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Yeah right....... Tell ya what, I'll trade it back for that skanky old nasty faded piece of junk on your 5513. Deal?

Dang, those are pretty inserts Here's a few reference photos showing the differences between a "hook 5" MK3 vs. standard MK3 insert, then the most common variants of MK1 - MK4 from top to bottom.

Sweeeeet! I've stood in that exact location. We prefer Seaside tho, much less snooty. And there's a great coastal hike between the two towns.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh baby, that's a beauty. Definitely a MK-I. And that pearl is spectacular!

The Big Gonzo going into the weekend.

I did some Googling and came up with this. It's a step in the right direction, but this is not what Yuki had for sale. http://www.lionseek.com/watches/brand/zodiac/fs-vintage-oyster-nos-ban-193668

Roger that. I bought a Fat Fonts MK III insert and it looked odd, compared to other gens I've seen. I asked him about it and immediately he spotted it as a special MK III subvariant, called the "Hook Five" Mark III. The man is an encyclopaedia on two legs.

YEAH BABY!!!!!

OK cc33, I'll see your Big Crown and raise you one! Skanky pearl and all......... I'm working on that.

The insert from my 1968 Sub is slightly faded to a dark slate grey-blue, and it's had a ton of hard outdoors use, tons of salt water, tons of abuse. The insert on my 1971 Sea-dweller isn't faded a bit, and it's been on hundreds of dives all over the world. These things are tough!

Ooooooo a Silver Gulch kinda girl huh? Do they make a nice sharp IPA? What a crazy coincidence, some honyok using MY nickname, and he's into watches too? If I ever get to VDZ I'll be sure to drop by your boat, I'm the tall ugly one that likes watches!

The addiction is settling in... soon you'll be on Tapatalk like the rest of us, sneaking glances at New Posts when nobody's looking, hitting refresh, posting wrist shots like crazy... Welcome to the madness!

About a year ago I found a riveted folded band on eBay and tried it.... it was pretty darn good. It was sold by squinky: http://www.ebay.com/sch/squinky/m.html I reviewed it here: http://www.rwgforum.net/topic/162990-sold-folded-20mm-oyster-band-for-sale/ I checked and he doesn't have any more listed but who knows? Maybe more will show up. It was $155 shipped.

Man, I can't wait to see this piece come together. That case is............... You know, when you finish this it will compete with your Big Crown for wrist time, and since the 6538 is God's Own Watch .... the 6204 will languish in its dark wooden box. Poor forgotten thing....... At that time, please remember yer old buddy in Alaska. My checkbook will be ready.

You're right Mendota, these dials are absolutely incredible. They're made with the original technique, with a gilt (brassy) base plate then the black applied over that, to let the gilt shine through. Then the depth rating (200m=660ft) is painted on top of the black. The surface texture is perfect, and the hour plots are perfect. When I first saw this dial on cc33's watch, that was the end game. I directed my build so someday when the time was right it could slide right into the Big Gonzo. That dial has been the focal point of this entire project for almost 2 years. It came together when cc33 got an even better dial for his Big Crown. What? He never mentioned it? You guys need to look very closely at his most recent photos. It's perfect.

BAM!! There it is, cc33 ... the reason I mortgaged the dog. That's God's Own Dial right there. Oh wait..... now it's MINE. Thanks for helping with the photos!

Thanks! If I didn't have the camera skills of a drunken baboon I'd be able to show what it really looks like. Trust me, it's niiiiiiiiiiiiice.

All Hail DP! Glad ya like it mate!

I just updated the pics with some that didn't go thru the Tapatalk "squishing" process. Now it's started raining here so natural-light photos will have to wait. But I'll post them when I can!

Thanks mate, I guess I may as well get rid of the rest of the collection, this thing isn't coming off my wrist any time soon. Let's see if I can remember the details..... 3rd owner Minh Quy case, it had some lovin' when I got it, and I added lots more ETA 2846 low-beat with custom retaining ring Case machined to lower stem height a smidgen NOS 8mm Brevet crown and tube Ivan gilt dial, made with original pad technique on gen plate CWP hands, aged and lumed to match the dial, then broached for the ETA ETA hours wheel hand seat machined to accept the hours hand Phong bezel with a little lovin' MK III fattie insert with the world's ugliest pearl Gen T-17 domed crystal Minh Quy riveted oyster band. As always, many thanks to the many people here that helped me finish this puppy!

Gentlemen, after two years sourcing parts, trips all over the world and unlimited patience and help by friends far and wide, and after specific guidance and willingness to part with some extremely rare parts by our own cc33, I can finally call this build Finished. What an adventure! More photos to come!

Yeah, wild times! We're not quite that far north so the sun *does* go down in summer but it never gets dark. In the winter the opposite is true, the sun does come up but not very far above the horizon. I keep my hockey gear in the Rover in the winter, and every day I make sure I hit the neighborhood rink just before noon and get some light in my eyes. Lots of guys show up for aerobic exercize, and to keep themselves sane. On the weekends you HAVE to get out on XC skis or a mtn bike and suck up more light. There's a very real syndrome here called Cabin Fever and people get truly weird by late winter. You can tell they're the ones sitting inside by the stove.

Exhausting summer? Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh yeah!! It's time to rock-n-roll in the arctic while the sun is up! Winter is coming, we sleep then.

32°C ???? Holy crap. It was 35°F driving to work this morning! We had snow last week!