DW 7032 V2: Iteration

[lhooq]

This Tudor 7032 is my longest rep build. It started last August and ended two days ago, give or take an additional tweak or two. My first DW 7032 was put together in September 2010, and I wrote about it here. I called the thread a "Work-in-progress" since, for various reasons, it never really felt as if the project was completed. Considering that my last update in that thread is dated December 2010, it maybe sorta was...

In August 2011 I had the good fortune to compare my DW 7032 side-by-side with a friend's genuine Tudor 7149. (That friend, funnily enough, was inspired to search for a 1970s-era Tudor chronograph by my first 7032 build.) The DW acquitted itself well, but a lot of differences became apparent to me that day. I resolved to do better, and my 7032 V2 project began.

I contacted "The Talent" (i.e. jmb), and we set to figuring out how to improve the case. A series of delays (including a wrong order sent by DW--what a surprise) meant that I wouldn't receive the modded case until January 2012. That's when I got the bright idea that I needed even MORE work done, and sent the case on a second trip across the ocean. By the time everything was finished, I had involved justasgood (caseback mods), Pbdad (dial and hands), and siesta181 (movement). But it was Justin who did the lion's share of the work, including a months-long headache of figuring out how to fit a genuine crystal onto the case (without resorting to glue).

So nine months later, and the difference between V1 and V2 ought to be like night and day, right? No, actually. Unlike the immediately obvious benefit you would get from, say, a Yuki handset or a genuine crystal, the V2's improvements are so subtle that you likely won't notice them unless you have a DW 7032 of your own. And even then, you'll probably blink a few times before it sinks in. That's my kind of project!

Anyone who has a DW 7032 can see how extensively the mid-case has been reshaped: Lugs were blunted, reducing total length to match measurements taken from the genuine 7149. Chamfers were widened from lug-tip to lug-tip. Lugholes were drilled out to accept Submariner-size springbars. Note the genuine 7mm Twinlock crown, with a gob of solder above the coronet. I have another 700 in much better condition, but I found that this crown better matched the condition of the rest of the watch. It would also be an oblique homage to the Triplock I crushed when I dropped V1 onto an Italian sidewalk two years ago

Crownguards were reshaped to match the smoother look of some genuine examples. (There are also gens with boxy CGs, so an unmodded DW case isn't necessarily wrong.) Note the chamfers that end on diagonal edges on the CGs. Also, see all the untouched dots on the bezel. Justin did a great job of shaving the inner diameter, but that isn't all he did on the bezel.

I asked for, and got, a rolled edge on the bezel, and a polished underside. As with my FAP 6239 build, I requested a worn look to the entire case. Edges are smoother throughout, including those of the inner lugs.

As mentioned earlier, Justin was only able to fit the genuine Cyclope 128 on the case after months of experimenting. The basic problem was that the C128 is significantly wider than the rehaut lip, so material had to be added to fill the gap. What ended up working was a careful application of very thin steel tape to the base of the lip. Many, many other ideas were tried without success. I admire J for his doggedness.

Several things to notice in the head-on view:

• Here we see the other major surgery that Justin performed on the 7032: The rehaut was trimmed to add more air between the steel circumference and the orange numerals on the dial. Not easy.
  
• This is my first time using Pbdad, and he did a great job luming and matting the dial. His surface treatment is subtle -almost invisibly so- but I hope to make it more obvious in subsequent shots.
  
• Dumbest mod: I bought a cheap Tudor Oysterdate dial, just so I could cannibalize its shield at 12 and transplant it onto the 7032. I CANNOT TELL THE DIFFERENCE.
  
• Yuki/CWP hands were carried over from V1. Pbdad superlumed a pair of Yuki hands, but I couldn't use these on V2. When he shortened the minute hand (per my request), its tip turned yellow.
  
• Similarly, see the partly-yellowed metal centers of the subdial hands. I asked Pbdad to strip the black paint off the circles, but that thin layer of zinc didn't survive the process.
  
• Datewheel was carried over from V1. I was able to source another 7734 datewheel in black, but its font is too wide and angular.
  
• Justin initially had a satin finish for the bezel surface. I found it too smooth, and asked him to give it a bit more "character". That ended up being too rough, so I went around the bezel with finer-grit sandpaper.
  

justasgood worked his Dremel magic on the shallow etchings of the caseback. Unmodified, it's the least-convincing part of the DW 7032 case. Now I'm convinced! You can also see that DW's pushers seem to be falling apart. (Did he take his Daytona pushers and fill the groove on the barrel?) These pushers were a huge headache to deal with, and would disassemble themselves at the slightest provocation. Thanks to some patient work by my watchsmith, and parts from another set of DW pushers, they seem to be holding together for now.

Some comparison shots ought to clarify the results of these past nine months. V1 is on the lef. It now has my Pbdad-lumed hour/minute hands, a Yuki sweep, and the newer datewheel. You can really see the difference between the rehauts and the bezels. The gap between the bezel's inner edge and the outer edge of the dial is resolved much more cleanly (and correctly) on V2. Finally, the shortened case lines up better with the endlinks and makes for a cleaner silhouette.

I previously mentioned Pbdad's matte surface treatment. Here are the two watches photographed under identical lighting and from similar angles. V1 is on top, and you can see the tell-tale reflection from the glossy gray field. V2 looks better under direct light. Additionally, the black areas on the V2 dial look even darker after being matted. Unfortunately, you can see also see the yellowed metal on V2's subdial hands, and on the tip of the minute hand on V1.

Very visible differences in profile.

Another look at K's awesome caseback work. I'm using Watch International/cartel 7836 bracelets on both watches. The V1 has the standard rep 358s, while V2 has period-correct genuine 282 endlinks. These are not flush against the lugs like 589s or 605s (assuming you can get those to work on a DW case), but the fitment compares well with genuine pieces. On the V2, the bracelet's final midlinks were opened up substantially. Not only did they have to take 2mm springbars, but there needed to be sufficient clearance between the endlinks and the adjacent links.

Evolution

Yech. The glue holding the shield looks very obvious in this shot. Flaws like this, the lumpy paint on the sweep hand, or the brassy metal, are far less obvious on the wrist than they are in these macros. That sounds stupidly obvious, but it's easy to get your priorities jumbled when all you look at are extreme close-ups.

Nevertheless, I may still attempt to fix these in the future. I'm doomed.

Big thanks to everyone involved in this long build!

[wiesn089]

Great work from all those involved, I really admire your attention to detail, an amazing project once again!

[Lolex_panelai]

great work, great watch(es), thks much + congrats!!!

regards lolex

[Watchmeister]

Great project. And wonderful work from fellow members. Wear that one well.

[justlounging]

You Sir, are a patient and persistent man..congrats M! Now you have 2 of the best!

[sgtguk]

Another beautiful build and awesome work by those involved too! Looks fantastic!

[woof*]

M,

You have my address......you know what to do.

Let me know if you need postage $.

Just kidding!

V2 is incredible! The subtle differences are not subtle..... if you know what your looking at. With your dialog to go along, it's all clear how much work and love went into this one!

Congrats on organizing all this, all involved did wonderful work here and your excellent photographs show in detail the full scope of the improvements.

Beautiful Tudor M! Thanks for sharing this with us..so much to learn from here.

[denimhead]

This Tudor 7032 is my longest rep build. It started last August and ended two days ago, give or take an additional tweak or two. My first DW 7032 was put together in September 2010, and I wrote about it here. I called the thread a "Work-in-progress" since, for various reasons, it never really felt as if the project was completed. Considering that my last update in that thread is dated December 2010, it maybe sorta was...

In August 2011 I had the good fortune to compare my DW 7032 side-by-side with a friend's genuine Tudor 7149. (That friend, funnily enough, was inspired to search for a 1970s-era Tudor chronograph by my first 7032 build.) The DW acquitted itself well, but a lot of differences became apparent to me that day. I resolved to do better, and my 7032 V2 project began.

I contacted "The Talent" (i.e. jmb), and we set to figuring out how to improve the case. A series of delays (including a wrong order sent by DW--what a surprise) meant that I wouldn't receive the modded case until January 2012. That's when I got the bright idea that I needed even MORE work done, and sent the case on a second trip across the ocean. By the time everything was finished, I had involved justasgood (caseback mods), Pbdad (dial and hands), and siesta181 (movement). But it was Justin who did the lion's share of the work, including a months-long headache of figuring out how to fit a genuine crystal onto the case (without resorting to glue).

So nine months later, and the difference between V1 and V2 ought to be like night and day, right? No, actually. Unlike the immediately obvious benefit you would get from, say, a Yuki handset or a genuine crystal, the V2's improvements are so subtle that you likely won't notice them unless you have a DW 7032 of your own. And even then, you'll probably blink a few times before it sinks in. That's my kind of project!

Anyone who has a DW 7032 can see how extensively the mid-case has been reshaped: Lugs were blunted, reducing total length to match measurements taken from the genuine 7149. Chamfers were widened from lug-tip to lug-tip. Lugholes were drilled out to accept Submariner-size springbars. Note the genuine 7mm Twinlock crown, with a gob of solder above the coronet. I have another 700 in much better condition, but I found that this crown better matched the condition of the rest of the watch. It would also be an oblique homage to the Triplock I crushed when I dropped V1 onto an Italian sidewalk two years ago

Crownguards were reshaped to match the smoother look of some genuine examples. (There are also gens with boxy CGs, so an unmodded DW case isn't necessarily wrong.) Note the chamfers that end on diagonal edges on the CGs. Also, see all the untouched dots on the bezel. Justin did a great job of shaving the inner diameter, but that isn't all he did on the bezel.

I asked for, and got, a rolled edge on the bezel, and a polished underside. As with my FAP 6239 build, I requested a worn look to the entire case. Edges are smoother throughout, including those of the inner lugs.

As mentioned earlier, Justin was only able to fit the genuine Cyclope 128 on the case after months of experimenting. The basic problem was that the C128 is significantly wider than the rehaut lip, so material had to be added to fill the gap. What ended up working was a careful application of very thin steel tape to the base of the lip. Many, many other ideas were tried without success. I admire J for his doggedness.

Several things to notice in the head-on view:

• Here we see the other major surgery that Justin performed on the 7032: The rehaut was trimmed to add more air between the steel circumference and the orange numerals on the dial. Not easy.
  
• This is my first time using Pbdad, and he did a great job luming and matting the dial. His surface treatment is subtle -almost invisibly so- but I hope to make it more obvious in subsequent shots.
  
• Dumbest mod: I bought a cheap Tudor Oysterdate dial, just so I could cannibalize its shield at 12 and transplant it onto the 7032. I CANNOT TELL THE DIFFERENCE.
  
• Yuki/CWP hands were carried over from V1. Pbdad superlumed a pair of Yuki hands, but I couldn't use these on V2. When he shortened the minute hand (per my request), its tip turned yellow.
  
• Similarly, see the partly-yellowed metal centers of the subdial hands. I asked Pbdad to strip the black paint off the circles, but that thin layer of zinc didn't survive the process.
  
• Datewheel was carried over from V1. I was able to source another 7734 datewheel in black, but its font is too wide and angular.
  
• Justin initially had a satin finish for the bezel surface. I found it too smooth, and asked him to give it a bit more "character". That ended up being too rough, so I went around the bezel with finer-grit sandpaper.
  

justasgood worked his Dremel magic on the shallow etchings of the caseback. Unmodified, it's the least-convincing part of the DW 7032 case. Now I'm convinced! You can also see that DW's pushers seem to be falling apart. (Did he take his Daytona pushers and fill the groove on the barrel?) These pushers were a huge headache to deal with, and would disassemble themselves at the slightest provocation. Thanks to some patient work by my watchsmith, and parts from another set of DW pushers, they seem to be holding together for now.

Some comparison shots ought to clarify the results of these past nine months. V1 is on the lef. It now has my Pbdad-lumed hour/minute hands, a Yuki sweep, and the newer datewheel. You can really see the difference between the rehauts and the bezels. The gap between the bezel's inner edge and the outer edge of the dial is resolved much more cleanly (and correctly) on V2. Finally, the shortened case lines up better with the endlinks and makes for a cleaner silhouette.

I previously mentioned Pbdad's matte surface treatment. Here are the two watches photographed under identical lighting and from similar angles. V1 is on top, and you can see the tell-tale reflection from the glossy gray field. V2 looks better under direct light. Additionally, the black areas on the V2 dial look even darker after being matted. Unfortunately, you can see also see the yellowed metal on V2's subdial hands, and on the tip of the minute hand on V1.

Very visible differences in profile.

Another look at K's awesome caseback work. I'm using Watch International/cartel 7836 bracelets on both watches. The V1 has the standard rep 358s, while V2 has period-correct genuine 282 endlinks. These are not flush against the lugs like 589s or 605s (assuming you can get those to work on a DW case), but the fitment compares well with genuine pieces. On the V2, the bracelet's final midlinks were opened up substantially. Not only did they have to take 2mm springbars, but there needed to be sufficient clearance between the endlinks and the adjacent links.

Evolution

Yech. The glue holding the shield looks very obvious in this shot. Flaws like this, the lumpy paint on the sweep hand, or the brassy metal, are far less obvious on the wrist than they are in these macros. That sounds stupidly obvious, but it's easy to get your priorities jumbled when all you look at are extreme close-ups.

Nevertheless, I may still attempt to fix these in the future. I'm doomed.

Big thanks to everyone involved in this long build!

Congratulations M,

Amazing dedication mate

[denimhead]

Congratulations M,

Dedication beyond my patience levels. Mines still at the watchmakers!

M

[StormTooper4]

Very Very Impressive

[chiman12]

As Darth Vader would say..."Your skills[powers] are getting stronger...Impressive...most impressive!"

[Ephry73]

God dammit M! Stop this insanity! Hahahahaha.

Geezus man, between the subject watch and the great pictures it's torture to look at my watch in its current state.

It looks amazing! Thanks for sharing

[jmb]

I will say again that working with M on one of his projects is always fun and an experience in subtlety. I am in awe of folks with an "eye" for subtle and minute details such as his.

[gplracer]

As always great work guys. Didn't someone say that clark is coming out with a crystal for this watch? Also, are there some DW 7032 watches that a gen crystal will fit on? I would love to have a replacement for mine. The Zigmeister did too good of a job with the custom loom for me to continue using the DW crystal.

[TeeJay]

What can I say? I'm absolutely speehless at such an incredible build, all I can say, is wear it well

[Ephry73]

Inspirational is definitely the first word that comes to mind. E

[modelizer]

WOW! Exceptional build there M! That Tamiya Orange X-6 is indeed a great match!

[redwatch]

Dear god that is beautiful!!!!! Nicely done M!!! Wait till the new sub dial hands arrive - that should be the icing on the cake.

Now the most important question of the day: Where on earth did you get that beautiful date wheel???

[danielv2000]

M, congrats! Great eye for subtle details, indeed!

[lhooq]

Thanks for the nice comments, everyone! V2 represents my wishlist of 7032 mods, and I hope it can serve as a sort of "concept watch" from which others can pick and choose ideas for their own builds. For example, shorten the case and reshape the lugs if you can, but forget about that stupid shield swap on the dial! As for shaving the rehaut, I think the second time should be much easier for Justin, now that knows how to set it up.

As Darth Vader would say..."Your skills[powers] are getting stronger...Impressive...most impressive!"

I still think the 7032 is the perfect watch for the Rebel Alliance! Correct colors, and it has that Death Star indicator in the 3 o'clock subdial.

Geezus man, between the subject watch and the great pictures it's torture to look at my watch in its current state.

You've only had your MC for a few weeks, and you've already got it in good shape. Don't stop!

I will say again that working with M on one of his projects is always fun and an experience in subtlety. I am in awe of folks with an "eye" for subtle and minute details such as his.

Likewise, I'm constantly amazed that you have the patience to deal with my niggly details, and always deliver as promised. Thanks, and here's to more on the way.

Also, are there some DW 7032 watches that a gen crystal will fit on? I would love to have a replacement for mine.

Donerix posted in RG to say that the tolerances of DW's cases are wide. I agree with him. E used a Phong 7031 bezel and a Phong crystal on his DW case, and he didn't report any problems fitting the first two on the last. Not only that, but he had a small gap between the orange numerals on his dial and the (unmodded) rehaut. ChiMan also has (had?) an early DW 7032 case that was very different from mine, but I'm not sure if it could take a genuine crystal.

What can I say? I'm absolutely speehless at such an incredible build, all I can say, is wear it well

I was thinking of that thread you started recently, which asked why some guys build big collections of essentially the same watch. I wasn't able to respond to it directly, but my answer is in the title of this thread: Iteration, and the slow, methodical (and expensive!) improvement of a replication over time. But I do like variety! In fact, V1 may be fitted with a black dial one of these days...

Now the most important question of the day: Where on earth did you get that beautiful date wheel???

In 2010, I bought V1 as a complete watch head from DW. It was horribly put-together, and contained a 7734 that's been problematic since the day I first wound it. But it did have that datewheel, which appears to be a dead-ringer for the Tudor fonts of the time. I later asked DW if he had any more of them, but he didn't. I think it must have come with the donor movement, and that the datewheel bears standard Valjoux fonts for the era.

[krpster]

Very very nice. The work on the case is outstanding. Really gives it the genuine look. Like you said, without them side by side that subtle difference would be hard to pick up.

Questions now is...what will you do with your V1

[gimme]

Just saw this thanks to S, who pointed me to this thread. Completely missed it.

Looking gret M! Now all u need is a CWP chrono hand. That's the only flaw I see with the current state of the watch.

Mad props to jmb. Outstanding work!

Wondering what's next on your project list. I have a feeling it will be an old, worn out looking 6263

PS: can u take a couple of pics of different numbers on your dw, specifically the 1, 3, 4, 5 & 7? Whenever u have the time

[gimme]

Actually, I went to your V1 thread and saw pics of the 1 & 7

Pretty impressive Martin. Here's a pic of a gen.

Also looked at the 6 & 9, and those were not identical to the gen. But now you know: you need to wear this beauty at least once a month

[lhooq]

Looking gret Martin! Now all u need is a CWP chrono hand. That's the only flaw I see with the current state of the watch.

Thanks, A, but I already do have a CWP sweep. It just happens to be painted a bit lumpily.

PS: can u take a couple of pics of different numbers on your dw, specifically the 1, 3, 4, 5 & 7? Whenever u have the time

Of course. '6' is a freebie:

Feels like it's Sesame Street in here.

[redwatch]

Feels like it's Sesame Street in here.

Cause you like to Count???