Watchwatcher

togasa, i am very interested in tall domed/high profile plexi for my mini-fiddy (i posted a couple days ago about how the mineral crystal exploded). i measured it and it appears to be about 37.2mm diameter across inside edge of the bezel. depending on your plan, i'd probably be willing to send you the case&bezel to insure correct measurement. let me know how you plan to proceed. i have also found a similar shaped plexi from cousinsuk, so that may be easier. rgds/ww

sssurfer, thanks for the suggestion of the acrylics at cousins, will check those out. acrylics are actually very practical as scratches can be very easily buffed out. my genuine rolex datejust had an acrylic and every 4 or 5 years i'd take it to the jeweler and it would come back looking brand new.

OK Folks, some of you mentioned the phenomenon of "exploding mineral crystals" ... and that was after I had sent my crystal to K2222 for double AR coating. The watch came back with crystal intact... so no problems... or so I thought. Well, this last weekend I sat down in the living room and notice a light scuff mark on the shoulder of the bulgy crystal. First reaction was, bummer, but it happens eventually... maybe i can buff it out at some point. Didn't think anything more of it, then a couple days later I was sitting at my desk and just as I put my hands on the computer keyboard, I hear kind of "POP!" and see a 1/2" crack forming on the 3:00 side of the crystal. Didn't stop there, once the crack started it just kept going eventually going all the way around to about 9:00 until a huge chunk of the crystal popped out, fine shards of crystal all over, etc. WOW, what a surprise... I will add pictures to this post a little later. HERE'S THE BIG QUESTION... this is a 44mm Mini-fiddy with the unusual bulgy crystal... any ideas on whether this can be replaced with a similarly shaped sapphire crystal -- i have no idea if one exists or where to source. Thanks!!!

noel, you are probably lucky you didn't use a CC... very lucky... you've got no idea what some of these scheisters are capable of. although you have no legal recourse, you can keep harranging them and you might be able to get them to make good after awhile. however do not send another penny. in the future stick to reliable collectors like josh or trusty, silix or king...

I think the fluted bezel (particularly the old style) looks good with jubilee bracelet, but otherwise the rounded smooth bezel looks more understated and attractive. I believe the datejust have a flat smooth bezel (as per pics in the earlier replies) which is not as nice looking. Fluted Bezel on Jubilee Rounded smooth bezel (WG) - note how smooth bezel matches mid link in pres bracelet.

i have a full YG day date from EL (those were the days) and it is pretty close to the correct look for 18K YG. However I have seen some of the YG DD's from other dealers and agree with you that they don't look like the gen (18K) but rather, as you note, somewhat cooler like 14K. I do not like the look of 14K.

"My sincere apologies to Watchwatcher on this hijacking his thread." None required, this is like watching a new episode of "Mythbusters" ... great stuff... mystery of the exploding crystal. Anyone have any theories on WHY a crystal would explode and whether this happens/happened DURING coating procedure?

very interesting comments on the crystal explosion phenomenon. i had assumed the crystal on this was sapphire when i purchased it. if you look at the side angle pic, you see that the crystal is clear with a slight whitish hue. that would give me the impression it is sapphire. given that the price was only $150, it could well be mineral, but mineral usually has a bluish/greenish hue, which this does not. if i had known these had a tendency to shatter, i probably wouldn't have had it AR coated (so thanks for not telling me sooner! ). The AR is applied in a perfect circle on the lateral face of the crystal, and if you look closely under bright light, it does not appear that the AR coating covers the rounded shoulders of the crystal -- this may have been the trick used by Jakub to avoid exploding it. I really have no idea.

Ever since I saw the PAM Fiddy for the first time several years ago, I liked it. Something about the simplicity, the clean lines, the bulbous crystal. It is in my opinion a design statement and yet completely utilitarian. Only one problem although my wrists are not tiny at about 7.5-8 inches diameter, the 47mm fiddy is a bit too large to be comfortable for me. So I opted for the 44mm "mini-Fiddy". I was able to find one with the decorated asian 6497 movt, which is a very solid movement and actually looks pretty nice through the display back. Naturally, the watch needed a decent lume job from the maestro in Canada. As an additional touch, I had the crystal double AR'd by Jakub -- which cuts down the glare on an otherwise very glare prone crystal. However from what I can tell the AR is basically only on the top lateral surface and not on the rounded sides (no matter, it still helps). Finally I did some compound polishing of the inner edges of the crown guard (this is a manual wind and sharp edges are not comfortable for daily winding), and also did the hot glue fix to the crown lever, which really does a good job of giving it a nice tight quality feel when opening and closing. The strap is a custom oval croc--part of a new line from banda.com . Although I tend toward bracelets, I find this croc strap is very soft and extremely comfortable and would highly recommend it. Keep in mind this is a fantasy from the very start, so I'm afraid I have not attempted to adhere to any strict standards of authenticity--just wanted a nice watch with a great look. Here are some pics: 4/09/08 UPDATE: See last reply for the sad update... maybe you can advise me on next steps???

894tom... you have a lot to learn, and from your comments it sounds like you may learn it the hard way. what you refer to as 'crotchety' is careful guidance from one of the few people who isn't afraid to tell it like it is... calling that crotchety is an insult and a MAJOR DIS-SERVICE to this forum. If you had any clue as to how many fly by night modders have either totally messed up or not even returned watches to members here you would stop yapping and start listening.... carefully.

i alternate between the greats of the 80's (wasn't everything great in the 80's?) ... boston... asia... police... the cars... yes... fleetwood mac, and a constant search for new and upcoming artists. The newer names I'm listening to are not rock or heavy metal, but if you want to hear a couple female songwriter/singers who combine intriquing hooks with excellent voices, check out: A Fine Frenzy, Feist, or for those who like Radiohead, you''ll probably like Keane (check out the track 'everything's changing') or maybe The Shins (australia). Some of this music is 'the softer side' but very listenable. I guess I like just about all music, except for the teenybob, boyband cotton candy stuff. PS: TJ, i was on a DP kick a month or two ago after i heard the track 'one more time' at the gym--great upbeat stuff, although there are only about 3-4 tracks of theirs i can listen to over and over on a consistent basis.

swdivad -- could you pls post pics of that diver when it arrives, would really like to know what you think of the quality of the pvd. looks like an awesome watch for the money. only other seiko i own is a modified monster, but this one looks interesting!

"I am contemplating the new platinum Big Bang model" raijor, unless i'm mistaken, the platinum BB's are actually platinum plated. which means that they will look EXACTLY like platinum. unlike other opinions here, i think there is a noticeable difference between platinum and stainless steel. platinum, as well as 18K WG (rhodium that is) are much more 'white' in appearance and, frankly, look classier than SS. a collector or jeweler will spot the difference from quite a distance, certainly for example if you are sitting around a conference table. now, whether a rep that is plated with platinum is worth the premium price being asked, is another question...

tmg -- first, congrats on an excellent project watch -- that is a stunner. second, i am curious to know how closely the date font compares to the gen? is it a custom dw or were you able to source it from j&w.

as someone correctly pointed out, in order to get a 'white gold' appearance, you would need to purchase a rhodium plated rep (which is available from the better collectors) and will run you probably $300-400. No matter what you do to stainless steel it oxidizes so quickly that even after a thorough polishing it will return to a greyish cast within a few days. here's a DD which is rhodium plated, i don't know if a picture really does it respect, but you notice the difference immediately when you are wearing it -- much whiter than ss:

Hi Rob, got your email. thanks!!! watchwatcher

Hi all, disregard, found watchsmith! (thanks). watchwatcher.

i have at least a dozen crystals that I plan to have ARed in the coming year. however for me, having the crystal removed from the case and repressed (and cyclops removed and reapplied) by the same guy that is doing the AR is a HUGE advantage. Having to send it to Rob (who I trust) just to take the cyclops off seems like a significant detour and a fair amount of added cost relative to the AR job. From what I understand Jakub has done very neat work for those requiring these services and shipping an empty case with crystal does not carry customs risk either.

if the dial layout is correct, changing it to blue from black should not be a huge problem for the factories. i'd bet you see the blue dial very soon. angus had been following the development of this one closely, so he may one of the first to carry the correct color as well.

Banda has just rolled out a new "oval scale" croc that looks excellent -- a little more dressy and less expensive than bony croc, but still highly textured with the oval scales. here's a link: http://www.banda.com/catalogue.php?category=62

... i like it... a real tool watch... what did you pay for it?

nanuq -- good cure for monster blues is to wear your DT1000 for a day... i picked up this 'blackeyed' orange monster last year -- i have the ss bracelet which i haven't used, so if you need one, let me know and i'll give you a good deal on it.

8o8, i like to do some mods, but i haven't wanted to 'learn' on a new watch. with the a/r, i know that some of the a/r guys here will remove and reinstall the crystal for you or have their watchsmith do it. personally, if it is a watch that i'm willing to lay out $$ for double a/r, i'd rather have a watchsmith mess around with the crystal -- one nice scratch on the bezel or crystal and you'll be thinking twice about doing it yourself. in the meantime, try removing the crystal from a beater first, see if this is something you have the patience for.

... getting the crystal off should be no problem if you have the right tools... (see below for suggestion) Shot at 2006-10-04

bubba, i have found the cartiers (gen) carried by some deep discount chains, like costco, or even filene's basement (boston). you can buy them at 35-40% discount to a mainline retailer or jeweler. on the topic of the pashas... i too caught the bug for the "Pasha Grid." I don't wear it often, but I always liked the odd grid styling and history. the one pictured has an eta 2836 or 2824. Shot at 2006-09-21 Shot at 2005-08-23