Slartibartfast

Wish I'd thought of that!

I have a 42mm PO bought from Trusty some time ago, though not a pumpkin version. Can't say I have noticed anything off centre.

Got me dustin off the old box brownie as I type. Can't wait. .. Great idea lani!

Wow TMG, great project. I would go with the rounded font insert, and age it up a bit. I love that NDT dial! Echoing everyone else, I can't wait to see it finished.

Never been that big a Pan fan. But the 063 I have always liked! With the "Watchdog" treatment, that's a keeper!

Welcome...... Good idea, read and read some more, and you won't go far wrong. Glad you could join us!

I quite agree!!!

@'ken fingerlove' - yes I suppose you are right. I may have missed an easy trick there @ 'RoninQ' it's a 2836-2

TeeJay, what a fantastic narrative comparison. As they say, radio stimulates the imagination much better than TV. I was amazed how I could see just about every aspect of these watches in my minds eye just from your description. My comment would be to disagree with your scoring of the crowns. I would have given these a 10/10. They are simple, functional, secure and promote the brand all at the same time. What more could they do? Thanks for taking the time to share your findings.

It seems to have a slightly rough polished finish. I know what you mean, but the gen has a radially brushed finish.

In response to a question from stilty about the resolution and print quality at 1200dpi, I have added these two pics zoomed to a gazillion times normal size, that should give you a good idea of what to expect. Printed onto the decal sheet, yet to be cut to size. And a collage of pics of the finished DW insitu, which should give you an idea of how shiny the overlay is, which my previous pictures did not. When viewed with the naked eye, the quality is quite acceptable (IMHO). You would need to whip your loupe out of your pocket and shove your Explorer adorned wrist in your eye for it to be an issue. Thanks for all the interest guys! (apologies for the awful quality of my photography )

Hey Freddy, let me think...... home...office.....pub....home.....office......pub Nope! No extremes there! (but I get the point).

Thanks, but I wouldn't be too confident that all datewheel overlays are the same size between models. Worth a thought though! You are quite right. The previous attempt using a label sticker was not so good, the date change was restricted by the thickness of the paper. Now though, the date clicks over sweetly, just as if it was factory fresh. Cheers TeeJay! The simple solution is often the best.

Some may remember that I spent some considerable time tinkering with my 1655 rep, originally bought from Trusty. One of the mods I carried out was to create a flat top three datewheel overlay in AutoCAD and print this onto a label blank, stuck this over the original overlay and hey presto, an updated and improved look to the watch You can read all about my attempts at modding this long suffering watch here However, I was never fully satisfied with the finish of the printing with this overlay mod, so have had another go, and at the same time stumbled onto a cheap and cheerful way to create that silver datewheel look. Many reps have date windows in the dial that do not line up with the original datewheel on the movement used in the watch. To overcome this the rep factories sometimes use a steel disk printed with the date numerals on top of a white background simply stuck over the original datewheel, which then aligns with the rep dial date window. Well it struck me that all I had to do was remove the white paint and digits from the datewheel overlay disk to end up with a steel (silver) disk. Now I have re-printed my original AutoCAD work on a laser waterslide decal sheet, that I bought from ebay. Following the steps below, you too could have that silver datewheel look for next to nothing. First step...strip the watch down, and remove the datewheel overlay. This is simply stuck over the original ETA wheel using double sided tape. Now dump the overlay in a cup of paint stripper. The original paint and numerals, simply 'fall off'. Now here's the datewheel stripped of all original paint. It is actually much 'shinier' than the photo shows it. Now here is the datewheel next to the printed image on the water decal sheet. The print quality of the digits on the decal is quite good using a 1200dpi laserjet office printer. Place the original datewheel overlay onto something solid, ready to accept the decal, once you have immersed it in water for 30 seconds. It is quite tricky to get the decal aligned correctly on the metal disk. I trashed a few trying to get it right, but you can fit well over a couple of dozen images on one A4 sheet, so never mind. Here is the finished overlay with the decal in place. As the decal background is transparent, the shiny metal background shows through Now position the overlay onto the original datewheel on the movement, and glue in place after ensuring it is aligned through 360 degrees with the date window. This takes quite a lot of trial and effort to get right. Once you are done, re-build the unit and sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labour! These photos really do not do justice to the metallic look of the datewheel. It looks grey in these pics, but it actually does have a genuine metallic look and shine to it. Go on guys....if I can do it, anyone can!

Great info. I had no idea that it was a tri-colour band.

Very nice indeed. I have the blue faced model, but would love to get hold of a white version as well. These models have a build quality that belies their rep heritage. Enjoy.... Oh and by the way...................you're hooked, my friend! Upgrade and stay a while

Like it! I am a big fan of the original. This has a striking appearance, but I wonder how good it would look in daylight, without the moody lighting.

That'll be me then!

Love that crisp looking dial. Think you have yourself a bargain there! Wouldn't mind seeing a pic of the case back either, if you have one.

I always thought that they were the same. Will be interesting to know for sure!

Mrs Slartibartfast has an ETA powered TT Datejust bought fom PT some 2 years ago or more. Great quality, can't fault it. Strange, she prefers the Omega Constellation quartz (or she did until she lost it). She loved the Connie so much that I had to get another (TT model) from Narikaa. She is wearing it as I type, and the DJ sees the inside of the box more than her wrist.

Not ringing my bell TBH. Looks a little clunky!

4813 = standard auto seconds with date movement. 7750 = auto chrono. Not the same animal.

What a great gift to receive from your daughter! I would just wear it with pride and not worry about details!

great job. love the snowflake look!