Old Crowns (OC) 1680 Case Vs. Raffles 1680 Case

Disclaimer: This post is not to discredit Raffles. They are value-for-money, budget-entry builds. OC is a case level up from Raffles (beyond budget). Hence, this post serves the purpose of letting you make an informed decision.

Here are some noticeable features, all in my own opinion. See the photos for yourself and make your own judgement.

The OC lugs are slightly slimmer, and the raffles lugs are slightly meatier towards the bezel/connecting to the case body.

The OC has nicer crown guards and more gen spec than Raffles’ pointy, meaty crown guards.

The OC has 704 tube and crown, as you can see, it’s bigger than Raffles.

The bezel teeth on OC are smaller (making it a bigger lip), the Raffles bezel has bigger teeth (smaller lip)

The bezel play on OC is slightly loose, whereas the Raffles bezel has more friction/tighter.

The bezel pip on OC is acrylic, which is gen spec and period correct.

The bezel insert on OC is thinner and gen spec. Raffles insert is wider.

OC caseback is noticeably shorter than Raffles thick caseback. Raffles caseback always has a higher pie pan (the polished area) towards the brushed surface. It makes the whole watch rest taller from the lugs.

On the other hand, the xtal on OC is taller than Raffles, which is quite gen spec with the top hat.

Both case thicknesses from xtal to caseback are actually approximately 14mm; Raffles is slightly taller by about 0.1-0.2mm. Not significant by measurement, but overall it feels and seems thicker on raffles due to the tall caseback, wider insert, and meaty crown guards.

The lugs hole on OC are spot on and better than Raffles.

OC is 360euros without tube and crown, and Raffles is $60 with free shipping.