bamcky2k Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 ive worn a seamaster 300m in some form or other for almost 10 years now, be it automatic, quartz, blue, black, rep, gen etc i have a big love of this watch. of all the situations i like to wear my watches in (shallow diving, hiking, climbing etc) the seamaster was often left behind though in favour of my g-shock or seiko skx009...i always wanted the seamaster on my wrist for these, but, there were a few niggles that always put me off, niggles which alot of others have stated too...mostly the scalloped bezel and lack of AR on the outside of the crystal. the bezel was almost impossible to rotate when wet-not good whilst diving/swimming to time incoming/outgoing tides (i rarely do scuba diving so timeing for air isnt an issue...) or while out in all weather to time waypoints on a map to keep pace etc...ok the AR isnt really an issue, but it does pic up ALOT of glare indoors or on cloudy days...so i searched on google for some ideas... what i found was that the planet ocean 42mm crystal fitted the smp case-with the use of the smp gasket, and also that the 42mm planet ocean bezel was a direct swap without modification...the smp insert though needed the inner lip filed off to fit the PO bezel ring...(note to newbies-see, searching will give you all the answers!) so online i go to cousinsuk and order the crystal, bezel, and while i was at it new caseback gasket, crystal gasket and battery...a day later they arrived...and 2 hours later it was finished...believe me-customizing gen watches with gen manufacturer parts is SOOOO much easier than reps! below is the result, the whole watch now has more presence on the wrist, more "built" so to say, the waves on the dial have alot more pop to them too due to the crystal...the watch is also now functional bezel wise while wet, the crystal is incredible and the whole watch still looks "factory built", it will probs be my go to watch for the summer...i tried it on a hirsch heavy calf strap, but the the new harder image of the watch i think will suit a carbon strap more...so i then mounted the watch to an omega 20mm mesh bracelet to add that tool like look, overall, im very very pleased with the outcome...anyway pics say more so take a look below, comments and critics welcome, enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EEngels Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 This looks gorgeous. The mesh bracelet is excellent. You've had the benefit of having a gen and being able to get the details spot-on. I like it very much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSTEEL Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 Holy crap! Thats amazing. I made sure I read everything you wrote before scrolling down to view your photos, (note to newbies to do the same;) ). Where did you find that valuable info about the cross reference parts fitting? Omegaforums? Looks outstanding my friend. Great job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imajedi Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 Extremely cool. Great job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bamcky2k Posted April 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 (edited) thanks guys, if i can mod a watch-even gen-to fit a purpous i need it for i will! found the info by searching google...on the images for seamaster 300m, i noticed a pic that had the black 2254 model with a planet ocean bezel insert...or so i thought, when i read the thread on WUS it actually had the entire bezel assembly, i then thought that if that fitted surely the crystal should too as its the same diameter...so i search "PO crystal in smp case" etc and found some info...after reading through and confirming i commited to the custom build, and this was the result...research first people! the net is a big place and chances are if youve thought of something-someone else may have already done it! ofcourse my quartz seamaster i used was well out of warranty etc so i didnt mind going ahead, plus the quartz is easy to work on anyway in service terms-i wouldnt have gone ahead with this on my co-axial model... the next customization i have in mind for this watch is the blue lume hour/minute/seconds hand from the black smp quartz (to give it the blue/green lume combo of the new smp ceramics, and also the ploprof deployment clasp for the mesh bracelet... Edited April 25, 2013 by bamcky2k 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSTEEL Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 Very cool indeed, and great result of researching Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bamcky2k Posted April 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 expensive custom build though, the bracelet, bezel and crystal came to over £600...but worth it to get the look and function i wanted. the crystal gives the "disappearing crystal" effect at certain angles which is very cool with the dial...and despite the mods, it still retains the look and feel of the seamaster pro...as a side note, the crystal sits higher than the standard smp bezel, and the PO bezel higher than the smp crystal...so the mod has to be done together (change both bezel and crystal) to keep a sleek look. the smp insert is the only part that needed modding by fileing off the inner lip to fit the PO bezel...thats it though, everything else was a straight drop in replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bamcky2k Posted April 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2013 well i just ordered the ploprof clasp for the mesh, special order item though so gotta wait for it the blue lume seamaster hands will arrive tomorrow though! i was gonna replace all the hands, but i think i'll just do the minute hand...going for the green/blue double lume colour of the new smps and PO's etc...pics when ive done it all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgtguk Posted April 26, 2013 Report Share Posted April 26, 2013 So I'm paging down wondering what was different on this one Pics first then read, looks really really well thought through mate whilst still looking factory the subtle improvement with the bezel makes it all the more usable too, I have seen the Planpro build and loved it, got that one tucked away for a build at some stage! Great piece mate ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bamcky2k Posted April 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2013 cheers sgt, its more of a functional improvement for me...just so happens it looks cool at the same time! its a subtle change that not many would notice unless you point it out which i guess is why it works and looks "right" its a great custom build if you have it in mind though, well worth doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgtguk Posted April 26, 2013 Report Share Posted April 26, 2013 I reckon you got balls for doing it to a Gen mate Good on ya ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witch Posted April 26, 2013 Report Share Posted April 26, 2013 Looks great mate really nice, i have an gen smp thats 12 years old maybe the way to go to breath new life into it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krpster Posted April 26, 2013 Report Share Posted April 26, 2013 Very cool project and the result looks great! Never would have thought to "franken" a gen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cougar1 Posted April 26, 2013 Report Share Posted April 26, 2013 Great mod bamcky, I really like the look of that one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danza1812 Posted April 27, 2013 Report Share Posted April 27, 2013 Fantastic work. Like it a lot, subtle changes to a modern classic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janizary Posted April 28, 2013 Report Share Posted April 28, 2013 That is an abomination. JkSent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glippy01 Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 Great fantasy build there. That's what this hobby should be all about. Very tastefully done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smc Posted May 15, 2013 Report Share Posted May 15, 2013 That looks amazing. I'd love to do that to my electric blue, but i prefer the SMP bezel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devilseam Posted May 16, 2013 Report Share Posted May 16, 2013 Lovely! You did a great job mate. That bezel is stunning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_rymeister Posted June 9, 2013 Report Share Posted June 9, 2013 Looks great mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B3nj4min3 Posted June 10, 2013 Report Share Posted June 10, 2013 In a word; beautiful. The versatility of that watch is amazing. With the mesh bracelet it looks like jewellery, and with the calf strap it would work perfectly with a suit. I take my hat off to you sir for a fine job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pioneer Posted July 3, 2013 Report Share Posted July 3, 2013 Hey, the pictures aren't avaliable anymore. Could you repost? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred1 Posted July 28, 2014 Report Share Posted July 28, 2014 The pictures aren't avaliable anymore. If you have them handy, could you please repost them or a link? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kazin326 Posted July 29, 2014 Report Share Posted July 29, 2014 I would love to see pictures of this but they are not loading... Maybe bc it's an old thread? Anyone have the pictures to share? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martijnp Posted July 29, 2014 Report Share Posted July 29, 2014 I don't have the pictures but it's indeed an older topic. Posted 25 April 2013 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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