RWG Technical Posted January 1, 2009 Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 Just finished various upgrades on this one. As much as I like to take credit for my workmanship, nothing to take credit for on this one as the parts are all gen: dial, hands, crown and the bezel insert. So I was only a parts changer, nothing more... Movement was serviced, and just in time. You know it's not going to be in good condition when the watch is not running, but there is still 50% of winding left in the mainspring barrel. Luckily there was no damage or worn out parts, just some old gummed up oil to be cleaned off and replenished. With all of these models, the bezel assembly can't be replaced with a genuine one as they are totally different sizes. The genuine bezel is about 5mm larger in inner diameter than the rep one, and will not attach to the case. To install the genuine bezel insert on the rep bezel assembly, requires a lot of machining of the back side of the bezel insert so it will fit flush with the rep bezel. It's interesting to note that the colour of the dial lume is slightly lighter than the hands lume. This is good to know, because I have installed a few gen dials but re-lumed the hands and ended up with the same effect. As with any Chieftang AR, this stuff is scary and is probably used as a steath technology somewhere... Overall view, under my powereful watchmaking lamp...not a hint of reflection anywhere...AR RULES Difference between dial and hands lume colour, it's slight but more pronounced in person with the hands being more yellow/green than the dial. Closeup of the gen crown and tube. Lume shot Thanks for looking. RG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b16a2 Posted January 1, 2009 Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 Outstanding results, another excellent franken PO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephane Posted January 1, 2009 Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 The UPO is a great watch. So adding gen parts, a Chief AR and a Ziggy lume is the icing on the cake. Lovely photos. Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickey Padge Posted January 1, 2009 Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 Wow what a treat! Fantastic watch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulw Posted January 1, 2009 Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 I probably went a little overboard with the gen parts on this one, rush of blood to the head. I guess. Thought about a gen crystal also but decided to go with chiefs AR and I'm sure I won't regret that decision. The pics look fantastic and I'm sure even better on the wrist. As usual I'm really grateful to Ziggy for his work and I think he's been a little modest about what he has done. That bezel wasn't a straight swap. Intersting point about the movement, the watch was brand new from one of our collectors and un-worn. Pays to have a service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nogodiggydie Posted January 1, 2009 Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 That is really gorgeous. I think I'm going to break down and buy me a genuine PO sometime this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman_Fred Posted January 1, 2009 Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 Awesome job !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
its_urabus Posted January 1, 2009 Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 that is amazing. I cant wait to mod my UPO more. Happy holidays M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanya Posted January 1, 2009 Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 awesome again .... as usual Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HauteHippie Posted January 1, 2009 Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 I probably went a little overboard with the gen parts on this one, rush of blood to the head. I guess. Thought about a gen crystal also but decided to go with chiefs AR and I'm sure I won't regret that decision. The pics look fantastic and I'm sure even better on the wrist. As usual I'm really grateful to The Zigmeister for his work and I think he's been a little modest about what he has done. That bezel wasn't a straight swap. Intersting point about the movement, the watch was brand new from one of our collectors and un-worn. Pays to have a service. I thought this one was yours. Looks great! I remember The Zigmeister saying recently that even OFrei is selling surplus ETA movements now, so I guess they're going to be like a box of chocolates no matter where you get 'em... Another interesting point on this watch, given that it was brand new, was that when it arrived for crystal extraction for AR, one of the dial markers had fallen off and was just loose inside the case. I think the gen dial was definitely the right choice here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patinga Posted January 29, 2009 Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 The Zigmeister (Or anyone else who might know): I read you had a tough time with the bezel insert. How hard would it be to just add a gen bezel on this watch? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HauteHippie Posted January 29, 2009 Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 The Zigmeister (Or anyone else who might know): I read you had a tough time with the bezel insert. How hard would it be to just add a gen bezel on this watch? Thanks. The bezel is a no go. But to get the gen insert you do have to buy the bezel+insert combo since they're not available separately. And once you have a properly positioned pearl on the insert, the bezel itself really doesn't matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patinga Posted January 29, 2009 Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 Thanks Chief. Exactly what I needed to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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