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New Franken AP (lots of pics!)


sander

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Hey guy’s,

It’s been a while since my last post.

The reason is that I recently started a new company, which has nothing to do with watches.

Unfortunately there are only 24 hours in a day and with 2 young kids, there is just not enough time to play arround.

In January I’ve build a nice AP for a friend who is not a member of this forum. Since I really love the look of it, I would like to share it with you.

I received:

Baume & Mercier watch with a LWO 283 movement. (complete with box and papers :thumbsupsmileyanim: )

Sec @ 12 as a donor watch

Gen AP dial

Gen AP Tachyring

Gen AP hand set

Gen AP date window

Gen AP croc strap

The work I did:

Serviced the movement and Dubois Depraz module

Fitted the genuine AP date window in the Dubouis Depraz module.

Made a new inner case to fit the movement

Lowered the crown

Modded the chrono pushers to work with the movement

Shaved the case back

Polished and brushed the case.

The LWO 283 movement is made with a Dubios Depraz chrono module (same as AP is using) on top of an Eta 2892-A2 movement.

Unfortunately the complete movement was in pretty bad shape. It had some water damage and wasn’t serviced for many years. It was not running at all.

The Eta parts are easy to find but replacement parts for the Dubois Depraz module are impossible to find .

So all the rusted parts were cleaned and polished again to make them look and function like new. After the overhaul the movement functions like new.

My customer received a gen AP datewindow with the dail and hand set. (he bought it from someone who wanted to replace his old blue dial for this white model, so the date window also needed to be replaced)

I expected the swapp to be easy but when I received it I was really surprised. The square hole was not in the middel of window so It wouldn’t work with the date wheel.

I had to do some modding to make it work. Seems like AP is using a slightly modded DD module after all……to make myself clear I made a drawing.

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I lowered the crown and shaved the case back. The total thickness is now 14.57mm instead of the standard 15.78mm. It’s only 1.21mm less but when you compare it side by side it’s a huge difference!

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I always thought that this model was a little boring but in reall life it’s great looking.

Hope you like the pics.

Cheer,

Sander

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Thanks for the compliments.

At this moment I’m not working on watches at all.

The problem is that I have underestimated the total amount of time these projects take.

It’s not really the time to build them but it’s the communication time (email) which causes a lot of extra work.

Also shipping these beauties is becoming more and more stressful. I never ever lost one package but there is always a first one.

Although I’m not responsible for shipping risks, I would feel terrible if one got lost. So every time I get an email that the watch didn’t arrive yet, I have a sleepless night.

(talking about very hard to find products and a lot of money!)

Sorry guy’s!

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Thanks for the compliments.

At this moment I’m not working on watches at all.

The problem is that I have underestimated the total amount of time these projects take.

It’s not really the time to build them but it’s the communication time (email) which causes a lot of extra work.

Also shipping these beauties is becoming more and more stressful. I never ever lost one package but there is always a first one.

Although I’m not responsible for shipping risks, I would feel terrible if one got lost. So every time I get an email that the watch didn’t arrive yet, I have a sleepless night.

(talking about very hard to find products and a lot of money!)

Sorry guy’s!

OhOh....I really do know what you are talking ´bout. Every package I sent out with watches or watchparts makes me feel like praying for delivery (allthough never ever saw any problems).

Theo

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i suspect the datewindow you received was from the latest version ROO with AP sourced base movement and a DD module on top, because none of your other frankens experienced this issue.

which cyclops did you use?

I don't know which one it is. Every part was brand new and packed individually with AP numbers. Normally I use the window that comes with the movement.

After the installation these is no difference with the standard DD window. The square hole is the same size as the standard one.

The colour is kinda gold. Always thought it was silver. I used the Cyclops that came with the movement.

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  • 2 weeks later...

sanders,

can you share with us , where you get these all gen AP parts?

and , i would like to ask how much the total cost for this project.. ?

how about the gen AP strap , how much for it?

thank you

It sounds like to me the customer provided the gen parts....

And man....this is the exact AP I want! If your friend decides to sell...please tell him I want it. :D

Edited by oncyte
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