dbane883

I mentioned awhile back that I was embarking on a new project.  Well, its now ready for public criticism.

I had my heart set on building a 3,6,9 PCG sub from the early '60's.  Having first acquired a cal 1530 with the appropriate butterfly rotor, I looked for an appropriate case.  Luckily (although $$ buys one a lot of luck), I found a genuine 1962 PCG case and decided that an explorer dial is the direction i wanted to go. The watch came complete, but had a more recent cal 1530 and a very bad aftermarket dial.

Sadly, the mid case was poorly polished and the bevels were all but destroyed.  This is what it looked like when I received it.  Truly horrific:

I can live with an unpolished case that has worn lugs, but I cannot live with a case that was recently polished poorly. As such, I proceeded to give the mid-case a complete make-over. While a NOS looking case may not be appropriate for a 1962 watch, it’s not uncommon to have the case-refreshed by professionals who know what they are doing.  If a case is going to be polished, I’d rather have one done properly that one done poorly.

After several hours of surgery and taking steps to ensure the CG’s were minimally touched, here is the end result on the mid-case.  I think it’s much more acceptable now:

For the dial.  There was only one choice.  Obviously he cannot be mentioned, but I decided I wanted a 3,6,9 “silvery” gilt dial, exclamation.  There are several different varieties of 5512/5513 explorer dials, but I think the one I chose suits the build.

The hands are still a work in progress.  While genuine, I am still seeking a set of flat hands.  The hands I’m using now were a set I had lying around.  It’s doesn’t look terrible, but I think flat hands would really finish off the project nicely.

Genuine cal 1530:

Caseback:

Most 5513’s in the early ’60’s used 5512 stamped casebacks.  It came with the mid-case and despite the poor polishing, the case was in stellar condition.  Not corrosion whatsoever.

Complete specs:

Genuine ’62 5513 mid-case, caseback

Gen cal 1530

Gen Tropic 19 superdome

gen 5513 hands

custom redial

gen 700 twin-lock crown and tube

Gen bezel asembly

gen Uber-font “Long-5” insert (the only “kissing 50” long 5 i have ever seen)

Gen 7206 rivet bracelet with 80 endlinks

Just waiting to find the right hands, but until then, here are the semi-finished project:

Group shot:

On the wrist, the PCG 5513 feels great.  I think it’s the slender profile that makes it so comfortable.  It’s a little known fact, but the PCG cases were a tad thinner than regular CG 5513’s:

I'm hoping to have a set of original flat hands soon, but until then, I will have to live with this as it is.