fidhle007 Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 So my SA3135 is now ticking away happily on my wrist, wearing a gen dial and housed in a Sean case with a Gen crystal, crown and insert. As reported, mine DID NOT take gen hands AND my stem broke but that was pilot error and therefore was only on the threaded end. I remedied this by cetting the stem down short and adding a stem extension in. I ordered two replacements but the stems that shipped were incorrect so now I have to make due with what I have for now. My initial thoughts on the movement are in line with what I anticipated they'd be: it's cool, a little shoddy in terms of fit and finish but filled the niche I needed it to. I refuse to cut the feet off of my gen dial and wanted a movement that would fit my Sean case with minimal work and this certainly fit the bill. When we can get these movements in the third or fourth revisions by themselves you'll have yourself a tidy little project. Broken Stem: I broke my stem being an assh0le threading it into the gen crown. I work on cars all day so sometimes the torques needed on these tiny little watch parts seem too low to me and I overdo things. In terms of everyone else's broken stems, I think a HUGE part of the problem lies with the case design: This movement (to the best of my understanding) is built with the same dimensions as the original Rolex 3135 which has a fairly high stem location. The Sub case it's being sold in has a very low crown tube, nearly to the point of looking like a slightly heavier noob case. This will put strain on the stem and in my opinion cause it to weaken or break. I installed the movement in my Sean case and had the stem and crown in and out several times over the course of the build-up and not once had the feeling that I was straining anything. I got that feeling as soon as I opened up the SA3135 case though so I removed the stem right away and left it. Thanks for reading! ~Brendan Here's some rough "smart" phone pics just to give you an idea: A few more pics: Here's a few pics of the Sean case and the SA3135 case side by side so you can see the crown height difference: And a glamor shot with the new gen bezel insert: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tribal Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Best Case so far in my opinion. Looks really great. The bezel is way better, teeth are deep as it shut be. Great build congrats. If it is the Sean Bracelets it looks also good on the SEL side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watcher Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 The bezel is the best but the CG's look a little tight to the crown and short but a very sweet build! Enjoy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormTooper4 Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 That is a very nice looking sub you got there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
its_urabus Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Nice build. Mine is very similar, but I'm using a 2892 instead. How is the hand lume vs gen dial lume? Good to see another Sean build with all the TC stuff being posted. @tribal, the bracelet is ok, it has the bulge on the back side of the sel like TC'S new bracelet does. And I think the mid links are too loose, but it's brushed well and has a good color to the SS. The clasp is amazing though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Star69 Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 i think this is the way to go ... time to save some $$z Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefcook Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Here are a few pics of a SA3135 in another Sean case. I am currently building a second super Franken using a SA3135, gen dial, gen hands, gen date wheel, gen crystal, gen crown, clark's tube and gen bezel insert for my father. Maybe some can remember: My SA3135 did not take gen hands without turning down minute pinion and hour wheel by 0.1mm on the hour wheel and 0.05mm on the minute pinion. Interestingly though the gen hands were a direct and perfect fit on the SA3135 I used for my father's Submariner! The SA3135 works like a charm in Sean's case. Just drop it in, rotate it to the right position and tighten the screws. Using a clark's tube or a gen tube is a major advantage by the way. The tube in Sean's case is slightly smaller in it's inner diameter adding significant difficulty (in form of friction) to finding the right crown position for time and date setting. By the way: Can you remember the times when people thought of Rolex sports watches to be huge and ostentatious? Compare a 16610 Submariner with my gen IWC Aquatimer 2000 and decide yourself if times may have changed ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
its_urabus Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Great builds guys! I can't wait till mines on my wrist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
altesporsche Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 very nice ! how would one get his hands on this movement and case ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fidhle007 Posted February 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 You can buy both from Sean at ETAswiss.com but I sourced my movement from a Puretime watch. I'm actually using the SA3135 bracelet with the Sean clasp. I have a TC bracelet, the sean bracelet and a few noobs that I tried and the SA3135 had the best SEL fit. Thanks for the tip on the Clarks tube, I'll pick one of those up at some point. I filed the end of the Sean tube to bring the gen crown closer to the case and with some grease the friction wasn't too bad but it could be better... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
its_urabus Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 The sa3135 16610ln dropped into the Sean case with a gen crown is a super fine watch. That how I'm building my LV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gplracer Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 How does the Sean case compare to others? I tried to find it on the site but I could not find it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fidhle007 Posted February 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 It's the closest thing to a gen case that I've seen yet. The WM9 V4/TC case may be close but it's not as good as the Sean case and the Rehaut engravings leave much to be desired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
its_urabus Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gplracer Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 What does the sean case sell for? I do not see it on the site. How would it compare to my Euromariner case? :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w.genzo Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 (edited) I agree this is definitely the best case around. It's the bracelet that's the problem. The etaswiss case is a good case but it's really just the case that is good. The bezel is still a bit too thin, slighty better than TW bezel. For $460+shipping, only the mid case is good. If you put a SA3135 inside you are around 850$. And you still have to add a gen crystal, insert and crown, new bracelet.. That's too much money. Anyway I'm buying one, even if not very cost-effective Edited February 20, 2012 by w.genzo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gplracer Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Can you buy a SA3135 on its own yet? Also, any reviews yet. I have not seen them. I am still worried about the serviceability and the available parts for the SA3135 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
altesporsche Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 You can buy both from Sean at ETAswiss.com but I sourced my movement from a Puretime watch. I'm actually using the SA3135 bracelet with the Sean clasp. I have a TC bracelet, the sean bracelet and a few noobs that I tried and the SA3135 had the best SEL fit. Thanks for the tip on the Clarks tube, I'll pick one of those up at some point. I filed the end of the Sean tube to bring the gen crown closer to the case and with some grease the friction wasn't too bad but it could be better... Thanks ! CJP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomhorn Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 a bit off topic, but has anyone tried this movement in a DateJust case? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefcook Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 a bit off topic, but has anyone tried this movement in a DateJust case? Works in all 162xx and 1162xx cases. It does NOT fit 160xx cases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomhorn Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 (edited) Works in all 162xx and 1162xx cases. It does NOT fit 160xx cases. Thanks! Back to the 2824 it is then .... Edited February 21, 2012 by tomhorn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
altesporsche Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 Etaswiss.com has nothing on the site other than a few lower end Swiss movement watches ... Ie : invicta .. Did I miss something ? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w.genzo Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 .net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sneed12 Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 I agree this is definitely the best case around. It's the bracelet that's the problem. The etaswiss case is a good case but it's really just the case that is good. The bezel is still a bit too thin, slighty better than TW bezel. For $460+shipping, only the mid case is good. If you put a SA3135 inside you are around 850$. And you still have to add a gen crystal, insert and crown, new bracelet.. That's too much money. Anyway I'm buying one, even if not very cost-effective I did the same math--I wanted to drop in the parts from my BK TWs, but it's just not cost-effective. If I buy a Sean case for just the midcase, and put in a 2892 + the WM9 dial and hands from my TW, I don't really have enough parts left to do a good build on the TW case to sell it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
its_urabus Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 if the WM9 dial is the same diameter as gen or smaller it will fit. I think it is going to be larger than gen, so you will need to turn the dial down. If all goes well with my gen dial install, I will have a SL sean dial for sale. by the way, I am using a 2892 in my sean build. seemed a better choice than the sa3135, at least the current one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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