jmb Posted January 31, 2010 Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 Let me start this by saying this project would never have gotten off the ground, let alone completed, without the selfless donations from our good brothers Lani and Ubi - Thanks R and R!! Everybody always talks about their "grail watch", and I suppose this was mine as I fell in love the first time I saw one and bemoaned the fact that one was not repped and likely never would be. But, Lani and Ubi to the rescue!!! Lani sent me a spare dial from his Tudor project and Ubi chipped in with an A7750 movement of the proper layout and a Daytona case. Ubi passed along the movement (he said was inop) to use in mocking up the watch, checking fits, etc. I decided it was time to jump in with both feet and partially disassembled it and fixed the keyless works and it ran like a champ! I put new rubber on the pushers (itty-bitty O-ring kit from watchbitz) and installed the missing pusher C-clips (clip assortment from cousins.com). This evening I worked up the nerve to assemble the watch and I can truly say I'm in love!!! After assembling the "head" I then fitted a non-SEL vintage style Oyster bracelet. I still need to either relocate the cyclops or install a crystal with the cyclops in the right spot (this has a killer mag and is about in the right spot for a Sub), and maybe find a Tudor clasp, but this is close to perfect for me the way it sits! The only thing left that I must do is figure out how to secure the movement into the case - I can probably take the back off my Seconds at 9 Daytona to see how that is done. Here's some pics: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwatch Posted January 31, 2010 Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 Beauty jmb!!!! Awesome Tudor my friend! Congrats on your new build and enjoy it! It's an amazing looking watch and you should definitely be proud! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted January 31, 2010 Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 Whoa. That turned out killer, buddy! I love the results! Hmmmm... I think you may need some movement clamps and screws. I'll get a few out to you in the mail on Monday... Looking good!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted January 31, 2010 Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 That looks awesome. Another community assisted Tudor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanikai Posted January 31, 2010 Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 And guess who was the last out of the R's to get a part to J But . . it looks wicked good brah !!!! . . shit Jed if the mail was that fast to Texas imagine if I shipped it out earlier.. . . I hope ya enjoy it more so because of the wait.. AC/L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted January 31, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 No prob, R, I've had plenty-o-stuff to keep me busy!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justasgood Posted January 31, 2010 Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 Nice work J! Lani, where did that dial come from? As usual, I dare anyone to find a community that comes together to help each other more than this one. RWG.........a great place to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted January 31, 2010 Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 J, That is a great looking watch. IMHO, I prefer the Tudor to the Daytona, for two reasons, first of all it's not an "Icon" among Rolex WIS, so they probably would never notice any small variations from the genuine, the second is it has a date function which I find essential. Beautiful project, and wonderful cooperation which makes this forum so great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted January 31, 2010 Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 Fantastic results jmb! Well worth the effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted January 31, 2010 Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 Damn, that looks tasty, bro My one suggestion/question, is if a silver datewheel might look more uniform, or if it would look too uniform... I really like how it's looking though Does the bezel scale need re-enameling? I did that with my new Daytona case after brushing the bezel, and it was not only easy to do, but made a huge difference to the finished look Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeromatic Posted January 31, 2010 Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 Let me start this by saying this project would never have gotten off the ground, let alone completed, without the selfless donations from our good brothers Lani and Ubi - Thanks R and R!! Everybody always talks about their "grail watch", and I suppose this was mine as I fell in love the first time I saw one and bemoaned the fact that one was not repped and likely never would be. But, Lani and Ubi to the rescue!!! Lani sent me a spare dial from his Tudor project and Ubi chipped in with an A7750 movement of the proper layout and a Daytona case. Ubi passed along the movement (he said was inop) to use in mocking up the watch, checking fits, etc. I decided it was time to jump in with both feet and partially disassembled it and fixed the keyless works and it ran like a champ! I put new rubber on the pushers (itty-bitty O-ring kit from watchbitz) and installed the missing pusher C-clips (clip assortment from cousins.com). This evening I worked up the nerve to assemble the watch and I can truly say I'm in love!!! After assembling the "head" I then fitted a non-SEL vintage style Oyster bracelet. I still need to either relocate the cyclops or install a crystal with the cyclops in the right spot (this has a killer mag and is about in the right spot for a Sub), and maybe find a Tudor clasp, but this is close to perfect for me the way it sits! The only thing left that I must do is figure out how to secure the movement into the case - I can probably take the back off my Seconds at 9 Daytona to see how that is done Wow Thats is fantastic! You have some great friends on RWG! my next project will be a tudor sub! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanikai Posted January 31, 2010 Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 Nice work J! Lani, where did that dial come from? As usual, I dare anyone to find a community that comes together to help each other more than this one. RWG.........a great place to be. The dial came from Switzerland off the bay K. .. the seller has a store on ebay and has some good prices for his Eta7750's also.. this was the first dial I bought.. but I bought a ceramic one shortly after, so JMB commented on it, so the Colorado ~ Hawaii connection worked it out again.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justasgood Posted January 31, 2010 Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 The dial came from Switzerland off the bay K. .. the seller has a store on ebay and has some good prices for his Eta7750's also.. this was the first dial I bought.. but I bought a ceramic one shortly after, so JMB commented on it, so the Colorado ~ Hawaii connection worked it out again.. I saw his listings.....Nice dials and great gesture! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanikai Posted January 31, 2010 Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 I saw his listings.....Nice dials and great gesture! We have some other shtuff going out to EU once everything is in from Honk Kong via Colorado .. stopping off at TJ's and then to Germany.. TJ will have odds and ends to keep him busy with projects for awhile me thinks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertk Posted January 31, 2010 Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 Wow, a real stunner. Great work. One of the nicest looking I've seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted January 31, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 Lani, I'm glad to see you are helping to keep T off the streets. It's much better hiding at home assembling semi-legal goodies than out pub crawling! Pan, I agree about the date function and that's one of the things that initially drew me to the Tudor. I then started diggin' the subdial layout, and I was afterwards stricken with lust! TeeJay, all of the numbers look to be filled but these shots were taken last night with flash out in the shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiker01 Posted January 31, 2010 Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 WoW! I'm speechless! U da Man, J! Hat's off to 'ya! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted January 31, 2010 Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 We have some other shtuff going out to EU once everything is in from Honk Kong via Colorado .. stopping off at TJ's and then to Germany.. TJ will have odds and ends to keep him busy with projects for awhile me thinks Many thanks, bro, it's all very much appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted January 31, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 Hike, the majority of the kudos go to Ubi and Lani for dipping into their respective stashes for the majority of the goodies. All I had to do was come up with hands and a band! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shultz Posted February 14, 2010 Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 Hi, I just noticed your Tudor chrono thread. After cleaning out my watch parts box I am still holding some nice parts to put together some Frankens. I have got all the parts to put together a Tudor chrono including the gen bracelet with right end links. "Only" thing missing is an accurate case. I am considering to buy an inexpensove Daytona rep case but there a a couple of questions and I would appriciate your support: The D.cases are missing the drilled through lugholes. Perhaps this can be fixed with a dremel? Comparing the bezel engravings of all available D. reps I notice that these are different to the gen Tudors with polished bezel. Please see the following pics: Gen 79180: Gen 79280 (Tiger): Gen 94300: I found two D reps (by Jay/ silix and Josh) which might be close but not perfect: Silix: Josh: What would you suggest? I already applied at yuki but as good as his cases are, they are pretty expensive... BTW: Will a D. rep case hold an ETA 7750 with 6,9,12 subdials? AFAIK it measures the same. Bu is a pecial mvt. holder/ ring required? I would appreciate your help to start (and finish) my personal Tudor project. Thanks and all the best F. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted February 14, 2010 Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 I really don't know very much about Daytonas at all, but here's my .2c on the aesthetics... The bezel on the Gen 79180 not only looks cluttered with all those marks in the scale, but I think that overall, the watch would look nicer if it had one of the black bezels like on the Newman era Daytonas, as I think that would really make the panda dial pop Best of luck with the project Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shultz Posted February 14, 2010 Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 TeeJay, actually I would like a black bezel better but it is very difficult to find a case (except for the very expensive yuki cases. Phong is expensive as well). If I take an elder newman case -those which came with an 7750) it would be wrong because of the missing crownguard... I can try to remove the polished bezel from a D. rep but have no clue where to source a black bezel which will fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted February 14, 2010 Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 TeeJay, actually I would like a black bezel better but it is very difficult to find a case (except for the very expensive yuki cases. Phong is expensive as well). If I take an elder newman case -those which came with an 7750) it would be wrong because of the missing crownguard... I can try to remove the polished bezel from a D. rep but have no clue where to source a black bezel which will fit. I wouldn't like to say for sure if this one would fit, but, for the cost, even if it didn't, the watch might be able to provide spares of some kind A bezel from a PVDd modern Daytona would probably fit, but, probably wouldn't look right with the older dial... Another option you might like, is what I've done with my Daytona project... I removed the bezel and used a Scotchbrite pad to create a brushed finish, and then just used some matte black enamel model paint to re-enamel the scale (as the scuffing process took out much of the paint) Maybe not to everyone's taste, and certainly not accurate to gen, but I think it's a nice third alternative to polished or black I nearly forgot, I also brushed the tops of the lugs, as well as the centerlinks of the bracelet, as I'm not really one for the bling of the polished surfaces It looks great on others, just not on me Heck, I like wearing this even without hands and movement, just because I love how it looks / Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted February 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 Shultz, As far as the lineage of the case Ubi will need to chime in but it appears to be your standard 16520 case. The A7750 movement drops right in with no spacer or adapter of any kind. Assembling this was so easy there is absolutely no excuse for one of the factories to not make one! As far as a black bezel, I wonder if avitt could do the Black DLC process on one? Then just paint in the numbers with white paint? Looking forward to seeing yours completed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted February 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 T, I like the brushed bezel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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