Solving the sub-dial spacing for the Moon watch

[chiman12]

I love the Speedmaster...in fact...gen Speedys are relatively inexpensive to acquire and you don't have to feel like you spent an "arm and leg" buying a beautiful, well built, timepiece. The rep has a main fault, in that the sub-dial spacing is innaccurate. So I challanged myself to see if I could build a franken Speedy for a reasonable price. This was a task in itself because a gen on the secondary market are relatively inexpensive. Let's see what I came with...

What bothered me is that almost every wrist that has a Speedy on it tend to have the typical black dial (sorry if I offended any gen Speedy owners!!!) I always like something a little different. I liked the old MkII Speedmasters, particularily the ones with the "exotic dial"...

I know...I know...you'll say..."that dial is just way too busy!" But I like the color combo used on this dial. It's not a shocker to that I like the 1655 and also the PN Ferrari Red Daytona.

What I don't really like about the MkII is the tonneau shaped case.

One day I ran into this Speedy...

This model is a limited Japanese market 3570.40 Speedmaster in which only 2004 (corresponds to year) were made.

Another reason I was motivated to build a franken Speedy was that I had a Tissot PR516 with a Lemania 1861. I got it at a steal of price, but unfortunately it was too small for my wrist. I proceed to find a rep case to house the movement and a forum member was kind enough to offer up his Broad Arrow project.

So I proceeded to acquire the gen dial, hands, and movement ring and did a test fit, only to realize that the rehaut opening on the rep was too narrow and covered the "Swiss Made" on the dial! I proceeded to widen the rehaut opening by hand. Of course, the opening wouldn't be "true" enough, I obviously didn't think about that before hand

I have met a lot of great members on RWG and was fortunate enough to tap into the machining talents of JMB. I asked if JMB would be able to "true" up the rehaut opening for me...

He was more than willing to try and he did a fantastic job! The rehaut was rounded perfectly! Notice the difference in size of the rep to the gen crown.

There after, I proceeded to acquire the rest of the case parts...gen crystal, inner anti-mag cover, gen crown and gen case back. Once again I was lucky enough to buy the case back from a member on a forum and got a great deal. I had to do some minor modifications to the case, in that the chrono pusher posts were too long, so I filed them down to the proper length.

The Broad Arrow case had a metal bezel and I've decided to test drive it for now, but I did buy a gen plastic bezel from the same member that sold me the case back

This is the final result... Speedy on shark skin NATO...FINALLY...no sub-dial issues!!

So was it worth it or should I have just bought a gen and swapped out the dial? Considering that a gen Speedy sells for about $1400-$2500, now included about $400 the exotic dial and hands, I think this project was definitely worth it!

What are members thoughts on this? Should I go to the plastic bezel? Should I swap to a metal bracelet also? Maybe a rep metal strap with a gen clasp?

BTW...big thanks to JMB on this project and if you ever want to build a franken Speedy (a Snoopy maybe or a Moon to Mars??)...don't hesitate to contact him to get the rehaut opening on the rep widened.

Thanks for looking!!!

[budda]

Go with the plastic bezel Dude. Icing on the cake

[lhooq]

Finally, Chi! I've been waiting for you to wrap up this project, and Justin did a great job adjusting the rep case.

You may need a rep bracelet to fit the rep case, as the lughole alignment on Omega reps is not the same as on the gens. A mesh bracelet will avoid the endlink problem entirely, but a 'Racing' dial on mesh may look a bit louche!

If I can find a loose Lemania, maybe I'll try a Mitsukoshi white dial... Definitely no Moon-to-Mars for me; NOBODY wants a Moon-to-Mars!

[jmb]

It's nice to see the finished product, Chiman! I now see what we were trying to accomplish by truing up the rehaut. Great looking watch - even if it ain't a Tudor!

[Toadtorrent]

That's great...great project...great work Justin as well!!

[krpster]

Very cool results. Looks great. So are you saying all in you completed this project for $400? Oh yeah, definitely go with the black bezel.

@jmb: Nice job. How did you cuck the case for turning the inner bore? 4 jaw? Custom jig? I am very curious

[wiesn089]

Looks amazing! I would definitely go with the black bezel, though, I personally don't like the ss one on any Speedmaster. I'd also vote for a SS bracelet.

[chiman12]

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

Plastic bezel...you guys are making me work aren't you?

The gen bezel is actually a tad too small to fit on the case, so I will have to do further mods...but hey...I think I agree with you guys in that the SS bezel just doesn't do it, especially if I go to an SS bracelet. It would be...to much SS!!!

LH...you mentioned that a gen bracelet MAY not work on the rep, do you know for sure...because I did find a cheapo gen one that I can refinish on fleabay..

jmb...you are the Lord of the Lathe...thanks my friend!

[FxrAndy]

Good looking watch you built there mate.

I have to say i prefer the plastic bezel

[lhooq]

LH...you mentioned that a gen bracelet MAY not work on the rep, do you know for sure...because I did find a cheapo gen one that I can refinish on fleabay..

I'm not too familiar with Omega reps to know for sure, but based on what I've seen, the lugholes are often drilled higher and closer to the head on the reps. You could try mixing and matching gen and rep endlinks and bracelets, though that isn't possible with the fixed endlinks on the newer gen types.

[jmb]

Krpster, I turned down a piece of round-stock for a mandrel, threaded the end of it the same thread as the case-back, screwed the case onto it, then chucked the whole thing up in the lathe and trimmed the rehaut with a boring bar... Luckily everything on the case as concentric so runout was almost nil or I would have needed to chuck it in the 4-jaw.

Any time Chi-Dude, you and M always come up with neat/fun projects.

[P4GTR]

The grey dial is a nice change! a rep bracelet is inexpensive enough, and a direct fit, why not throw it in the mix and see if you like it enough to hassle with the gen?

[redwatch]

That's a real beauty! I love the dial. Definitely need to change out to a black plastic bezel though.

For the bracelet, just get the rep and add a gen clasp to it . I had a nicely modded speedy and it had a gen caseback and gen clasp. Made all the difference.

[chiman12]

Thanks for the suggestions guys! That is what I'll do...rep bracelet and then swap over to the plastic bezel. If I like the SS bracelet, then I'll go to a gen clasp...