esdee

thank you

i really like tan straps! thats why they all are tan!

the back of the thread is melted with my soldering iron, im working to make this look mode... descent

well i bought some more leather, and went on to make some more straps.

i payed attention to the stitching pattern and i modded a punch that allows me to make some sweet stitch (imho!)

also i did a few tries on using some very soft leather on the inside.

thick straps are nice, they have a vintage feel, but if the leather is not ultra ultra soft then the strap ends up a bit stiff

so i used single layer of leather coated with this very very very soft leather on the inside

enjoy

very tan leather made for a friend (you can see his nickname on the back heh)

i love this leather

another one, without inside leather,1st i made of this hide for me

gets too much time on my titan diver

1st time i went leather shopping i got this crock leather, i liked it so i made this strap

this one is a darker tan i got, i really like it on the 127

This one is light brown, but the light is not right so its looks that way!

amazingly soft leather!

and this one is a tal strap, coated with acrylic resolene

kinda like a waterproof experimental strap, i think i applied too much lol

well what do you think ?

maybe san is DSN?

Who did the AR on the crystal if there is any? I have an older 127 rep with sapphire and no AR and it looks exactly like the pics you show above. Plenty of distortion and no give away blue.

i got it from greece locally, i asked an optics store where they gey their crystals made and then i got my crystal to the factory

Sans the AR the 1950 is one of the most accurate rep out there, right out of the box.

Carpe Diem.

who is san?

I love 127,

if i had 20.0000 and had to decide what to do with them (investment/car/watch/parties for a month) id choose the 127

unfortunately i dont have 20.000usd so im building the best 127 there is

Stage, No1

Crystal

all of us now that there seems to be some weird thing with sapphire crystals on 127s... the make huge distortion when you look them at certain angles

heavy heavy (bit tell) AR.

So what we do? make our own

behold

PLEASE BE ATTENTED THAT THE CRYSTAL IS NOT FULLY INSERTED TO THE CASE, IT'S SITTING A BIT HIGHER FROM 12->6 WHILE 6->12 IS AS IT SHOULD LOOK WHEN PROPELY PRESSED. (you'll see what i mean in the lum shot)

and there is the lum shot, notice the reflection of the numbers to the rehaut its as gens are ('3' and '6' only seem this way because the crystall is not fully pressed and its sitting higher at 3 6

what to you think ?

Thanks my friend.. The strap in the last pictures is made by Aaron/HKTAN with genuine 50's leather I providsed him from an Italian Jacket

The unbranded cali is I think a great project.. I love my watch especially now with the tritium superlume and the dark blue hands. It will be perfect with the solid caseback which I will personalise by engraving it some time in the future.

i've found a cali dial without the 'california' on 12, and white circle around the numbers, it should be ready and superlumed in two weeks

the strap is lovely, i like the edge finish, and ive ordered a few products to try make the same finished on my straps.

also i cant find anywhere any leather to be used inside the straps, (kati lepto san fodra)

Found this whilst surfing, may be of interest to some.

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?act=at...st&id=19437

Offshore

link not working

Apisteuto!

V did you made the strap in these last pictures?

i always liked the cali dial, but you got me to start making mine!

i should have the superlumed dial in a couple of weeks

you should some hides i picked up last week, they are stunning, from an old guy at hides paradise

Well I understand the case back can be swapped on another 127/217 but did not think there was an "Ed Zachary" Fiddy case ....as in "Ed Zachary the same as the gen".....!! :-)

But then ...I seldom venture over 44mm

FGD

there you go,

that should clear what i mean

see the diffs now?

Like to see you finished result....good luck

FGD

thank you,

can you say 'custom dial' 'custom crystal' ' custom lever' 'custom movement decoration' ?

Now you have lost me on the above ....but good luck with your project...

FGD

it's just that the 117 caseback can be fitted in both the wrong rep case (like the one i showed) and the correct rep case thats just like the gen.

im too lazy to take my correct case out of the bubble wrap for photography

Esdee

If you want a better fiddy .....you are almost there......

You have a good movement already

E0117 Case set - probably the best around

unfortunately the case is wrong, seems like some factories used the 1950 case for submersible 1000 and 2500 for the fiddy they have differences, check below

the edges of the case, having the 117 case is a different thing, as the caseback may fit in both 194 and 187

good thing is i have a 'good' case in excellent condition, just waiting for a superlumed dial to be assembled...

the other thing about all rep pams is crystal and dial...

i can assure you i will soon have both these fixed really soon to be p-e-r-f-e-c-t.

and high cannon pin i will try sanding the minute hand and installing and H3 set to see whats the closest looking to the gen,

crownguard lever will have a more modde pin, and a better shape

esdee,

the mov't linked to Ioffer sale ad in the first post is Asian, not Swiss and not the one you have in your watch. As FGD already pointed out yours is the Base Swiss ETA 6497-1 mov't with cosmetic add-ons like bridges, S/N reg etc. It's the last edition of E-series rep mov't that comes in better reps these days. DSN for example uses it in his E-series watches (Fiddy, 111E, 113E etc) also it comes in Angus's ultimate 111E.

It CANNOT be sourced as a spare part. If you find a way, please let me know, as I've been trying (read: begging) dealers I keep in touch regularly for one of these mov'ts. :-(

So basically, the mov't you're going to buy on IOFFER is Asian and the same overpriced mov't Paul (wo-mart) sells on his pam111.com site, as well as Josh and other dealers. It's IMO $50 worth mov't, not more.

cheers,

babola

EDIT: Also forgot to add, you shouldn't need the H3 cannon pinion/hour wheel upgrade kit. Your Fiddy mov't already comes with it (I have 2 watches with that mov't and didn't need an upgrade). What you might need is to sand down the minute hand tube to sit lower on the cannon pin.

babola by the time i made this question on ioffer i already had an 127 and i thought it would be nice to replace the movement with the one on ioffer.

on second though i though it would be better to get one with sapphire and this movement, then i asked the guy on ioffer if he can but this movement in a 127 that he had on another offer, then he directed me to an offer he had (on ioffer) that was something like 'ultimate 127' etc etc, and told me that these 127's uses these movements.

you are right about the screws on under the balance, but maybe thats from a specific batch of movements.

maybe use the pic i uploaded and ask him if he can get you this movement

as for the H3 i recently found that gen 127s have much less space between hour and minute hand.

any idea whats the length of the H3 cannon pinnion?

im about to relume it, im just waiting for the H3 cannon pinnion and hour wheel

this watch uses the movement that this topic is about...

ioffer is about offering, so an offer of 150-180usd for this movemnt wont hurt, since i got the whole watch for 300

lol

you can see my name in the questions sections of this offer.

i actually bought (back then) a 1950 from this guy no superlume or high cannon pinnion. but with sapphire and this movement for 300usd with ems shipping

till now the movement is running in the worst situation at 1-1.5sec slower a day (i was amazed that i was wearing it outside my snowboard jacket 3 days ago that i went for snowboarding, and it didn't loose its accuracy at -5*C . maybe its properly oiled and assembled)

the guy that i was contacted with was really friendly and he shipped fast.

here is some pics of the watch i received and the movement,

feel free to edit the pic to show what is wrong with the movement

/edited with some better pics, without the macro lens on the camera, stupid macro lens with all that noise...

ok... this is a new addition to m collection!

i absolutely love the texture of this leather!

saved some to make a true vintage one like my friends stephan here!

http://upload2.postimage.org/662601/photo_hosting.html

I am still thinking what to do with my old case Asian 196 (my first rep).. I don't wear it anymore but I am not selling it either...

why not PVD it and make it a non branded project?

aaaaah, the magic of a nicely modded fiddy

the grown guard is really something

i have a radiomir project watch and im having thoughts how the new crown guard will look!

after russian divers and pam127 if i switch to a radiomir i think im gonna miss the crown guard/canteen symptom too

Of course.. wouldn't you though prefer to see my gen 112?

Pfff I will wear both one in each wrist

sure!

maybe ill bring a case with my two beloved huge invictas along with some straps i made!

hope you sell those straps you mentioned fast!

i would take that last distressed one but i only have 26mm watches

V that is a fantastic watch!

actually with a few more modifications its excactly the new watch im in to!

please make sure you wear it when we meet!

Hey,

I didn't say it sucked. It's just there are things to learn or do better at. I do not claim to know all or be perfect myself, so what I give is my experience.

First, learn how to saddle stitch. This goes a long way in stitching leather, strap or not.

Secondly, make sure to skivve down the areas where the lugs will go, or else the strap will rub against the case and be very difficult to fit.

Thirdly, finish your edges. Some people do like the raw look, but finished edges look good all the time. Even if you still want to keep a bit of the raw look, burnish the edge a bit so as not to look like two pieces of leather just put together.

There are other things, but these 3 should help a lot. And in doing them you will most likely "fix" the other problems as well.

thank you very much my friend!

1) i know my stitching is no good but i will sure practice it more and more!

2) here is something i didn't know

3) yeap, i know! i have edge kote but only black and brown and im going to order some other colors i saw availiable to match the strap color!

thank you very much for your feedback!

there is nothing better than respected members feedback with corrections improvements and thoughts!

For first effort it looks good. There are a number of things I could mention that would kick it up a notch, but if you are just making these for yourself, then what you have done should suffice. If you want me to go over the "other" things. Let me know, I'll be happy to let everyone in on the strap making secrets ROFL.

my friend this is why i made this thread! feedback!

even if your posts starts like 'they suck big time because ...you did this and not that and '

i will carefully read it because i know there are secrets that i am unable to think of from my first attempt!

you can even PM me anything you like!

Keep up the good work.. Practice and only practice will make you better and better..

If you need any advice or a live tutorial during Christmas let me know

Thank you Kostas!

it will be my pleasure, maybe we go leather shopping together

im buying coffee!

WOW!

thank you all for your good words!!

if that is your first strap then i am french, nice work, want to swap any

honestly, these are the first two...

i actually made these two for myself, but i can make a couple more for trade i guess

mine are 26/26 125-130/~85

Phenomenal, Esdee! You know you have a customer in me, whenever you need.

As for the thread, go with what Tallkenny suggested. Darker shade will make that second strap pop out. However, I rather like the look of it, as is.

thank you Victoria! !

im also thinking in applying edge kote on the croc strap, im testing how it looks on a sample i have!

thank you all guys for the feedback!

Hi Guys...

i cought the bug of generally everything replicas have, so here i am making some straps.

i m very excited but i need your feedback!

here we go...

first strap

second strap

(took very quick pics, if i set the lighting correctly you will be amazed with its texture-color)

but i need your feedback on stitching this strap

(if i go ahead and stitch it...)

what thread you prefer!

the strap threads on lamp light

and on daylight

and i keep making straps

this watch in 47mm size would be

U N B E L I E V E A B L E!