23 T Franken - just about done

[Watchmeister]

Couldn't resist showing the close to final 23. Many thanks to many folks who were helpful along the way. Basically Jimmy and gen now. One more round of bezel re-inking but otherwise this is the finished project.

Now this is where we take luck over skill - Check out the franken caseback versus a watch currently on the bay:

Franken

GEN

Obligatory Wristshots:

[HauteHippie]

[rolli]

not bad...kruz

nice piece

rolli

[jaykeem]

Not bad???

This one is awesome..I'd love to see these in real life one day!

[dluddy]

I think you need to list all of the genuine parts

....this thing is as good as it can get

[maxmilian]

amazing

[dluddy]

amazing

Good to see you back Max

[VDBroucke]

sweet watch...

i see a nice withe dial

[Watchmeister]

Thanks for the kind comments. I love the GMT's so this one is a labor of love. Gen parts include dial, hands, bezel, crystal, crown and cg. Case is Jimmy. Caseback is from honpo and actually has all the numbers within the correct ranges (bb too ). Movement is the super rare "Officne Panerai" movement.

[ravishingrick]

It is the best, closest and most beautiful PAM23 franken in the world, a true gem.

Wear it well.

[fishgodeep]

Priceless....and totally unique.....I'm in awe!!

Another masterpiece completed Kruzer!!!

Enjoy

[ubiquitous]

How could I have missed this one??

Wow!! I love it! The 029 GMT is one of my absolute faves; the simplicity of the 023T dial takes this to a whole different level.

Absolutely smitten...

[V]

Very nice watch Warren.. Not a GMT fan but this one is the least I can say .. GREAT

[peyups]

WOW.

[yellomen]

Yummie!! That's a beauty Kruzer

I'd only recommend to take another look at the crown.. the edges look more bevelled than the crown of the gen. Maybe the new T crowns will do?

[Watchmeister]

Thanks guys. I am satisfied with the crown on this one. You can argue whether it is gen or not but it is the only older crown available that fits perfectly into the gen case tube/crown guard set-up. T's new crowns are absolutely beautiful but they are built specifically for a rep case tube and as such don't have a spring loaded mechanism. On Luminor Frankens no "pop" - no Panerai for me. I may give in one day and put on a newer gen crown but they are getting tougher and tougher for me to source so I tread carefully with them.

[PAMman]

Very nice. An absolute gem. I know how hard it is to get all the bits to assemble a great Franken and I really love these GMTs. I have my 2893 029 on at the moment and it has the 'gen' auto crown, Finepics datwheel, correct size cyclops and The Zigmeister lume & build - I love it but the gen plain dial is something else.

[milsub5517]

are you going to re-lume this beauty?

[peyups]

I don't think he needs to relume it as it has a gen dial.

[Watchmeister]

This one is not a candidate for relume.

[TK471]

No way W would relume that beauty. Looks great, Kruz. A project that's definitely been worth the time, money and effort.

[turboGUATE]

I absolutly have no words for such effort on a great piece! Cheers Kruz!

(I've got to get myself a nice GMT PAM)

[alt.watch.obsessive]

There's a point where a rep with a few gen parts becomes a gen with a few "aftermarket" parts. I think this is the latter. Very nice.