Budget Tiffany & Co Submariner

[TeeJay]

This was ordered on my behalf by my wife from a CQout dealer, with the sole intention of me using a few parts for my project sub. I have to admit, I was rather pleasantly surprised with what arrived

She paid for express delivery, but not FedEx, so this was a pleasant (if slightly worrying) surprise...

Why worrying, well, FedEx are known to be a good way of getting goods seized, and I would feel more comfortable knowing that the dealer had used the method agreed upon... Oh well...

Inside the box, the watch was very well wrapped

I liked the case-back so much, I decided to transfer it to my project sub...

Serial Numbers...

My first fixed-lug case... I have plans for this

The strap was a bit scratchy, but quite nicely made:

The bezel has a sharp edge, the crown guards are pretty narrow, but, the bezel rotates quite freely... Oh well...

A couple of quick wrist shots:

And then the dismantling began...

Before baking the dial, I used a black marker to erase the Tiffany & Co branding, and then used a red marker to tint Submariner red. However, the baking process pretty much obliterated that text... I baked the dial for a minute under the grill, but, I have to admit, even that was a bit more than I'd intended... Oh well, at what this cost, I can try again another time to get that 'creamy white' color

So it was then just a case of putting everything into the Silix case Sacrilage to some, I'm sure, but, I'm pretty much happy with the result

The whole lot came to just under

[Toadtorrent]

Go TeeJay. The man with a vision!!

That baking is a good idea. I think the black marker and red marker mod though wasn't the best. Did you scratch scuff the insert? I think the bleaching might be another choice to produce a more even effect.

Fun stuff. You gotta experiment on a yellowed acrylic or something for the pearl!

[Guest HaloArchive]

I never realized. I think this is actually a nice base for a vintage. I think that watch would have looked fine with just scratching up the case a bit, baking the hands and dial and aging the insert.

[TeeJay]

Thanks for the feedback, amigos

Go TeeJay. The man with a vision!!

That baking is a good idea. I think the black marker and red marker mod though wasn't the best. Did you scratch scuff the insert? I think the bleaching might be another choice to produce a more even effect.

Fun stuff. You gotta experiment on a yellowed acrylic or something for the pearl!

I can't claim the baking idea as my own, but it certainly works I think if I was to repeat it, I'd only need 30 seconds to get the result I had in mind... I tried removing the Tiffany & Co branding print with tape, but that didn't work, and I tried gently scraping it with the tip of a tooth pick and a screwdriver, but they didn't loosen it at all, so I thought easier to cover it with ink rather than risk damaging the surface of the dial To the naked eye, the black ink mod is okay, as the baked ink just looks like staining on the dial. I think the plan should be black ink, bake dial, then apply red ink... Indeed, I did both to the insert I scuffed up the edges with a nail file, and put a few scuffs over the surface of the insert, then bleached it with drain cleaner for 60 seconds. The only problem, is that I used taped pliars to hold the insert while it was soaking and for running under the tap, and that left squared lines by the triangle. I later thought I might be able to 'blend them in', with a bleaching of the specific area, (and a 'test fade' in another area) but it completely removed the anodizing by the triangle, and over the 10 marking... That annoyed me I'm not sure yet if I can tolerate it as 'chemical spill damage', or if I should get another insert...

If I do get another insert, I could always try taking the soak time up to 90 seconds, but I think that might be running the risk of completely stripping the anodizing as I did on my first attempt where the insert stripped down to the bare metal... The acrylic will pick up some scuffs fairly easily Infact, it was quite scuffed, but I buffed it clean when re-installing it, as I got an epoxy fingerprint on it, so had to buff that out with toothpaste Still room for tweeks and improvements, but for the moment, I'm pretty happy with the result

I never realized. I think this is actually a nice base for a vintage. I think that watch would have looked fine with just scratching up the case a bit, baking the hands and dial and aging the insert.

Oh definitely, the watch would've made an awesome vintage base in it's own right (and it will ) but it really was just purchased as a dial donor for the project sub, although in the end, I took the dial, insert, caseback and movement. My prime reason for aging the Silix sub and not the Tiffany & Co Sub, was because of the fixed springbars. The watch can only be worn on NATO, and, while that doesn't bother me for an occasional wearer, I like having the option of swapping between bracelet and straps, so that's why it had to go down the way it did. The Tiffany & Co Sub is currently housing the movement and dial which were in the Silix sub, and will probably wind up as a millitary Tudor of some kind (possibly a Snowflake) My only gripe with it, is the bezel rotates quite freely, and so far, I haven't been able to prize the bezel off to install the click spring I took from the Silix sub to give it the historically accurate bi-directional bezel

[marcoxxx1984]

for Teejay: Hey man the tiffany mariner is too cool!!

I want one like yours! Where can I find it?? are there other Rolex models with Tiffany&co engraving on the dial???

[TeeJay]

for Teejay: Hey man the tiffany mariner is too cool!!

I want one like yours! Where can I find it?? are there other Rolex models with Tiffany&co engraving on the dial???

Thanks, I have to admit, it was a pretty nice watch out of the box, and other than the loose bezel, I'd've been quite happy with it as it was, but, it was only bought as a donor... It was from a dealer on CQout, but I think most dealers have the Tiffany & Co available. I'm not 100% sure how many have the narrow-edge bezel or old-style bezel insert, but they definitely have the Tiffany & Co dial. I've only ever read about a Tiffany & CO Submariner, and I think it was one of the last examples of Rolex putting another company brand name on their dials... From what I've read, a genuine Tiffany & Co submariner is harder to track down than a genuine red 1680