ubiquitous

Double wristing with a pair of 1940's PPCo...

On the left:

On the right:

Happy Birthday!

Exposure.

Nice! Looks great!

Killer pair!

Had some daylight out, so I was able to grab a couple pics (albeit not great pics)... Will try again...

Thank you kindly, gentlemen; I appreciate the comments.

Mrs. Ubi has been a big supporter in my hobby/addiction/obsession; oft times, when I am considering the idea of selling something, she’s the one to talk me out of it! And when parts that she knows I’ve been searching for turn up, she’s always the first to encourage me in procuring them post haste.

This watch is probably now at a 75% completion point for me. I only have one thing to really complete, and that’s to get the movement converted. I am, however at a crossroads as I need to prioritize my time between work, home, family and other projects. Not to digress, but I’ve been working the project below in parallel, along with a few others here and there. I need to focus on one project to completion, and pick the other up once I’ve wrapped it up. As it is… I just have way too many things going on at once and I need to manage what little time I seem to have during the day a little better.

With regards to the 530… Hands are correct; Patek used several different types of hands during this era- pencil, leaf, spade, alpha… Performing a search on Antiquorum’s database turns up several variations. The hour and minute hands on mine are genuine and match the indicies (it’s difficult to tell, but the hour markers are all white metal). The small subdial hands and center seconds hand are all fabricated. Dial is a champagne tone, but casts a nice, warm silver tone in the right light. The ‘print’ (it’s not really print, per se, but rather hard enamel) is maybe the most alluring attribute; it’s difficult to explain, but the fonts, chapter, tachy scale all have an almost glowing effect in contrast to the dial. This is probably the reason why I end up stealing as many glances at my wrist, but somehow end up missing the actual time  J

Yes, but it's an older example and not in the best of condition.

I was quite close to cutting this piece loose from my collection. However, at Mrs. Ubi’s recommendation I withdrew.

http://www.rwgforum.net/topic/157422-feeler-kicking-the-idea-around/

And now, just a few months later, I’m glad I took her suggestion to heart.

This watch has undergone a facelift a few times, some updates here and there but it is the most recent update that has me the most excited.

May I present my 1940's PPCo 530… Now with 100% more gen dial.

Picked this dial up on luck; seller had it listed with some poor quality images, though there were some small details that stood out that made me feel comfortable enough to take a pretty substantial (albeit educated) chance. Shortly after sealing the deal, I had the dial in my hands and sure enough, it was as expected- 100% genuine. Nice, hard enamel fonts, and in excellent, near NOS condition.

Having returned recently from travel, I didn’t have my watches in hand as they were all in the bank’s security deposit box. So, after hurriedly picking them up, I swapped in the dial. In the duration of this project’s life, the watch as a whole never looked quite right to me… Always something missing... Until now. It’s amazing how much difference the right dial can make as it now looks and feels proper.

I still have a long ways to go before calling this one done… But it’s on it’s way, and in a wearable state no less. I’ll be enjoying this one (as well as a few other PPCo builds in my collection) for a few more days and then back into the bank vault they go…

Sorry for the lack of images… Long days at the office combined with shorter days as the Fall season approaches means less time to set up shots/composition, etc.I’ll try and get some images this weekend when I have some free time…

Thanks for looking!

//ubi

Sorry; what you have is a standard 16610 dial and hands. 

Gen LV dial and hands fitted to a 3135:

Note that the LV has larger indicies (maxi) and minute hand.

Gorgeous GEN, tech! Love the blue dials! They have a very alluring beauty...

It just keeps getting better and better! Beautiful shots and an amazing build

Thank you sir. Coming from you, this means a ton!

I wouldn't have been able to do this without you!

Fantastic results, T! Love the contrast of the beautifully dark PVD case, dial index and the hands! Great balance!

Gorgeous! Love the tone and finish of the PVD! Another stunning piece!

Filled markers:

Quick wristie...

Thank you gents. Much appreciated.

I'm enjoying this one very much... I'm finding that I spend a lot of time just staring into the dial... And I love the reshape job w0lf did on the case and of course the CG is hard to beat.

One very nice touch that SD added to this dial- The markers are resin filled and flush with the dial surface, though in the images above it's difficult to tell. I'll try and snap a pic to better illustrate that attribute 

Thanks again!

//ubi

Nice!

The gen hands make all the difference on these!

Just a few pics of my 201/A after fitting with my new SD dial...

Build specs:

-Old 111 case reshaped to Valgines specs by w0lf; lugs drilled for Pre-V bars

-Top secret CG 

-Gen crown

-FGD hands; modified

-SD prototype hand made dial

-Swiss 6497

-DW caseback

-'Dirk' 2nd gen strap with sewn in buckle

Thanks for looking!

//ubi

Some pics of the dial under the sun...

One more quick pic... I will try and snap some better quality pics later today.

I'm very impressed with SD's work; if he can do this by hand using simple tools, I'd love to see what he can do with machinery!

I was lucky enough to procure SD's prototype hand made 201/A dial and upon returning home from a trip to Disneyland, I found said dial waiting for me. Needless to say, I very eagerly performed some last minute surgery on my watch...

These are just quick snaps... Love the shape of the index/markers!

3035 and 3135 have the same size pinions H/M/S...

I love R.W. Smith's pieces... And his work on the George Daniels watches as well.

He's got some great videos on YouTube that demonstrate the use of old world equipment... Guilloche on rose engines, etc. Very fascinating stuff to watch...

Extremely talented individual that can really do it all.

Don't get me wrong... You could probably make some money off the purchase... 1150 Euro = 1550 USD at current rates; for 23 dials that's $67 US per dial. If you sold them all individually at $100 - $150 per, you stand to at least double your money (taking into account that you are able to pick up the lot at this price). But selling these will likely be slow... There's just not a lot of demand for them.

In a word... No.

Not a lot of value in Ladies DJ and mid-size dials, unfortunately, which is probably why the seller is trying to offload in bulk...