Interesting project indeed
By the looks of the pictures, I would say the watchsmith's case is more of a stainless grade material. The cases of the 40's were made of a stainless variety close to Staybrite steel of course. 316 was not a common case material due to it's being fairly new and because wartime made these materials scarce. As far as the process, it was not driven by a series of cams on a lathe. The cases were run on a lathe using a radius tool, then ground using a rotary table. The cases were then hand worked to a great degree and this is noted near the crown tube region. THAT was the process without question. I would be interested to see a closer view of the lugs and crown. I'm in as long as it's not a 1 year ordeal!!! Has the watchsmith produced a dial yet?