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Messing with the Big Gonzo while the rest of the plane slept.

Tribal says Hello😂 Gesendet von meinem MI 4S mit Tapatalk

Hi Gents, Once a wise man wrote that "it's all about the dial". And I have to say, the further I went learning about BC the stronger that stance became... at least to me. I had a long discussion with @Bart Cordell about his very good work on dial, case bevels, etc. So I asked him if he would take care of my Big. D's 6538 wich needed more work imo. And to make a long story short, this is the result: Specs : - 8mm V2 Athaya BC - Case reshaped and polished, beveled chamfers, rehault polished to make it deeper, - Bezel work: color and polished - hour and minute hands, sanded and relume to match the dial, Tiger-Concept Big Ball second hand. - True Gilt 2 liner super glossy dial (you have no idea what an improvment it is, as many had already stated, until you see/get one) - Sternkreuz Hw 306 dome crystal Bart was really dedicated to the modding process: he put a lot of time and efforts to get what I was precisely looking for. And that is really appreciable Cheers!

I need to get up to speed on who Pratt is and what he does. Wearing a Canal Street Rolex to make oneself look big is cheesy and desperate. In fact wearing any watch including high end gens to impress others is sad. I wear watches that make me smile. One day it might be gen, the next a rep and on another day it might be something pretty cheap like a Luch.

These are a bit tasty Thought I'd got my PO needs dealt with, clearly not

It's not that accurate but it pushes the right buttons for me.

Sub V6s A2836 as a base. Removed cyclops. Swapped black bezel for blue. Swapped movement for genuine Swiss ETA 2836-2. Parts obtained from various sources. It's a fun watch to build and I hope to eventually have a custom dial with my name on it.

Ok, I want to see who shares in this thought process? I don't like to own Rolex, Breitling, and Omega reps, rather prefer gens. I have a few, but once again, I just prefer gens on these brands. But with PAMS, it's different for me. With so many incredibly nice reps/Frankens of PAMS, I almost PREFER the idea of having frankens. I own about 12 Franken PAMS right now, and one gen, and really could take it or leave it. A beautiful Pratt made vintage PAM or a vintage PAM with a nice Cortebert movement just makes me drool with a nice strap. The idea of what a piece of the same caliber of one of these as a gen costs is not only insane, but most would never consider wearing it. Where, as it is, I can choose a different PAM framken to match wardrobe with ease and not regret wearing them wherever. I am just wondering how many others share in this thought process? Rep Rolex = a little Cheesy, yet Franken PAM = cool custom watch? Is this an indicator of our perceived quality of the brand itself? Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Going out for brunch. Then watching the US Open followed by the GSW/Cavs game.

These could get me into PAM's

HR will print up custom dials for you - here's a vintage one I worked on. If you like I can try to help you.

That's really nice

My current favorite. Just came in last week from Pratt.... Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

I mostly drink wine and claim it as part of my five a day. The morning after looks more like the work Tracey Emin than Vincent Van Goth.

Some notes on the build: List of ingredients: Cartel 1675 21j, folded oyster, not shown. Clark crystal Clark bezel ring Factory faded serif insert Flat case back M2M gilt chapter ring dial Raffles small GMT hand The case was thinned a bit but I didn't go too far into it because it would be pretty easy to mess it up. I marked out the profile of the PCGs and cut them in then re-polished using a small polishing wheel and green polishing compound. Took about an hour to get it all right. The cartel case lends itself to PCGs but with the case being chinky and the CGs being short, you wind up with PCGs that are a little chubby. Can't really be helped and it's really one of the many "that'll do" moments you'll have when building a 1675 under $500. Now you can go with a phong or yuki case, but you're approaching gen DJ money at that point. I've drilled the lug holes for the Rolex 2mm spring bars as well. The dial was positioned and held down with dial dots, and it was a bit touchy, but it's on firm now. The dial came from a m2m deal and I don't know where it originated. The plate is stamped with the Singer logo which is a nice touch. The dial was only a few microns larger than the case so it fit perfectly, nail-bitingly so. Hands were installed with my hand press, everything cases up. I tinted the lume to match the dial. The crystal fit like a dream, and the bezel set needed some sanding but after a little work I pressed it over the crystal, all snug. The insert is a pre-faded insert I got from eBay and it looks the part. I'm not a big fan of the bleached inserts because they always look modified. This one is lightly faded and retains that gen look. Pricey at $50, but to me it was worth it.

Pratt is an amazing watch maker here is the watch he did for me.

I'm a PAM lover lol I would rather have Gen rolex and Pratts work is so amazing:-)

Loving these long summer nights! Getting close to midnight and the sun is still high.

I don't think it will really show much even on a leather strap. Hanging out on these forums one tends to become obsessive and detail focused. Most people won't notice your watch. Most watch guys don't know as much as the average on this forum and we tend to fixate on images several times larger than real. Truth is most of us aren't teenagers any more and at the kind of viewing distance I'm likely to get while it's on your arm, I'd struggle to tell what time it is. It's just that if you have a pile of raw cases and an engraving machine, why wouldn't you do 5508 on Monday, 6538 Tuesday and 6541 Wednesday. It really doesn't seem that hard to me.

Since there are no standards for replica gaskets you will need to know what size and type you need...more than likely an O ring type, sized by inner diameter and thickness. To get the ID of a damaged O ring gasket, measure the ID of the gasket groove where it mounts. Here is an article on how to find what size you need: http://blog.esslinger.com/how-to-replace-an-rubber-o-ring-watch-back-gasket/ After you determine the size you need, post a WTB or in a thread and someone will surely have one.

Wearing my Sub today

Ugh, this is nice! Very nice

That Tool argument is a crock seriously only farmers would really ever need a gun as a tool. The majority of people who are not America think the right to bear arms is nonsensical. Sadly the hole the USA has dug itself with gun laws is too deep to ever get out of. Things will only get worse and innocent people will continue to get killed.

Sigh. So here's how the rest of this thread is going to go: 1. Someone takes the bait and responds with the opposing view. 2. OP and others double down on their stance. 3. Back and forth gets harsher (to put it mildly) 4. Someone says "Hey, let's talk about watches guys hahaha." 5. MOAB locks thread. Can we just skip to the end, please?

So much beauties in this thread ! Here is my humble 5513. Cartel case with drilled lugs holes and cg's worked a little. Clark's plexi. Cheap cousins insert. True gilt glossy dial. [emoji632]

I wore an Explorer every day you were on the Everest thing.

You got that right! Many a summer eve has been spent on the deck watching the sun go down on Denali with a fine guitar and an old bourbon.

Thanks doc! I caught these 3 yesterday looking for Goldilocks a couple hundred yards from my house. Shoo!

Hi Guys, After waiting awhile mine's finally come through too me today, so ill give you a tasty mini review. Firstly id like to thank Legend (Alvin) for doing this for those that love the AP branded Reps...... 1. The build quality of this watch is Flawless, not a scratch not a mark, the case and wight feels absolutely genuine IMHO. 2. The bezel and case is as per GEN in both finish and Looks 3. The screws are nicely sunken as per gen also, and are perfect in alignment. 4. The dial is 99% Gen i can vouch for this as i have the Gen also. The hands and pinion are as per gen. 5. The Lume even as of today 5minutes in rainy sydney with grey skys lit up like a candle once indoors 6. The date font / and setting is as close to Gen as ive seen with his Cyclops date mod. 7. The case back is the same as almost gen also, not that anyone is going to see it. 8. The indices / markers are beautiful and again are like the Gen. 9. The sweeping hand is exactly as expected a nice sweep with the Low beat movement. 10. I first put it on the wrist with no winding and she fired up perfect, i haven't even wound it up as yet. timekeeping since this morning is spot on ! 11. The AR on the cyclops and crystal as as good as i've seen anywhere. 12. Id like to personally give Alvin a wrap for his wonderful work on this watch im so bloody very impressed. I was also lucky enough to also get the Same in FC / orange 13. If anyone on here is considering an AP diver, forget the TD's their nothing on these builds. IMHO these are worth far more than we paid for them as a group, could you add a Gen dial and Hands ? yeah sure you could but why when these are 99% perfect 14. Mines 100% waterproof and has been in the bath / shower & pool today. Pics below.

Thank you JordanF1 and guys for the nice words but please allow me to clarify some points for the benefit of all: - The v7 diver is already a nicely built rep of very good accuracy.. My mods center primarily around the movement conversion, crystal AR, cyclop, water proofing and bezel screws sinking. I did very little for the case and finishing and I cannot take credit for them. - The stock watch is good enough to pass off as genuine for most of the general population, but of course, the little tells would will let the rep geeks call it out as a rep. My intention was to build on the already stellar v7 and make improvements where I can. No way I could turn a rep into a gen watch with these mods but I could attempt to bring the rep closer and make it more accurate in little ways. - Most of Jordan's comments center around the v7 diver stock rep characteristics, I was mistakenly and generously credited for those.. lol thanks mate but you were waaaaayyyyy too kind and I cannot take credit for them. - Yes 7 pieces have been built, of the original 10 intended. The total number which would be built has been increased to 15 due to the demand. - I would be building a limited run of FC divers, and perhaps the 15400 next. - Spinmaster worked on all the movements mods, and I would have to say that the low-beat ETA conversion is one of the most reliable that I have seen. The modded movement is essentially about 95% Swiss and 5% Asian. Spinmaster goes further than the other modders by implementing an extra process in the conversion process to improve the reliability and timekeeping accuracy of the movement.

This watch was built by spinmaster with parts sourced from A very ingenious contact having access to the ROO gen parts. Here are the specs - gen dial - gen hands - gen tachy - double AR crystal - thinned case - modded case with new crown position by spinmaster - ETA date wheel - cyclops mod - LWO movement donated from Hamilton - strap and buckle from APbands @apbands - rebuffed case by spinmaster With some of its franken brothers Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ok and so, spinmaster is done with the mods. The AP frankens that I have seen typically come with the incorrect date magnification, and this has been fixed with a replacement cyclop. Also the mainspring in the LWO movement was a bit weak and replaced with a brand new one. The watch comes with gen dial, tachy, hands, as well as gen strap and gen AP deployant. The movement is the LWO283 movement and and the date window cyclop puts the icing on the cake. . On to the pics.... @folex, @tinitonsi, @jason6168, @panerai153 Sent from Mars using tapatalk

Looking forward to seeing the progress!