Guest avitt Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 With contributions from no less than 15 different vendors or craftsmen, here's my latest iteration of the venerable 1665: The difference is in the details: Creamy, off-white lume. Matching hands. Bold, flat top date wheel. Pointy crown guards. Even, square on the inside corners. Crown nearly touches the case. Back of crown to case transition contoured. Case edges slightly rounded over. Drilled and eased lug holes. Tool marked case back. Significant distortion from massive, scarred and polished Supa Dome. 585 end links. 93150 hollow link bracelet. This was sort of the look that I was after: Recent eBay DRSD Auction Thanks for your comments! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 Is that the watchmeister's overlay? just wanted to verify that, it looks really good Avitt, that is the look I am after too with my DRSD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 Beautiful job avitt! Your end pieces look better than the ones on Interwatches DRSD! Nice bezel insert, datewheel, crown and tube and those pointed cg's are absolutely awesome. Fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avitt Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 Thanks guys! Yes, indeed, this is a Watchmeisters overlay. It looks great, but was not installed without difficulty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eunomians Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 I am very impressed (as usual) with your extraordinary attention to quality and detail(s). Avitt, that is one fine looking watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falco Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 Wow, that's really top stuff there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 With contributions from no less than 15 different vendors or craftsmen, here's my latest iteration of the venerable 1665: The difference is in the details: Tool marked case back. Thanks for your comments! Beautiful work, Avitt. I have a some questions about the case back. Is the case back gen or an MBW? And what do you mean by 'tool marked'? Do you mean that you added scratches (to make it look older) or did you have the text engraved to make it look more correct for a vintage 1970's watch? I removed the paint from my WM DRSD case back, which made it look alot better. But the engraving still does not look vintage and I am wondering how to improve it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avitt Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 I was just lucky with this case back, Freddy. I purchased this watch from Z80 in Dec of '05. I am at least the third owner, so the watch already had a few years of use under its belt. There were plenty of tool marks on the back. I didn't have to artificially age it at all. All I did was 1) remove the black paint, 2) polish out the majority of the scratches, and 3) apply the brushed finish to the outer circumference. I've had others comment on the quality of the case back engraving, but I didn't modify it in any way, except the polishing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 Maybe it is the photo or angle of the shot, but your case back engraving looks deeper and smoother (more like the type of engraving work that was typical in the 70's) than the machine engraving on my WM DRSD case back. Someone else posted photos of his DRSD rep several months ago and I think he said that he had used some type of tool to re-engrave the original MBW engraving on his case back and the result looked very gen. Unfortunately, I lost the posting and thought you might have dome something similar. Great job either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetsons Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 That is one fine piece of art, avitt! Fantastic looking piece you've created. I'm taken by the almost perfect symmetry of your CGs. Did you refinish the dial yourself as well? It looks terrific! It does take quite a few sources to source all the necessary parts. The collection process can be the most time consuming and frustrating to create one of these beauties . It's also not exactly easy on the wallet. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avitt Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 (edited) Thanks again, everyone. It's particularly satisfying for me to read your comments, as the list of posters in this thread reads like a Who's Who of legendary vintage Franken builders! I was fortunate to pick this dial up from Mr. Sherrington, who let it go when he made the switch to the GW dial. This is the one that was lumed by The Zigmeister, after which Sherrington actually sanded down all of the markers, by hand (using a tiny piece of sandpaper, glued the the tip of a toothpick). I had already overpainted the hands with a Revell Nightcolor. I'm lucky that everything matches closely in color, and (weak) lume quality. With regard to expense, I believe I saved quite a bit by doing all of the case work and assembly by myself. A quick tally of the parts comes to just under $800. (Of course, there was probably a couple of $hundred spent on parts that were not used, unsuitable, damaged, etc...That's the price of the learning experience). Edited April 11, 2007 by avitt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Looks GREAT!! A true masterpiece... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polexpete Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Looks GREAT!! A true masterpiece... Only a true masterpiece when you get the correct vintage crown. But a magnificent piece all the same. Nice one! P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
By-Tor Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Ditto what others have already said. It's outstanding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avitt Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Only a true masterpiece when you get the correct vintage crown. But a magnificent piece all the same. Nice one! P. LOL... The current crown was installed in 1987, when the watch was at the AD for service. It's much more water resistant than the original Twinlock, which is important, as this piece continues to function as an active "sports" watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polexpete Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 LOL... The current crown was installed in 1987, when the watch was at the AD for service. It's much more water resistant than the original Twinlock, which is important, as this piece continues to function as an active "sports" watch. Pretty sure all seadwellers are triplocks and surprised you got away with a AD service without them calling the cops... ??? Mind you in 1987 anything goes i guess... P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avitt Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Pretty sure all seadwellers are triplocks and surprised you got away with a AD service without them calling the cops... ??? Mind you in 1987 anything goes i guess... P. I was kidding about the AD...but it's obviously a plausible story, since you believed it I'm pretty sure the very first SD's had Twinlocks. At any rate, the current Triplock crown is appropriate for a vintage piece, that was regularly in for service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polexpete Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 I was kidding about the AD...but it's obviously a plausible story, since you believed it I'm pretty sure the very first SD's had Twinlocks. At any rate, the current Triplock crown is appropriate for a vintage piece, that was regularly in for service. Believe me i didn't believe it. The drsd isn't the very first SD but who cares. You have a fantastic piece and thanks for sharing. P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avitt Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 You have a fantastic piece and thanks for sharing. Thanks, Pete. And you're welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherrington Posted April 14, 2007 Report Share Posted April 14, 2007 Great job, Avitt. Nice to see the CORRECT numbered endlinks. They should be 585's and not 580's as some other members have on theirs. Correct numbered bracelet as well, I see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingkitesurf Posted April 15, 2007 Report Share Posted April 15, 2007 It might have been me who stated the way to adjust the caseback. I have posted pics also. You have to clear the aint first with a tippie and terpentine. Then you run a engraving bit over the letters to smooth the edges. Then polish it. Maybe it is the photo or angle of the shot, but your case back engraving looks deeper and smoother (more like the type of engraving work that was typical in the 70's) than the machine engraving on my WM DRSD case back. Someone else posted photos of his DRSD rep several months ago and I think he said that he had used some type of tool to re-engrave the original MBW engraving on his case back and the result looked very gen. Unfortunately, I lost the posting and thought you might have dome something similar. Great job either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avitt Posted April 15, 2007 Report Share Posted April 15, 2007 It might have been me who stated the way to adjust the caseback. I have posted pics also. You have to clear the aint first with a tippie and terpentine. Then you run a engraving bit over the letters to smooth the edges. Then polish it. Thanks for stepping up, kks. I remember our exchange after my original post, and your subsequent work...but I deleted the PM's, and didn't remember it was you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 It might have been me who stated the way to adjust the caseback. I have posted pics also. You have to clear the aint first with a tippie and terpentine. Then you run a engraving bit over the letters to smooth the edges. Then polish it. Yes, I think that was it. I would love to know more details about the engraving bit and the tool you used to re-engrave the case back. Whatever you did, it was a work of art. I remember looking at it and comparing to gen DRSD case backs and it looked absolutely flawless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avitt Posted May 10, 2007 Report Share Posted May 10, 2007 I took your suggestions to heart, and added a 1st generation Triplock (narrow, with deep shoulder ). I also took the opportunity to pop in a spankin' new, slow-beat, 2846 movement (21 jewel, non-hacking), tricked out with another WM datewheel (this one aligned even more precisely). There is now officially nothing left to be done to this watch except wear it ...(Unless, of course, Repaustria opens up shop for those Hev mods ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polexpete Posted May 10, 2007 Report Share Posted May 10, 2007 Fantastic! wear it well.... P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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