TeeJay

Very tasty, bro A slightly more padded strap will look fantastic on it

Lani, useful as ever! Thanks for the info! Sounds like a fair bit of work to build... Maybe a long term project for me, or maybe a gen would be simpler!

It begs the question, would it be a popular rep for the factories to produce???

PS: It looks like someone is taking the trouble to build frankens:

http://www.deskdivers.com/Site/Snowflake.html

personally speaking, I don't think the factories would produce a Snowflake Tudor, simply because it is something more appreciated by 'collectors', rather than the average JoeSixpack, who wants his rep to say Rolex on the dial

Looking back at my last post, the Tudor I'm wearing now is very much a custom-built watch (which wound up being suitable for this kind of project) but the parts were all very much from budget sources. The most expensive steps in Project Snowflake, will be the acquisition of the 'swiss' movement (cannibalized from another watch, of course) and the MY hands. The only other potentially expensive part, is the dial, as the rest of the watch can be found in existing Submariner reps

A rep dial and hands are made (not the blue) .. I think either classic watch parts.. (M.Y).. or another vendor .. the case would be a 1680 MBK, the crystal would need a genuine for the dw placement.. the genuine eta for the 9411 is relatively inexpensive.. it would still run .. give or take.. about 800 to 1k ... much more if you want a gen dial and hands.. which are getting harder to obtain.. a franken rep.. "was" on the bay yesterday.. ebay must of gotten wind of the listing ..

AC

Lani

I didn't realize the rep dial was made, but yes, I'm sure MY would print up a dial upon request I'll have to total up the costs for mine once it's finally completed I realized the other day, that I gradually completely assembled the watch from the ground up. The case and bezel were the GMT I bought to take to Tokyo, appx $30, the insert was about $8 off eBay, the crystal was from my first GMT Master II, which I think cost me £20, the links of the bracelet and caseback were from the Silix vintage, which I bought in the initial 'group buy offer', I think the hands and movement are from my Yacht-Master (with replaced second hand from 'somewhere'... and the bracelet's clasp was from a budget Submariner which also cost about £20, and the dial was a gift from Slartibartfast. Eventually, the dial will be going into my fixed-lug NATO case (which was about $30), which will be getting a new insert, a 'Swiss movement', a correct case-back from a rep of a Tudor 'DateJust', and a set of MY hands. The current case, will then have a 79190 dial installed in substitution for the Snowflake dial

I like the idea & admire your woodworking skills, but I would have used a different type of wood & left off all but the coronet marker (a la some of Rolex's wood dials of the 50s & early 60s & the 'Mystery' dial). But I know that accuracy is not generally your primary goal.

Thanks for the feedback, it's very much appreciated I did consider using just the coronet marker, but I added the 6 marker just to give a little extra detail, although that said, I could indeed do v1.4 to only feature the coronet for the true 'Mystery' effect. When you say different type of wood, what did you have in mind? Bearing in mind that I'm using a wood-patterned vinyl sticker... There is still quite a bit of variation on the roll though, so would you think more grain, less grain, more 'knots'? The section I chose, was simply because it had enough 'grain' to look like wood, but not enough to appear 'banded', or with 'knots'... Any clarification would be much appreciated I did see an all gold DayDate Presidential woody online, with what appeared to be a walnut burl as the dial, but I felt I wanted to see more of a 'wood grain' than the whorls of the walnut...

I think freddy may have a point. Why not just have a go with nothing but the coronet? Could give it the mystery look.

Indeed, I think I might just have to do v1.4 to achieve that very look

I just found a blue-dial in Sheffield for

Thanks. I thought there was one but perhaps it was a dream... it was being sold by a topless female for

Hi guys

Does anyone know if the Tudor Snowflake rep are still about? I would love a blue one, but the only Tudors I can find are the new ones which are nasty (IMHO)!

cheers

Robsa

I don't think I've ever seen reps of it commercially at all... I think most of the ones folks are showing, are using gen dials and aftermarket (or gen) hands... Mine's using a home-made dial... Best of luck with your search though

TJ, although this is not my cup of tea aesthetically I admire your creative and manual skills!

This is really cool! Thanks for showing.

Val.

P.S. I don't get the title. Cultural gap?

Many thanks indeed I think this would have to come under the class of 'exotics', which I'd admit might not be to everyone's taste (even the gen Rolex wooden dials were not extensively produced) The Rudis was a wooden sword, given to Roman gladiators to show their freedom I figured as the dial had a Roman numeral, it was somewhat fitting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s-vZOF2vsw

:thumbsupsmileyanim:

TJ I like it, i think i would have added the 9 marker but i like it

Thanks I did consider adding the 9 marker to balance the datewindow, but when I test-placed it, while it did balance it, the large 'wood' area was suddenly broken up, which I felt reduced the impact of the dial. If I could have had all the markers in place, I would have been happy with it, but with only a few markers, I think that keeping it to the 6 and the coronet, lets it work as a 'mystery' dial V2.0 will definitely have the full complement of luminous markers, so with that as my wood dial, I'll probably replace this vinyl with gloss black for something closer to Freddy's 'mystery'

He says his auntie has given it as a gift to him. She supposedly bought in Italy.

That's how fast a politician will sell his own aunt if you press him a little.

Val.

What a worm He could've at least have been man enough to admit it was a rep, rather than some story which will only get torn apart and add to his shame I wonder how long he'll remain 'a name' in politics

Doh

I wonder where he got it from... Maybe he thought it was real

Wood-dial v1.3 satisfied (partially) my artistic pride, but was still not the ideal dial I intended for a wooden-dialled watch. I wanted something which would look formal, but, also be functional for day-wear as well. Not necessarily as a 'day in/day out' beater, but something which could be worn during the day, without looking 'too fancy', and still be functional. Mystery dials, don't really give me as accurate a display as I would like, so, while I think the dial is fine for formal wear (where time is not really the main consideration of the gathering) it doesn't cut it in he 'day to day' use. To that end, I still plan on doing a v2.0 which will use luminous markers to give a more easily readable display. Even with v1.3 being more for formal wear (and the dark dial 'toning down' the bling of the presidential bracelet) I still felt it was a little too showy for my tastes, so, I took a Scotch-brite pad to the bezel and mid-links, to achieve this result, which I am dubbing the Rudis. I think the dial looks elegant. I think the case and bracelet look elegant, but, without the polished surfaces, not as 'showy'. I know I couldn't wear this kind of dial as a daily beater, but someone else probably could, especially if their wardrobe leaned towards long-sleeved shirts/suits

Excellent result

Cool, TeeJay, looks quite "snappy"! Maybe put a stick-marker or something at 9:00 to make it look a tad more balanced... Maybe I should send you this "incorrect" DSSD dial for you to rob the "maxi markers" from, whaddya think?

Thanks, bro I was debating with the idea of the 9 marker as well, and actually test-placed the marker to evaluate it. It does balance the datewindow, but it also detracts from the 'blankness' of the 'mystery' dial. While I prefer full markers for time-keeping, adding the 9 still wouldn't provide a full set, so it really only takes away the 'blankness', which is what gives the 'mystery' dials their appeal.

I'm good for maxi markers at the moment, but if you'd be interested in a woody-conversion, just let me know

Looks like three to me! No halves about it

Thanks, bro, much appreciated, as mine's still very much a work in progress

I don't know why, but I have a hunch that they may be after-market, but, the person who sold them, probably did think they were genuine...

Yah got wood TJ !!.. looks great ma brotha !!!

switched the look of my Ubi Franken 9411 for Sunday.. still my Fav..

I've got wood at last Not quite what I'd originally had in mind, but hey, sometimes the unexpected can be good as well

That's three snowflakes (well, two and a half ) in a row, I wonder what'll be next

All I can say, is " "

I couldn't stand the failed woody dial any more, so I built wood dial v1.3...

The primary inspiration, was the black-dialled 'mystery', which Freddy sports on occasion. My aim was for a dress watch, and I have to admit, I think I've wound up with something which, while definitely elegant enough to be a dress watch, could also actually see daily wear without being too over the top, as darkening the dial has definitely made the presidential bracelet appear less 'blingy'...

I'm still going build a v2.0 which will have hour markers, as I have to be honest, a dial without them just doesn't satisfy my slightly OCD need to be able to tell the precise time. Sure, it gives an estimate, but I like a bit more precision... Still, it'll provide me with a wearable dress watch until the time that I can build the replacement dial

Of course, other than that, the Tudor is still firmly attached

My new Lum-Tec M18

That's a nice watch It looks a bit like a hybrid of a Bell & Ross, and a Panerai

Too bad about that 8 marker TeeJay. I have suffered similar cock-ups in my time.

Keep the faith, and don't give up!

Thanks, R, it's just frustrating, as the project was going well until that point. It didn't help that Emily was trying to demand my attention, despite seeing I was busy, so that took my mind off the task just enough that I failed to realize that I'd missed out one of the mounting holes in the dial... That aside, I do like how the rest of the dial looks color-wise, and I'm surprized how darkening the dial from the Rhodium dial, has made the watch much less 'blingy'. I have a few ideas to salvage the project tomorrow, which would be similar to the black-dialled 'mystery', with just the Rolex Coronet at 12. Ultimately, I will perform a full dial transplant for one with the rectangular luminous markers, but I want the watch to at least be wearable until then, and I wouldn't really consider it wearable at present

So Emily decided that the DJ was 'too masculine' for her. I'd already decided that, in factory condition it was too blingy for my taste, so I decided to press ahead with my wood vinyl experiment

I am not happy with the outcome of this test, as, through my own stupidity, the 8 marker got snapped, so I had to use glue to actually hold it in place That has really irritated me, as the other markers went back smooth as silk... Oh well, V2.0 can only be better

Here it is...

The datewheel looks good to me The full gold and two-tone Rolexes always have the champagne-colored datewheels, so that's accurate I'm no expert on datewheel fonts, so I can't say for sure there, but, I would say that it certainly looks nice and clear A fine watch indeed

I would say that the color of the dial is stunning The only thing I would ask, is how well has the gold lasted? If you were to transplant the movement/dial and hands, entirely 'as is' into a modern two tone DJ case, you'd have a very nice watch

Damn, that looks awesome, and totally authentic to the history mentioned Absolutely fantastic project