andreww Posted December 2, 2009 Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 (edited) Hey bud, here's a rendering of how it should look. I've combined a pic of a Skyland & a Navi taken at the same angle. So it appears that the large font will fit the window, provided the window, at 4:30, actually will align properly with the Skyland datewheel. Edited December 2, 2009 by andreww Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hackR Posted December 2, 2009 Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 A - that's awesome...thanks!...well done... I have to assume that the arabic and stick dials have the same size window and placement?!...hmmm...may need to shoot some pix of it friday...will pm ya... R- here's a view of my v1 from pix i have on my computer...(didn't realize that the date starts to changeover an hour earlier than midnight?!...hmmm...oh well...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteM Posted December 2, 2009 Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 Thats a good way of making a decision initially. What a difference it makes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreww Posted December 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 I'm pretty sure they all have the same sized window. If you look at the quarter second marks, the height is about 6 ticks, which is about the same as on my Skyland. I assume that the window size is standard on all 7750 reps, and set to the maximum size. Also, when I've seen stock 7750s with the factory dial, I seem to recall the having date windows cut at both 3:00 and 4:30, so I'm pretty sure this will work. If it does, its going to greatly improve the look of your Navi for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreww Posted December 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 Thats a good way of making a decision initially. What a difference it makes! It looks much better than the crappy asian font that was used on these. Unfortunately the single digit numbers (like the 6 in the picture) should be rotated 90 degrees, but a perfect solution just doesn't exist. At least with this, it will be accurate for 22 days a month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hackR Posted December 2, 2009 Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 6 ticks!...cool...looks like my arabic dial and your composite are spot on, A... now - i need to decide on using the skyland carcass dw or an eta dw?!... excellent process to compare, ya know...increases the odds of this swap working!...you're the man!... R- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadtorrent Posted December 2, 2009 Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 6 ticks!...cool...looks like my arabic dial and your composite are spot on, A... now - i need to decide on using the skyland carcass dw or an eta dw?!... Hey R...I think the Skyland datewheel if it fits will look better. It's got a more "Breitling" font than the standard ETA. As to the hour/datewheel changeover...it's an easy fix...go get that Offshore toolset. You just have to decase, pop off the hands...and spend some time swearing away as you learn to mount the hands at the date changeover time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hackR Posted December 2, 2009 Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 here's a gen arabic...potentially wider window - but tough to tell with the bevel... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hackR Posted December 2, 2009 Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 Hey R...I think the Skyland datewheel if it fits will look better. It's got a more "Breitling" font than the standard ETA. As to the hour/datewheel changeover...it's an easy fix...go get that Offshore toolset. You just have to decase, pop off the hands...and spend some time swearing away as you learn to mount the hands at the date changeover time. Hey S -- thanks... gotta see if i can get the skyland movement working before i cannibalize it...agree tho, the skyland dw would be better... Offshore kit enroute...a great deal...got a couple watches i'll learn on before i screw up my Navi!... heaven help us...all us guys with tools?!...yikes!... R- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreww Posted December 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 Hey R...I think the Skyland datewheel if it fits will look better. It's got a more "Breitling" font than the standard ETA. I agree Toad, but I think the datewheel would better be served on his Chrono Avenger. The Navitimer is never going to be 100% accurate anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreww Posted December 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 here's a gen arabic...potentially wider window - but tough to tell with the bevel... You are correct R, the gen has a larger date window. This is because the 7753 is farther outboard than the 7750. This means a larger circumference, which when divided in to 31 sections, each is slightly larger. Another issue that my photo will not show is how much of the adjacent numbers you will be able to see due to the amount of space it is recessed. Again, this is uncharted territory, so we'll never know until someone tries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAMman Posted December 2, 2009 Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 Can we buy a bunch of Skyland datewheels as a group buy. Does anyone have a cozy relationship with a dealer who may facilitate us? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreww Posted December 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 (edited) Okay, there is a slight issue. If you take the entire datewheel as 360 degrees, and divide that in to 31 sections, you will find that each day occupies 11.612903 degrees of space. In the illustration below, I've set the first digit in the 3:00 date window, then rotated it by 11.613 degrees several times. As you can see, by the time it gets to the 4:30 date window (45 degrees away), the digit has picked up an extra 1.45 degrees, causing it to sit slightly low in the date window. This goes a long way in explaining why nearly all of these tricompax watches that don't have custom datewheels, have the font sitting too low in the date window. Edited December 2, 2009 by andreww Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hackR Posted December 2, 2009 Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 we're not worthy...we're not worthy... A - outstanding work on this!... you are right...i need to sort out what to do with my skyland dw from the carcass...and my CA is a higher end and better replicated piece... the thick blah font in my Navi actually consumes a lot of the date window - which actually makes the entire date blend into the black dial more so...and since it's recessed, that draws less attention; mostly to me, the wearer...all in all, tho, may be cool to experiment with the ETA look to verify all this... excellent work - on the discovery as to why the current dw sits low in the window... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadtorrent Posted December 2, 2009 Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 Great observation A!!! Nice breakdown. I guess to have the better datewheel on a rep that will sit visually sunken due to the tricompax mod may or may not be the best mod. Interesting...yeah...I'm not sure who would have bulk datewheels for this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreww Posted December 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 Great observation A!!! Nice breakdown. I guess to have the better datewheel on a rep that will sit visually sunken due to the tricompax mod may or may not be the best mod. Interesting...yeah...I'm not sure who would have bulk datewheels for this. I don't think there is a source for the 3-6-9 7750 datewheels. I think that its interesting that a 7750 datewheel is not going to be a perfect fit. Basically you need a 7750 dial with the printing offset by 1.45 degrees. Hopefully the rep factories will make a proper datewheel one day, but it seems doubtfull. Apparently the Navi is next in line for the new B01 movement, so I don't think we'll see a new rep before then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadtorrent Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 Basically you need a 7750 dial with the printing offset by 1.45 degrees. The problem then becomes that the window won't be centered between the 4 and 5 or the subdial registers so it will look a bit funny. The best solution is a proper datewheel which is not likely going to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chronoluvvv Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 very insightful nonetheless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NaviChief Posted January 13, 2010 Report Share Posted January 13, 2010 If anyone has an extra rep Breitling font datewheel I would be happy to buy it for my 6-9-12 Navi! It is the last thing about my favorite watch that bothers me (and yes I know the rest of the flaws with the SS) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jj69 Posted January 13, 2010 Report Share Posted January 13, 2010 Ditto what NaviChief said. I've tried every dealer to source a Skyland datewheel for my Navitimer SS. It's impossible. None of the dealers can source them. One dealer even went to several different factory reps to try and approach it from different angles. The factory just won't give up the datewheels. A group buy is another possibility. I wonder what the factory would say if I offered to buy 50 of them? How much demand do you think there is in the rep community for these datewheels? If anyone has an extra rep Breitling font datewheel I would be happy to buy it for my 6-9-12 Navi! It is the last thing about my favorite watch that bothers me (and yes I know the rest of the flaws with the SS) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hackR Posted January 13, 2010 Report Share Posted January 13, 2010 i agree - wondering if someone like Lanikai - who has a tremendous relationship with Josh - could discuss a potential group buy of Skyland datewheels with Josh to the factory/supplier...not sure anyone who has that level of relationship has approached it this way... i'll pm Lani on it... R- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltatahoe Posted January 13, 2010 Report Share Posted January 13, 2010 fwiw, you could count me in on a group buy (assuming the price is reasonable) deltatahoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eton Posted January 13, 2010 Report Share Posted January 13, 2010 fwiw, you could count me in on a group buy (assuming the price is reasonable) deltatahoe +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAMman Posted January 17, 2010 Report Share Posted January 17, 2010 +1 +1...on reflection I would take at least 2 - 1 for my Serie Speciale Navi and 1 for my CA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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