Nanuq

I see you've already started modding, the pearl is gone. As it should be!

Congratulations! She's a beauty!

Welcome!

Well said. The old butterfly 1030 movements are beautiful, but I hate to risk breaking them anymore with rough use. An ETA is tough as nails and you can buy them for a song. It's a win/win.

This is one of those questions where 100 people will have 100 answers. The bottom line is, how much do you depend on the watch? My friend was a commercial diver and he had his 1665 checked every year, all seals replaced, and a pressure check. He depended on his watch for his life (this was before dive computers) so he spared no expense. Even so, after a successful pressure check, the same month he had an extended sat dive then a simple down-and-back the next week. On the 2nd dive it flooded at 80' depth. Some time during the long decomp it got a bit of crud in the HEV and that left it vulnerable to flooding. So even regular checks and seal replacements can't guarantee it's watertight. My divers all have domed plexi crystals and if I bang one against a door frame, it's liable to crack the plexi and compromise the seal. If the only thing you're doing is removing the caseback, then inspect the o-ring before you reinstall it. Lube it well so there's no binding between the back / o-ring / case, and make sure you screw the back on to spec. Then you'll probably be just fine. Probably.

More photos, the sun came out!

Hey, a little pepper, a little garlic ... goes a long way!

...or eating, with me attached!

This watch is joining my stable as a workhorse; it's going to see a lot of rough duty and water. So I wanted it to be tough, yet visually accurate. I chose not to go with a gen movement because I didn't want to be afraid of hurting it when it inevitably floods. So the pieces are: Minh Quy case set, Mystery bezel (it came with the case), ETA 2846 movement, Minh Quy "best quality" $300 dial (he also sells a $1,000 dial that's not significantly better), CWP gilt hands for ETA with big bubble, Yuki movement adapter ring, Gen t-19 service dome crystal, Minh Quy riveted oyster 7206. From the spec sheets it was supposed to drop together effortlessly. The dial had feet for a 1030 movement so they were cut off and dial dots used. But that added thickness and caused a stem height issue. I looked at 2892 movements instead, as the stem is 0.7mm higher. In the end I used the venerable workhorse 2846. Ziggy did the build and he had to machine the case to make the stem align. Yep I'm committed to using ETAs now, I'm fine with that. The Yuki spacer ring was a joke. It's spec'd for a gen case, but wouldn't go in the MQ. Then it broke in half. Ziggy machined a custom ring for it. The dial and hands got the Big Dazza ageing and lume, Then I had Ziggy relume them to a whiter shade of pale to match my 6536. Yuki is sold out of his oh-so-nice early 7206s, but MQ sells a "best quality" piece that's nearly the same for $280. The one I got was an absolute piece of crap. I spent a lot of time shaping it up and it's pretty good now. Squinky sells a 7206 clone on eBay that's WAY better quality. What did I learn? The contemporary homage parts houses are now where the auto industry was 50 years ago. With old cars you "fit" parts, you don't "install" them. Having Ziggy do the build was key, as he's a true watchmaker and has the skills to build parts from scratch, or correct existing ones. Thanks for reading!

Yeah I bought a tropic-16 and tropic-17 like that, in wax paper envelopes. The one I got the $600 price for is doubtless the same. I think I'll have to find a Sternkreutz with the same dimensions as a t-19 and thinner, more curved dome. That's the ticket.

Non Superdome? On a 6538? Isn't that kinda like kissing your sister? Pics??

Now I'm on the hunt for pieces to create Phase-two. • Gen slate grey insert, • Tropic 17 (already found one for $600) or Tropic-19 with a vintage profile, • The Mother of All Dials. Yeah that's right buddy, I'm looking at you.

Smoke

Man I'd love to join one of these GTGs sometime. Do they have a hitching rail up front to tie off your bear?

Another 26.5mm alternative

The theme behind this one is subtlety. it's very hard to capture with the camera, but the case has what appears to be decades of mars and dings, mostly polished out during service. Mostly ... there are still dings all over it but you have to get the light reflecting just right to see them. Held in the hand it feels right, that intangible something when all the details fall together. Viewed through the crystal the dial appears nearly identical to my 6536, save the depth rating and lack of residual gloss. Removing the crystal lets one angle the light to maximize the visibility of the damage. The one things that still bugs me is the tip of the hours hand. Argh. Let the detail ageing and fine tuning begin! This is day-one.

Thanks O/S!

For your viewing pleasure, the Big Gonzo build is finally done. Thanks to cc33, Denimhead, Big Dazza, Deiselpower and Ziggy, now I can just enjoy it. For now ... this is Phase-1.

Okay, this quit being about the stated topic long ago. It's now devolved into a flame war, so it's done.

Edit: "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" -Mama Nanuq Okay, okay. I'll delete it.

Problem is, you can't. But you can start a PM with multiple participants.

Fixed.