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Most recent acquisition...

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Okay one80, let's talk about this. I started out exactly where you are... I loved the look of a Big Crown, and had to have one. "Only the best will do!" So I started researching. This is most important. Research. Know exactly what you want. Then research more... who makes the parts to build what you want? Armed with that knowledge, start acquiring parts. I recommend you find the dial first. You'll find there are complete crap Big Crowns out there, then there's a middle ground of pretty nice pieces that look perfectly good to 95% of people that see them. Then there's a 3rd level that are nearly perfect. The dial sizes are not the same. So the size of the dial you find determines what "level" you're going to build. I wanted perfection, but there were no dials like that after 2 years of looking. Next was the middle ground with Silix sized cases and dials to fit. There were a lot to choose from and I picked the best I could find. That dial determined everything else and I built a really nice Silix sized 6538 with a well aged dial and hands, and Athaya 8mm crown. It came out really nice. It wasn't the end result I really wanted, so I wore it and kept my ears open for the "right" dial. 3 years later the "right" dial fell from heaven and I grabbed it. It was smaller so that meant everything had to be procured again. I got a great deal on an MQ case (or so I thought) then had to find a bezel, insert, crown, tube, crystal and hands. I went gen for everything except the case and movement. That meant selling the Silix to fund parts, then I started building. I chose an ETA movement for parts availability, that caused tons of other problems like stem misalignment, case fitment, frankenstein stems, and expen$ive hands that wouldn't fit the movement. So I sent it to 4 builders to see if they could fit the hands to the watch. Finally Phong got it to work. Now I've got the final piece I wanted, and it's everything I hoped for. It's magnificent. I get massive enjoyment from it, but it took over 6 years to accomplish. If I'd been in a hurry I'd hate it now. Instead I treated it as a long-term project and built a mid-level piece along the way to take the edge off. That helped a lot. Here's the Silix piece Here's the final piece ... not that different

They seem bit paranoid or cautious regards to international relations. How Switzerland Came to Dominate Watchmaking - The New York Times (nytimes.com) I got this article from NYT, Switzerland once copied British and American watches as swiss were considered inferior. Thousands of fake watches destroyed in Switzerland – FHH Journal (hautehorlogerie.org Appearently, the swiss were importing fake watches. More amusing, fake parts.

A minor detail, but I think the CCP run China more like authoritarian capitalists rather than communists.

Well done.

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I know not everyone likes being talked out of their goal, but I too went down this rabbit hole of once wanting to build a super Franken 6538, and I gave up before even starting. It wasn't impossible, but feel I used my better judgement and went away from it. As an alternative, might I suggest a Titus Calypsomatic. They start cheaper and Max out in the price range of building a 6538, have very similar characteristics, share the 37mm x 47mm dimensions, many have true negative relief dials, big crowns, and they have easy to service ETA 2472s inside. Here's the one I wear regularly. It's a parts watch I built from what I acquired over time. Dial, case, movement, crystal are original. Bezel is period correct. Hands/crown are replacements. And here's a couple 100% genuine ones I restored. Not a bad profile. It's just a thought, but its a fun way to have a truly vintage piece without most of the headache that the 6538 brings. My hat is off to all the guys who've built themselves a super-franken 6538/5510 or one of the small crown Frankens. You guys are on a whole other level. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well done, Tom. All that is needed now is some 'natural' wear & patina. Many years ago, I had a similar 'happy accident' that lit my path on the road to frankens & gens. I came across a TZ post from a guy who had an unused 3035 he received from Rolex as part of a display his company was contracted to make for them. In the end, the display never got used & he did not need/want the movement. For some reason, the post completely missed the attentions of most TZ readers (especially, those who would instantly appreciate the value of a NOS 3035), so I was able to pick it up for a song. This led to my putting together my 1st franken-gen (a 100% gen watch assembled out of gen parts from disparate sources). And the rest, as they say, is history.