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As some of you might be aware, I parted out a phong-based 6538 a few months ago. It was a very enjoyable build but it was always intended to be one part of the process. Although i have built a few 6538's for other members since then, I have had to be patient to complete a new 6538 build that, in all likelihood will be my final complete big crown build. I've always been drawn toward the early red-depth 6538's with the minimalist dial and exaggerated bevels. Given the recent red-depth 6538's that we've seen from cc33 and droptop (i contributed a little bit in the latter), I felt it was time to build one for myself. The star of the show in any of these high-end builds is always the dial. The dark lord's skills are unparalleled. Attention to detail is truly amazing. The no-glow lume that he applies is amazing, but I treated it to a slight aging to give it a more period-correct look, which to be honest, is a scary task..but I think it turned out reasonably well: I was fortunate enought to score some genuine 6538 hands that were skeleton and a bit beat up. The hands were cleaned and lumed to match the dial. Heres what they look like after I slightly aged the lume: The negative relief gilt always amazes me: The midcase is from phong and his recent efforts are much better than early versions IMHO. The lug tips swoop beautifully, but of course, the case sides are poorly finished and the bevels are a mess. I completely rewored the case to straighen the sides and recut all the bevels to make it age-appropriate for an early red-depth model, which tended to have much larger bevels than the later big crowns: Of course the crystal is a gen T17 and the crown and tube are gen 8mm as well. And yes, the movement is a gen 1030. The final reason to build this project was to showcase an insert that could be one of a kind. Not only is it a "kissing 40" long 5, but the 50 is also kissing!. This is the fattest font sub insert I have ever seen. I dont beleive a fatter one exists anywhere... Of course, it was priced accordingly!.. But I just had to own it. Here is the insert compared to a "regular" long 5: The Phong bezel was treated to remove some of the nickel plating to reveal the brass. I also created some micro-pitting which is present on most 60 year-old bezels. At some point, I will replace it with a gem bezel if I ever find one. : Some profile shots: Completely assembled with a gen 7206 rivet bracelet that I recent had restored by Michael Young. Gen 80 endlinks of course: Nearly forgot the obligatory wristshot: Given my recent commitments, Im not sure I will ever build another one of these again. This will be a keeper for sure. I have a gen pearl that I will be installing at some point, but for now, its good to have a big crown back in the rotation. I should add that the hands are the early genuine 6538 hands that were slightly curved at the tips of the sweep and minute hands. I would not have built this if I didn't acquire these amazing hands:

My first rep, which I love after owning it 6 months now was loosing a few minutes a week. This became frustrating so I read on and accumulated some tools and ready myself for some surgery. I started by replacing a tiny battery in my daughters Swiss Army watch. My 56 year old eyes and big fingers found it quite challenging. It was successful! So next in line was my beloved Seamaster. That little regulator arm is very, very small. I hacked it, got in there and moved it the distance of a certain kind of hair...it's an industry term. We will see if I picked up a few minutes a week. I was quite proud of my accomplishment. I'll report back. I'll report my findings. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

6542!

Dbane aging a case....

OP - PBDAD never hid the price of his builds, so maybe let folks know what to expect. Might help speed things along for you... Bob

Hey guys, as a father of several .... (More than a few).... i know what my buddy Ogladio is going through... i volunteer to head up the coordination of the PVD run to get this moving. I will get with Rolli and Ogladio to get all of the necessary information and list of those members who are interested but in the mean time, feel free to PM me!

Oh yes! You sir know how to do something really right, what a build. Bravo!! Those bevels and hands.... and that insert... kind of speechless

Hooray! Good for you for taking the courage to just get in there and try it. That literally is half the battle right there. Now that you have opened it up once and successfully closed it, the next time won't feel nearly as daunting. Pretty soon you will be able to just whip out the tools and open it up without any hesitation. I'm in a similar situation. I have a project list a mile long, which includes tinkering with pieces I already own plus building new ones, and I finally decided enough was enough and I needed to just "do it." I had a bunch of Amazon and Ebay gift cards so I purchased all of the tools I am going to need. I am just waiting on a hand setter to arrive now before I get to work on anything major. While I am waiting for that to arrive, I am going to open up all of my watches and grease the gaskets to make sure everyone is nice and watertight.

This is exactly the type of feedback I was hoping to receive from you guys! Have to love this community! My thoughts are exactly the same! I've exchanged a few emails with them their English is pretty good and they respond pretty quickly. This one of the emails they sent me when I attempted to call them out. I've tried t explain the importance of reassurance and building trust. I've asked for tagged pics (also what Toro suggested). But they don't seem to want to budge. They seem to have concerns with other factories copying their creations. They seemed to have think I worked for a Swiss watchmaking house (I wish) due to my "knowledge" albeit very basic of miyota and Swiss mvts. Personally I don't have 340 dollars to gamble although it could be a very beneficial to the whole community. So if one of you want to take the plunge... Their email address. swiss.orders@gmail.com