Hublot Classic Frankenstein Project Complete

[atomic_doug]

Hi fellows,

I've completed what I think has to be a pretty unique project: a Frankenstein'ed MDM-era Hublot.

(Please pardon the worst pictures in existence. I just don't know how to take good pictures.)

I've been obsessed with these pieces for some time, since I have an irrational love for all things 80's. (If it weren't an 80's watch, I'd never wear two-tone...or quartz.) I found a case, crown and a dial on the Bay. I popped a basic ETA quartz movement into it and used some generic gold hands.

This is an example of a case from the 80's, since the bezel screws are raised above the level of the bezel. Sometime in the 90's, they resigned the bezel and the screws so they were flush like modern Hublots.

I got an NOS pair of strap pieces and sourced an old two-tone clasp. The strap is the biggest pain because it's completely 'tailored'. No other strap will fit the case or clasp and you need to find pieces that fit your own wrist because there is ZERO adjustability.

The whole thing went together pretty easily and quartz is actually pretty convenient. None of it was particularly expensive, either, less than three hundred dollars all told. The strap was the most expensive thing.

While the blue sunburst is very impressive-looking, I think I still prefer the traditional matte-black dial, so I'm rooting around for one of those now.

The piece wears a little bigger than 36mm because the odd lug design makes the watch a lot longer, similarly to how a 36mm Datejust wears considerably bigger than a 34mm Air King. It's astoundingly light.

What do you guys think?

Edited May 21, 2012 by atomic_doug

[mt666tm]

Interesting... I like the blue dial, I wouldn't change it, looks good with the two tone.

[dluddy]

Interesting piece. Thanks for sharing. I like the Blue Dial as well

[atomic_doug]

Thanks. It's really made me re-appreciate quartz. The slim profile, the accuracy, the never needing to be re-wound and re-set.

I can only imagine what a piece like the Hublot would have been like in 1980. I can only imagine it would have been like the Offshore or something. "A luxury piece? On a rubber strap?!"

I need to wear it more and get used to the blue. Never had a blue-dialled watch before. Feels weird.