ubiquitous

Good stuff! This is one mod that I absolutely hate doing. So, I guess I know who I'll be sending my watches to for this job from now on!

Indeed... 1.3mm will provide enough clearance for the bars to slide through without resistance

2824 is much thinner in profile than the 2836. They're both 11.5"', but the 2836 is 5.05mm in height vs. 4.6mm for the 2824. The 2824 is closer related to the 2892, which is thinner yet- 11.5"' x 3.6mm!

Just transfer the datewheel overlay from the 21j to the ETA. As for the movement... In my experience, the stem location differs between a 2824 and a 2836. When I was building my franken-DateJust, I tried fitting several different movement types in my genuine case. The 2836 was amongst the many tried. The stem just didn't line up center in the tube, and I kept snapping stems. Seems the stem was positioned too far back towards the caseback. However, when I cased the 2824, it lined up perfectly center, which tells me the distance of the stem from the dial side is different between the two. If you have the movement in hand, it's easy to check- Just case the movement and dial and look through the tube to see where the hole is for the keyless works lines up. Or, you can insert the stem and get an idea for where it sits that way as well. If it's not perfectly center, you risk problems. Having done the 21j to ETA swap myself, I always go with the 2836-2, and on the few that I have done, not a problem since

CW- That is a STUNNING pair! I've had my eye on this version of the Overseas for sometime, but your pics make this watch even more tempting. Gorgeous!

The lug holes have to be drilled to accept the 1.2mm ends of genuine springbars... (bars installed on an MBW 1680).

You have to transplant the datewheel overlay from the Miyota to the ETA. The overlay repositions the date to the correct location/alignment of the date window on the dial.

Why do I have this feeling that the wide spread date issue is currently being looked into?

Love that lighting effect, Neil! Another gorgeous pic...

Yup... That's it. 3035...

580's like this... Though 585's (rarer) will work just the same...

Happy Thanksgiving to my extended global family here at RWG Today is a day to give thanks, and I am thankful to be a part of this family!! Best regards, R

Never had any problems with this before... Have used a razor to start a gap for a blunt edge with much success...

Did you lose the insert? Or the entire bezel?

Very similar to Never Dull. Cape Cods are small cotton cloths impregnated with a viscous liquid that helps remove tarnish and will polish surfaces.

Hi friends. Well... The interest with these seems quite strong, so perhaps one more run of 5 is in order I will confirm if a new batch is a go in a few days... Cheers! R

Ahhhh... late 8M s/n. That puts it in 1985 territory with a q/s 3035.

Ahhh... I was a little off. I was basing my response on this being a late 70's model (1603) vs. a mid 80's (16030). Out of curiosity, what's the first 3 digits of the s/n?

Probably a snap back case. If you have a razor blade, you can wedge it between the case and the back; this will span a small gap which will allow for a larger blade to be inserted to pry the back off.

Looks like a ref 1603. Should be a 1570 non-hack slow set movement inside...

Last 5 made... And sold before they were even completed... Danke! R

Yes... Cape Cod will polish the shiney bits like magic! I polished the center links of this Oyster using Cape Cod: The above is an aftermarket hollow link and started with an all brushed finish. A bit of effort, duct tape and Cape Cod brought the center links to a mirror finish. I swapped out my genuine bracelet for this one as the 904L was causing my wrist to break out in a rash, but I still wanted to retain the appearance of my genuine 78360. Just make sure you mask off the outer links so that they retain their brushed finish.

Yes, but you'll need hands for an ETA 28xx (size 90/150/25), the dial feet will need to be cut, ETA stem trimmed and crown swapped (or take this opportunity to install a gen crown and tube) and I would suggest going the route of an ETA 2836, as it will line up better in the case. Having done this swap before, I can say with confidence that it's absolutely do-able.

Thanks for the kind words everyone. To answer a few questions... The El Primero Daytona gets the most wrist time out of the lot; almost every day actually. It's also one of my favorite builds to date. A bit more detail on each piece... The first on the left is my new Daytona project- This time, I went with an aftermarket case/bezel/crystal/caseback/pushers, genuine dial, gen hands, gen crown, gen bracelet with aftermarket ends and rep clasp. An El Primero 400 will be powering this one, as with the genuine 16520. Next to it is my first El Primero Daytona project- Genuine case/bezel/crystal/back, gen hands, gen crown/pushers, repainted dial on a genuine base. Movement is an El Primero 400 with an Ebel 134 rotor. Following is my DW 6265 with genuine Valjoux 23 transplanted in place of the mystery movement. Genuine Tropic 21 installed, along with genuine crown and springbars. On this one, a combination of V72, V23 and mystery movement hands were used. Ziggy did an excellent job with servicing and sorting out some small issues on this one. Turned out great! To the right of the DW is my MBW 1665. This one has been an involved project; lots of trial and error with parts, etc. This one has a Genuine T39 (flat), genuine insert, genuine crown and tube, slow beat 2846 (21600bph), watchmeister prototype v2.0 datewheel, lugs drilled, genuine springbars, genuine 78360 bracelet with 580 ends and 93150 clasp. Next up is my 16610 frankenstein. Started with a TW Best(?) case from EL, and added a TWG 21j dial, bracelet and caseback, then fitted a genuine insert, crown and tube. This one has a nice, deep rehaut, great 2.5x datemag and near invisible crown etch at 6:00 (visible with a loupe, and with the 'Service Replacement "S" at the base of the crown). Last but not least is my project 16622 from EL. So far, mods are at a minimum, but this one has reshaped CG's as well as a gen crown and tube installed. Waiting on a custom dial for this one... Unfortunately, I don't have any great pics of this one... unmodded pic CG's and tube with shaped guards. Left out a couple of others, as they will be departing the collection shortly. The Yacht-Master will be given to my Uncle in the next few weeks, so technically, I shouldn't have included it, but what the hey. Sorry for the old outdated pics.. I have not had much chance to take new ones as of late. Thanks for looking! R

I think the original pitch of the case threads is close, but just ever so slightly off from the pitch on the gen tube. So, if you run the tap, it's just cleaning up the case threads a bit.