Kime Posted November 6, 2015 Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 About a year ago, I bought something from someone on ebay which started me on a journey… I think I bought a strap or something equally mundane but the seller asked if I would be interested in any other watch related parts as he was selling some stuff from his late father who was a watch enthusiast, collector and amateur, but skilled watch smith.One of the many things he offered me was “an old broken Tudor watch”. When I got the bad pictures the case wear looked good, the dial was a very poor copy which was worrying, the crown was not in the movement and the case was “not openable” so it was not possible to know what the movement was or if it worked, if the tube was good or the crown itself.He was selling it “as is” but it came with a bracelet that appeared to be a gen early pre 7206 rivet which could be correct to the case. It was fairly cheap, not super cheap but I thought in the worst case the bracelet alone should almost make me my money back.This is what I got… A very early PCG Tudor GIlt Sub... everything seems to be gen, the crown, tube, super domed plexi, case, caseback, insert (prob a later one), the bezel had a bad repair when I took it off but it appears to be gen (but I am not 100% sure there) and not only was the movement a gen 390 but it runs perfectly and even the hands appear to be gen gilt period, all be it lumed very very badly.The dial however was trash… so I started a hunt for an early gen gilt Tudor dial. After months of looking and WTBs I gave up on the gilt dial, I considered buying a rep… only Phong and MQ make decent ones, with MQ being the only real really close “true gilt” one but even that has inaccuracies and was something like 800USD.A few weeks ago I managed to find another early Tudor dial with great patina. Not correct to this watch but I figure a gen dial is far better in this case than a rep one. (debate begins on that point). Here are some pics which were a joy to take… the dirt, the wear, the little repairs, the honesty in the case is really nice to see.If anyone has any clues on those case back engravings (military?) please let me know.I hope you enjoy them... CaseCase backBezelDialSo the build begins… 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beachcomber Posted November 6, 2015 Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 Great, another Gen build! Love it!Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted November 6, 2015 Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 Great find, that's going to be a really nice watch with tons of character.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
508-Fanatic Posted November 6, 2015 Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 Wow - absolutely beautiful and the dial is great! Congratulations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanuq Posted November 6, 2015 Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 Beautiful. Want to double your money? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slay Posted November 7, 2015 Report Share Posted November 7, 2015 Wow, you've got amazing skills with the camera!! Cool build, looking forwardSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk By the way, I found this dial recently, but didnt pull the trigger. It seems to be a true gilt dial (probably not genuine though). Was around 200$. PM me if you want to know the seller!Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbane883 Posted November 7, 2015 Report Share Posted November 7, 2015 Congrats! Love that mid case and case back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dlf Posted November 7, 2015 Report Share Posted November 7, 2015 Awesome ... @slay that dial... The font isn't even printed straight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ogladio Posted November 7, 2015 Report Share Posted November 7, 2015 Love this kind of stories! Congrats on taking a long shot and pulling it off. I'd die happy just having that case, whatever you put in and around it will be beautiful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackflash Posted November 7, 2015 Report Share Posted November 7, 2015 So the build begins…Congrats! Looking forward to this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slay Posted November 7, 2015 Report Share Posted November 7, 2015 (edited) Awesome ... @slay that dial... The font isn't even printed straight.Show me a better dial for 120$ not sure what you mean by "not printed straight", maybe I have bad eyes... either way, I just wanted to help out by pointing to a decent alternative that has chapter ring + gold 4-lines Edited November 7, 2015 by slay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dlf Posted November 7, 2015 Report Share Posted November 7, 2015 For me it doesn't matter how cheap regardless.'Oyster prince' isn't horizontal .just an observation, apart from that it's a nice dial :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kime Posted November 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 (edited) Slay that dial is defo not genuine, who makes it?The problem I found with "high end" rep dials out there is that they seem to have the wrong fonts. The gen early gilt dials have a different font, compared to my white print dial, with "less" or no serifs in the 4 lines bottom half text, (well most of the ones I have seen don't anyway, I'm sure one will come out of the woodwork as soon as I have said that). It is the white printed dials (like the one I have) that have the noticeable serifs on the 4 lines text. The rep dials seem to have serifed fonts on the "gilt" dials but are incorrect. So in this case the nice serifs that MQs gilt dial has, which we normally curse the rep dials for not having lol, are not unwarranted and to my eyes look wrong. Edited November 8, 2015 by Kime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
droptopman Posted November 8, 2015 Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 Awesome find. Case looks to be in great condition. This is going to be a great build with loads of character and a really cool story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marrickvilleboy Posted November 8, 2015 Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 great find!Show us some pics after its assembled... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hugop Posted November 10, 2015 Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 The serifs on that dial are wonderful! Great find here, I would love to find one of these.Keep us posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beachcomber Posted November 10, 2015 Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 That case is simply stunning, I really think those are military engravings, Royalmarines? Don't know but it sure looks something like that. Hopefully someone will chime in. Have you posted the question over in VRF? They may have an answer for you.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beachcomber Posted November 10, 2015 Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 I was right! Royal Marines! Wow! http://www.terryaspinall.com/40cdo/medals/d.htmlSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Fucking awesomeSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Now you MUST restore that watch to 100% original, what a find. With the providence this watch is worth a lot more than you think. A Royal Marines commando watch traced back to camp base Burma is worth a smallFortune. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackflash Posted November 10, 2015 Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 This is getting better by the minute Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick1972 Posted November 10, 2015 Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 I agree, you have to restore the watch. What a great find! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mendota Explorer Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 Either the engraver or the author of that chart misspelled his name. The caseback reads "Dewey" but the chart reads "Dewy." His serial # matches though - 16597. Interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beachcomber Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 I tried variations of the name when I searched for it, I think it was probably incorrect on the website. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kime Posted November 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 I was right! Royal Marines! Wow! http://www.terryaspinall.com/40cdo/medals/d.html Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk[censored] awesome Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkNow you MUST restore that watch to 100% original, what a find. With the providence this watch is worth a lot more than you think. A Royal Marines commando watch traced back to camp base Burma is worth a smallFortune. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Wow What a history my little watch has... if only it could talk :-) this information is an amazing find... thanks for that !So it was part of the "40 Royal Marine Commando, Based at Burma Camp Malaya, 1962 to 1966". Certainly dates it correctly... were these watches service watches given by the military? I have to presume so?Well, I guess this should change from a "build" to a "restoration" :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beachcomber Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 Not even a rep screw should be put in this one. Definitely a total restore job. It's not going to be cheap but it will be well worth it once finished. You're welcome, anytime, that's what this forum is for.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kime Posted November 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 All parts I have at the moment are gen so that means so far so good. It only needs some bezel work really but such provenance does make me think a bit more about how will proceed that's for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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