madasboot

One from my last batch. notice the surface texture and the preserved sheen. best M.

Nice work, but in my humble opinion the dial is the major teller. these dials were gilt, not printed, so surface ageing doesnt have a realistic expression, mostly with paint blotches over the “oyster perpetual”. best M.

RWG was the place to be during the early 2000s. Market shape, services and internal dynamics changed a lot since then. some of the old timers are gone (ones for better reasons than others) and the constant are the so called TDs, most of them still around because more or less crowded business is still business. I come every once in a while to find the forum as a deserted warehouse, an echo of what it used to be. I hope that it may change but I really doubt it; as an informative and technical platform it assisted the pioneering efforts in builds and mods when the info sources were scarce and part supplying centered in a couple of sources. Today, one can find almost anything available so building became an IKEA like thing and modding less and less valued for three reasons: - base material / parts have better quality and easy acessibility; anyone can assemble a watch. - information became available but knowledge irrelevant so people still use pictures as reference and build according to what they see in a picture and not over what they feel / experience with a genuine. Like a beauty contest… - Modding takes time and demanding (time, tools, finance and the capacity of accepting unsuccessful attempts and the fact that in trial and error, error usually takes advantage. best M.

Interesting subject. Gladly today there are many options available and some myths remain because we see the world from a cave… let me explain better. Replicas, homages, frankens or whatever we may call it are what the foras are about and, of course, what brings us together as members, along with sellers and service providers. A knowledge hub for vintage watch lovers, everything evolves, even the sellers. Curiously most of the sellers are the same as back in early 2000’s and service providers grew exponentially from then to now; a thriving business for some, and a benefit for the others. Most of the sellers sit near and around the industry in Asia, opening it to the market and shaping it remotely. So what most of us access is what we are presented with plus uniform prices and variable quality. A regular case set can be acquired for a hundred bucks, a metal service for two and a half that price plus shipping costs etc… that means by regular accessibility a modded case will range between 300 and 400 bucks and rarely comes perfect due to the quality and limitations of the base material, the quality of the service provider and the standards used for comparison. Rarely the result turns out comparable to the reference if the reference comes from pictures or technical data and not the real object; this means the result is more of an expensive portrait to the buyer who probably will not have any terms of comparison. it will look good though. My question is, is it worth spending 300 / 400 bucks in a portrait or jump into a vietnamese 1:1 case? The myth with these is the price, set in the market by MQ and other sellers but in reality quite cheap in loco. A full 5513 case set can cost 400 bucks.

My 6150 “Royal Navy” homage. Self made and self lumed Burford dial.

Hi R.! thank you for the compliment In fact is the result of several modifications and I could not avoid trying to do a California dial even if in my enthusiasm I was not predicting the hellish task of luming it ahah. This was my first self done dial and after spoiling three (wrong tools and lume mix) this one showed me the way of mixing UV resin and therefore control volume and shape with torch. Numbers in the case are exactly the same as yours: 5015 (as in thunderbird case) and serial 545383. I bought it from a fellow paying for the original configuration 130 uk pounds, 5 years ago but then the mods started to claim a higher toll… Anyway, the investment compensated and the result is I wear it quite often; as you say, a great everyday watch. According to an old watchsmith here who saw a couple, the cases are japanese. Don’t know the provenience but they are very well made, from the shape to the engraving on the inside of the caseback. Last but not the least, please check your mail box. I had sent you a Christmas gift If you don’t know it or don’t have it already I am sure you will be delighted. Best, Marco

And here it is with final mods (Legran 666ft sub hands, shorter minute). Always thought size would turn it into a display watch but actually became a daily beater… wish I could source more of these 5015 cases! but 3mm difference in diameter can make a difference and wrist time is actually being divided with this one (sorry out of topic, but could not resist!):

They are really nice R. Mine has also the same case as yours but with screw down crown. I tried a 2789 first but stem height is too much for a right alignment so I went for a 2824 with stem position 1mm lower. Dial was replaced for a self made california and military hands adjusted. I did replace them later for mercedes but had to find shorter minute hands not to go over the chapter ring. will post updated work later. best M.

Thanks for sharing R. the lie is precisely the point. the rest is panerai’s history itself… ”Having such a movement in a US$ 10k or 27k watch could be compared to opening the engine hood of your Porsche 911 only to find out it has a Peugeot 3-cylinder engine.” Not diminishing the 3-cylinder engine, even the old dive models in the 30’s and 40’s had rolex calibers which in fact were cortebert made (nowadays you buy a 616 cortebert for 300usd and before the panerai fever they were three times less, so we can imagine production costs at 1/3 of the value). Later came unitas and after that transvestites… But if they sell, there is demand. point is, like you said, the “in-house” lie

Thank you @oldtools

Done

another self made dial

Now looks like a proper burn instead of a pizza stain but still too yellow for old radium

Please don’t focus in the dirty nail. its a dirty job and had not yet started to lume IMG_3754.MOV

Gilt, 26, 27 and 28.5mm finished and lumed available

I am now working on the 7928 dial gilt version. will post pics once done Gilt mirror polished are coming out good

This is my latest.

Thank you

Hand made true “gilt” dial, jmb case, eta 2783 slow beat mvmt

another one

Thank you. No they are not

This was my first one; chapter dial version this was my first one; gilt chapter, and quite a lume challenge

Will do a batch in september. baseplates 26, 27 and 28.5mm

shiny little beauty but bitchy to lume

I can in September I also have 8mm brevet crown and tube if you need