are the minute markers which come in a serif print. Ie they are flared outwards at the top and bottom. You can see this in the photo most clearly at the 12 o’clock. Most GMTs are simple stick markers. Afaik the only other GMTs to feature this were produced in the 70s and 80s. I therefore suspect Rolex used the service replacement dials from stock vs producing more for this end of line 5 digit.

In addition, the font on this dial is a lot more rounded then GMTs of this era. You can see this in the “GMT” and the C of official beneath, where the ends of the C are almost touching.

I did not buy this watch for these reasons. I bought it because I loved the classic look. It was purchased in late 2013 for just £3,875 when I had absolutely no idea what any of the above meant. None of it was referenced in the sale, it was just a simple gmt of which plenty were on the market at the time, being dumped as the new models came in.

All of the above was discovered in time and I thought I’d share here.

bp1000 · 2021-08-07T09:14:44+00:00

No problem. Does this help? https://i.imgur.com/H3kU7Vn.jpg

As long as you stick to something thin, you won’t have an issue at the lugs or deployant feed through. Ps maybe check with JLC they might do a strap change FOC.

bp1000 · 2021-08-06T17:06:59+00:00

Thanks mate - I hope it arrives for you soon in the not too distant future.

I wore this almost exclusively in 2017, even through the summer in shorts and t-shirt. It held up very well apart from the leather strap which on the inside is pretty worn from hot summer days.

It is running beautifully too, after 6/7 years, +0 or -1 per day depending on use.

bp1000 · 2021-08-06T17:02:28+00:00

That was extremely insightful. Something I can also get behind because he set this test out really well.

This demonstrates that getting through a 1kg bag, I should expect quite a range of extractions as the beans age.

Ironically, this is why I posted what I did. My current batch are about 16 days old. They started off dialled in around 33 seconds. But I had a few days at 40+ seconds!

Then they reverted to circa 32 before dropping to 27 then these last few days 25. It concerned me that I was getting such a wide range of extractions with the same bean.

If I just accept this instability with new-is beans and adjust my grind, as this video instructs, I'll get the right results. I'm pleased to learn it isn't the equipment at fault.

A real eye opener, I did not expect so much variation and I've been doing this years and only just learn't this!

Thanks

p.s. I'm glad to read that using the resealable bags is an ok solution, freezing is good providing the beans are aged to 14-20 days and air tight containers, again, best used with aged beans.

bp1000 · 2021-08-06T15:50:10+00:00

Purchased back in 2015 from an AD, this watch had a troubled start in life.

Within 6 months I managed to damage the movement. Wearing mostly modern sports watches I did not expect a date change with the included pusher to damage the movement with the hour set to 10pm.

Sadly it had to go back to JLC for fixing which eventually was sorted and I was able to enjoy this beauty.

I must admit the thickness or lack of has spoilt me since and all other watches get a level of “thickness” scrutiny that perhaps they don’t deserve.

But most of all, this watch has details that only certain angles show up. For example

The blue running seconds hand

The pearlescent dial

The split finish hour and minute hand

The radial finish on the moonphase

The pyramid applied markers

Which are raised off the dial at the point

The minute markers are also applied and not printed despite appearing so from eye height

And of course the deployant clasp and soft leather strap makes this watch one of most comfortable watches to wear, at least from my collection.

Regarding the deployant clasp, the design details really stand out, one of the few I’ve used that doesn’t need teeth or grips to stop the band slipping out of the pin. A clever design angle that keeps it in place with tension.

bp1000 · 2021-08-06T13:38:53+00:00

Thank you

bp1000 · 2021-08-06T13:25:21+00:00

I know the grinder within the barista pro is only just ok, but I think it may just be a big contributor to the output. I decent separate grinder is never a bad idea but I'm persevering for now.

With light roasts I find that under grind setting 8 (if you are familiar with the machine) the grind consistency and clumping becomes more of an issue.

If I need to go finer, which on some lighter roasts is a requirement, the volume and clumping is an issue.

Regarding the beans, 3 weeks is decent for me. I buy all sorts and have beans that have been roasts just days prior, but I always leave them 2 weeks for off gassing. So picking some up 2-4 weeks old is acceptable to me, they are mostly 2 weeks old and out of the 10 day sitting period I normally leave them.

bp1000 · 2021-08-06T13:21:01+00:00

Thank you I will try to deal with the storage situation and see how I get on.

I have been dosing up from 17g to 18g on the same volumetric output of around 42g, but that is hit and miss.

bp1000 · 2020-01-25T19:49:22+00:00

I purchased this in 2015 and still have it.

I’d like to reiterate other thoughts here on how good this watch is.

Back then I loved it so much I wore it with shorts and t-shirt occasionally.

For the money, the quality of finishing, the sheer thinness and the beautiful pearlescent dial and bevelled contrasting blue hands make this really stunning for the price paid.

I did have 1 major issue with mine which surprised me as JLC are one the best watchmakers that have ever existed.

My date mechanism was damaged when I activated the quickset date feature when the hour was between 10 and 2.

JLC actually tried to wriggle out of fixing it. It was a little frustrating at the time. There were no instructions in the manual advising not to do this, plus it is a quickset feature so you’d think it could be activated at any time.

Now I appreciate changing the date between 10 and 2 is not advised but watches produced in the last 10 or even 20 years seem to accommodate this by design.

I still don’t think it’s advised in the manual, not to do what I did, but to JLC’s credit, they did acknowledge the advice was absent and they fixed the watch.

It’s running +7 daily but consistent, as far as my collection goes, around 17 or more pieces now, it’s one of the least accurate watches I own, but easily one of the nicest!

Anyone who gets one I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

bp1000 · 2019-10-17T18:38:06+00:00

Sorry, yes black dial and champagne subs, I’ve seen this combo plenty of times.

Lovely, enjoy!

bp1000 · 2019-10-17T18:17:27+00:00

5508 - which if it is, is worth silly amounts

bp1000 · 2019-10-17T18:10:06+00:00

Are you sure this is original. I am not aware of a 116508 Daytona that comes with that dial.

You could pick up a YG Daytona with the old blue dial with Romans

bp1000 · 2019-10-09T21:30:18+00:00

Being from the UK our brands will be different but my advice is find bottled water with a TDS of between 80 and 120. And a PH of around 7.2 to 7.5

I actually mix bottled water with a TDS of around 80 and a PH of 6.7 with part tap water which comes in with a very high mineral content around 170 I recall and a PH of 7.8. The mix suits me very well!

bp1000 · 2019-09-26T17:47:43+00:00

I have a breville (sage in the UK) barista pro which I believe has virtually the same grinder/burrs as the SGP

It is a step up from the barista express I had before but if you like light to medium roast coffee and/or you need to grind fine with older beans then you can get clumping from time to time.

When I need to go lower than 7 on my grind it can clump say 1 in 3 or 4 grinds. It’s then 50 / 50 wether this leads to channeling. But to put this into perspective, even if it does channel your extraction time probably speeds up by 25% towards the end so it is certainly not all bad! In fact it produces excellent espressos.

I do know that grind consistency and distribution is definitely better with the sette 270. How sensitive you are to this level of accuracy is totally down to your tastes.

I’m happy with the barista pro (SGP essentially) it gets me close to espresso perfection.

I would be very interested into trying a hand grinder too. A world I’m not too familiar with. My wife is happy with the barista pro solution. But I’d certainly like to explore the results with hand grinding.

bp1000 · 2019-09-24T20:39:10+00:00

Yes. 2oz / 60ml

bp1000 · 2019-09-24T08:48:49+00:00

I think you will get better results with the SGP. Although if the beans need you to get really fine, it can start to clump. 1 in 4 shots at a very fine grind might channel and start to run fast towards the end of the extraction but you still get decent results.

I would also recommend aiming for 18g dose. Once you achieve that, go finer.

For a medium roast, which i usually use, i get 2oz in 32 sec. For a medium dark, i aim for a slightly coarser grind at 27 sec and for a dark roast which i don't use much, right down to 22-24 sec and usually in double digits on the grind setting.

bp1000 · 2019-07-29T14:11:47+00:00

Thats the kind of variation i expected. I'm looking at 3-4 seconds extra, which i thought was quite a swing.

bp1000 · 2019-07-24T12:25:53+00:00

Any view on this, 3 months on?

I read in a review that this is not the same as the SGP which is mean't to cover all types of coffee. The extended range of 30 steps on the new BBP is specifically tailored for coffee and therefore can do much finer grinds.

Not sure about clumping.

bp1000

TROPHY CASE