mir36

Looks great! I suspect we'll be seeing more of these as other folks complete their builds. This is a good one to kick it off.

Tell us more please.

Pick up the EL dial Burnz has for sale in the Trading section. That's a good start.

That is an amazing build. Amazing.

Sweet! And thanks for the specs. That's another project on the to-do list.

Awesome Simon!

The hands will soon be sorted thanks to FGD. Now who's going to fix the case?

Sweet build. Go with either of the boxed-stitch straps.

Thanks for the kind words everyone. @kruzer00: Caseback pic below with the 201a Jakob installed and the old DSN for comparison. I couldn't get the lighting quite right but Jakob's engraving is filled-in with black ink. @hackR: Regarding the staedler, credit Mickey Padge with the idea (see his comment in your PVD thread). It does give the finish a more matte look overall and blends the colors a bit more.

I have a lot of projects underway but never seem to finish any. Here

Nice, especially the CG. From the second pic it, looks like the CG lever does not lign up with the CG (the lever goes in too much). Is this because of crown (deepdish)? Would be great if you could share the source of the CG. Thanks.

hackR: A non-PVD pin is ok, especially for PreVs. You can always do the linseed oil treatment to restore the PVD finish after you flatten the pin (dip flattened CG pin in linseed oil, then put it over a candle to blacken the linseed oil to a PVD-like finish, someone here has a tutorial on this).

@ hackR: Thanks. I just took out the crown and CG and started the Cape Cod rubdown with the crystal on. No damage to the crystal. The Cape Cod (after an hour) thins down the PVD coat, but the end result looks like is a very shiny brownish/black glaze which really puzzled me. So i used the 3M sanding sponge to break up the surface and bring up hints of the metallic underlayer. What you want to do is rub the sanding sponge in random movements/circles to avoid sanding too uniformly. In retrospect, you may not even need to use the Cape Cod, but I was following conventional wisdom and turned to 3M after that didn't work out.

Pictures as promised. Both are Jackson Tse PVD cases. The one on the left is untouched. The one one the right was refinished with Cape Cod and 3M Sanding sponge #180 to achieve the gunmetal look. I'm still saving some $$$ for a proper aftermarket PVD/DLC service, but this will do for now... Hope this helps.

A thorough cape cod rubdown will give it a very brownish/black sheen. Then take the finest 3M sanding sponge (#180) and give it a rubdown until you get the gunmetal color. I just finished this for a JacksonTse PVD case and got the gunmetal color. Will try to post some pics tonight.

Oh man. Did I say I wanted one? I meant 3.

I'm confused about the PVD on PreVs. I thought the "gunmetal" finishing developed over time as original black PVD coat aged since the PreV's were made in the 90's. However I have also seen 202a's and 203a's on sale on Risti where the PVD looks really black. What did the PVD look like on the PreV's when they were new: Gunmetal or Black? Appreciate if the experts can chime in.

Looks good. I'd be interested in a couple.

+1. I did a "Buy It Now" with this seller for a Panerai handset (advertised as in stock). After paying, they emailed me to say the item was actually not in stock, and that I would have to wait 3 weeks. Given my immediate need for the hands, I asked them to release me from my purchase commitment. They instead opened an ebay case against me. I appealed, and fleaBay took my side. I would avoid this seller.

Someone please PM me how the watches turned out... I'm still looking at the avatar.

Great review Palani. I've been on the fence about these guys, but your endorsement/review is the decider. One question, does the buckle-side strap of the Egi have 3 folds? Vintage dorks like me want to know. Thanks.

Which strap goes best with this PAM?

You need to use Silicon grease. You can buy it at scuba/dive or camera shops. Grease all the rings before closing the caseback. The caseback o-ring should not bunch up.

Thanks for sharing the recipe for successful PreV projects!

This is a great place. Good people here.