justlounging

My two Tudor Subs..

Update of my 16750 with a 'new' blue-grey Gen insert

My new addition:

and how can i not include the lumeshot

The Royal Oak 40 Years Exhibition made its final stop of its world tour in Singapore last week after New York, Milan, Paris, Geneva and Beijing.

I have the privilege of attending this exhibition on the final day to capture as much and learn all I can about this fantastic brand.

The exhibition was held just last week from 10 October to 14 October 2012, a very short duration for fans within Southeast Asia to attend. Situated at the now-defunct Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, this space was redone to have a look and feel of a museum.

The entrance: Very basic colors of white and black were used throughout the exhibition.

Each leg of the tour was done up exactly the same and looked as such -

In concept:

And at actual locations:

Metal Art pieces, like the one below, surrounded the gallery, gave off a minimalist chic vibe.

As this is the 40th year since the Royal Oak was conceptualised, here's a short read on how the Royal Oak came about from Gerald Genta..

A short message from the Chairwoman of AP the head of the gallery

Here are some of the more interesting things I saw at this event..

There was a machine on site making an AP dial. This "tapisserie" guilloche dial

requires special skills from the engraver running the near century rose-engine turning machine.

Each dial would take an average of about 6 hours to complete the

etching/engraving from the outside-in.

Here the watchmaker at work

Tools of the trade

The movement he was working on

The Caliber 2121 Extra Thin in all its individual components

Front:

Back:

The AP Case and Bezel

The Bracelet

The Mould and Fibre thread

Here's a video to how AP makes their bracelets..precision if you ask me:

http://www.youtube.com/embed/Bh1Xww576Yc?feature=player_embedded

Here are some additional videos about the birth of a Royal Oak:

Designing a Royal Oak Case:

http://www.youtube.com/embed/zn0UHZuOEeY?list=PLBB0272DFB67C66E8

Making a Royal Oak Dial with Tapisserie Pattern:

"http://www.youtube.com/embed/K0uW37FnCLM?list=PLBB0272DFB67C66E8&hl=en_GB"

Casing Up a Royal Oak:

"http://www.youtube.com/embed/KC-y5QRCUUA?list=PLBB0272DFB67C66E8&hl=en_GB"

Some of the watches on display and how they were 'housed'

Each guest was given an exhibition booklet and here are some of the watches featured within:

lastly, how could I resist not being photographed on the 'red' carpet? :cool:

For a more in-depth read and description, click onto the following links:

Part 1: http://ap.watchprosite.com/show-forumpost/fi-3/pi-5539738/ti-820673/s-0/

Part 2: http://ap.watchprosite.com/show-forumpost/fi-3/pi-5539748/ti-820673/s--1/

After attending this, I am even more determined to get my AP 15300ST and I have given myself from now till 2014 to get it..

Hope this has been an interesting read for you.

Justlounging

*Images included in the above description are a compilation of my own and others found on the internet. I do not take any ownership of any images other than my own.

Yet another update on my black rep Exp II..Got a donor case, super lumed dial and handset from a fellow member, madcat (Thanks C! )..Did the transplant and this rep is almost modded complete, now just missing a gen crystal with LEC or a gen-spec crystal without the LEC..

Here are some glam pics:

Some members had PM-ed me about doing a new comparison of the new rep case vs the gen case..So here they are:

Side by side Case profile

Crown Guards

Crowns - Gen on top, Rep on bottom

Bezel Numbers - Gen always on top

14

16

18

20

Finally a lume shot:

In natural daylight - Lume on rep is less 'white' than Lume on gen

In Semi-dark room - shade of green lume are different from rep and gen but both glows just as good, after the same amount of exposure to daylight

It's been a while since I last wrote about this YM..in that time, i had been searching for either a gen YM dial/handset or considering to get the dial/handset relume..

Only recently, there was a member who was selling the SA3135 YM dial/handset so I jumped onto it and got it sent to a fellow member here, Strodda..I had seen some of his relume projects and so PM-ed him to enquire if he wanted to have a go at this YM set..He agreed and the SA3135 YM set was mailed to his residence..

Communications was great and I was floored when S posted up the relume pics here:

http://www.replica-w...8.html?t=116728

I finally got the dial set and sent it off to my trusty local watch-smith to have the dial/handset swapped in..barely half a day later, I got a call from my watch-smith to pick up the watch..

Here are some glam shots of my relume SA3135 Yachtmaster..there are a few faint scratches on the installed minute/hour hands..nothing too serious but I'll most probably be sending the original set for a relume with S soon..

Enjoy the pics!

Here is the Relumed dial with the original dial from PT:

Comparison of the 'whiteness' of uncharged lume in the Gen Exp II & SA3135 YM:

Gen lume is definitely much whiter but without putting them side by side, this slight off-white/greenish tint can't really be detected..

I also did a comparison with my Gen Exp II and my Noob sub fitted with TC dial..*note: Camera Focus was fixed onto the Gen Exp II.*

In natural light:

Noob Sub with TC dial - SA3135 YM Relume - Gen Polar Exp II

In a slightly dimmed room, lume is glowing on all three watches:

Notice that the Gen Lume is much cleaner and shines a tad brighter..

Below shot is taken in a much darker room, with minimum light source

All in all, I am very happy with the end result..S, I'll be sending the spare hands to you shortly..

hmm...interesting..might get me one of these for my YM...

hopefully this issue is quickly solved..

wow..that's looking really really nice...

are the hands for the 2893 movement ?

Good stuff! looks like you're on track to another fantastic build as well..

Here's the watch in its different parts:

Case

Crystal & Gasket

Bezel Assembly

Caseback

yikes!! sounds like a long long long project build..fingers crossed that the Clarks crystal or any gen spec crystal would work..

so based on what you're saying, for the Gen subs, the crystal sits on top of the rehaut as well (i.e diameter of crystal and rehaut are similar)..and then a nylon gasket fit over it..

i think BK posted this before..is it like this?

i dont think the gasket on my MBK is that thick/wide...

also are gen spec crystals like that?

the crystal on the MBK is smooth on the sides..no ridges..

Dan is right, you have to separate the bezel from the crystal retention ring and the crystal too. Press the crystal down from the top with your thumbs- you could also use the crystal press with the smaller dies. Like highoey says, if you have the dastardly two gasket system, you're going to have to keep working on it. I ended up with a gen crystal retention ring on mine and finally found an aftermarket bezel that worked. With the gold bezel you may have a problem if it doesn't fit tightly. Clark's is a good place for aftermarket parts- crystal and bezel assembly. A lot of this is just fit and match, maybe sanding with 320/400/600 wet dry snadpaper. This stuff doesn't fit like gen parts.

I had a look at it yesterday and there is only one nylon gasket..the crystal doesnt sit into the rehaut like in the Noobmariner (the only Sub i had worked on)..instead the crystal sits on top of it and i'm guessing the gasket is meant to be wide enough to hold both the crystal and midcase together..

I cant seem to remove the bezel from the crystal retaining ring..it's stuck in there like a *****...under the crystal retaining ring, there is a flat black o-ring which i'm guessing is meant to provide a lil more water resistance?

you are right..there is a gasket between the midcase and crystal..but does that mean that the MBK is not of gen construction..else why would a gen spec crystal not fit as it should?

tried that..dont want to risk damaging the gasket or the bezel assembly or the crystal..

Hi all,

I am enquiring to see if anyone here has had experience with MBK Submariners, particularly the TT Subs..

Long story short, I tried removing the insert to reposition it and ended up lifting up the entire bezel assembly..

Bezel doesnt seem to separate from the crystal retaining ring..crystal doesn't look like it's gen spec (i.e smooth sides with no ridges/grooves)..

Used my fingers to press the bezel assembly back onto the midcase...it's not pressed in fully and it's slightly slanted..

Here are some pics:

Has anyone else experienced this before? What are the next best options to take this forward?

Hoping for some advice.

This is meant to be a birthday gift for my dad (he helped me alot!)..guess i f-up big time..

Thank you very much in advance!

very nice!!!

Wear it in good health!

Hi all,

Having last done the Gen vs Rep review on the White vs Black Explorer II (found on this URL: http://www.rwg.cc/to...-many-pictures/), I had been on the mission to correct some of the flaws on the Black rep..

Took me a few good months to hunt down this jewel but I recently acquired this Black beauty from a local member and now I am proud to show you my complete Explorer II 39mm duo..

White "Polar" is a K series 16570 with Lugholes and SEL Oyster Bracelet

Black is a recent M series 16570 without Lugholes, SEL Oyster Bracelet and the newer Rehaut Engraving

Here are some close-ups of the aligned engraving..

So the question is: Which do you prefer and why?

Post up some pics when you are done with this mod..

would be good to see..

Damn good looking coke, I want to find one asap.

Erm i think that's a pepsi insert??

Very nice..what crystal did you use?

Interesting height and profile to it..

Enjoy ur snowflake!

Hope this gets resolved soon.

to the OP: I had a UK to UK parcel get lost in the system for 2 months..when it's supposed to be the next day delivery..best is to show patience and open communications..accusing the seller won't help your cause..

Moving forward, I know who I should deal with and shouldn't..

well i'm not an experienced modder so i guess what I'm seeing might have been normal to any other watchsmith/modder..the oil is kinda darkish so i guess you mentioned it being brown is accurate..

as for the amount, there is a layer coating the stem...again i wont know if that amount is too much or is normal..

Perhaps I'm overthinking this?

It all depends how much oil and in what condition really

That's the thing..how much oil is much?

I'm not familiar with what I should look out for and therefore am enquiring..

Based on my own observation, the movement runs pretty accurate to the atomic clock and has a decent PR (more than 36hr)..

it winds smoothly, like any proper ETA movement..keyless works works perfectly..every position clicks out solid and back in as well..

That much i can say about the movement..

Ok got it mate!! thank you for replying..

Should I have left the oil on the stem or what is the normal procedure after removing the crown/stem? Should it be wiped down?