ubiquitous

There's only one watch I regret selling. It was a TW Best 36mm Royal Oak Nick Faldo I purchased from River back in '04.

Here's one I had in more recent years; I had to do some refinishing on it to get it looking decent. I don't recall why I parted with it a second time

He goes on about "low beat high beat vs. low beat" that gets confusing.

He's likely talking about the difference between the Zenith El Primero 400 (36,000bph) and the Rolex 4030 (modified EP400 at 28,800bph).

It's there; pointing between :17 and :18...

mrboom-

Would this be at the same price as the last GB? $130 US?

In speaking on personal perspective, the term 'franken' used to mean (to me) 'a non genuine watch comprised of some or all genuine parts'; at minimum, a genuine dial was a requisite for me to consider a watch as a 'franken'.

Anymore... I don't really even bother with the idea of such labels. I think the hobby, in all it's many facets has different meanings and offerings to us all as individuals. Some of us build watches to look as close and exact to genuine as possible; I fall into this category as I find the process to be challenging with the end result very rewarding on a personal level. Some want to customize what they have to make their watches unique and oft times completely different than what the standard fare of any given watch may have started as. There are some out there that like to combine parts from several different manufacturers to make something truly unique and one off. In a way, perhaps all of these approaches could result in something termed as a frankenstein. And really, you have different degrees of each school of thought as well, from mild to extreme.

So, I think the interest, and perhaps end goal is just to have fun with it. Make it whatever you want it to be. There really aren't any defined rules regarding the matter, nor should there be 

If I stare at this photo long enough, I can almost swear that the clouds are moving 

Thank you for the kind words, sir 

5514:

Zenith franken today...

There are a couple of cracks in the enamel, and I wish the hands were slightly wider and maybe 1mm longer; would be good if the minute and seconds tips went to the minute chapter. All in all, turned out fairly decent for a pile of random parts 

Here's a cheapie I just put together.

Started with an old enamel dial (ca. early 1900s) from a ladies' size 6 pocket watch. Picked this up in a small lot of two dials for a total of $12 for the pair:

Got a steel 38mm case for it ($100) and had an old 2836 laying around, so I put them together:

Paired with some hands ($16) and now I have a bargain beater (or maybe a gift candidate) 

I need to make some fine tuning/adjustments in centering the dial; all said and done, it's got a nice Chronoswiss look/feel to it with a little Speake-Marin influence with the dial.

Not bad for less than $150 out of pocket...

My other dials are champleve, but less evident cased/under a crystal in photos:

In these macros, you can actually see the engraving/channel cuts:

I am sure it was a costly method to implement.

What period is this one from?

That dial is late 40's for a 12 ligne movement.

Also how does a dial get wear on it?

The dial is 60 - 70 years old. Who knows what it's experienced in it's life time.

There are a number of gens out there that exhibit dial wear... Most likely from watchmakers over time not taking the proper care or precaution to protect the dial as there was likely never any thought given to the fact that these would someday not only be collectible, but also selling in the $15k - $30k range:

http://catalog.antiquorum.com/catalog.html?action=load&lotid=301&auctionid=266

http://catalog.antiquorum.com/catalog.html?action=load&lotid=104&auctionid=262

http://catalog.antiquorum.com/catalog.html?action=load&lotid=331&auctionid=256

Or perhaps exposure to elements, which somewhat segues into the dials themselves. Some folks have asked me what champleve is. Essentially, it's a form of enamelling where you have a base metal foundation that is carved/engraved and those engravings are filled and fired with enamel. The foundation in this case is the dial which serves as the frame work for the enamel. So... Why choose this method for dial print? During this era, genuine PP and a host of other brands did not have a waterproof case. As such, the dial was produced in a manner that would persevere possible water damage (or contact to other elements), or at least survive to the point of being a candidate for surface refinishing. Since the dial print was hard enamel, it would survive and at least maintan the overall appearance of the dial layout. I also believe this method was employed to prevent fading, etc as well. Or so I've been told.

Here is what champleve looks like:

Note that the print and chapter are raised.

That 60s dial looks sexy as hell!

Wow, and I was impressed by your 201... These are serious business. Well done!

Thank you kindly, sirs. Much appreciated 

She's missing her front grill. For some guys, that's a benefit.

16528 would be a nice choice methinks 

Nicely done indeed!

Finished product...

Very interesting...   Are those... Serifs on the fonts?

The sad thing is... This watch should be fairly simple to get correct.

Vintage Omega today...

Happy Birthday, buddy!

Peeking out from under the cuff...