leitztozeiss

Awesome. You should wear it in your Panasonic commercial with Shakira. Btw, cut me some slack - your genuine 186 costs more than my car. I say "decent" date mag in relative terms - of course, it looks like [censored] compared to a gen. It's also a $300 rep, so the decent date mag is (or should be) forgiveable.

Buy gen.

Fat markers, decent date, new engraved caseback, and working GMT!! Nice!!

Thanks John!! Glad to see it's already getting use. I'd love to see it next to your other vintage war-era timepieces. And, thanks to Marco, this will be the basis of my 6152 project. I'm still on the fence on which way to take this project: destro crown guard with brevet ital engraving, or brevet winding crown version. Marco also sent me a tastefully vintagized destro marina militare dial with 3-oclock subseconds dial, so I'm swaying toward the former. Hmmm.

Well, I had received a beautiful, pristine california dial 3646 from Neil and decided to experiment on some vintagizing ideas. Some of you might recognize it as one I sold to John a few days ago. I sold it to fund other projects. But, I just wanted to share some of what I did and some pics. First, I removed the crystal, stem, strap, and caseback and gave the entire case a medium coarse satin finish with sponge-type wood finishing pads - I started with medium grit and went to fine grit. I did the same to the end of the crown and to the crystal bezel ring. I rubbed the crystal lightly with a pad, then repolished using brasso to give it a worn, but polished look. With the crystal already removed, I went to work on the dial and hands. I used one of my kid's black charcoal pencils to color the indices and hands. I also dabbed the indices with a gummy eraser to balance between the original color and the charcoal color. This went much better than anticipated, and it was very easy - no messy paints, no dipping in expresso or tea. Once I got the indices to a desired color, I took a pad and scoured the entire dial in a circular motion to give it an even faded look. Looking back, I think maybe a dark brown or dark orange color would've worked nicely also. Also, I wiped the metal frame of the hands with a pad to give some wear to the edges, so in certain light a hint of metal would show through. Finally, I reinstalled the hands and put the case back together. I vintagized the strap using a scouring tip on my dremel. Then, I sold it to fund another project (6152!!). Here's the pics:

Nice Cucs.

Gorgeous.

Beautiful work Mark. Congrats Flyback on a beautiful 6152. I'm in process of building a destro version, thanks to Marco (and Mark).

Nope. Just enjoying the view . . .

Congrats Admin on your new position.

Who, what, where . . . wow

Love it . . .

You know, a similar thought crossed my mind as I've read these dealer complaint threads . . . the occurences of unhappy buyers seem too clustered to me. But, I am one those paranoid conspiracy theorist types . . . really.

Oh, never mind then!!

I really like these straps. Very unique. I guess it's just me then. Looking at his SITE, I think this Delaurian guy is very good at crafting straps. I've never seen anything like them.

CLICK HERE! This is not me, but I thought some of you might be interested in one of these one-of-a-kind straps. If only I had smaller wrists.

Wow, which 8 day movement? Is it Angelus? I look forward to seeing your completed projects!!

He looks like he wants the watch on the person's (your?) wrist!! Congratulations to your boy!

Wow - the gen looks significantly better! Thanks K. Are gen screws available on The Bay? I know the generic variety are plentiful there.

Thanks you Madasboot!!

Wow. Wow. 3646 and new 111H with updated movement!!!!

Indeed, the 222 is a sweet looking watch - you'll be pleased. I agree, the Palp 2.1mm crown will look fantastic. Why not set the date by just adjusting the time. The date will flip every time you pass midnight while setting the time - just keep turning til you get to the right date. It's a lot of turns, and to some may be a pain in the ass, but once it's set keep it on a winder.

Hi Cucs. The crown and guard look great. That will be my next purchase (I think).

Really, you need to be more specific.