TeeJay

Thanks, dude, and as you say, practice makes perfect There're some aspects of it I'm really happy with, such as how the paint/ink reacted under the top coat, and I'm happy with the luming work I've done, it's just the roughness of the edges of the markers, which was from when I removed the original paint, and just couldn't touch up perfectly, and the color mismatch on the second markers which is bugging me... Oh well, maybe I'll just keep it and build a 5513 as a spare rather than my 1655

That's kind of you to say, bro, but I'm not happy with how rough the finish is around the edges of the markers, and to be honest, even the replaced second markers annoy me because of the difference in color. Next time, (if there is a next time) I'll be sure to match the paint properly, rather than just 'making do'... To be fair, hiding it behind a watch crystal definitely makes an improvement, I might give it a stay of execution till I can get more matte varnish, and then decide what to do with it

I've had this dial for quite some time, as it was originally intended to be part of a project, which for reasons I won't go into here, is simply not going to happen anymore. It was one of the typical faux-vintages available with the yellow paint on the markers which doesn't look particularly old, so my intention was always to re-finish the dial. To that end, I scraped the paint from the markers down to the bare brass, and then re-filled with matte white paint, topped with Revell Night Color (I also had to tidy up some of the edges of the markers with matte black, from where the screwdriver slipped and removed black dial paint Some of that 'restoration' work was more successful than others... In addition to this, I had to re-apply the markers at 39 seconds and 54 seconds. I'm happy with the work I did on that, but not with the paint I used, which I could probably have better matched had I the time and patience. Another process, was to randomly 'paint' the dial with black marker pen. My hope, was that once sealed with matte varnish, the different paints/marker inks would have given an interesting aged effect. Sadly, I didn't have any matte varnish, so had to use clear gloss spray paint instead, which I'm not particularly satisfied with due to the incorrect surface finish, so I might re-spray when I get more matte varnish, alternately, I might just strip the dial entirely and apply a Snowflake decal Here it is

Damn, that looks top notch Looks like it's been carved from stone or something

+3 on the link... I've found this one, but it's still more than $29.

Nice work, bro

The big hand and the little hand says it's beer o clock :drinks:

Not entirely sure... Let's have a tot up assuming deconstructed and incomplete projects were finished, I'd be looking at... Rolex 1655 Explorer II Rolex 5513 Submariner Rolex 6240 pre-Daytona Rolex 6200 pre-Submariner Rolex 16622 Yachtmaster Tudor Oyster Prince Date (custom build, no model number) Tudor 7919 Submariner Tudor 7016 Submariner I haven't got a list of catalogue prices and am not much of a mathmagician at the best of times, so what would that come to? About $25-30,000?

Thanks It'll probably be 2011 by the time I have the spare cash for the parts I'm pretty happy with the Tudor sub as it is and just fancied field-testing the strap, but my plans for the Daytona project aren't 100% finalized yet. Much depends on what movement I can obtain, and if I can get hold of a Tudor chronograph dial (with the same color scheme as this dial) at a reasonable price I'd love to do a conversion from a Daytona to a Monte Carlo, but again, it's a matter of obtaining a suitable movement and dial If the worst comes to the worst, I might go with a 6263-style watch, and just leave the crownguards in place (I don't have a dremel, and don't fancy filing them away by hand ) Yours is looking fantastic

I got some new shoes today... I actually purchased the strap for this project, but thought I'd best give it some wrist-time, as this watch is not going to be finished anytime in the near future...

That's a beautiful watch, a fantastic project indeed

+1 Look at it this way, all the time you wear a watch, it will pick up nicks and dings, it's unavoidable. A watch doesn't necessarily have to be vintage to have a few nicks on it, but at the end of the day, all the time the watch is on your wrist and pristine, you will be worried about knocking it. Once it has taken a few hits and picked up some scars, there's no need to worry about keeping it pristine, and you'll not be worried Of course, this does require an appreciation for the wabi-sabi aesthetic...

Of them all, I like option five the most, regardless of accuracy

I don't have access to superlume, but if you ever want me to take a look at the lume, just let me know

Thanks, bro, it's an interesting result for sure Might it be because the lume on the Tudor dial is slightly further from the rehaut and at a different angle, rather than the DJ dial?

I think you might be right there

They really are very understated and versatile watches, I'm certainly starting to understand their appeal I'd never really worn a DJ long enough in the past to really notice the effect of the lume reflecting on the rehaut, but now I have, I'm wondering if that was the original intention of the Rolex boffins

Probably not news to anyone with a DJ, but I made an interesting observation while wearing this to a wedding reception saturday evening... As y'all know, I'm a big fan of dive watches, due to the night-time visibility of their large lume markers, and I figured that the small lume dots of certain DJ models would not be adequate for my requirements. However, I forgot to take the watch off when I got in and just went to bed, woke up a few hours later, and when I went to check the time, I was surprised to discover that the reflection of the lume on the rehaut, served to increase the visible glow to something nearer to the size of a Planet Ocean marker, and perfectly visible As above, probably not news to anyone owning one of these watches, but maybe of help to anyone considering getting a DJ but maybe being in two minds about the lume issue... If you wear a suit on a regular basis, forget about the subs, get a DJ, the lume will be more than adequate at night

It's funny, I'm not so keen on the polished mid-links of the Yacht-Master or GMTIIc, but I really like how that's looking, it's a massive change to the entire feel of the watch

Wow, what can I add that hasn't been said already... That's a fine project to be sure

I have to admit, the latest Milgauss never really appealed to me (I don't like the lightning bolt hand) but this certainly looks like a nice watch

I've pretty much always been satisfied with out of the box lume on my watches (some have been better than others) and also satisfied with the luminous properties of NightColor paint. I don't need a dial to glow like a torch and light the room, but I do need to be able to read it in the dark... After a while, the eye adapts to the darkness anyway, so even weak lume can be clearly visible once the eye has adapted

Best of luck with future endeavors, and take it easy

How about a Ulysse Nardin Maxi Marine Diver?

The first Submariner I bought had a Swiss movement, and that gained at least 45 seconds a day (at the time, I didn't know how to adjust a watch's timing myself) If your watch is consistently gaining a minute a day, then it is just a matter of popping the back and adjusting the movement accordingly, and that should resolve the issue /) For what it's worth, I now only buy watches with Asian movements, and have been able to adjust them to +0.5 seconds a day... Welcome to the party PS The barcode is just a sticker, not a feature of the design