peterhorstmann

Dear Forum, this is probably the last update on the Smiths DeLuxePlorer! Since last time I fittet an acrylic crystal and a rivet bracelet. I anticipated all sorts of problems with the crystal, but it worked out on the first try and looks beautiful! I measured the case neck and bezel once I removed the saphire glass and found that the Sternkreuz XS 306.449 for Rolex TROPIC 21 might be a fit: So I ordered one from Gleave & Co in London (I can't wait to visit that store in person, from the pictures it looks very old world!) and it just slid in place, with some gentle force of course: It made a huge difference to the watch. Finally the dial is visible and not obscured by all sorts of reflections. And it matches the case perfectly, even extending at the same bevel angle that the bezel has. It's hard to photograph with a phone... But I sometimes get lost just looking at the way the crystal diffracts the light...I'm sure people in this forum know what I mean. On a Phoenix NATO (very british): And on the Riyi Rivet (which is great... wish the clasp was a bit nicer though but I tell myself that's what clasps were like in the 60s): I also put it back into the pressure tester and it's still water proof up to 9bar (as high as I dare to go). It's not been an easy or fast project but each time I check my wrist for the time it makes me happy and am reminded of the past year, strange as it was. Thanks to anyone who's given me advice and encouragement.

Yes thanks that's what I thought too. I also found an image of what is supposed to be a 1610 but it looks very different from a DJ case and it is gold, so no way the bracelet is intended for that... Cheers mate, I appreciate the kind words! The watch looks great! Similar theme to mine. I got the case from Riyi and I'm happy with it so far (although I don't know yet if it's water resistant.... that's next on the list)

Thanks Automatico! Really interesting I need to think about this and make some drawings to see if I understand... On a different note: I have my eyes on an oyster rivet bracelet, this one: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20mm-Solid-Stainless-Steel-Rivet-Type-Replacement-Bracelet-For-Vintage-Watches/274228377318?hash=item3fd948f6e6:g:nO4AAOSwq1leLTxn I know that I can usually make folded endlinks fit somehow but since this is not really cheap it would be great to know that the endlinks fit. The seller says the endlinks are made to fit a 1610 case and not a 1016. Is the 1610 case one where the case is made flat between the lugs? So is that hopeless to fit it?

Thanks for the kind words! Thanks Automatico for the amazingly detailed advice! Why does the case neck size matter for the crystal? I thought that just sits in the bezel, in which case the bezel ID would be the relevant dimension here?

Dear Forum, happy new year! It took two lockdowns and a christmas holiday to finish this, but the watch is finally on my wrist and ticking away happily! I finished it a few hours before the new year so I could count down to midnight on the new watch which was very special. It took a while to get everything to fit... I had a friend in our workshop at work laser cut me a 150µm spacer which I put between the dial and the dial seat. It's thin enough not to be visible. I still need to grease the gaskets. It has three, one on the caseback and two on the screw down crown. I'm sure there must be many posts on how to waterproof a watch properly on this forum, can anybody point me towars one? I cant seem to get the search function to work for me (probably searching the worong keywords...). And then I'll take it to a Timpsons and get the waterproofness checked. I think they can do up 5ATM. It runs about 10-15 sec fast per day which I can live with. Things I still want to do are get a domed crystal for it. The one on there is flat and protrudes the bezel a bit which just doesn't look right to me. A single domed acrylic crystal would be period correct right? Don't know yet, I might also go with Sapphire. I'm hoping a domed crystal will also help a bit with the legibility... The flat glass does reflect a lot of light. I found a great seller on ebay uk who made me single layer vintage stype strap for it in a custom length. I think it looks great on the watch and is probably close to what such a what could have come with in the 50s (I like to think). If somebody wants to know the seller please PM me! And then I still want a nice bracelet for it. I am trying to get a riveted oyster style bracelet. I might go for the one that you can buy for the new Smith's watches and then hack the solid end links into place somehow! That's it for now. Thanks again for all the help I got here!

Thanks @automatico, that's excellent info. The idea with chopping up a feeler gauge is great, just ordered one. That's also useful for making a makeshift spacer to find out what height I need. I'll probably just stick stacks of feeler gauge sheet to the spacer ring that came with the movement to shim it higher. Unfortunately I don't have access to a lathe at the moment... I wish I did, they seem to be essential to this kind of watch tinkering! (And a mill for drilling those lugholes through, which I still want to do at some point) And yes thankfully the case has grooves for countering the case clamps. No idea how I would fix the movement in place otherwise! I know that both my Seiko 5s don't have case clamps, I think they just have a pushfit movement spacer ring which locks everything in place. And the dial is fixed to he movement somehow.

Okay quick update! Of course I made the mistake of removing the stem while it's in the winding position which screwed up the keyless works. Embarassing, didn't do enough reading... But with the help of the internet I managed to rebuild the keyless works, which was daunting but felt pretty good once successfully completed! For doing that I had to remove the day and date wheel and while I was at it I also removed some more parts of the calendar works. Now the stem in the day/date changing position just turns freely, which is exactly how I wanted it. I then used a Dremel to remove the massive dial feet off the dial and could then fit everything for the first time: So far so nice, however, the movement sits too low by quite a bit, which I did expect because the dial is convex: (note how the stem is not centered in the crown tube) So I need to shim the movement such that it sits higher. I'm planning on making a ring which goes between the dial spacer and the dial. I hope the cannon pinion and hour wheel will be tall enough! If they aren't, I can also make a spacer to sit in the dial seat between the case and dial. That might be visible and look weired though... Not sure yet how I'll make the spacer ring. Happy for suggestions! I might need to bribe the guys at work operating the laser cutter into helping me...

Nevermind, I get it now. The crown has a spring in it that does that. Steep learning curve right here...

Such a stunning piece of engineering! Almost too pretty to hide behind stainless steel... So if I later decide to remove the calendar works, would I just remove the circlip (48), lift the day wheel off and then pull the date wheel sideways gently until it's free? I think I fould a video on youtube where someone shows that, but it's a bit hard to see. Do I then need to remove the parts 44, 45, 46 via screws 100 and 108 or is it better to leave those mechanics in place?

The Sellita SW220 arrived from Switzerland today! It's an absolute piece of fine art... I will post pictures later today. I have one question already: I expected the stem to have one position furthest in (if that makes sense, pushed all the way into the movement) where it has some wiggle room in and out and rotates freely, so that it disenganges while screwing down the crown. But it appears that the furthest-in position is the handwinding position in one direction and ratcheting very finely in the other direction. Am I missing something? Thanks for tuning in!

@ JSebWC: Thanks, I appreciate that! @ automatico: that makes sense what you say about compressing the gasket, but I guess one benefit to tightening strongly is less risk of the case back coming loose? I feel like the cleanest way to close the watch would be using one of these dyes? But I have no idea if that would fit to the oyster case replica I have...

Thanks for your answer! Not what I expected... Does that really have enough grip to tighten the case back watertight? I guess the risk is low: if it doesn't work it'll just go over to the kids.

nevermind my question about the case back tool, I found this excellent thread: https://rwg.cc/topic/102236-waterproof-or-not-a-guide-to-help-your-rep-survive-the-drink/

Quick update: I'm waiting for the Sellita movement and hands to arrive from Switzerland any day now and also the brass movement ring from Raffles. In the mean time, can somebody tell me what tool I need to tighten the case back? Pipe wrench? Just kidding! Also, does somebody know of a nice oyster bracelet in the sub-50£/$ bracket? I'd like to get one with solid end links but don't know if the case I have is close enough to the real thing for those to fit? I'm tempted to order the one that the new smiths come with: It's a rivited one with solid end links, milled clasp and an embossed smiths logo on the clasp but again I don't know how likely it is to between the lugs of my case... Cheers for now.

I think Rolex 6204 hands would also look good in silver, but I couldn't find those yet...