thewightstuff Posted August 24, 2007 Report Share Posted August 24, 2007 (edited) finally got back after 3 months away with work and back to working on my 6152/1 project. its taken some time and fiddling about using a 1950 case as the foundation as i much prefer its shape against the original than other options particularly with regards to the case recess for the CG feet. its got a nice 616 in there, some gen hands, plexi front, display caseback, alot of case work and a dial that im getting there with though its a long process, particularly with having the original hands lume material as the marker for the dial numerals to match against. snaps arent the best though to be honest its not my strong point anyways. its much nicer in the flesh.....honest. wanted to give it a look much like most of the 3646 going about that actually were used for purpose. im sure all the vintage fans have seen the xpane pdf with some great pics just need to get davidsen to work on his engraving on his dials so that the text font actually looks like the original and i'd be a happy man. lots of room for improvement, i think this will be a continuing work in progress however with gen parts being pretty much impossible its frustratingly DIY for the most part. anyone got any tips, thoughts, points to rectify etc they are all welcome. ive been looking at this thing and gen pics so long ive gone cross eyed. thinking out loud i wish someone would make a case with a screw on front bezel instead of the press fit. room for improvement with my movement install. might need to try a mk2 spacer ring or chase down flavorflav as he does some great work. huge thanks needs to go out to marco, both for his help, morale support, inspiration and being a friend. Edited August 28, 2007 by thewightstuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VDBroucke Posted August 24, 2007 Report Share Posted August 24, 2007 absolutly nice this beauty,looks very old i love vintage and work selfmade but is with engrave of movt? Cortebert or Rolex? engrave brevetatto of caseback? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewightstuff Posted August 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2007 (edited) its a cortebert with the wheel changed for a non engraved one. i did go through a spell where i thought about trying to have a rolex bridge added or rolex engraved there but decided it wasnt really necessary and any engraving would ruin the movement. if i find a rolex movement i will swap it out. the earlier watches didnt have rolex engraving so im not too fussed though it would be nice for sure to see that name through the back window marking its heritage. i agree ref brevetatto on the caseback. id like to get this added thats for sure but am out of places to have it done where it will look authentic. skills like that are getting few and far between just like most things. theres a million places can engrave by numbers if you will, bog standard template work but cant take on the more artistic jobs. getting a spacer ring a few years back in sure would have been easy enough and most watch workshops could have knocked one out. now you are left trying to make one oneself as watchmakers dont know the first place to start nor have the inclination sadly. any ideas? the straps not cutting it for me either though i will tackle it next. either hand make with some old leather or scour paneristi Edited August 24, 2007 by thewightstuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madasboot Posted August 24, 2007 Report Share Posted August 24, 2007 Welcome back to this side of the pond!! A real stunner! I will vintageize you a dial if you want and also can get that bridge engraved. best, M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VDBroucke Posted August 24, 2007 Report Share Posted August 24, 2007 look authentic is brevetatto or stainless steel caseback with engrave selfmade i have my watches selfmade engrave my movts is not authentic,better with caseback stainless steel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skcheng Posted August 24, 2007 Report Share Posted August 24, 2007 I love the watch. It looks really awesome. The plain wheel on the 616 looks better and better to me!! The dial is REALLY vintageized whereas mine is lightly done, but I like it. It looks like it spent plenty of time in the ocean with the Flottiglia Mas Great watch!!!! sherwin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmg Posted August 24, 2007 Report Share Posted August 24, 2007 Very nice job N. Do you think a little more case aging might balance it out with the patina of the dial? You might consider a Zeugma Strap like this, or GeF is makes a GPF repro buckle strap -it would complete it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madasboot Posted August 24, 2007 Report Share Posted August 24, 2007 I love the watch. It looks really awesome. The plain wheel on the 616 looks better and better to me!! The dial is REALLY vintageized whereas mine is lightly done, but I like it. It looks like it spent plenty of time in the ocean with the Flottiglia Mas Great watch!!!! sherwin Hey Sherwin! Your stuff will be ready soon. I will try to source you also the plain wheel. Marco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t Posted August 24, 2007 Report Share Posted August 24, 2007 Hey Sherwin! Your stuff will be ready soon. I will try to source you also the plain wheel. Marco why a plain wheel Marco???... why not a sun bursted wheel like this : Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madasboot Posted August 24, 2007 Report Share Posted August 24, 2007 why a plain wheel Marco???... why not a sun bursted wheel like this : My dear Tourby... where did you get those wheels!? I am trying to find a couple of them. Can you help me? I would love you forever Marco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slay Posted August 25, 2007 Report Share Posted August 25, 2007 his watchmaker makes them like that I think =))))) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewightstuff Posted August 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2007 (edited) thanks for all the comments guys. i left the dial outside in the sun and weather covered with some dirt while i was away and dusted it off when i got back. it looks less crusty in real life somehow but i didnt want to clean it too much until i had some reference point to work against. same with the case as TMG spotted too. you are definately right that its just not right by any stretch. its newness really bugs me but how to age one properly? my gen vintage rolex subs are worn in but not all dings and scratches so clearly just beating it up isnt the answer to this problem. they are just softer somehow for want of a better word but still nice and clean. i was fortunate to get a look at a really good range of gens, both 6152 and 3646 over the weekend (if only i had had a mask and could run quicker, handling over 10 different gens was amazing and frustrating all at once) and now have a real idea ref moving forwards. they were all really polished, none were brushed at all which means i can "age" my case by just sanding heavily and buffing it up to soften it down....i hope. im going to do it this week. dials ranged from mint to obviously used but none were as "dusty" as mine so im going to address that by just cleaning the face up some more. markers on mine are pretty good. the varnish has worked nicely combined with the weathering so im pretty pleased there especially with regards to matching the hands for colour and texture. i'll need to get a blank dial to use for version 2 now though since the engraving is wrong on this davisen version and even filled in with black its still there and irking me. an engraved radiomir dial with correct font would be great but where to source? theres plenty of good pics around so you think it wouldnt be too hard.... as for straps, im working on that but am always appreciative of suggestions. ive sourced (i think) a gen GPF buckle and am just trying to look for an old strap. theres a few pop up but im always too slow but i may have it licked this time round. will post more when i have some info. the one on there is a nice strap in its own right, its a greg stevens crazy horse but it is a weak point on this vintage project for sure. my case back is too thin is the one annoyance im going to struggle with. the gens were thicker metal, noticeably so, and my non brevatto engraving i need to address too but i am out of ideas at the moment with that. with it being a 1950 case theres limited alternatives sadly though the greater accuracy of the case itself is worth this small point. marco, that would be great ref the movement engraving. let me know details etc. did you ever get the dial i posted you? if not let me know and i will send you another as i got a package with a few over while i was away. Edited August 27, 2007 by thewightstuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skcheng Posted August 27, 2007 Report Share Posted August 27, 2007 First of all, I think your watch looks great. I tend to prefer the "newer" looking vintage watches, but I can truly appreciate the hard work and effort it took to create an "aged" look. But most of the vintage watches I see have a thinner font. My Marina Militaire dial has the thinner font and Marco carefully vintageized the entire dial, and not just the numerals. I have a lot of vintage style straps. I really like the look of the Kevin/BigB ammo straps but I've never owned one. I also have a few of the Simona Vintage Tan straps which are really nice. Just great leather and very well made strap. Marco recently brought me a very thick Italian vintage leather strap and I love that too. The Greg Crazy Horse I love too.....but I think that strap looks nicer on my newer PAM. I have three of those with different color stitching. ' Angus/Davidsen and others sell the Brevettato caseback which is nice and I'm currently looking for just a plain polished SS caseback. I have Marco's plexi crystal for the caseback and I love it. Looks and feels GREAT!! That's about it. I think you've covered all of the bases. You'll have to spend $150K for the GEN to get a little closer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewightstuff Posted August 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2007 i can definately see the beauty in the newer looking vintages, many of them are still in great condition but i personally just find myself drawn to the more beat up end of the scale for some reason. who knows why when you say thin font, are you meaning the type face on the dial itself or the numerals? im definately going to take marco up on his offer ref vintagizing me a dial. i love the look of his watches. they really are inspirational. i agree definately with strap choices, theres a few people making great ones, and many doing home made ones that look stunning. i really like my crazy horse but agree that it looks much more the part on modern ones like the 1950. ive got a solid caseback here that i got from marco that doesnt fit my case. i'll send it your way to see if it helps with yours. im sort of screwed ref options with mine. with it being a 1950 case as the foundation davidsens dont fit and neither do any of the other alternatives ive seen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewightstuff Posted August 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2007 (edited) couple more quick ones, moving forwards slowly. Edited August 28, 2007 by thewightstuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earlgrey-erfurt Posted August 28, 2007 Report Share Posted August 28, 2007 the next looks awesome too like forgotten in the Mediterranean Sea for many years little beside Alexandria cheers from germany helmut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cucumber_Jones Posted August 31, 2007 Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 Awesome work - I aprove! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leitztozeiss Posted August 31, 2007 Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 Very nice wightstuff. Geez, it's been so long, I forgot that I have a 6152/1 and Cal. 616 still waiting for assembly with finepics. I'll have to give him a call in the morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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