lhooq

Well done, mrboom, and welcome to the club! ...but you really want to top that off with a gen C128.

My recent Datejust 16014 franken:

It's still possible to build a V72 Daytona for under $1500, as long as you use nothing but DW parts. But really... why would you want to?

Pffftt... Philosophy majors.

Thanks, all! I've got the Carrera on my wrist as I type this, and it's wonderful having it right here after so may months of seeing it on a monitor. It's smaller than I expected (just under 39mm, I reckon), but a perfect fit nonetheless. I don't like using the term 'Grail' lightly, but it was a bit of a quest to find it. So let's call it "The Flagon with the Dragon". (Or is it "The Vessel with the Pestle"?) whoever: I'm still using an old Canon G9, which is very hard to beat for low-ISO still shots. However, I am jealously looking at Andei3000's Finepix X100...

Beautiful execution of an off-the-wall concept, MG. I heard she'll time the Kessel run within COSC standards! (Sweet... I'm in the credits!)

Why did they stop producing the IWC GST, the Speedmaster Day-Dates, or that damned Vulcain GMT Cricket I really wanted? Why does Texas play Rice? Why ask why? Try Bud Dry.

I hate the air of finality to this thread! I'll second freddy's idea for a ridiculously difficult, multi-year-long project. You'll put that on the shelf a couple of times, and turn out a few side projects that would count as grail builds for the rest of us. In the meantime, go back to Disneyland!

jmb: Not quite. From what I've read, the left-hand crown is due to space issues, as the Heuer/Breitling/Buren/DD consortium tried to squeeze the Dubois-Depraz chrono module onto a micro-rotor movement. Not nearly as elegant as an El Primero, but it works! seafoam: Love the TAG reissue of the first-gen Carrera!

You got me, J. You figured out my secret plan to rip the Heuer apart and make a franken Hamilton!

Hello, TAG-Heuer Area! This is my first time starting a thread in this subforum, but it's not because I don't like the brand. In fact, my dream watches ten years ago -before I was even really into watches- were all TAGs. I remember lusting after the Monaco, the Monza, and the Targa Florio--in that order. However, I also remember thinking that spending more than a few hundred bucks on a watch seemed a bit silly. Oh, how things change! The hunt for this particular watch began almost a year ago. Other than the Monaco and the original Carrera, I wasn't very familiar with the 70s Heuer lineup. One night I was trawling eBay when I found a Carrera similar to this one being sold from Hong Kong. It was love at first sight as everything about the design (silver sunburst, blue/gray subdials and tachy ring, orange hand) struck all the right chords in me. But I'm a naturally cautious sort, so I resisted the strong urge to bid right there and then. As nice as the watch was, I figured it was just a common Carrera and another one would show up really soon. Better do some research first, right? "WRONG!" to quote Arnold in Commando. These 2nd-gen Carreras are much rarer than I expected, and it was even harder to find one with this particular color scheme. After months of regular searches, one finally showed up on one of the watch forums last December. Unfortunately, someone bought it within a day of the listing's posting, so... dammit. Fast forward six months and the closest I'd found was a white-on-blue dial example. Nice enough, but it wasn't the same. Chrono24 showed one seller in Germany with the exact model I wanted, but at a very European price. Very expensive, but I think I would have gone over the edge after a few more months of looking. Then this popped up a month ago. It was the exact same watch that I'd missed out on in December, but the seller had decided he wanted to move up to an Anniversary Edition Monaco. Good for him! And even better for me. I've had a portion of my funds earmarked for this watch since last year, so I bought it without hesitation. This, then, is a 1969 or 1970 Carrera ref. 1153S. It's either a Calibre 11 or a Cal. 11-I, as described in OnTheDash. I could find out for certain, if only I could get this blasted caseback off! Cal. 11 is remarkable for being one of the first three automatic chronograph movements ever made. To this day, there is still debate on whether the crown belongs to the Zenith El Primero, the Heuer/Breitling/Buren/Dubois-Depraz Chronomatic, or to Seiko for its immortal 6139. As with the Submariner vs. Fifty Fathoms debate, I'm inclined to just call it a three-way tie, due to overlapping announcements and production schedules. (I think it's Seiko, but.. Shh!) This particular example is in very good condition, as it was refurbished by TAG-Heuer Japan last year. (I believe there are still a few months left on its warranty.) Based on what I've read and the prices I've been quoted for parts, that service couldn't have been cheap. Also not cheap is the original Corfam strap on this Carrera. If you think vintage Tropic rubber straps have become extremely expensive in recent months, Corfam straps have been even more ridiculously priced for a much longer time. Not bad for a failed leather substitute by DuPont! The feel of the Corfam strap is much better than I'd been led to believe, though less comfortable than what we expect from straps these days. As for appearance, it's very vinyl-shiny and very 1970s. Sort of like the seats on a Stutz Blackhawk. If you're not familiar with vintage Heuers, you may be surprised by the absence of a running seconds subdial. The register at 3 counts minutes and the one at 6 counts hours, but if the chronograph isn't running, you'll have to wait a bit to see any action. Another surprise can be found in the hour counter. Rather than slowly sweeping one rotation every 12 hours (like every other chronograph in my collection), the hand jumps in 30 minute increments. Neat, but this feature caused some reliability problems (described in the OnTheDash article linked above), and led to the use of weaker springs in the Cal.11-I. I only meant to say a few words about this watch, but this is turning into a full-blown article! Better wrap things up... IN CONCLUSION, I finally found the watch that I'd been searching for since August 2010, and I'm pretty damn happy about it. Also, if you see something you like, go for it! Let that lesson apply to watches as it does in life. Onto the pictures! Thanks to alligoat for helping me out yet again.

Huh. I really ought to read those, and not just gloss over the pictures!

It took nearly a year of searching, but I finally have the Carrera I was after:

My grail in both the gen and rep world continues to be the original Speedmaster CK2915. Obtaining a gen would take a bit of a search, and a lot of cash. Building a franken would be a lot trickier!

Absolutely gorgeous build, S! I've always thought your Sigma dial deserved a better bezel, and it looks like you went for the best. Wear it well, and watch your step: Your 6265 now tops my list of 'RWGForum Watches I Most Want to Steal'!

Sunny Sunday with the Blancpain:

If your seller is advertising a working movement, and you see a 45 minute chronograph runner, then the recording runner must be geared for 45 minutes, too. If not, the chronograph function will not run.

Try a strap that doesn't have curved ends, so that there's more contact with your wrist.

Yes, that looks like 45 teeth on the runner to me. EDIT: Redundant redundancy.

Subby delight:

Fantastic, mastergod! I love how you simultaneously brought the Exp II's styling back into the 1950s, and forward to the late 1970s.

Beautiful, ubi. I love how the reflections on the markers make it look like a 'Blackout' Day-Date! Ronin/freddy: It's an excellent chase, but I still find it funny how Robert De Niro pretends to drive intensely by slowly burying his chin in his chest!

Aha! I bid on that silver dial back in April! I've thought about a 6240 project, but the hard part is replicating the millerighe pushers.

I was recently looking at a CEO Goliath for an article I was writing. It's like a Cartier Tank that's been injecting itself with synthol. Monstrous, but I can't stop looking at it!

Friday mesh: