treasurydept Posted January 25, 2008 Report Posted January 25, 2008 Do the stickers on the rotor of your HBB annoy you? Well me too, and I've finally done something about it. These stickers look terrible; they are the wrong font, too bold, usually applied crookedly and leave a sticky residue on the rotor where the glue drips. These stickers are my pet (and perhaps only) peeve with these HBB reps. I enlisted the help of a friend who works in graphic design, and another who is very good with water-slide decals and has a professional grade laser printer. Together, they've created a fix which I would say is about 95% accurate to gen. The only real difference is, of course, that mine is not actually engraved. The font, thickness of font, size of font, spacing between letters and placement on rotor are identical. To those who are not familiar with water-slide decals, they work the same way as temporary tattoos... the only difference is that they are MUCH higher quality and are permanent... they will not fade, crack or in any other way deteriorate with time. Arts and craft gurus use them to put photos on mugs and that sort of thing. I am a very anal person, and even I am EXTREMELY satisfied with this mod. You would have to look EXTREMELY close to tell that it wasn't engraved (almost loupe territory), and without a loupe you wouldn't be 100% certain that it wasn't engraved. The decal was cut in the EXACT same shape and size (shape of the letter 'C') as the weighted end of the rotor in such a way that it is seamless. Additionally, my friend finished the decal in such a way that there is absolutely no way to tell that there has been anything applied to the surface of the rotor (there are no edge lines). I have retained the original stickers just in case I ever need to send the watch back for repairs. Even though the decal is permanently fixed to the rotor, it can be removed if necessary. I can just scratch off the decal, re-apply the stickers and then send back for repairs!! THE PICTURES DO NOT DO THIS MOD JUSTICE!! I've tried to take some photos of the rotor both with and without the watch case backing but unfortunately I am not a professional photographer nor do I have professional equipment. The mod is EXTREMELY CLEAN and looks virtually identical to the gen, and I assure you that any smudges or marks on the rotor or crystal are simply specs of dust (I should have wiped them clean before taking these photos). This mod has given me a newfound appreciation for my HBB... Let me know what you guys think!!
drop Posted January 25, 2008 Report Posted January 25, 2008 Very interesting, how much do you want for a decal?
Pix Posted January 25, 2008 Report Posted January 25, 2008 Well, I'm sure there are many candidates for that mod !
Guest asad Posted January 25, 2008 Report Posted January 25, 2008 Good One! Now if you can some how do that for the Panerai's Mov't Txt. I am willing to Pay top dollar.
takashi Posted January 26, 2008 Report Posted January 26, 2008 Just FYI, the font is different from genuine HBB.
treasurydept Posted January 26, 2008 Author Report Posted January 26, 2008 Yeah I noticed that, but this is the absolute best that my friend could do. The only difference is that the gen's font is much more rounded, whereas mine is a little elongated. If you look at the letter 'O' you'll see what I mean. That being said, it is still an extremely accurate mod.
Pix Posted January 26, 2008 Report Posted January 26, 2008 Sure. The thinner font is already changing avlot. Besides the fact that it tends to look gen, it is said to hold better than simple stickers. And it's worth, just because the rep stickers are not absolutely well aligned...
Watchmeister Posted January 26, 2008 Report Posted January 26, 2008 Let us know whether you are going to offer them to others. The other question I would ask is whether anyone has a more accurate font and can supply it to TD. He clearly has a good process and if anyone can improve on the font it will benefit all. My HBB came with the misaligned rotor sticker as well and Ziggy was good enough to properly align it and clear coat it when swapping out the movement. God knows how I will get it off but I do hope you offer them.
treasurydept Posted January 26, 2008 Author Report Posted January 26, 2008 (edited) We searched through a whole bunch of fonts, and whilst they are 100% perfect when written normally (straight), they go elongated when you apply the curvature. We spent a great deal of time and could NOT overcome this problem, no matter what we tried. If you look closely at the gen 'HUBLOT' font, you'll notice that the writing has actually been custom designed. This is most evident when you look at the letters 'H' and 'U', where the two vertical lines of these letters are not parallel. Unfortunately, this is something that we could not replicate. If you guys have any other suggestions, I'd be more than happy to hear them. Edited January 27, 2008 by treasurydept
Pix Posted January 26, 2008 Report Posted January 26, 2008 Why not use Hublo instead ? Or deliver the T later...? Besides, Hublot is not only a brand, it's also a common name that means window (porthole) in French... Can this be forbidden ? I think that printing the name Hublot (under a shape which is obviously not a logo) is legal. It's applying the thing on a watch which is illegal. And that's the customer's issue. IMHO
yellomen Posted January 26, 2008 Report Posted January 26, 2008 I don't have a HBB yet, but if a sticker like this is being offered i would be interested... and even highly interested if someone could improve the font, like Kruzer suggests.
yellomen Posted January 26, 2008 Report Posted January 26, 2008 Um - the rotor bearing assy. is an equally big flaw on this one. You absolutely right Oliver, however this sticker is less a risk for the movement as the letter on the rotor might get loose and get stuck in the movement... with the sticker i think chances on that are more limited.
treasurydept Posted January 27, 2008 Author Report Posted January 27, 2008 I noticed that a few members refer to the decal as a 'sticker'. I just wanted to reassure that it is not in fact a sticker. A decal is many times thinner and permanent, and applied in a completely different way. Because it's much thinner, there are no 'edge' lines like a sticker. On top of that, it is completely invisible, whereas a sticker would probably reflect some light.
hiker01 Posted January 27, 2008 Report Posted January 27, 2008 Hi! How much would your freind charge to do the rotor markings of this PAM: Thanks!
treasurydept Posted January 28, 2008 Author Report Posted January 28, 2008 Hi guys, Due to such high demand I have decided to offer this Hublot Big Bang mod to all fellow members. If you are interested, please go ahead and send an email to: ds2208@hotmail.com Upon reply I will send you all of the details, terms and conditions. Thanks!!
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