Nanuq

"Pattern" I got ... I'd just send you the bezel. As for the material, it doesn't have to be genuine "white copper", whatever that is. All the bezels I see online just look like hunks of brass to me, with some kind of silvery coating that's mostly worn off. Does that ring a bell? I wonder if a masterfully machined brass bezel could be coated or something?

Very nice!! Want another challenge? How about making me one of these out of brassy "white copper" like the original Submariner bezels? C'mon, I dare you! (and will be forever in your debt!)

Now this is a "birthday" present to be proud of ... being RWG's big day and all... Nicely done, gents! She's a beauty.

When it evokes an image, a correlation to something else "not a car" that she might find, um, appealing. Ahem. She is equating a characteristic of strength or power or capability to the car, that she no doubt finds appealing in YOU, Freddy. Got cologne? Go get 'er!

RWG at 100 years? (note the watch content)

Can it be??? Is it TRUE???!!! TODAY IS RWG'S BIRTHDAY!! Let the party begin!!!

Great advice, Ronin! I also use a very thin layer of lube (vaseline, silicon grease, whatever) between the ring and crystal at the very base, to let it seat better and as it pushes the lube down it forces it into any gaps between the case and crystal for an even better seal.

There's no reason a spacer wouldn't work as long as you keep everything square so you get the ring going on straight and even. Personally I use a hockey puck with the right size hole cut out in the middle. Easy squeasy!

Mackey wins Iditarod 2010 for an unprecedented fourth straight time!

Yeah, Kathy and Bill are absolute maniacs in the winter biking community here. A greater couple you'll never find.

Nope, Sorlie and Bakken stayed home this year. There was nobody for the Sons of Norway to wave flags to as they left the starting line. Hans Gatt came from Austria, and Martin Buser is from Switzerland so that will almost do.

In other news, my buddy Pete Basinger won the Alaskan Ultrasport again this year, making the 350 mile ride through incredibly tough conditions in 3 days 9 hours and 45 minutes. Think about that for a minute. How many of us could ride a road bike 350 miles on pavement in that time? Here's a photo and description of what he triumphed over to win this year. Alaska Trail Invitational, or the Ultrasport 350

It looks like Lance Mackey is about to make it 4 in a row! He should be coming across the finish line in Nome some time between 3PM and 5PM AST. You can watch it live here: http://www.visitnomealaska.com/nome-web-cam.html GO DOGS GO!!!!!!!

Nice pearl! So is that one modified from MY? The one I've got on the Sub is still greenish after all these years and I'd like to darken it like yours. And, the pearl from Yuki on my 1665 is about that color. Too dark for my ivory and tropical dial??

Ahhhh, good advice. The pearl is already hollow, you can see inside it. So I can pick the stuff out with a pin, then try other fills until I get the color I want. Thanks for the photos of the gen, Freddy. Can you tell me if the pearl hole in a 6536 insert is the same diameter as a 1665 insert?

Now we're getting somewhere! I figure mine is already hollow so it will be easy to get the yellow goo out. Or maybe I can just dig at it with a pin to fracture the goo, then drip some espresso in there to tint and speckle it darker? Failing that, what do you fill a pearl with if you don't want it to glow? Just a drop of paint? Ideas?

I had a repacement green/fresh pearl on my DRSD and it just looked too "new". So I replaced it with an aged Yuki pearl and now it looks too yellow and aged. The dial indices are a nice ivory color. Is there a way to bleach the Yuki pearl to a lighter shade of "aging"? I figure as long as we're experimenting with aging inserts, perhaps there's a way to lighten up that Yuki pearl. It's hollow with yellowed goo lining the inside of the pearl. Maybe a little bleach bath will turn it a similar pale ivory color to match the dial? Has anyone tried this?

"1530" movement? Original bezel? Not even close. Sheesh. It ought to look a lot more like this:

All hail King Ziggy! He has done magic on my watches. For those who want to do it themselves, a good smoking gives good results. Present the dial to concentrated smoke and let it tint the indices. Others have applied a tea tincture to the indices until the desired tone is achieved. Others have used a tinted varnish, sprayed on very thick and lumpy, to get the desired results. It even "ages" hands.

A little birdy told me that when the lume falls out of a hand or index, you need to open 'er up and make sure the lume bits haven't fallen into the movement. That said, I'm sure Lani knows this piece's last service date... if it's been looked over and found to be sound, I'd leave it just like it is: well loved, "been there and done that" with scars to tell the story. She's a keeper for sure!

Roger that, Jeff. If it has a clear "bakelite" reverse-printed insert, you DON'T want to twist the bezel much for fear of cracking the insert. Give it lots of small, incremental lifts as you work around and around the bezel. Likewise when you press it back on, a (very) little lube between the crystal and bezel helps it press on better and reduce chances of cracking the insert or crystal. Also you might put some tape on top of the lugs before you twist against them, so you don't mar the finish. If it was me I'd just use a frickin' crowbar and pry it off. But that's me.

Hi Fendi, sorry but it's absolutely impossible to fix. Can't be done. Send it to me. In all seriousness (is that a word?) just get a blade under that bezel, like a Daytona 6263, and work your way around, prying gently. Be patient and it'll pop up. Then put it exactly where you want it, and press it back on. I use a hockey puck with a strategically sized hole in the middle.

That's excellent work! Very nice.

"Crazy Alaskan" says he! Arrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Dang, Lani ... I went and Googled up a bunch of photos of Doxas and it seems many of them DO have lume in that dot. All the old ones I've been investigating have been black. See what happens when you take Deltatahoe's advice? Pain, confusion, destruction, paint wildly misapplied... will the horror never end? It seems the really old pieces are all black, and that's likely because (like yours) the bezels have been repainted many times. Certainly you can put lume in there, and it's possible they came from the factory thus endowed. But to my eye the black spot looks "correct." Imagine a DRSD with a shiny new green pearl in the insert, vs. a gnarly old speckled pearl. There's your answer.