1680 Red Submariner Project

[hanski]

I’ve just wrapped up (for now) another one of my ongoing projects - a 1680 Red Submariner. Inspired by some of the mid-70’s versions I’ve seen on Chrono24, etc I imagine this was a fairly well care-for watch serviced several times with a replacement, service dial and insert. Case isn’t too beat up and isn’t over-polished. 

The specs on the project: 

- JK Factory Case, Caseback, 93250 Bracelet, Open 6/9 Datewheel and Dial (purchased from TrustyTime)

- Clark’s 25-127 Crystal

- WSO Bezel Assembly

- Athaya 702 Tube and Crown

- WSO 580 Endlinks

- Sellita SW-200-1 Movement

- Raffle’s Time Hand Set

I relumed the hand set, pearl, and dial to match. Pearl was lumed then finished with clear coat of binder for durability and gloss. Like my other vintage project, I went for a vintage tone lume a high-intensity, green glow. Insert has been very lightly bleached, just enough to eliminate the gloss finish. Crown guards have been squared off in the front, case was lightly aged via a tumble in a bag of screws, all exposed edges were eased, and case was repolished. Athaya tube installed with Blue Loctite and tube hole countersunk to ensure tight fit of crown when screwed down. SW200-1 was purchased from a fellow member but needed the keyless works to be repaired. I repaired the keyless works then installed H5 second wheel, minute cannon, and hour cannon along with a date wheel from an ETA2836-2. Dial was fitted with a slightly thicker dial spacer. This modification allowed me to fit the slimmer SW200-1 into a case designed for an ETA2836-2 while maintaining stem alignment. Everything has been installed as friction fit, gaskets sealed and siliconed. Bracelet has been minimally aged. 

Sometime in the future I will likely swap out the DW Overlay and Dial for better quality. Working with a Ruby’s Watch dial on my 1675 project, the quality difference is super obvious. I should also get around to doing a water resistance test - I’d like to know how water resistant I’ve built this. I honestly worry the most about the crown tube since I countersunk the top edge but otherwise feel good about things. 

Here’s some pics, thanks for looking! 

[thecloudhopper]

Wow! Looks great!


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[synaptyx]

One of my favourite Subs ever. Stunning work.


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[daovto]

What you have done with the dial... wow, looks great. That is how lume should look

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[hanski]

1 hour ago, MRWOZZA70 said:

What you have done with the dial... wow, looks great. That is how lume should look

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Thanks! I didn't do too much to it. Outside of the unintended scuff marks of a novice watch hobbyist I only relumed the dial. I have considered adding a matte lacquer spray for some texture but I haven't gotten to it yet. Right now the white logo/branding has a nice gloss and is slightly raised. I don't want the spray to detract from that. 

[hanski]

Updated my 1680 build with the VN dial (relumed, shaved to fit case, and dial feet soldered on) and a pip made from scratch (tiny ball of lume covered in epoxy 330). 

 

[Nanuq]

Wow. Just...... wow! Beautiful!

[hanski]

11 hours ago, Nanuq said:

Wow. Just...... wow! Beautiful!

Thanks! It’s an honor to get the attention and compliments of a vintage expert like yourself! 

Frustratingly the VN date window doesn’t align with the stock cartel DWO. I need to get a new one to satisfy my OCD. 

[ohmer]

Hello, 

I have a JKF 1680, the crystal that came with it broke, I got a Clark 25-127, its inner diameter is bigger than the original one.

How are these plexi crystal fitted? Is there a crystal that will fit this case? Any tricks to fit it?

The watch by Hanski is absolutely beautiful, stunning.
Thank you very much for your time.

[hanski]

10 hours ago, ohmer said:

Hello, 

I have a JKF 1680, the crystal that came with it broke, I got a Clark 25-127, its inner diameter is bigger than the original one.

How are these plexi crystal fitted? Is there a crystal that will fit this case? Any tricks to fit it?

The watch by Hanski is absolutely beautiful, stunning.
Thank you very much for your time.

Interesting. When I built this project, the Clarks crystal fit snugly on the case but the OD was smaller than the JKF retaining ring. I had to get a different bezel assembly. 
I would guess tolerances of either Clark’s or JKF are not perfect and something changed. Try getting a different 25-127 crystal. Try Ofrei. See if you have the same problem. If that’s the case, then it’s the case. in which case you should measure the OD of the rehaute. Then look in a GS catalogue for a crystal with the right sized ID. 
That or you could always glue it - not my preferred method though. 

[ohmer]

Thank you very much for answering, hanski.

Where did  you source the bezel assembly?

Thanks again.

[ohmer]

I found the assembly from a supplier in TX. I will try a crystal from Ofrei first.

Thanks again.

[hanski]

1 hour ago, ohmer said:

I found the assembly from a supplier in TX. I will try a crystal from Ofrei first.

Thanks again.

Yes, WSO (wholesaleoutlet) is a good source for a decent bezel assembly. Watchman our of California is also decent. 
If you are considering spending a bit extra, Minh Quy or Jewelry and Watch (JAW or Phong) are both more expensive but better quality. Their inserts are also better. 

[ohmer]

Thank you hanski,

I appreciate your time, help and all the info.

Your 1680 red is a beauty, it is what I want to achieve, or at least close to it.

Thanks again.

 

[Phener9]

I admire you’re work and if I had the skill and patience  maybe I could own one.

enjoy your watch its very desirable.  Congrats.

[italiancat]

Wow..
My true congratulations for a very stunning watch..
Can’t really find anything I don’t love in it.
Great work!


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[Nanuq]

This is such a great result ... have you thought about your hands?  With that nice Vietnam dial maybe you should step up the hands a notch and go for a tapered seconds hand.  It's subtle but it's part of the final finished look.

 

[Dan71]

[mention]Nanuq [/mention] I have never understand what mean tapered second hand ..
Do you mean the shape of the hands is narrow on the point than the base ?

[hanski]

1 hour ago, Dan71 said:

[mention]Nanuq [/mention] I have never understand what mean tapered second hand ..
Do you mean the shape of the hands is narrow on the point than the base ?

See the taper from the lime plot to the tip? 

9 hours ago, Nanuq said:

This is such a great result ... have you thought about your hands?  With that nice Vietnam dial maybe you should step up the hands a notch and go for a tapered seconds hand.  It's subtle but it's part of the final finished look.

 

Agreed, it would have set that one off. I’ve since sold it. Moved on to other projects: 

 

[Dan71]

Ok now I can see it ..

[censored] now i have to change it on my 1680 and 1665..

But which seller for this second hands pointed for 2836 movement? Or a complete set..

[ohmer]

Wow!!! In looks great on a jubilee, bracelet. Beautiful.

[Nanuq]

Unfortunately, the hours and minutes hands are slightly off too.

 

That's the problem with going to the Nth degree with a build, there's always  something  you can do better to make it look more realistic.  Once you've gone this far, you need to call it good, or go ahead and take it to the end.  There are several tutorials here that show the differences between different hands sets.  You'll want a set with an asymmetrical triangle tip to the hours hand, and a minutes hand that extends to the minutes ring.  Then you'll have to decide if the age you're representing with the watch needs flat or "curved" hands.

 

This is the logical conclusion of a high end build.  Once you start throwing big money at it with rarely sourced parts, you really need to go ahead and take it to the finish line.

 

[hanski]

On 3/30/2020 at 1:17 AM, Nanuq said:

Unfortunately, the hours and minutes hands are slightly off too.

 

That's the problem with going to the Nth degree with a build, there's always  something  you can do better to make it look more realistic.  Once you've gone this far, you need to call it good, or go ahead and take it to the end.  There are several tutorials here that show the differences between different hands sets.  You'll want a set with an asymmetrical triangle tip to the hours hand, and a minutes hand that extends to the minutes ring.  Then you'll have to decide if the age you're representing with the watch needs flat or "curved" hands.

 

This is the logical conclusion of a high end build.  Once you start throwing big money at it with rarely sourced parts, you really need to go ahead and take it to the finish line.

 

You had to go and say something about the hands...how about now? 

 

[Nanuq]

OK, that seconds hand is much better.  I like the hours hand but the minutes hand seems more like a "Maxi" minutes than the nice skinny hand that came in the mid 70s.  Compare what you have with the photo of my Nastymariner.  My minutes hand looks 2/3 as wide as yours.

 

And what's with the spelling on your dial?  Did someone skip the QC photos?   

 

[Justasgood]

4 hours ago, Nanuq said:

OK, that seconds hand is much better.  I like the hours hand but the minutes hand seems more like a "Maxi" minutes than the nice skinny hand that came in the mid 70s.  Compare what you have with the photo of my Nastymariner.  My minutes hand looks 2/3 as wide as yours.

 

And what's with the spelling on your dial?  Did someone skip the QC photos?   

 

 

 

Shame on you....Don't you have some wildlife to provoke? 🙂