TeeJay

Great review TeeJay! Glad you liked the dial. It (the dial) turned out reasonably well IMHO.

It didn't quite go to plan for me, though. I cased up my dial yesterday, and promptly ripped the decal when fitting the hour hand. You must have a lighter touch than me!

My replacement datewheel didn't turn out well either. I got the number progression wrong in the graphic!

Have a laugh here

I think your "Tokyo case" project has turned out superbly! I must admit to being a bit jeaous at this point in time.

Slarti

No problem at all, I just wish my photos were better 'Reasonably well'?? I think the dials are absolutely awesome Every bit as clear as the factory-produced dials Sorry to hear about your dial accident... When I replace the hands, I use a strip of double-sided tape (with some of the adhesive 'thumbed off') to hold the hand till it's over the pinion, and I've found that a very reliable method Thanks, but mine's as much sentimental value as anything I'm sure you'll have a replacement 79190 dial lumed and varnished before long, and no doubt with better quality movement and parts than mine

Do you have any other designs planned?

Nice TJ and great review!!!

+1,000,000!!!!! Definitely need the snowflake hands to complete the look!

Many thanks Project Snowflake will be receiving snowflake hands in the future, as well as a correct caseback for the model, when finances allow It's all just a case of having the spare cash for a purely hobby-related purchase To be honest, even though it's not 'model accurate', I felt the mercedes hands worked okay with the Snowflake dial, and the dial itself, is certainly incredibly easy to read regardless of the hands. I'm wondering if it might be that the human eye notices 'edges and angles' more easily that curves... Both watches are still works in progress

Two options I can think of...

1. Buyers remorse.

2. Financial requirement.

TeeJay, very slick and it looks great!

Thanks, bro

You need snowflake hands. Badly.

All in due time... First, I need the movement for them to fit onto

Thanks! I'm pretty excited about this one. I even DLC coated the movement!

I'm liking the sound of this more and more Gloss finish on the movement?

Thanks TeeJay! I'm with you, in favor of the matte look. The polished watches do look striking though...Like liquid metal!

I'm currently building a custom piece for myself, which combines textures for a little contrast. It'll feature a YGG painted dial, in a DSN generic Radiomir case. On this one, I've bead blasted the mid case, back and lugs, and left the bezel and crown polished. I'll post it up when it's all together...

Any time, your work is first rate, and, when I'm in a position to commision your services, the project I have in mind would definitely benefit from the matte look (as it's for a military-themed watch)

I love the sound of your project, I'll look forward to it's reveal

Probably the question that every n00b rep collector dreads, is "Is that a fake Rolex??" Everyone knows that Rolex = Fake in the minds of most, simply as it is such a reproduced brandname. I suspect that most members of the community have no desire to pass their reps off as gens, but even so, sometimes, a little anonymity can be nice I have found that wearing a watch which says 'Tudor' rather than 'Rolex', is one way of obtaining this anonymity...

Both my Tudor dials have come as gifts from Slartibartfast, who first discussed making Ranger dial transfers in this post.

Here're a few photos of the dials and watches to show just what amazing effects are possible using the transfer technique, and how incredible the dials look cased up

For a period, I re-cased the dial in my 'Tokyo Case set', and the watch truly became a daily beater:

Today, this arrived:

And cased up, I think it looks Top Notch

The Snowflake dial is now re-cased in the NATO case, and Project Snowflake continues (bezel insert is laid in place for photo) and will hopefully be ready for wear next summer, insha'Allah, but for now, I am quite happy to have converted the 'Tokyo Case' into a 79190 as a daily beater I have no plans to drill lug holes, as I'm not that picky on detail, and I don't plan on installing a new cyclops, as I simply don't like them. I can honestly say, that the 79190 is a near-entirely self-constructed project watch. The only original parts from when the case was originally purchased, are the case, the bezel, and the crown. The bracelet, caseback and crystal were installed before going to Tokyo (the links and clasp are from two bracelets) but the watch was then a Coke GMT II, so there has since been a change in movement (twice) a change in bezel insert, and a change in dial (twice) All in all, I am very happy to be wearing a watch which I built myself

Does it glow in the dark? A few seconds under a UV LED...

In the words of Dale Gribble, Sha SHA!!!

I know I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but I don't think anyone could say that Tudor is Rolex's 'poor cousin'. Personally, I prefer the expression I read online (I forget where) which said that Tudor were 'sponsored' by Rolex. Tudor may be less widely known, and certainly not as widely repped as Rolex, but I think there is more variety to the Tudor Subs than Rolex offered...

Thanks for reading,

[Edit to add]

Just to be clear, the point of this article was to showcase the Tudor dials Slartibartfast made, the words are just padding

I'm still wearing the 1655, but that is subject to change depending on what the post brings... I must admit, I am feeling it a bit more than I did when it arrived, and am getting used to the dial, but, I still prefer my Tudor Sub, as that is more functionally suited to my needs...

Postie delivered

What did the postie deliver?

As always, a huge thanks to Slartibartfast, who's skill and craftsmanship made this a possibility Mucho gracias, amigo :drinks:

I'm still wearing the 1655, but that is subject to change depending on what the post brings... I must admit, I am feeling it a bit more than I did when it arrived, and am getting used to the dial, but, I still prefer my Tudor Sub, as that is more functionally suited to my needs...

Thanks for the link, there're some parts there which I think might make some interesting projects

They all look fantastic, but the Marathon is definitely my favorite of the group

I'd vote for the Ebel, it's an absolutely gorgeous watch, and the case just feels like a smooth palm-stone

The contrast on the bezel actually doesn't look as good to me as I had hoped. I delivered it to the customer, but won't be surprised if the owner decides to coat the insert later...

The finish is superb, but I would have to agree with you about the appearance of the insert. I'm surprized, as I had thought it would have made a nicer contrast, but I guess such things can't always be predicted...

Top results though

I like how they are charging

That gets a from me

Tis true.....but still a bit anemic looking.

I just noticed, it also has two dots, rather than the underscore, so might that be another variant of the twin-lock crown, thus possibly a different size?

Absolutely fantastic work, I really like how it's looking Looking at the bridgework, I'm wondering how a movement might look with bridges shaped like the way water is depicted in a Japanese tattoo...

Just had another look........is it me, or does that crown look woefully small?

Lani, when you wake up, shoot me a PM.....perhaps a larger Gen crown/tube would make this a much nicer piece

Don't forget, it's a DD II, with a slightly larger case, might that be what's making the crown appear smaller by comparison?

That's a really classy watch, bro I'm not sure why, but I've never been over keen on the Day function, but even so, I have liked some of the DD variations I've seen recently One I saw advertised on TV while in Japan, was much like the one you've shown, but the dial and indices were all gloss black, and that looked really slick

From what I've read, 'Swiss' movements are more easily repairable should the needs arise.

On the flipside of that argument, Asian movements (while possible to repair) are cheaper to replace completely rather than repair...

I've been able to adjust an Asian movement to +0.2 seconds a day, with nothing more than a small screwdriver, and close attention to a digital clock.

When that is possible, why pay more for 'Swiss'? The chassis of the watch will be identical anyway...

The only reason I would now buy a 'Swiss movement', is for two projects I have planned, which require hands, which are not available to fit on Asian movements... I need the hands to 'complete the look', and as the hands won't go on Asian movements, that only leaves one option...

Building it yourself is more fun and rewarding.

+1

Nothing beats the satisfaction of looking down, and thinking "I made that..."

the Uv lamp sounds promising.. but I think you would need to add a mild corrosive solution to the insert before exposing it to uv.. salt water is alkaline but the insert is made for salt water..

anyway .. I have more inserts arriving from Nostalgia.. so as soon as I can I'll prep one for you..

AC

R

I think you're right there that some kind of corrosive solution might be needed in addition to the UV, I think the question, is finding the correct one

It's very much appreciated, bro, I'll be sure to give it a good home

just an fyi to the UV bulb.. it would take a very , very long time before you start seeing any results.. and the ultrasonic will surely get it clean but not "fade" the paint.. I see everyone "scouring" the insert.. not "fading" it..

TJ .. I'll do one for you and send it along with all your other goodies..

AC

R

That would be very much appreciated, bro, I'll be sure to give it prime place on my daily-wear Sub I know the case should have lug-holes, but heck, it was on my wrist while I was in Tokyo, it has memories, so I feel it deserves the most frequent wear, as well as upgrades

I think the idea with the saline solution, was just a musing as to if sea water might have had some very mild abrasive effect on the gen bezels. I think to see any effect from a UV source, it would have to be a very powerful lamp (and then I think the heat generated might make as much effect on the dial as the UV rays...)

TJ, what ever happened to that post about trying to come up with a salt water & UV light aging system? I tried to find the posting, but it was quite a few months back now. I wonder if anyone ever tried that?

It's not been something I've been able to look into fully yet. The next time I talk to my tattoo artist, I'll ask if he'd be willing to let me do a 'test soak' in the ultrasonic cleaner UV shouldn't be a problem, but I don't have access to a high power UV bulb, so it's been something of a non-starter project

The results on the insert looks amazing If I can get hold of the chemicals, I'll definitely try that method rather than simply bleaching with kitchen products... Thanks for sharing, bro