JohnG Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 A friend of mine had a 44mm PVD luminor case from Getat that had a problem with the crown lever - it wouldn't reach the crown. He said he was going to toss the case so I asked him to give it to me. I put a larger crown on it, modded the lever, and canibalized the dial, hands, and movement from a homage U-boat "Thousands of Feet" with 6497. The Thousands of Feet is 50mm so the dial required extensive modification to fit into the 44mm Luminor case. Then I removed the bezel, stripped PVD from bezel and crown guard, distressed the PVD on the case, banged everything up, then polished and polished and polished. Then lumed dial and hands. Just to be clear, this is a FANTASY watch, Panerai never produced watches for the French Army.... ---------------------------------------------------------------- The "Dien Bien Phu" (DBP) Combat Luminor was produced for the French Army from 1949 to 1954. It was issued to commanders of the armored units of the Groupements Mobiles serving in South-East Asia at the time. The watch receives it's nickname from the role it played during the battle of Dien Bien Phu in March of 1953, where it was famously worn by Squadron Commander Capitaine Yves Hervouet. The Escadron de Marche du 1er RCC was comprised of three platoons of three tanks each, and one headquarters tank commanded by Hervouet himself. Capitan Hervouet was photographed during a late engagement of the battle wearing the Panerai issued to him two years earlier in Tongkin. During the battle the squadron of tanks was subject to intense artillery fire from the Viet Minh. In the photograph (location unknown) he is said to appear in his Amercian M24 Chaffee tank with both arms in plaster casts after having been wounded, still wearing his Army issue Combat Luminor. The pictures below are of the only DBP Combat Luminor still known to exist, currently undergoing light restoration. Though provenance has not been conclusively established, based on engravings on the case back (not pictured) it is possible that this is the very watch worn by Hervouet during his service in the The First Indochina War. Capitan Yves Hervouet, Escadron de Marche du 1er RCC: DBP Combat Luminor As the restoration project progresses, more photographs will be made available. ------------------------------------------------------------ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 Looks great - very creative JG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiker01 Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 HOT DAMN!!! Looking Good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jkay Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 This is beautiful .. no words .. immaculate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gasdoc Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 Stunning! Excellent work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big eebee Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 Mon dieu Impossible I have at least seven of these french panerais and a cert to validate the good capts watch is actually owned by myself stop this charade forthwith You have made a very acceptable facimile btw well done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornerstone Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 Is it true that the tongue on the original French 'Hervouet Buckle' was actually tongue-shaped? Interesting project anyway. Reminds me of my own franken Panerai Capitolazione... (I keeed, I keeed) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trailboss Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 You're geting realy quite good at this John, well done! Love the back story too. Been reading Street Without Joy lately have we? Col. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob bean Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 Damn it man, this is an insane piece. You know how I feel about it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormTooper4 Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 The Mutts Nuts good job a very nice piece ST4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moggy Posted October 24, 2009 Report Share Posted October 24, 2009 That's a great looking 'rep' of a rep! Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted October 24, 2009 Report Share Posted October 24, 2009 Damn, that looks awesome, and totally authentic to the history mentioned Absolutely fantastic project Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmg Posted October 24, 2009 Report Share Posted October 24, 2009 Nice job JohnG, very creative! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted October 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2009 Thanks guys! I am really loving the watch, still needs some work - the lume needs to be aged and a couple of other issues dealt with, but I can hardly wait to start my next project! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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