porschespeedster Posted July 26, 2015 Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 Here it is: IMG_0825.jpg Needs some vintagizing now...not TOO much...but use the Gen photos as your guide! a few swirls in a jar of coins + possibly a matte spray on the dial a la Gazzla + you are done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djulink Posted July 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2015 Needs some vintagizing now...not TOO much...but use the Gen photos as your guide! a few swirls in a jar of coins + possibly a matte spray on the dial a la Gazzla that is close to what Big Dazza delivered 3 weeks ago... I'm converting this build in a 6204 or proper 5508 mod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mendota Explorer Posted July 27, 2015 Report Share Posted July 27, 2015 (edited) Needs some vintagizing now...not TOO much...but use the Gen photos as your guide! a few swirls in a jar of coins + possibly a matte spray on the dial a la Gazzla + you are done Do you just spray the dial a couple of times to create the texture and then age the lume plots over that, or do you age the lume plots first and then do the matte spray last? Edited July 27, 2015 by Mendota Explorer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djulink Posted June 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2016 (edited) Hi Gents, Once a wise man wrote that "it's all about the dial". And I have to say, the further I went learning about BC the stronger that stance became... at least to me. I had a long discussion with @Bart Cordell about his very good work on dial, case bevels, etc. So I asked him if he would take care of my Big. D's 6538 wich needed more work imo. And to make a long story short, this is the result: Specs : - 8mm V2 Athaya BC - Case reshaped and polished, beveled chamfers, rehault polished to make it deeper, - Bezel work: color and polished - hour and minute hands, sanded and relume to match the dial, Tiger-Concept Big Ball second hand. - True Gilt 2 liner super glossy dial (you have no idea what an improvment it is, as many had already stated, until you see/get one) - Sternkreuz Hw 306 dome crystal Bart was really dedicated to the modding process: he put a lot of time and efforts to get what I was precisely looking for. And that is really appreciable Cheers! Edited June 19, 2016 by djulink 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mendota Explorer Posted June 20, 2016 Report Share Posted June 20, 2016 Fantastic! What a great improvement. When I get to the point where I'm ready to start one of these I'm for sure going to talk to Bart about these dials. He's really making some beautiful dials. Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djulink Posted June 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2016 9 hours ago, Mendota Explorer said: Fantastic! What a great improvement Thanks Mate! Indeed, it's a completely different watch now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DVNE Posted June 20, 2016 Report Share Posted June 20, 2016 Wow! Awesome updates!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djulink Posted August 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2016 On 20 juin 2016 at 7:41 PM, DVNE said: Wow! Awesome updates!!! Enjoying some holidays. Cheers! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Cordell Posted August 7, 2016 Report Share Posted August 7, 2016 ☀️ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackflash Posted August 8, 2016 Report Share Posted August 8, 2016 Bart amazing work as always! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djulink Posted February 7, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2018 HI Gents, I dig this up, 'cause the journey is not over yet... a little teasing if you please before my full review to come IMG_5296.MOV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rower Posted February 7, 2018 Report Share Posted February 7, 2018 WOW! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djulink Posted February 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2018 So, here we go, Gents ! My beloved BC went a bit too deep in the water this summer, accidentally of course, and the dial turn out really "vintagely" hard to read... Sad, I was, before I got in contact with Bart and asked him if he could work his magic one more time on a new dial... Sad, I was no more, as he kindly accepted to do it (Thanks again Pal !) As I was planning/dreaming that new dial, it made me think of other flaws I had with this build : - The Athaya Crown I noticed this instantly when I received it 2 years ago, and you can see that on the photo above : the teeth of the crown are slightly convergent (not parallel) and a bit larger than gen ones I've seen (see photo of a gen below). If it did not bothered me at the time, It quickly became more an more annoying when I was wearing the watch. - The bezel Again, you can clearly see that on the photo above : you can barely distinguish the coin edge (teeth) of the bezel that are supposed to be visible, like - again - on this gen one for instance : So I thought, the dial accident could represent an occasion to enhance the build. And disappointed I was not, when I got back my precious from its original maker... Behold ! (courtesy of Bart Cordell ;-) That is what Bart came back to me with... And needless to say, I was more than pleased... Just look at thoses lines (the beveled chamfers, the crown, the bezel)... Oh ! and look at that dial again (mat and gilt work so well together, lume is the same on indexes, hands and pearl)... and as you (should) know, Silix/Cartel case are designed for a 29mm dial and gen-specs ones are (around) 27mm. So we decided to adapt Bart templates (wich are made from gen dial) to the 29mm dial a bit further then what we did before. That way we keep an original dial design and fit it to a 29mm dial and 28mm "ouverture de boite". Because, and at the same time, you'll want the minute hand to keep in contact with the chapter-ring in order to stay in the heritage or DNA of the Big Crown, and you want to have the chapter-ring close to the rehault (that has been polished again to give a bit more of presence to it). I suspect that Bart also worked on the bevels, thanks mate! (courtesy of Bart Cordell ;-) Of course, it is not gen-specs in many others way : rehault is still too short and not designed in the same way as gen/phong/Rubywatch build, bezel is too short and "squarely" shaped, But imho, that is one of the closest you can get with those kind of builds : the high-end of budget Big Crown reps. Cheers ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Cordell Posted February 12, 2018 Report Share Posted February 12, 2018 (edited) It was a pleasure my friend, I could not leave one of my "babies" in this condition I'm pleased to read you like it, and I must admit I liked to wear a Silix again for few hours before send it back to you. I allow myself to add some wristcheck and dial photos. And yes I repolished the bevels a little bit. Edited February 12, 2018 by Bart Cordell 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DVNE Posted February 12, 2018 Report Share Posted February 12, 2018 Excellent work as always, Bart! Wear it in good health djulink Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djulink Posted February 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2018 Hi Gents, So here I go again, trying to complete this never-ending journey to get "The" Bond Submariner. From the red-depth above, which is truly the quintessence of Rolex Sport Watch, for me at least, I'm now looking again towards Thunderball, Goldfinger or With Love From Russia... To start with, here is a custom case I got recently: I'm now looking/hunting for the right movement, and need your guys' advices in that matter ; I learnt many technics dilemma/constraints thanks to Bart knowledge and practice with those kind of cases, and am looking for a proper 18000/19800 or 21600 vph caliber reference to fit in that case. I know a 2824 would fit, but it would be better if I could find a reliable "60's slow beat" one. So if you please, Big Crowns Lovers can chime in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DVNE Posted February 22, 2018 Report Share Posted February 22, 2018 http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&0&2uswk&ETA_2453 Slim and uses a ETA sized hour and minute hand. The seconds hand is .21 so hands made for a 2824/2836 would have to have the tube slightly pinched to stay on. 18000 vph too. Mines doesn't have a quick set date so it is a one position stem. Bonus for no date builds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimcon11 Posted February 23, 2018 Report Share Posted February 23, 2018 7 hours ago, DVNE said: http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&0&2uswk&ETA_2453 Slim and uses a ETA sized hour and minute hand. The seconds hand is .21 so hands made for a 2824/2836 would have to have the tube slightly pinched to stay on. 18000 vph too. Mines doesn't have a quick set date so it is a one position stem. Bonus for no date builds. This is the route I went as well. You will probably need a movement ring for your new case. You can either buy the Yuki one for whatever they charge or modify the Silix one if you already have it. Its outer diameter needs to be decreased quite a bit, and slots need to be cut for the stem and movement tabs. These movements can be scavenged from out-of-vogue 50s and 60s dress watches fairly cheaply. One thing to be aware of is the hand height. The movement you get might have fairly short hand posts if it was in a small thin watch, but you will need to be able to clear the lume plots on your dial. I had this issue and it was hell getting it resolved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DVNE Posted February 23, 2018 Report Share Posted February 23, 2018 10 hours ago, jimcon11 said: This is the route I went as well. You will probably need a movement ring for your new case. You can either buy the Yuki one for whatever they charge or modify the Silix one if you already have it. Its outer diameter needs to be decreased quite a bit, and slots need to be cut for the stem and movement tabs. These movements can be scavenged from out-of-vogue 50s and 60s dress watches fairly cheaply. One thing to be aware of is the hand height. The movement you get might have fairly short hand posts if it was in a small thin watch, but you will need to be able to clear the lume plots on your dial. I had this issue and it was hell getting it resolved. The raffles 2824 ring is perfect and needs no mods. Only the 2836 rings (that are taller) need to be notched. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djulink Posted November 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2018 HI Gents, Time has passed and the ultimate Bond watch (imho) has finally came to me... To make a long story (That made me learn a lot about Rolex Sports Watches - Many thanks to you all), this journey started there: the inspiration Has already described: VN case "specially" engraved between the lugs and caseback (II.59); Last Batch Athaya Crown and Tube (better profile than the VN stock one); "special" dial configuration to match GoldFinger Movie by the one and only BC; the rhabillage was also done beautifully by BC; Clarks hands set relumed to mach dial by BC; ST 2130 Seagull ETA clone; spacer noded specifically; Sputim correct length and profile bars (cheers again mate!); old RAF strap from England, 20mm. I supposed, that is a good conclusion to this thread : la boucle est bouclée. Promise, the last one... Cheers ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimcon11 Posted November 19, 2018 Report Share Posted November 19, 2018 Ah, beautiful build, all the details are just right. I think you've reached the limit of what can be done reasonably without paying a fortune for gen parts. Now just start the aging process 😀 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phener9 Posted November 19, 2018 Report Share Posted November 19, 2018 Really nice build, just wear it now and get some pleasure from your work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Cordell Posted November 19, 2018 Report Share Posted November 19, 2018 Wear it on good health my friend ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capice Posted November 20, 2018 Report Share Posted November 20, 2018 love these pictorials....and the persistence of the OP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sogeha Posted November 21, 2018 Report Share Posted November 21, 2018 Well played Sir. That is a watch to be proud of Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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