My Franken UPO

[watcher]

My caseback is waiting for me at home but I'm away on holiday until later this month sometime but I will update when I have chance to try it and compare.

[ianGP]

awesome!! enjoy the holidays then!

i'm sure we'll hear from you about your caseback when you get back :)

[Speedman]

How much have you invested in this watch now?

[watcher]

Too much probably! but it was fun to do.

[Speedman]

Too much probably! but it was fun to do.

LOL Yep I know that feeling

[naeems]

Thanks for the compliments guys! I'm quite proud of this one!

To sum up -

Gen Parts are as follows:

Dial

Hands

Crystal

Bezel Insert

Crown and Tube

Bracelet End Links

Date Wheel

This is based on a Swiss ETA 2824-2 UPO supplied by Precioustime. The bracelet that came on the watch has gone down in quality over the last couple of years since my last UPO project! Poor finsih and poor engraving on the claps too. Luckily I had the older bracelet which has a very well engraved clasp and smooth finished links too.

The Genuine end links are definately worth the $59 each price tag. They are better finshed and better profiled than the rep links. Omega pins are thicker though so I had to drill out the holes slightly more on the bracelet to fit.

Another thing that bugs me is the crystal height on this particular watch, the insert sits slightly above the crystal edge on both rep and gen inserts so maybe the rehaut is a little too low. Both crystals are the same thickness so I cannot blame that. The gen bezel is the same thickness as the rep example.

As for fitting a gen bezel, this is not possible without machining a shim with a lip on it to make up the thickness between the gen and rep bezel. A shame!

The gen end links fit the case without having to bend the pins(22 x 1.8mm used) so the rep EL's must not be drilled perfectly as they were very bent on my watch!

My genuine caseback will not arrive for a couple of weeks yet so I will update then on how that fits.

Think that sums it up for now. Cheers

Hey man Stunning watch!

mind if I ask how much those gen parts costed?

I just ordered a UPO and would love to do the same

[naeems]

Finished building my UPO franken late last night so here are a few quick pics.

More on what's been done later.

Sorry for this silly question..

but how identical is the franken UPO to the genuine? When you place them side by side

would you be able to tell the difference?

what percentage would you give it in terms of its accuracy to the genuine ?

100% being indistinguishable

in terms of appearance and feel

Thanks

[plaifender]

Sorry for this silly question..

but how identical is the franken UPO to the genuine? When you place them side by side

would you be able to tell the difference?

what percentage would you give it in terms of its accuracy to the genuine ?

100% being indistinguishable

in terms of appearance and feel

Thanks

not a silly question. Considering the entire watch face is made with all genuine parts, no one should be able to tell anything at all. He's got a genuine bezel, dial, hands, crown and tube, and endlinks.

I'd say his watch is 98% accurate visually(if he had a gen bracelet it would be 99%) and 95% indistinguishable overall, since the movement is an ETA 2824 and not an omega caliber.

[zorg2000k]

Just wondered how you got on with the caseback, did it fit ok ?

Thanks

[Ivorykeys]

Watcher, this is dead on beautiful, big congrats. I am in the midst of sourcing/ordering the parts from Ofrei myself to do the same thing (only with a black bezel insert)....just waiting for an aftermarket bezel just to see if it cuts the mustard. My gut is that it does not and I'll need to go with a gen. I'm switching out the white numbers with the orange ones, however.

My question is this. Regarding the bezel/bezel insert issue, I know that the bezel insert is typically MUCH different from the gen, but does the gen bezel (not the insert, but the bezel) itself differ that much from the rep bezel...enough to necessitate changing the whole bezel assembly? Since I'm getting the entire gen bezel and insert assembly anyway, is it not easier to install the insert (with all of the sanding, etc...), or is it just easier to install the entire assembly, even though the bezel will probably be glued permanently to the case? I'm in agreement that the visual integrity is much more important than a functional bezel.

Thanks in advance, and really great work!

[plaifender]

easier to install just the insert with sanding. Getting the rep bezel off and installing a gen bezel is apparently not the easiest of projects. I've heard of other members having to do some machining to maintain bezel functionality with the gen bezel assembly installed..

But in the end it's up to you and how much you want to invest. Obviously since you have to by the bezel assembly together it'd be a shame that you paid so much and just used the bezel insert!

[Ivorykeys]

easier to install just the insert with sanding. Getting the rep bezel off and installing a gen bezel is apparently not the easiest of projects. I've heard of other members having to do some machining to maintain bezel functionality with the gen bezel assembly installed..

But in the end it's up to you and how much you want to invest. Obviously since you have to by the bezel assembly together it'd be a shame that you paid so much and just used the bezel insert!

Hey Watcher, I really would like to have the entire bezel and insert installed since it's $$ and authentic, rather than just the insert, but I will leave that up to whomever I choose to do the work. Again, I am like you in that I really don't care if the bezel is functional....just visually as close to gen as possible. I am assuming you did the work yourself and not sourced it out to one of our fine modders...correct? If not, please advise who did yours. I've been in touch with a couple of guys here that do incredible work.

Not sure what your bezel insert looked like prior to the mods, but I attached a few photos so you can see that I'm going to do this mod sooner than later.

I'm new here and to this wonderful hobby, so I've been lurking and learning. But once I get the mod completed, I'm going to post pix of before and after. I hope it looks half as good as yours.

[Ivorykeys]

Thanks for the compliments guys! I'm quite proud of this one!

To sum up -

Gen Parts are as follows:

Dial

Hands

Crystal

Bezel Insert

Crown and Tube

Bracelet End Links

Date Wheel

This is based on a Swiss ETA 2824-2 UPO supplied by Precioustime. The bracelet that came on the watch has gone down in quality over the last couple of years since my last UPO project! Poor finsih and poor engraving on the claps too. Luckily I had the older bracelet which has a very well engraved clasp and smooth finished links too.

The Genuine end links are definately worth the $59 each price tag. They are better finshed and better profiled than the rep links. Omega pins are thicker though so I had to drill out the holes slightly more on the bracelet to fit.

Another thing that bugs me is the crystal height on this particular watch, the insert sits slightly above the crystal edge on both rep and gen inserts so maybe the rehaut is a little too low. Both crystals are the same thickness so I cannot blame that. The gen bezel is the same thickness as the rep example.

As for fitting a gen bezel, this is not possible without machining a shim with a lip on it to make up the thickness between the gen and rep bezel. A shame!

The gen end links fit the case without having to bend the pins(22 x 1.8mm used) so the rep EL's must not be drilled perfectly as they were very bent on my watch!

My genuine caseback will not arrive for a couple of weeks yet so I will update then on how that fits.

Think that sums it up for now. Cheers

Watcher,

Again, this is an amazing looking watch, especially with the properly centered pearl/bezel insert...one of the biggest tells IMO. Question: Where was the gen date wheel sourced, and do you have the part number? That was the only thing that I have not included in my project.

Thanks in advance.

[plaifender]

Watcher,

Again, this is an amazing looking watch, especially with the properly centered pearl/bezel insert...one of the biggest tells IMO. Question: Where was the gen date wheel sourced, and do you have the part number? That was the only thing that I have not included in my project.

Thanks in advance.

If you got a Swiss ETA 2824 might not even be worth it to go for the datewheel. There's no real visual difference that I could tell, So I ended up not even istalling it on my Franken UPO project. If you really want it, I can sell you my GEN datewheel. Send me a PM if you're interested otherwise, I really don' think it's a necessary mod if you've already got a Swiss ETA datewheel installed...

[Bam Rock]

I'm sorry and I don't mean to hijack the thread, I've been away from the rep scene a while (job stuff) and just getting back into it. I have a slightly Franken UPO myself I bought off another member. Long story short is the crown is stripped and will not screw in still winds and sets time but won't stay in. Obviously unacceptable. I don't know the best way to repair/replace this. So if anyone has advice on that I'd appreciate it! Also my main ? Is does anyone know of another caliber ETA besides the 2824-2 in any UPOs? As I said I bought mine used and it's been tough tracking down the original info...so I'm not sure which manufacturer/factory it's from I have a lot of work in front of me! Thanks so much in advance

[Bam Rock]

Cracked it open tonight since it was bugging me...it's a 2824-2.

[plaifender]

I'm sorry and I don't mean to hijack the thread, I've been away from the rep scene a while (job stuff) and just getting back into it. I have a slightly Franken UPO myself I bought off another member. Long story short is the crown is stripped and will not screw in still winds and sets time but won't stay in. Obviously unacceptable. I don't know the best way to repair/replace this. So if anyone has advice on that I'd appreciate it! Also my main ? Is does anyone know of another caliber ETA besides the 2824-2 in any UPOs? As I said I bought mine used and it's been tough tracking down the original info...so I'm not sure which manufacturer/factory it's from I have a lot of work in front of me! Thanks so much in advance

Common problem on ALL UPO´s.. not sure when you bought your watch. but if you researched well before buying.. you would´ve definitely seen this topic!

Anyways.. it´s not a difficult issue. The fix is to buy a GEN tube and crown. It should be about 30 bucks total from Offrei or Cousins watch parts shop.

it requires 4 steps:

1. Removing the movement from the watch (about a 3 or 4 minute procedure)

2. Removing old crown from the stem (just clamp the stem in a 3 clamp drill head and unscrew crown carefully)

3. removing the hold tube with some needle nose pliers if you got em.

4. putting the new tube in and cementing it with a couple drops of Araldite metal epoxy.

It takes about 24 hours for the glue to set. The whole labor not counting the 24hour wait, took me about 30 minutes.

When you´re finished you´ll have a great looking crown and one that should function for the rest of your life (and you´ll have gen parts installed!)

[Bam Rock]

Anyways.. it´s not a difficult issue. The fix is to buy a GEN tube and crown. It should be about 30 bucks total from Offrei or Cousins watch parts shop.

it requires 4 steps:

Thank you so much for the advice!!!! I'm seriously considering making this my first jump into repairing/modding a watch. I am a little nervous about it but you make it sound like it's not that hard!!! Thanks so much for the advice...I've sourced the part numbers from Ofrei so now it's just doing the actual work. I talked to a repair guy from a board but he said he's never done the epoxying mod etc....so I'm wondering if I should just do it myself.

[Ivorykeys]

If you got a Swiss ETA 2824 might not even be worth it to go for the datewheel. There's no real visual difference that I could tell, So I ended up not even istalling it on my Franken UPO project. If you really want it, I can sell you my GEN datewheel. Send me a PM if you're interested otherwise, I really don' think it's a necessary mod if you've already got a Swiss ETA datewheel installed...

I'll take your word for it regarding the date wheel. I do have a swiss ETA datewheel, so that should do the trick. I appreciate the offer though! In the interim, I am in the midst of installing a bezel insert replacement that the dealer sent to me. I'll post a photo when it's done...should be by end of week. I was actually going to post a comparison of the aftermarket bezel inserts that I rounded up for compulsive idiots like me. Interestingly, they are all radically different IMO.

I was going to order my parts for the UPO, and I was going to order the hands, but another poster provided a different part number, so I am holding off until I confirm. Here are the hands that I was going to order from Ofrei:

Genuine Omega Cal 2500 Second Hand Silver Arrow Luminous With Red Tip 15.0 mm 066WZ4313 HAN-4222 $17.60 $17.60*

Genuine Omega Cal 2500 Hour & Minute Hands Silver Arrow With Luminous 14.85 mm long 065WZ4312 HAN-4221 $38.00 $38.00*

Are these the hands that you ordered, or do I have the wrong part numbers?

Thanks again.

[plaifender]

Thank you so much for the advice!!!! I'm seriously considering making this my first jump into repairing/modding a watch. I am a little nervous about it but you make it sound like it's not that hard!!! Thanks so much for the advice...I've sourced the part numbers from Ofrei so now it's just doing the actual work. I talked to a repair guy from a board but he said he's never done the epoxying mod etc....so I'm wondering if I should just do it myself.

Thinking about it is actually harder than the work itself. Once you start breaking down the watch, and get halfway through the mod.... you realize how simple it really is! I was scared as hell when I did it! after i finished i was like.. "so that's it!???" . Very simple mod. If you know how to use a screw driver to remove the movement, and you know how to use glue... then this is the mod for you! Of course, take your time and don't be sloppy, but very simple elementary stuff here...

[watcher]

Hi guys

Sorry I had noticed any new additions to this post for a while.

Fitting the gen bezel would require the making of a metal ring to fit onto the rep case to make up the fairly large difference between the case and gen bezel. The gen bezel fits in the same way but the gen case has a much thicker rehaut area where the crystal fits. I'm sure it could be done but I was happy to bond mine in place and save all the sanding of the gen insert!

I no longer have the watch.

Good luck with your project.

P.S. the ETA datewheel is identical to the omega supplied item, just in a diffreent packet. White on black 2824-2 DW's can be quite hard to source so if anyone wants one I think I have a couple somewhere in my parts draw!