Watchmeister

Enjoy the vacation Ken.

Great stuff.

Another vote for Hornback!

Ziggy is not unlike the Chuck Norris of watchmakers. 

 

It's not that he "repairs" a watch, the watch just wants to be a better man when it's around him.

 

He doesn't "regulate" a movement, the movement decides it wants to run smoother.

 

You don't contact Ziggy.  Ziggy contacts you. 

Classic.......and true.

+1. You should always feel free to post QC pics if you have any concerns. And it is also helpful if you let folks know what your concerns are so they can look for them.

Obviously not gen spec but the rotor is a noticeable improvement.

Well, simply put......I love a bargain. 90% of the intrinsic value for 10% of the cost of the gen.

I communicate with Lani every few months or so... He's been pretty busy with work, lifting and re-connecting with old friends.

 

I am not sure if/when he'll revisit the forum... But I remain hopeful that someday he will 

+1. He is fine but very occupied with real life. As anyone knows with Lani he would rather not participate than do so half-ass. that is what made him so terrific when he was here. We do hope he reappears of course.

I loved mine so much I converted it into a custom piece with different . The case is phenomenal. But be prepared for scratches and they are not repairable without redoing the whole case.

My fingers are crossed for a bronze case. It is a great looking watch but having owned bronze statues in the past the patination is critical. In truth if you don't like patination you would n't buy the gen. Bronze darkens without any form of preventative coating and it seems Panerai has done that on purpose. They want it smudged.

My guess (and it is a guess) is that to maximize your profit you will have to disassemble the watch and sell for parts - gen on VRF and Phong on a rep forum. I would guess $2-3k for the dial, $1000 for the bezel. All the Phong stuff selling at a rep forum will be severly discounted though. My rule of thumb when I buy Phong stuff is 50% of his price. So if you theoretically paid $3.5k for the Phong stuff (movement and case)I knock it down to $2k or less all in. So now we are at $5-6k for everything other than the bracelet. But that is a guess from a relatively ignorant person.

Stunning. Someone should be begging him to sell it.

So sorry to hear. Wishing him a quick recovery.

Very cool project. Those hands and the CG are going to take this one to a whole new level. can't wait for the continuing pics.

Very nice and what a wonderful gift.

That GMT looks great and especially on the NATO. Now you have me thinking....

Any competent modder can do it if all your parts fit properly and you have the gaskets. You never know where a leak is going to come from because greases shift, wear out, etc and so do the various gaskets. You just need to be sure the person assembling it has a proper tester and uses it. But I am with Nanuq, if you go to the trouble and expense to assemble a proper franken I would not take it swimming or in the shower. Gen vintage owners don't why should you with a franken.

is the datewheel off? On the 3717 the stock eta wheels look good. I know the original Ingenieur date wheels on the reps were not perfect butI thought they were improved.

Forget the bracelet if you are looking at gold. The plating will wear off there first. Look at Patek Nautilus (gold) on leather strap at the TD's. My 2 cents,

Did you really go to the trouble to photoshop the serial number off a rep? By the way, gorgeous watch. Wear it well.

Very nice project. Wear it well.

Great idea. Instead of the gun and ammunition manufacturers putting so much money into funding the NRA, maybe they should use a percentage of sales to pay for the armed guards in schools that the NRA is upporting. Of course, this would never happen voluntarily.

I am liking my suggestion more and more. Money from Lotto goes to education and infratructure. Why not higher sales taxes or licnsing fees to fund the armed guard concept which will never happen. Schools here can't afford music programs or decent toilet paper.

And the beauty of this project is that when it is done all we have to do is get our hands on gen dials for the new models and reverse the colors on the datewheels since a number of the newer models now have black background datewheels. Just torturing you Edge.

I for one have no interest in putting armed guards in schools and certainly don't want to pay for it so those who want guns can feel better about it. But if we are going that route than I am in favor of gun licensing with high fees or sales with required specials taxes which pay for them.