the_rymeister Posted May 20, 2012 Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 Hi all well I got up this morning and thought I would attempt fitting a genuine insert on my franken upo, this being one of the last mods to this rep unless I can get a cheap genuine crystal to top it off. It already has gen dial,hands,crown and tube So I bought a genuine bezel and insert from a member on another forum and was planning on fitting both the bezel and the insert, but after searching heavily and messaging a few of the top modders and other members with so called gen bezels I found that they do not fit without heavy modding to the case or bezel due to difference in size and the clicker rail in a different place, both are imho a waste of money when you compare both gen and rep bezel side by side, there really isn't any difference in the look once fitted.Here's a picture to show you the difference between gen and rep..... Gen on left you can see the clicker rail is in a different place to the rep... And here's with inserts on to show they look the same apart from the obvious position of the pearl Onto the modding If you look at the underside of the gen insert you can see there is a raised line all the way round in the centre..... This has to be filed off to fit on the rep bezel, I have a second case to use as a tested whilst filing and checking.. This is what it started off as, you can see in the picture that it's raised due to the part that need filing.... This was about half way through the filing of the insert, you can see the line In the centre is starting to disappear.... In this picture below this is the technique I used by tilting the insert and keeping the file flat, this is the rep insert for demo purpose as I forgot to take a picture All you have to do is file until the centre line has gone and the insert fits as it should on bezel,also you need to sand very lightly around the whole insert as it is ever so slightly bigger that the rep, I used 2000 grit and went round literally a couple of times, again take your time and keep testing before you file/sand too much This is what it looked like, when you happy with the fitment you'll need to glue it on... I used a 2 part epoxy glue which I bought from a hardware shop ages ago called jb weld which is used to bond almost anything together, metal being the no.1 thing it's made for, I put a small amount round the insert on the inner part, I used a toothpick to apply it on.... Then put the insert on and lined up the lines with the points on the bezel ring and wiped off any excess glue. Hopefully it will stick as its drying as I type this Can't wait to pop it and and see it in its full glory Hope this helps anyone trying to fit a genuine insert on a upo 45mm Cheers Ry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryaku Posted May 20, 2012 Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 Great job buddy!! I'm not sure I wouldn't be brave enough to mod a gen insert like that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_rymeister Posted May 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 Cheers mate if you get a gen give me a shout I'll happily fit it for you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cougar1 Posted May 20, 2012 Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 Great job ryan, a lot of filing but well worth it in the end, makes a big difference to the look of the watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted May 21, 2012 Report Share Posted May 21, 2012 Nice work Ry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnydale Posted May 21, 2012 Report Share Posted May 21, 2012 Nice work, hopefully it bonds well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_rymeister Posted May 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2012 Cheers guys got up and checked the insert and it seems pretty secure, hard to test really, I don't want to pull it to hard but it seems to be on there I'll take some pics later and post up the finished result.....looks amazing, there's something about having a centered pearl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_rymeister Posted May 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2012 Hi all here's a couple of quick I phone shots of the insert and bezel back on the watch......it looks amazing Sorry for dirt and finger prints just after fitting a newer smoothed rep strap I had Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DemonSlayer Posted May 22, 2012 Report Share Posted May 22, 2012 Spectacular Like the outdoor shots Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_rymeister Posted May 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2012 Cheers demonslayer, I'm sooo glad I kept this now, i put it up for sale last month but decided to pull in off.this is deffinatly a keeper! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danza1812 Posted May 23, 2012 Report Share Posted May 23, 2012 Nice job Rymeister. Worth doing IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_rymeister Posted May 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2012 Cheers Matt I totally agree, the misaligned pearl is IMHO the most obviouse give away on these reps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cougar1 Posted May 23, 2012 Report Share Posted May 23, 2012 Great work Ry and great pics, the pearl is always a issue with me, mods can be done well but it's very hard to compete with proper bezel. Next move now will be the AR, even if you dont get a gen (which are a bit crazy in price) something like Taka AR on rep crystal is extremely close in transparency to the omega double AR. Good transparency really makes the dial and lume pop. Chief does very similar also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_rymeister Posted May 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2012 Cheers cougar that's deffinatly what I need to do next, just had a 1675 build buy JJ so I'll,have to leave the upo for the moment,out of interest do you know what sort of cost it is to get the crystal ar'd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corelli Posted May 23, 2012 Report Share Posted May 23, 2012 Rymeister - I went a little crazy with UPO a couple years back - its an amazing watch so i dont think i was the only one. Anyways - I had two frankens and now own the gen. One had taka double A/R and while amazing improvement over stock, considering the work you have already done on the watch - i would have to recommend getting the gen crystal. You kinda have to see things in person to compare as photos will not capture the difference. I would say that if you already have a UPO that has upgraded double A/R on it then it is not worth going gen. But if you are currently at stock crystal it makes most sense to go straight to gen. I would also highly recommend putting it on a new black isofrane strap!!! It is much better than the gen rubber IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_rymeister Posted May 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2012 Hi Corelli cheers for the advice buddy, if I can find a gem crystal at a good price I'll deffinatly grab one but at the mo I'm not really up for spending another lump of cash on a gen crystal, hopefully one will come up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted May 23, 2012 Report Share Posted May 23, 2012 Uggg, now I need to find a Gen insert. Can't look at my pearl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cougar1 Posted May 23, 2012 Report Share Posted May 23, 2012 Agree with corelli, if you can pick up the gen at decent price go for it, but retail it is costly. A double AR job shouldn't cost any more than about a 3rd the price of the gen crystal, it's a good compromise and pretty close to gen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DemonSlayer Posted May 23, 2012 Report Share Posted May 23, 2012 Ry I would just go for aftermarket double AR, it's 1000x better than no AR + it would be an injustice to not have AR on your watch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_rymeister Posted May 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2012 Who's the best to use for AR, havnt really looked into it much, is it take and chief who do AR ? Cheers guys @dluddy, my pearl really bugged me for ages as every time I looked at my watch it was obviouse it was incorrect , I just waited until this insert popped up on rg second hand. so glad I've fitted it I would deffinatly reccomended to everyone with upo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DemonSlayer Posted May 23, 2012 Report Share Posted May 23, 2012 My UPO has chief AR, it's very strong and almost colourless, you can see a pale greeny blue tint in certain angles and it's very focused, not over the entire crystal if that makes any sense! I've handled a UPO with k222 double AR which was very strong with a deep blue/purple tint, this was more gen-like in appearance (judging from photos, I've never handled a gen UPO). In all honesty either Taka's or Chief's AR will be a big improvement, I haven't seen Taka's AR but if he offers a blue tint then that might be closer to gen, but Chief might be able to offer that too.. I think with Chief's most people are blown away by the sheer strength of it, in some angles it really looks like there's no crystal on the watch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corelli Posted May 23, 2012 Report Share Posted May 23, 2012 I agree with Demonslayer - the difference between no A/R and aftermarket A/R is insane - especially if you have the gen dial. Hmm.. its a tough call. Dluddly - i have a a spare gen orange bezel (bezel and insert). PM me if you are interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cougar1 Posted May 23, 2012 Report Share Posted May 23, 2012 Hi Demonslayer, I'm kinda the other way round to you, I haven't seen chief AR, but have heard all the good things about it etc. I do have taka AR and the transparent effect is extremely strong and is very close to the Omega AR transparancy on my gen 42mm PO. I've heard taka and chief are pretty similar, low hue and big transparency, either way can't go wrong I suppose. Uwe also does AR and I have that on a 4th gen PO. The golden tint is very high on uwe AR, looks great and seems very durable but very different to gen and not as transparent as the others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_rymeister Posted May 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 Thanks guys appreciate the advice Has anyone got any contact info for taka I've seen chiefs area somewhere, cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cougar1 Posted May 24, 2012 Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 Hi Ry, just seeing over on RWI (taka's corner) that he is apparently off travelling the world and no longer taking orders. If he is back in business soon remains to be seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now