jmb Posted April 27, 2010 Report Share Posted April 27, 2010 I'm not quite sure what's going on but my preferences seem to have veered in the direction of smaller watches. I had always liked the Sub size watches and they HAD TO HAVE CGs or I really didn't want anything to do with 'em. This conversion seems to have taken place over the last couple of months and I haven't decided if it's just a phase or the way of the future... Enough self-reflection and on to the details. I saw this dial on flea-Bay and something about it just called out to me so I bought it. I have no idea as to the age of the dial or what the exact model was that it came from as it was just advertised as "vintage". At around the same time, Ubi had given me the link to an auction for an ETA 2783 so I snagged that too. Ubi laid an older DJ case on me so I figured I was set. When I went to put the mess together the dial fell right through and landed on the crystal - Crap! I put everything in a box and vowed to take care of it some day. Some day was yesterday, I suppose! I had bought a cheap Prince Date with a 34mm case a little while back so yesterday I got a bit curious and pulled the guts and test-fit the old vintage stuff into the 34mm case and it fit perfectly although the clearance between the sweep hand and the crystal was almost nil. I figured I'd try to shim out the crystal a few thousandths so I popped it out and figured I'd address that when everything else was together. After making a movement ring and getting everything mounted I realized that everything sat a bit too low so the stem was in a bind. I will machine a thin spacer (about .030" will do it I think) to interpose between the dial/movement assembly and the rehaut. It won't pass close muster but I guess it'll be better than a binding stem... Although spacing the movement will probably take care of the hand clearance issue I did a quick measurement and found that the "[censored]" was the perfect size for a T-12! I popped on a Clarks 25-12, sanded a few thou off the inside of the bezel, and pressed it on! Although I like the fluted bezels on more modern watches I think it looks a bit out of place here so I'll machine a smooth bezel later on. For right now I'm gonna just wear it for a couple of days and then put it aside until I have the inclination to fix the remaining issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeromatic Posted April 27, 2010 Report Share Posted April 27, 2010 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted April 27, 2010 Report Share Posted April 27, 2010 Superb work. You have some enviable talents, for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted April 27, 2010 Report Share Posted April 27, 2010 Nice one, J! I love that dial! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted April 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2010 OK, went out and made a smooth bezel - 100% difference (for the better) in look!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted April 27, 2010 Report Share Posted April 27, 2010 Whoa... That's a HUGE difference! VERY nicely done! Completely changed the look... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted April 27, 2010 Report Share Posted April 27, 2010 Nice job JB, that smooth bezel did the trick. I'd figure that's a late 50's, early 60's dial. What about a set of alpha hands??? That would really give it the vintage feel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hackR Posted April 27, 2010 Report Share Posted April 27, 2010 hey J!... excellent look!...love the almost gothic kind of look to the dial!... definitely the smooth bezel... and nice bracelet, too... R- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted April 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2010 hackR - I think that band would look super on your soon to be constructed Prince Date Chronograph! Your right about the dial, no logo or anything and first I've seen in Olde English script... 'goat - Not sure what "alpha hands" look like. These hands came on the 2783 with dial signed by a company I never heard of. ubi - Thanks, the fluted one was just FUGLY! I now need to go over the whole thing with some OO or OOO steel wool to knock the shine off and give it an older but well cared for look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted April 27, 2010 Report Share Posted April 27, 2010 It's looking good, bro, especially with the smooth bezel The one thing I would suggest, is that I think that the dial would really pop if put in a two tone case Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted April 27, 2010 Report Share Posted April 27, 2010 These are what I refer to as alpha hands on this 6234 gen. Sometimes they're also called dauphine hands. The stick hands were from the middle 60's on. But I think of your dial as early 60's... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted April 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2010 Hmmm, gonna have to think on that. Although they look really good on that watch at just a glance they strike me as somewhat "sporty". One thing that made the hands somewhat difficult on this one is the dial is actually "curved" which gave/is still giving me fits with stem height, etc. I had to "curve" the minutes and sweep hands at the ends or it just looked kinda goofy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted April 28, 2010 Report Share Posted April 28, 2010 Here's a link to some vintage Tudors, JB. Similar to yours, but not exact http://www.watchestobuy.com/newpage2.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted April 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2010 M, I stumbled across those this afternoon and in gold they do seem to go quite well. I spent probably 3 hours looking at every vintage Tudor pic I could find and couldn't find any that didn't have either a rose or shield at 12:00! Do you suppose this dial could have came out of a 60 year old rep? I'll scope around for some hands of this style in gold and put 'em on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted April 28, 2010 Report Share Posted April 28, 2010 I can't see it being a rep dial, JB. Back in those days, Tudors were too cheap to rep! But I am moving the dial date back to the 50's! Most likely a 7809 and would have come with the FE390 movement. Here's a close one on the bay http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Rolex-Tudor-Oyster-Prince-Automatic-Watch-7809-/280488616186?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Wristwatches&hash=item414e6ca0fa Markers are the same, so I'm thinking right before the debut of the Oyster Prince and the Tudor Rose maybe... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted April 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2010 Yes, the markers seem to be identical on that watch so I'll look around for some hands that are similar to that. Seems I've seen some on ofrei close to that style. Thanks for the link to that one. I kinda like this old 2783. It has a very strong easily heard "tick" and so far it's keeping perfect time. I just wish it hacked... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest al12 Posted April 28, 2010 Report Share Posted April 28, 2010 Just Beautiful J :thumbsupsmileyanim: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted April 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2010 Just ordered a set of luminous gold dauphine style hands and a black sweep hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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