lhooq Posted July 13, 2011 Report Posted July 13, 2011 Here's a dressier build than the last few. I'd been meaning to put together a Datejust for some time. I figured on finishing up the bigger projects first, and then, toward the end of the year, assembling something with a blue sunburst'n'sticks dial. (I really love those.) But circumstances moved this build forward by a couple of seasons. During the course of my big V72 Daytona build, I hit on the idea of modding DW's dial to more closely resemble a gen. Specifically, I meant to take the coronet and metal hour markers from a Datejust dial, reshape the latter, and stick them onto the DW Daytona dial. I'd already bought a couple of ragged Beyeler dials for cheap before finding this one at a good price. It looked decent enough in the pictures, and all of its tall hour blocks were intact. I was ready to take it apart once I got it. Thankfully, it passed through jmb's hands first, and he was horrified when I told him about my plan. I think there was a really good chance that Justin would rescue it from my pliers, and refuse to send it to me! I didn't take long to convince, and vowed to keep it intact and build a watch out of it. When the dial finally arrived, I quickly realized that it was never in any danger. It was a linen dial in almost-perfect condition (other than a curious stain at 4 o'clock). That was back in April, so I spent the next several months gathering the rest of the parts and waiting for packages to arrive. Case Genuine 16014 snagged for $66 from a Korean seller. There was a bit of rust around the rehaut and beneath the gasket, but nothing life-threatening. The genuine engine-turned bezel was bought separately. Movement The Sea-Gull ST2130 (a 2824-2 by another name) was last seen in my Explorer Project 4 before it was replaced by a Rado 2472. The 16000 series Datejusts marked a shift from the aging 1570 of the 1600s to the 28,800BPH 3035. After so many projects with low-beat movements, it's remarkable how smooth 8bps looks. Now I want a Zenith El Primero! '69 with the gray/black/blue subdials, please. Strap Lucky me, finding a Rolex Genuine Lizard for $37! (Notice how I only mention prices on the good deals.) And in perfect shape, too. That said, these old straps are a lot more plasticky and less comfortable than what we expect these days. But it's a gen, dammit! The buckle is a Yuki 16mm. Crown, Crystal, Hands, Datewheel Crown is a genuine 600. Cyclope 114 by Clark. Cyclope 135 by Sternkreuz. Hands provided and lumed by ChiMan. Datewheel was a free gift from Josh, so long as I ordered a watch with it. And that's why I have a Panerai 026K. I can see why Justin builds so many of these. What a looker! Thanks to J for making me see the light, alligoat for his invaluable help in gathering parts, and ChiMan for lending a hand (or three).
sly Posted July 13, 2011 Report Posted July 13, 2011 Very nice watch M, I had J build me a nice 34mm oyster perpetual. I will post once it arrives tomorrow:)
redwatch Posted July 13, 2011 Report Posted July 13, 2011 Beautiful dial! I love the texture on it. It was a wise move to leave that dial in tact!
Ronin Posted July 13, 2011 Report Posted July 13, 2011 Nice, and Nice "Smiths" reference in your post subtitle.
freddy333 Posted July 13, 2011 Report Posted July 13, 2011 Beautiful. But, then, I am partial linen-dialed '014s
woof* Posted July 13, 2011 Report Posted July 13, 2011 Youv'e been a busy beaver the last few months! The daytona, the sub, and now this! That dial is really nice, linen dials are my favorite..in fact the whole watch is beautiful! The lizard is cool, but I'd love to see that on a bracelet!
If you see Kay Posted July 13, 2011 Report Posted July 13, 2011 @LHOOQ How did you get the seconds and the minute hand to clear the raised stick markers? I'm having a bit of trouble with that and have to "bend" the seconds and minute hands upwards just to clear the stick markers. Is my datewheel ring too high of a profile? I think mine is about 1mm in height maybe slightly less. Did you use an dw overlay for that?
Jkay Posted July 13, 2011 Report Posted July 13, 2011 As someone has already mentioned, this build is pure class. Congratulations on completing this striking new project.
alligoat Posted July 13, 2011 Report Posted July 13, 2011 Looking good M. That lizard looks nice. But I thought the 16014 case took a T135, not a 114 (which would fit a 1600 case, I believe).
jmb Posted July 13, 2011 Report Posted July 13, 2011 M, I can sleep easy now that this dial has been protected by a case! It turned out fantastic, but I agree with woof about the bracelet. Do you think our two DJs might be cousins? 1
lhooq Posted July 14, 2011 Author Report Posted July 14, 2011 With freddy on one side and J on the other, I think I'm in pretty good company. Thanks for the kind words, everyone! Ronin: My 5512 subtitle had a Lightning Seeds reference, but it was far too obtuse! woof*: Yes, my cup sort of runneth over! There were a lot of concurrent projects that all came good this summer. There's more to come, but that's it for the big builds for a while. It's time to take a breather and think hard about what I want to do next. (GMT, GMT, GMT...) IYSK: My watchsmith did the fitting, but I don't recall him having to do anything around the canon pinion area. The minute hand has a severe bend that doesn't really show up in the photos, while both the sweep and hour hands are straight. Maybe I'm easily amused, but I love seeing how close that hour hand comes to bashing into those metal blocks! The datewheel from Josh is a paper-thin metal wheel--a long way from 1mm. alligoat: Really good catch. Not only is this not a 114, but it's not even a Clark! I'm looking at an empty paper packet for a Sternkreuz C135. J: I'm still working on getting a good 62510H for this, as this lizard isn't going to last long in the heat and humidity over here. The problem is that all examples on eBay have their prices fixed pretty high, and many of them have questionable stampings. Where can I get a good rep Jubilee? I want a clasp coronet that doesn't look like a Nazca glyph!
Valty Posted July 14, 2011 Report Posted July 14, 2011 Hello LHOOQ, Great DJ here ! About the jubilee, I sourced mine here : http://www.chrono-shop.fr/27-jubilee Sorry, French website, but after all, I am French My clasp is a 62513H, witch is normally the clasp for the TT version. But I bet you can find a 62510H here. Prices are not too high in my opinion... And doesn't see a good vintage jubilee rep for anytime.
Jkay Posted July 14, 2011 Report Posted July 14, 2011 Sorry, French website, but after all, I am French Their website is coded in English as well. It detected I am in North America and used English automatically.
lhooq Posted July 14, 2011 Author Report Posted July 14, 2011 About the jubilee, I sourced mine here : http://www.chrono-shop.fr/27-jubilee Thanks for the link! I got excited when I saw the Gay Frères bracelet, but I need one for a Heuer rather than a Rolex. There are some very nice items there, but I'm hoping to pay a little less for my Jubilee, even if the condition isn't as nice as the ones sold by Chrono Shop.
jmb Posted July 14, 2011 Report Posted July 14, 2011 I'm ordering a few more of these in about a month: It's the same as I put on my grey one:
TeeJay Posted July 14, 2011 Report Posted July 14, 2011 I'm ordering a few more of these in about a month: It's the same as I put on my grey one: Are those 20mm endlinks, by any chance?
TeeJay Posted July 14, 2011 Report Posted July 14, 2011 Yes, but I can get them in 19mm as well... Awesome 20mm is what I'll be needing in The Future for a plan I have
lhooq Posted July 14, 2011 Author Report Posted July 14, 2011 That looks rather nice. Maybe I should be saving my money for a rolled 6251H, instead? I don't think those have been repped.
lhooq Posted July 14, 2011 Author Report Posted July 14, 2011 Here, to satisfy woof* and jmb, is my DJ on my cheap Jubilee (you do NOT want to see the clasp!)... ...and on my rep 7836: Back to searching and bidding! 1
kbh Posted July 15, 2011 Report Posted July 15, 2011 I think Chrono Shop's prices are pretty outrageous. Almost $900 for a DJ case set..........I've never paid over $300 in the past. Have prices really gotten that high? It would make my 3 frankens quite valuable. http://www.chrono-shop.fr/54-1978-rolex-datejust-complet-case-16030.html Also. Love your build. I've never been a fan of the machine turned bezels, but that one looks great.
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