TeeJay

Fantastic mod review Indeed, watches sure look funny without the inserts in place. At my wedding, I saw that my best man was wearing his watch minus the entire bezel assembly Are you planning on doing anything with the spare bezel insert, or might you be open to negotiations on it?

The cost is irrelevant, as is resale value. Projects like this are no different to when people choose to customize their cars. Some would say that chopping the top off a Bentley would be sacrilege, but, having seen such a project, I know it looks absolutely awesome, and would probably increase the resale value due to it's unique nature Personally, I can't make up my mind of I actually like this watch mod or not, but, I'm not a huge fan of Daytonas anyway... One thing's for sure, the workmanship is first rate

Sweet

I'm going to have quite a few spare parts knocking around when I get round to building my GMTCSub, so I'd be happy to contribute some parts to the cause

Thanks for the clarification

I know I've handled the gen, but this was something which I didn't entirely pay attention to... Does the clasp have a diver's extension?

This is the Aqua Terra I customized for my dad a few years back. The strap was a regular aftermarket strap which I liked the look of, and I just ordered an OEM buckle from the local AD (who don't actually stock Omega anymore ) It never photographed well, but was a gorgeous watch to wear, and I was hard pushed to actually part with it, so it wasn't easy to hear later that the strap was actually too short for my dad's wrist, and he couldn't wear it Oh well

I believe ClassicWatchParts sells them, in both 'new' and 'vintaged' colors

+1 I've been pretty lucky with my watches, and they've either been waterproof out of the box, or possible to make waterproof. Even my Panerai and Omega chronographs stood up to extended immersion in a hot tub without issue As long as a watch has been reasonably well manufactured, the design itself tends to ensure water resistance

A lovely watch, I'm sure it will see a lot of wear A word of advice, Aqua Terras look awesome on leather straps

100% improvement The strap absolutely makes the watch, and changing a strap can really make a lot of difference to the overall feel of a watch For example... As you can see, different straps, and totally different feels to the watch

Well, A and B are certainly true, and yes, C is true in the way a watch is worn, but, if 'a civilian' was to ask about your watch, and you passed it over, if I was that civilian, I would immediately wonder why the case back did not match the rest of the case finish. Not saying I'd then ask "Is this real??!!" because I wouldn't really know better, but I'd certainly notice a difference in color and be curious as to why that was That said, it's your watch, so your choice what you do with it

Awesome choice I was browsing the dealer sites earlier, and saw a red-dialed DateJust which looked pretty badass

I have to admit, I think I'd personally be tempted to keep the current one in place. It might not be like gen, but, at least it matches with the rest of the case I think fitting a plain steel case would look really out of place because of the difference is color... Best of luck

Awesome review, thanks for taking the time to put it together Have you any mods planned for the watch?

How about having a theme for your collection? My old collection was built primarily, around watches which had been worn on TV or in movies, for example, Tom Cruise wore a highly modified Omega Speedmaster X-33 in Minority Report. The production company re-branded the watch as a Bvlgari, and actually got in trouble over it... As for your other criteria choices, I'd make these suggestions: white faced watch (all my watches are black) - Panerai 113 something with a leather band - Omega Aqua Terra or Rolex DateJust, fitted to an aftermarket leather strap maybe a chronograph - Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Safari (on rubber strap rather than SS Bracelet) something that looks good with a suit - Patek Philippe Nautilus, blue dial variant There's also another watch which I feel meets all those criteria*... The Ebel Discovery 1911... *Apart from the leather band part

If we're talking existing collection, rather than any choice possible, then it would be my beater

I think you're quite right, a camera phone throws up challenges all of it's own, like fixed focus/exposure times etc, so indeed, it can be harder to get a decent photo with one of them, than with a proper camera

Any time, brother I can't wait to find out what the criteria are Also, with regards a phone camera section, the header photo was taken with my iPhone, as the battery in my digital camera died after the first (unsuccessful) shot I lined up

There has not always been good feedback from people who have paid the extra for this service from a dealer, particularly those who drop-ship. If you want to be 100% sure that the watch is waterproofed, your best bet, as above, is to find a local watchsmith to do the test

I've never been one to favor 'stock' over a custom build, so I say go for it

I'll be sure to keep an eye on this, best of luck with the project

I wouldn't like to say, I expect they do sell cleaning products, but how suitable they'd be, I really couldn't say. I'm sure they'll sell Scotch pads though

Awesome, thanks