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1016 build v2. Just in from Matt. I forgot how comfortable these are to wear.

I'm putting the tools down now. Just finished installing a tritium pip that I think is a reasonable match. I can now say that it's done.

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:

If it looks too good to be true ... then it probably is. I surely hope this is real but it looks unlike what would be possible imo

Incredible craftsmanship!

Dbane aging a case....

It looks similar to James Bond Skyfall Tuxedo Suit. It is meant to electrify the viewers with the very first of its look. The black color represents the male dominance and superior when wearing for Prom Parties or Weddings.

First of all i would like to apologize for the delay in responding to this thread. I was made aware of it by Mike on a bike quite a few days ago, however i have been so preoccupied with some other matters that i have only had the time to sit down and get to it now. Again, please accept my sincerest apologies sir. I would like to ask you, irolexu... were you at any point offered by my staffs to send the watches back to us for a free repair and free reship? I would also like to ask... why did you not come to me about this directly via PM if you were not getting a favorable response from my staff/s? I have not had a PM from you about this (that i can see), yet it bothers you enough to create a thread about it and let a mod get involved. I would like to help correct this, but i would like to also say that threads like these are in somewhat of a bad taste. Writing a thread like this is damaging to a TDs reputation, and i feel (just my personal take on things) that a thread like this should be reserved for when you have exhausted all ways of trying to get this solved. You have been here almost 4 years, very high post count, so i know you know how to work with TDs, and i know you know about watches. Your problems clearly occurred during the shipping process: 1. "blue dial DJII and when it came the paint had chipped off the dial" - was it so in the QC pics? If not, then how can we be at fault for this? We didn't send you a defective product, but the shipping was clearly very bad, something we don't have a control over 2. "Day-date II ordered and what I received is by no means even acceptable! The watch has rotor parts rattling around inside, the stem is coming all the way out and no matter how much I wind it it will not run" - do you honestly think a watch will pass QC like this? Sir, the watch goes through THREE QC tests before QC pics are even sent: a. QC, physical check with eyes and hands, if passed... b. Waterproof check, put in dry test machine to check for waterproof - would not have passed this with defective stem c. Time accuracy check DEFINITELY wouldn't have passed this with the mentioned issues So clearly, (and to me this should have been very obvious to a long term and dedicated member such as yourself) these problems did not start here at PureTime. This is not to say that i don't want to handle them, i am truly sorry this happened to you and you did not get the level of service you expected from us. I would like to make you happy, so please PM me and we can work things out. All i ask is next time, please come to me instead of writing a thread, because it saves so much time for you, saves so much hassle and not-needed bad PR for me, and everyone can be happy. Finally thank you to Mike on a bike for alerting me to this and taking your time on this. Much appreciated my friend! A

A taylor made suit will beat any off the shelf suit in terms of fitting for any individual just pay a bit more for the best material available. I like my suits to be light/soft and confortable. I got heaps of taylor made suits from my visits to Thailand/China and let me tell you the fitting is superb. Much much better fitting than off the shelf stuff. Compared to my off the shelf suits which cost anywhere between $400-$1500 my custom made suits (cost between $200-$400) are much much nicer to wear and the quality if the same if not better. Doesnt matter if it says Armani/Bally or any other brand nothing beats custom made.