lhooq

Must be a Tudor!

Obviously, it was a gift from Senator Al Franken. 7032 was in the shop for a while, but it's back on my wrist for the weekend:

I just realized something about the DW hands, and why they look the way they do: Is it possible the hour and minute hands came from a 1019 Milgauss rep? Jimster: Those are really terrible pictures of what seems to be a nice watch! "I SHOULD HAVE WIPED IT DOWN BEFORE MY PHOTOS, THIS WATCH IS SHINEY LIKE A NEW PENNY YOU JUST CAN'T TELL FROM MY PHOTOS." B, planning to get one down the road?

Nico: I didn't make any statements about what color the lume should be, as I've seen dull yellow and dark brown, and everything in between. As for hand lengths on the gen, I have also seen variations in minute hand length, but I have never seen one extend past the white minute track. I suppose anything's possible with Rolex... and Tudor!

Yes, I got the idea from someone I know.

Lots of work on the Tudor 7032 today, but I was wearing this for the most amount of time:

[spun off from my Work-in-Progress thread.] I don't think there's any dispute that DW's 7032 has the most accurate Homeplate dial in the aftermarket. Unfortunately, it's let down by hands that are crude representations of the actual units. So what's a Monte Carlo owner to do? To the best of my knowledge, there are five options other than DW's: Jewelry & Watch, NDTrading, Classic Watch Parts, Yuki, and... Tudor. (Good luck finding gens!) At the time I bought this 7032, I also ordered a CWP handset as it looked to be the best available. Yuki's 7032 handset was out of stock for a long time, but returned to shelves about two months ago. I never considered buying the expensive NDT or Phong sets for reasons cited below. So let's compare three of those handsets with the real deal. The photo is obviously a composite, but I've taken care to resize all objects to scale: HAND LENGTHS (in mm) Genuine (est) Center-Tip Center-Tail Overall Sweep 14.6 4.0 18.6 Hour 9.1 2.1 11.2 Minute 13.2 2.1 15.3 DW Center-Tip Center-Tail Overall Sweep 13.8 2.7 16.5 Hour 9.1 2.5 11.6 Minute 13.6 2.6 16.2 CWP Center-Tip Center-Tail Overall Sweep 13.1 4.0 17.1 Hour 8.2 2.4 10.6 Minute 12.0 2.5 14.5 Yuki Center-Tip Center-Tail Overall Sweep 14.3 3.0 17.3 Hour 9.2 1.9 11.1 Minute 13.6 1.9 15.5 None of the aftermarket hands is a perfect match, so what's to be done? Let's keep it simple: 1. Get the Yuki handset, but keep the DW subdial hands. 2. Shorten the tip of the Yuki minute hand until it falls within the white minute track. 3. Strip/repaint the DW subdial hands so that they are white, with unpainted centers. In addition to being the closest to the gens in size and shape, Yuki's hands are the only ones that are faceted i.e. they're creased down the center. (This is more visible in the pictures at the bottom.) All other suppliers have minute and hour hands that are flat surfaces. For this reason alone, the Yuki handset is the only one worth considering. Unfortunately, Yuki's subdial hands are very different from the gen's. They're well-made and painted the right way, but they're also too thin to be credible. Here's a better look at the DW and Yuki sweep hands, flipped over. DW's sweep has an unsightly bulge around the center, and Yuki's color better matches the orange on the 5-10 minute sector. Nevertheless, DW's shade of orange is still an improvement over the pinkish hands of Phong and NDT. On my watch, I've kept the CWP sweep hand. It doesn't reach the minute numerals (as on the gen), but the tip is not as noticeable as the accurately long tail. Also, I'd like to get some return for sunk costs! I hope this has been helpful to present and future Association members.

My understanding is that the T22 will fit onto the MBK's rehaut, but getting the bezel over it will require modifications. For example, Lanikai's MBK had a T22 that had been severely trimmed around the edges. Andy, I'm guessing you took some metal off the inside of the bezel? The edge of your crystal looks intact (and great!).

UPDATE: It's the hands!

Very nice, Andy. I love the Ingenieur bracelet, but that leather strap looks great and gives you a little versatility. Urgh. Don't remind me about that...

Was it "Time Machines"? I found it using the shitty search function!

Do read that guide wiesn089 linked to, as it's a good one. What's the serial number on your Speedaster? It's possible that it originally came with a 1450 bracelet. The 1450 is a solid, three link-wide design and probably the most sought-after Speedy bracelet. (And I agree: I find the newer 5-wide bracelets too fussy, and their links too big.) 1450s are harder to spot in the wild than the older 1039. If you want a period correct look for your watch, but don't want to shell out the big bucks, you could look for an 1171 and 633 endlinks. Second-hand for ~$100-150, new for ~$200.

Amazing price for an amazing watch! It's definitely a 1980s model: The tell is the tall, skinny 'S' in 'Speedmaster'. I would polish the crystal to get the scratches out, but do nothing else. It looks like it's in terrific shape.

Here's another one that's been to your workshop, Justin:

"36mm? Size matters not!"

This deserves a creative non-fiction award. It's the best piece I've read on RWG since offshore's GZ diaries!

Moons

I posted this in response to a similar question last week: Depending on your price level, there are only three out-of-the-box vintage Explorers to consider: At $100, there's Narikaa's 21J Explorer: Standard classic Datejust rep with a great dial for the price. Drill lugholes for a superb 1016 on a budget. At $248, Trusty's 1016 comes with a very good dial, a much nicer movement, and drilled lugholes. Shame they're too small and in the wrong place, but no one will notice--except you! At ~$360, find someone (like Narikaa) to buy you an MBK 1016, which is hands-down the best vintage Explorer out of the box. Excellent dial, a much better and more authentic-looking case, and correctly-placed (but still too small) lugholes. However, like the other two, its dimensions are not identical to an actual 1016, so forget about changing the crystal. Beyond that, it's franken country.

That dial is in amazing condition. Another great Tudor build! Does this mean we've seen the last of "Prince Oyster"?

You're clicking on links from 2006? That's so long ago that Steve Irwin was still alive!

DW 6263, now my old, old favorite as it approaches its first anniversary:

My Speedmaster is on a Hirsch Medici calfskin strap. It's very well made, and one of the few curved-end straps that costs less than $100. I have mine on an Omega deployant clasp (94521813), but you can keep it on a tang buckle if you don't want to spend the extra ~$200!

The patination exceeds expectation! And that Indonesian dial looks fantastic in white. Great stuff all around!