chefcook

After some years in Motorsport and go-faster-departments I am now in a position were I have a lot to do with plastics. Actually I doubt that it will be possible to create a good looking plastic case to replicate the look of carbon fiber and epoxy resin. The epoxy resin is clear like water and creates a unique look as the light is not reflected by the epoxy resin but by the CF. That makes CF part sparkle like nothing else. CF parts and the AP cases are not black as well: The actually are clear and filled with CF to about 95%. With injection molded plastic parts the structure of CF is not reproducable and the effect created by the clear epoxy resin is so too. The mold for injection molding of a watch case like the AP case should be in the $5k range for mass producing but injection molding of plastic parts has one major down side that does not allow producing a case like the AP case: The wall thickness must be constant (or in a certain proportion to each other) and beneath a certain thickness to avoid shrink marks. The AP case is definetly to thick. They would not be able to create something with correct measurements and even surfaces if they made a case completely from plastic in the same dimension as the steel case. Only solution to this is a metal core underneath the plastic, but we all know the difficulties with that from other reps. I have massive doubts that a plastic case will be an accurate replication. It won't have the weight nor the surface appearance of the genuine CF case. BTW: The genuine CF cases are not very durable, too. After some use and wear the usually get "fuzzy" edges.

Hello guys, one of my dream watches is the Audemars Piguet ROO Bumble Bee. I think it is the perfect mix of the best materials AP has ever used: Carbon and Ceramic. Unfortunately the rep factories only offer a crappy version with a PVD coated steel case instead of the wonderful looking forged carbon case. When thinking of steel prices carbon rovings (the stuff AP makes the cases from) are very cheap, so why won't rep factories be able to get it right? I've gained the knowledge of resin transfer molding (RTM - the correct term for the process used to create "forged carbon") during my former work for the Porsche's Motorsport department and the BMW M department and want to share it with you. RTM is used for parts with small surface in relation to their volume. You won't get the nice woven carbon pattern on the surface, but as you can see from AP's forged carbon cases it looks nice, too. Body parts for cars for example would not be made by RTM. To produce them multiple layers of woven carbon mats are laminated with epoxy resin. All you need is a negative to form you body part. For RTM carbon parts the setup is very different. Instead of a simple negative one needs a mold that is able to withstand pressure and heat. After filling the mold with carbon wires (rovings)it is evacuated to ensure that the mold will be filled completely. Bubbles would destroy the surface and / or the later strenght of the manufactured part. After evacuating the mold it is filled with an epoxy resin under high pressure and then baked to harden. This for example is the mold Audemars Piguet uses for their cases (look what kind of watch AP employees wear ): The mold is filled with the cutten rovings: Then evacuated and filled with epoxy resin: In the oven: The finished case and the rovings it is made from: As you can imagine after seing these pics it is not the the material costs that make such a case very expensive, it is the labour and the know how. I estimate that AP needs several hours to create one case and as far as I know it took them years of experimenting how to produce a carbon case that really works. Too long for rep factories, that simply stamp, forge and finish the cases. But now to the most interesting part: With the pictures above they reveal so much information that it could be possible to replicate the case. A mold is not cheap but the possibility to rep my dream watch, the bumble bee, is very tempting . Maybe an aluminium mold is enough for a home made project. The mold has to be designed slightly different to work under home made conditions and the finished product won't have the same stability as the genuine case. The look should be replicateable. I'm about to order an Offshore and will make a CAD file of the case. It will be a long term project and I don't know if it will be successfull in the end but I think it's worth a try. Let's see if it works...

yeah, a sec@12 version of the Montauk Highway LE would be an instant buy...

I have to say my experiences with Torobravo were excellent!

Do the gens have AR?

Hey guys, I am about to order an AP Offshore, but I am not sure which. Which of those would you buy? 1: Silver Themes on hornback strap: Love the colour combo - looks like an inverted Tour Auto 2008. 2: Silver Themes on bracelet: Normally I prefer bracelets to leather straps, but does it really look good on an Audemars Piguet? Probably it is the most practical with the bracelet. 3: Volcano: Extravagant, but very cool. 4: Safari: Very very elegant. Would look cool with a dress but somehow the Safari is a sporty watch, too. So, which is the best choice for a first AP?

The genuines without regulator have a different bridge design under the rotor. So: Put a regulator on it or fabricate custom bridges like for some panerais before...

At least the V2 clasp will have the divers extension that is missing here...

unfortunately there wasn't a rep of this one. I would have bought it in a heartbeat!

Please resize the pictures so that more than your arm hair is visible

Works. Outer bezel ring are the same on Yachtmaster SS/Pt and Submariner Date SS.

OK guys, good news: I asked Josh if the whole bezel is lumed. His answer is: Hi Yes it is.. I will be shooting the lume pic tomorrow... Joshua

I hope the get the lume right on the white one:

Just saw this on Josh's website: http://www.1-pc8838.com/0543-p-9081.html 1.) correct case construction with two piece case back like the genuine 2.) correct divers extension Numbers on the bezel seem a little thin. I hope the bezel lock works on this version. If so I'd have to get a white rep in addition to my black genuine PloProf

Playing Golf or Squash kills nearly every mechanical watch... I have a TAG Heuer Golf watch for those occasions.

Have you asked Narikaa? I think the WM9 day dates simply were TWBest day dates. Maybe Reg has still a source for them...

Watchmaker9 had some seriously nice day dates on his old homepage. They were not cheap at about $500, but the case quality and bracelet fitment were just stunning. Maybe he can still get one for you?

Dial feet won't fit ETAs, so you have to fasten them with something adhesive. Both are Tritium dials which means that you should only use them in a five-digit reference number (e.g. 18238). Modern Day Date cases would not be accurate to those dials.

yep. better put USD 2000 on top of the seamaster to get a half decent Audemars Piguet franken...

Besides the smaller dial the 14060 has a completely different case which actually looks much more like a 5513 with saphire. A 16610 would simply be wrong as base watch.

The Ferrari he sometimes poses in belongs to his son, his prices are ridiculous compared to Project X or others and statements like "ProHunter is to Rolex what AMG is to Mercedes Benz" are absurd.

I paid a lot more for my planet ocean and think that it was worth every penny

Euromariner with lugholes... but buying from eurotimez?

The genuine crystal is NOT beveled on top, it has a rounded edge. I can only estimate, but I'd say it has a 0,25 mm radius on top. See pics of my gen PloProf below.

But where to find a case with correct crown position?