ubiquitous Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 Hey gang,Long time since I’ve been on the forum; hope all is well with everyone and things are good.Wanted to share this little story of luck, as there is some watch relevance involved and who better to share with than my pals here?Picked up this little porcelain figure at a recent estate sale for my daughter; it’s a little piggy bank painted like a dog.She saw it and immediately thought of our own little doggy, a 12lb Yorkie that coincidentally thinks she’s a pig We paid a small price for the little piggy and got it home where I started prepping it to put in my daughter’s room for piggy bank use. It was packed/stuffed with tissue paper and when I removed all the tissue, this fell out:>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Ha… Only kidding. I *wish* I were that lucky!No, no… Rather, this is just my latest build that I’ve been working on; a 1940’s era steel PPCoAs with most of my builds, this one started with a genuine dial with original hard enamel fonts/printings still in tact and in great shape considering (remember, these watches from this time period were not water or element resistant; considering it’s 70-ish years old or so, it’s got some aging, but all very subtle in the overall picture) I managed to pick this dial up for stupid cheap… Less than $100:And shortly thereafter I happened upon the correct 12’’’120 movement to go with it:From there I had the dimensions of the movement measured and a custom case fabricated. Got the case back the other day and got everything together…To finish off, I added a gen Patek gator strap with period correct gen Patek buckle.Has the appearance and feel of being a much larger watch than it's 36mm size might otherwise suggest:Okay, so while I wasn’t lucky enough to happen upon this gem in such a fortunate manner, I do feel fortunate to have managed to see this one through to where it is now Thanks for looking!//ubi 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justasgood Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 Yawn! Get some ugly raggy shitty watches and mix it up.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cc33 Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 Omfg sweet!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justasgood Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 Oh, and try taking a bad pic or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwatch Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 Stunning as always!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cougar1 Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 That is gorgeous, the movement is friggen outstanding! How much is something like that worth? Any way of tidying up the hour marker surrounds? Regardless it looks amazing...I didn't know they did "PP&Co" on old dials! Great work!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieselpower Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 To quote The Kinks - "You really got me" with the beginning of that story. My jaw was literally agape. Anyway, amazing build and great to see another Patek is alive and ticking. What's the story with the movement? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
its_urabus Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 Wow. What else can be said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 Another cool vintage Ubi. Love the movement. Was it in that good of shape when you got it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krpster Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 Got me too! I was like....WHAT!!!!!! Still, great find on the dial and movement. Very cool project. How did you come upon the company that made the custom case? Looks amazing. Thanks for sharing with us Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyphion Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 Now that's a watch to really enjoy. Heirloom quality. Great build ubi. Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 You got me too, dude, and damn, that would have been one of those crazy finds that can happen :tu: Simply stunning build though, 100% pure class I suspect it wears larger due to the size of the dial relative to the case (as DJs can) but also the white dial itself. What a piece though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 Beautiful watch Ubi.The flying pig story was pretty convincing too. Before I saw your final photos, i said to myself, that one deserves a really nice Brown Gator, and sure nuff, a couple of photos down, there was my little lizard, all tanned up and made into a nice strap. He gave his little reptile life just to make you smile everytime you strap on the old Patty. Great watch, great story and a really great guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 I am not normally a fan of yellow gold, but in this case I would make an exception. In any case, a beautiful watch, Ubi. Stay tuned................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milhouse Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 Nice build! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walrashish Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 I'm in awe. I want to build something like this myself so badly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praetor Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 it never cease to amaze me how you find all these parts ubi. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCraig Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 Cool piggy bank, cute dog, but that watch is OMFG gorgeous! Great work as always and amazing photos. Thanks for sharing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 Stunning Ubi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 Stunning Ubi +1. Great build and great to see you coming around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornerstone Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 Nice!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted September 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 Thank you one and all; your kind words are greatly appreciated This watch, like most of my builds has been slow going; the biggest issue is simply trying to track down the parts. I've spent long hours trying to find certain Rolex parts for some of my builds; PP is exceedingly far more difficult! Not a lot of stuff out there, especially when hunting for caliber specific items. The 12'''120 is the handwind caliber found in most 1940's - early 1950's era time only watches. These can be found in ref 96 (30mm) and 570 (35mm - 36mm; this is what I have built). It's a gorgeous movement... Nicely finished, and the basic concept and design simple. Winding is buttercream smooth The movement as you see it is, as-is. It does need a cleaning, which will be my next course of action. The case on my watch is steel; the dial, originally silvered has aged to a pleasing cream tone. The dial is fairly clean for the most part; dark spots around the numeral indicies, but I've decided to leave it be. It adds a lot of character and I think cleaning will take away from that. The fonts, minute chapter and seconds ring are all hard enamel 'champleve'; they are slightly raised and also add a very aesthetically pleasing characteristic. Hands are genuine (though I am not sure about the small seconds hand; it looks a little too basic to my eye). I will probably replace with a gen small sec hand if I can find one. And for me, the combination of the dark chestnut brown gator strap with the dial/case was the best fit I usually run these queries past my wife for her opinion, and she felt this was the best pairing One more pic... Snapped this morning: Thanks again! //ubi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HauteHippie Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 I've enjoyed a few previews of this piece offline as it progressed. The movement is indeed a beauty and in spectacular condition considering not only its age but also the difficulty in finding one at all. Ubi has once again pushed the envelope. Congrats on completing it and completing ahead of schedule (I think sometime back you were thinking Christmas was a best case scenario). Oh and btw kudos to the little lady on strap selection. It's the perfect choice. Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiman12 Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 very nice R!!!!!! very nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted September 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 I've enjoyed a few previews of this piece offline as it progressed. The movement is indeed a beauty and in spectacular condition considering not only its age but also the difficulty in finding one at all. Ubi has once again pushed the envelope. Congrats on completing it and completing ahead of schedule (I think sometime back you were thinking Christmas was a best case scenario). Oh and btw kudos to the little lady on strap selection. It's the perfect choice. Thanks, sir. Indeed... This one is definitely ahead of schedule. I was initially thinking Dec. but as it turns out, it's a few months early Certainly no complaining here! very nice R!!!!!! very nice! Thank you, Chi That is gorgeous, the movement is friggen outstanding! How much is something like that worth? Any way of tidying up the hour marker surrounds? Regardless it looks amazing...I didn't know they did "PP&Co" on old dials! Great work!. Prices for a genuine steel 570 tend to vary a little depending on factors like condition, dial variation, etc. But they all seem to be right between $35k and $75k. Here is a small sampling of some of the pieces that have hammered at the big auction houses: http://catalog.antiq...1&auctionid=256 http://catalog.antiq...0&auctionid=144 http://catalog.antiq...1&auctionid=137 http://catalog.antiq...14&auctionid=66 http://catalog.antiq...57&auctionid=55 http://www.christies...bjectID=5257590 Keep in mind that this also represents a large time frame/window in which prices may have increased/decreased due to a number of external influential factors (economic conditions etc). As for mine... No idea on what mine would be worth... To me, I just value on the sum of it's parts; one can't compare a build like this to a full pedigree genuine even though much of the build is comprised of genuine parts. However, this watch does represent a savings of $30k - $40k to me since I didn't have to pay that much to own one And I suppose there's also the effort involved in sourcing all the stuff to make it what it is. In that regard, it's priceless to me 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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