MKII LRRP review

[TheDude]

Bill Yao is a young watchmaker living outside of Philadelphia. His company, MKII is named to honor the military tradition of making incremental improvements to time-honored designs.

In this spirit, Bill pays homage with each model in his lineup to past military and tool timepieces. His previous Rolex homage was called the Vantage, and is a modern interpretation of the 1016 Explorer. With the LRRP he honors the 1655 Explorer and the Milsub. An upcoming homage to the 6538 is called the Kingston, in honor of the original James Bond film's location and the fact that Ian Fleming wrote the novels there.

The LRRP gets its name from "Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol" and is pronounced "lurp". More information can be found here about LRRPs:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Ra...issance_Patrol

The watch specifications:




The Rolex Forum often asks (sometimes rhetorically), what the difference between a fake and an homage timepiece is. The LRRP offers a very long list of differences that distinguish it from its inspiration.

LRRP differences:
-larger and thicker than the Rolex 1655
-capstone bezel has "teeth"
-bezel turns (friction bezel)
-8, 10, 12, 14, 16 markers on the bezel are not inverted
-bezel font is different, as is the size of the numerals
-no cyclops
-sapphire crystal
-solid end link with a rather unique non-Rolex design
-solid bracelet with locking clasp and diver extension
-hands are thicker
-available with DLC coating on some or all of the watch
-customizable


Inspiration




Homage




Milsub differences:
-larger and thicker than the Rolex Milsub
-sapphire crystal
-available with a helium release valve
-available with screw pins
-stealth date on 3-6-9 variant
-available with DLC coating on some or all of the watch
-customizable

Inspiration




Homage




As with all other MkII timepieces, the attention to detail is painstaking. No watch is delivered without being personally attended to and perfected by Bill Yao himself. My experience with Bill and his company have left me awestruck. Every request that can be met is honored.

Even though many options are available, I was not able to find a second hand that suited my tastes when I ordered my LRRP. I desired a "straight hand" look. Bill indulged me and took an entirely different hand and trimmed the tail off of it, then cut the front to make the length perfect for the dial. What other watch company offers this level of personalized service and product?


I strongly believe that MkII makes watches that match or exceed the products from better-known companies costing several times as much. The movements he uses are in many instances the same, and Bill spends hours perfecting each one, sometimes replacing components (in brand new movements) to ensure absolute perfection.


However, the best part is that MKII gives many more people the opportunity to own a bit of the essence of "rare and expensive" iconic Rolex models.