HauteHippie

Minor update to "The Service" section to add some thoughts and policies regarding crystals with cyclopes. I do know that coating crystals with their cyclops removed and reattaching them afterward has been done. But I remain a little skeptical of how well that really turns out, how well the crystal glue adheres to a coating rather than to the substrate itself, and what kind of chemical reaction, if any, (possibly causing a slight color shift) between the crystal cement and the AR coating occurs. Also, I would guess that there might be a little excess glue on the crystal left from positioning the cyclops which would need to be wiped off before the UV exposure. And I don't know how cleanly it'd wipe off of the coating as opposed to bare sapphire. So, my suggestion is to discuss this option with someone knowledgeable like The Zigmeister before pursuing it. In the past, I have done a cyclops-friendly AR run which was a low temperature, non-durable, single sided interior surface run for Panerais. This allowed the cyclopes to remain attached during the coating process and worked well. You just had to handle the crystal with care until it was installed so as not to damage the coating. This is a possibility in the future if demand arises.

Hah! Your frankensub is even better than mine!!

D - The Zigmeister or I can take care of the stripping. Green jeweler rouge, buffing pad, and a dremel does the job. I sent you a PM also.

Clark's definitely, OFrei maybe. Also, Angus might be a source as well. Keep us updated on the project. I've barely kicked off a 16200 Frankenjust myself.... Gen case, dial, crown, bracelet, date disc, and 2892-A2. I hope to have it wrapped up by summer as it'll hoefully be a graduation gift.

That means a lot coming from you, sir!

Ah, yes. The friendly yet deranged neighborhood schizo Bob. Makes you wonder who he finally pissed off for the last time.

Rolex to ring in the new year...

The Zigmeister's info comes with good authority from suppliers. Where does your info come from?

Actually the current sign up thread is here: http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?s=&amp...st&p=379275 I'll keep it open for a few days, and then I usually expect there to be about a 3 week timeframe in which crystals arrive before going to the coater.

Excellent news on two fronts: (1) This certainly puts the rumors to rest regarding availability; and (2) you're back home here at RWG again. PS I had no idea the 6497-2 was such a high end movement...

Based on BCE pics I have seen, I would say it's definitely better. I have never seen the BCE in person, however.

Right, and there is no need to buy the whole kit. I was just suggesting to look at the kit to see what's in it in order to get an idea of what tools are recommended, and then buy the ones you need individually.

Awesome... A nice hornback croc strap is high up on my want list.

I'll suggest buying good tools, and thus only buying said tools once. I have found, 99% of the time, that when I try to cut corners with cheap tools it doesn't pay off in the end. A good point of reference is the timezone watch classes. For each level, they have a recommended set of basic tools - all of good quality. You can use their suggestions as a starting point to buy just what you need. A good Bergeon or Horotec screw driver set is a must.

Subjectively, I'd say great. But remember gen PAMs are single. sssurfer and I both happen to like double AR on PAMs, though.

Excellent! How many crystals for you, LR?

UPDATE: This run is currently full. I might be able to squeeze others in if there are dropouts. And I will also plan another run for February. Thanks for all the interest. It's that time again. I'm now taking sign-ups for another double AR run. This is the absolute best coating out there with no lip marks whatsoever on the optical surface!! Here's what to do: 1. Read this information and familiarize yourself with the coating and the process. 2. Post to this thread when you are 100% committed to participating and indicate how many crystals you have. Please do not post if you are not sure. 3. Await further instructions which will come via a PM pointer to an external website on how to proceed. We need 20 to move forward. Thanks and happy new year to all.

moved

Let me know if you do! Thanks.

At $45 per crystal for the coating plus an optional $10 for stripping, I think the total cost is the same or less. I'll post a new AR FAQ tomorrow, as well as January's sign up thread. In the meantime, here's the pic of the sample... Excuse the poor hand-held photo. But I think it's good enough for the intended purpose. This crystal is resting on top of a noobmariner for the demo. you can verify that there actually IS a crystal there by observing the edges. There is no light tent or lighting diffuser being used here, and the crystal is on a dining room table directly below a lit chandelier.....

There really isn't much of a difference between libs and socialists these days. As for conservatism vs. facism, there is a world of difference. Most conservatives favor smaller government and individual rights. Facism, on the other hand, is authoritarianism combined with collectivism. That LAT article was written by a CFR guy, IIRC. I guess they are more pro-globalist than anything else.

Like kingkitesurf, I would like to know if anyone has successfully transplanted the ETA inside a 3717 or Slevin or other non-Daytona 28.8kph based watch, and if so what they did about the sub dial hands.......

I was told half a millimeter around 50% of the crystal (on a circular crystal), and was sent a picture. 0,5mm sounds about right based on what I saw and being visible to the naked eye. They're difficult to photograph, though. I had the same difficulty back when my coating process left tooling marks. So what's the scoop? Is there variance from crystal to crystal? Why would one crystal have visible marks and others (according to Pug) have none?

A fair percentage of members simply send their watches to The Zigmeister (Canada) or Vacuum (USA). They then remove the crystals and send them to me for coating, and I return to them for reinstallation. Often times they'll have dials and hands lumed at the same time, so it works out well. I have the tools and a crystal press, but generally not the time, so at this point I'm still not offering crystal removal services... And I'll never be offering lume services. As part of your review, Pug, could you talk about the visible tooling marks on the optical surface? I have seen a pic of a k2222 crystal that shows a mark of about 0.5mm which extends about 180 degrees around one edge of the crystal. In this case it was installed such that it extended from 5 o'clock to 11 o'clock. These marks are always difficult to photograph but are visible at some angles, so a written description would be fine. Thanks!

"The country faces huge domestic challenges -- an aging population lacking any form of social security" LIB ALERT!! In reality, the Chinese tend to save their money a lot more than Americans.