deltatahoe Posted April 5, 2007 Report Share Posted April 5, 2007 hi guys, i was wondering if anybody has ever tried fitting a 203 case with an upgraded sapphire crystal. i was thinking about trying the davidsen fiddy crystal, but when i emailed joshua he mentioned the 203 is from a different maker than the 127 and he wasn't sure if it would fit... he also mentioned he could sell me a fiddy case w/ sapphire crystal; any thoughts on whether the 203 dial & movement would fit in the fiddy case without major modifications? anybody have any thoughts / suggestions on this? let me know... deltatahoe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t Posted April 5, 2007 Report Share Posted April 5, 2007 has Joshua the correct brown 203 dial? Or the wrong black dial like all others? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sssurfer Posted April 5, 2007 Report Share Posted April 5, 2007 @deltatahoe: Fiddy's sapphire crystal fits in the 203. I did it. I got that crystal from a member and I do not know where he did take it from, though. @tourbillon 1801: Joshua advertises all his 203 as with black dial. The only one who advertises a brown dial 203 is Andrew. I asked him, and he replied he has not that model anymore and it is out of production. I might have found another possible source for the last pieces available w/ brown dial. But considering what happened to me with an Angelus movement that I found on the bay, I'm not going to reveal my source (if ever) until I'll have the watch in my hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t Posted April 5, 2007 Report Share Posted April 5, 2007 @deltatahoe: Fiddy's sapphire crystal fits in the 203. I did it. I got that crystal from a member and I do not know where he did take it from, though. @tourbillon 1801: Joshua advertises all his 203 as with black dial. The only one who advertises a brown dial 203 is Andrew. I asked him, and he replied he has not that model anymore and it is out of production. I might have found another possible source for the last pieces available w/ brown dial. But considering what happened to me with an Angelus movement that I found on the bay, I'm not going to reveal my source (if ever) until I'll have the watch in my hands. best whishes with your angelus project. Nice to see pics soon. i would love this brown dial, but no one can get it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltatahoe Posted April 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2007 thanks for the responses guys....good to know re: the fiddy crystal fitting in the 203 case. i'm not that concerned about the brown dial -- i just like the look of the watch & would like to have an AR coated sapphire crystal... brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sssurfer Posted April 5, 2007 Report Share Posted April 5, 2007 i would love this brown dial, but no one can get it Well, I just ordered two pieces instead of one. If they both arrive and are as expected, and if by chance you happen to have two movements, we might think about an arrangement of some kind... :D :D :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltatahoe Posted April 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2007 @sssurfer, no love for the opening poster? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmcsherry Posted April 5, 2007 Report Share Posted April 5, 2007 I'm also thinking of the AR upgrade. The brown dial was only available on the 6497 movement, the auto rep of the 203 is much better because of the sub-dial spacing (almost exactly the same as an Angelus 240 - ie. a perfect project!), so the numbers look closer. Also, the dial was too brown, it should be a desaturated tobacco shade - if I can get hold of a supply of auto dials for a Panerai, I'm thinking of getting them reprinted to the correct colour and design... it'd look so much better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sssurfer Posted April 5, 2007 Report Share Posted April 5, 2007 @sssurfer, no love for the opening poster? Sure, I'll love anyone who can provide me with an SF240 -- or even just a decent replacement to mod to resemble the real thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t Posted April 9, 2007 Report Share Posted April 9, 2007 I'm also thinking of the AR upgrade. The brown dial was only available on the 6497 movement, the auto rep of the 203 is much better because of the sub-dial spacing (almost exactly the same as an Angelus 240 - ie. a perfect project!), so the numbers look closer. Also, the dial was too brown, it should be a desaturated tobacco shade - if I can get hold of a supply of auto dials for a Panerai, I'm thinking of getting them reprinted to the correct colour and design... it'd look so much better! Hi Ross but you think the case auf asian auto 203 will fit for angelus? They are the same case like unitas but with movement inner ring? Or this case are special made for asian auto movement? A case for asian auto movement will not fit for angelus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmcsherry Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Hi Ross but you think the case auf asian auto 203 will fit for angelus? They are the same case like unitas but with movement inner ring? Or this case are special made for asian auto movement? A case for asian auto movement will not fit for angelus. The Asian Auto cases are pretty horrible anyway - especially if you're going to the lengths of putting a 240 in there! An E0117 case with display back, AR sapphire etc. would be the only way to go. I was just illustrating the point that the auto dial is much closer to an Angelus than a unitas is, and therefore in my opinion it looks much nicer. The movement ring is plastic, and the movement is tiny - an Angelus would need the 36.5mm inner diameter, it looks like this would have to be custom made from steel stock. Go on Tourby, you know you want to make a perfect 203! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 The Asian Auto cases are pretty horrible anyway - especially if you're going to the lengths of putting a 240 in there! An E0117 case with display back, AR sapphire etc. would be the only way to go. I was just illustrating the point that the auto dial is much closer to an Angelus than a unitas is, and therefore in my opinion it looks much nicer. The movement ring is plastic, and the movement is tiny - an Angelus would need the 36.5mm inner diameter, it looks like this would have to be custom made from steel stock. Go on Tourby, you know you want to make a perfect 203! Hi Ross i don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sssurfer Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 Ok, I received one of the two 203 w/ brown dial that I ordered and I may confirm it is as expected. Brown dial actually. So, to anyone interested, the source is: tonyxkf (from HK). Email: tonyxkf@hotmail.com You may see his pieces and prices on CQout (but he prefers to get in touch via email). The 203 is at: http://www.cqout.com/item.asp?id=2536174 at a very convenient price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltatahoe Posted May 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 thanks sssurfer. are you planning on putting an AR coated fiddy crystal in this watch by any chance? would be good to confirm if this would work with this particular 203 case. deltatahoe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sssurfer Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 thanks sssurfer. are you planning on putting an AR coated fiddy crystal in this watch by any chance? would be good to confirm if this would work with this particular 203 case. Uhm... I actually plan to transplant the brown dial into the whole case+movement+crystal ensemble of my current 203 (that already has a sapphire crystal). I just have some doubts about the placement of the small second hand, as I heard it could be not exactly the same in the manual and the auto movement. At a first look it looks the same, though. I think I'll submit the matter to my watchsmith then I'll decide... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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