freddy333 Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 Just as I was about to walk out the door on my way to dinner, a package arrived containing the last piece to my DRSD puzzle (a dial). So, after some quick unpackaging, I did some equally quick parts swapping & completed 1 of my other grail watches..........with time to spare (to still make dinner). And here are the 1st pics of the completed project (with a friend) For comparison, this was my goal (though, after alot of soul searching, I opted not to bleach out the red text) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikellem Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 Absolutely Gorgeous! Only you could pull this off Freddy... Enjoy your new beauties. MM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanuq Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 Spectacular !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted January 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 Absolutely Gorgeous! Only you could pull this off Freddy... Enjoy your new beauties. Thank you. It took forever & there were more downs than ups, but it shows that perseverance does pay off. Spectacular !!! Only 'Spectacular'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted January 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 Wear that with pride, i love the white lume, what are the gen parts on this baby. and if you say all, i would not be supprised Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted January 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 Wear that with pride, i love the white lume, what are the gen parts on this baby. and if you say all, i would not be supprised Non-gen parts Dial (purchased early in 2008 from an ebay seller who only had the 1 & relumed (to my specifications) by Kent Parks & then vintagized (by me))Hands (relumed (by me) Clarks)Case (modded MBW with working Hev) & Caseback (modded Vietnamese)Crystal (Clarks Superdome)Insert (PMWF) & Pearl (Ofrei Illumines Dot) Gen parts Movement (freshly serviced 1575 calibre with NOS flat-3, brushed silver DW)Crown/tube (7mm Triplock 24-703-0)Bracelet (93150 Oyster with 580 end links) _______ Update - Hands have been replaced with Tritium gens. Oh, & it has been running within 1sec/24 hours (at least for 1 day). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vizsladog Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 awesome watch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanuq Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 She's a beauty. And that's a reeeeaaaallly nice dial! Tell me more about the red fading technique? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted January 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 She's a beauty. And that's a reeeeaaaallly nice dial! Tell me more about the red fading technique? Thanks. Yes, the dial makes the watch & takes this franken to a whole new level beyond its modded-MBW roots. This is the 1st (& only) aftermarket DRSD dial I have come across that got the crown & overall layout correct (not perfect, but close enough). (I only wish I could find the source so I could procure another.) And after Kent did his magic on the lume (there were a number of false-starts over 7 months, but he finally got it right (Ziggy - I only used Kent because you did not feel you would be able to do what I needed)) & I vintagized the dial, it looks sufficiently gen to have already fooled a senior TZ'r whose golden eye is rarely deceived (unfortunately, the slight glow from the lume I used on the hands gave it away.........but he was still quite taken aback & impressed). The fading technique involves masking the black areas with a special paint masking solution (used by professional art restorers) & then lightly brushing the red lettering with a bleach dampened Q-tip. Dangerous & requires steady hands & alot of patience, but it can be done. 1 of the reasons I chose not to fade the red lettering to match the gen model was because of the difficulty in bleaching only the red without affecting the adjacent black background (though this can be repaired to some degree). The other reason is that the natural fading that occurs on the red lettering is a very rare occurrence & I thought I was pushing my luck (& credibility) by going that route. Maybe for the next 1.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertk Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 Great work. That is a beauty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tribal Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 All I can say is fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted January 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 Great work. That is a beauty! All I can say is fantastic. With compliments from such long-time & knowledgeable members, all I can say is Thank You. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cats Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 I'm speechless. Wear it well and it will be worn with a lot a pride i assume Carpe Diem Cats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 That is a work of art. Wear it well. I always enjoy seeing pics of your projects:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zackb911 Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 Just Gorgeous! I have an un-modded MBW DRSD coming and this is definitely an inspiration! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shundi Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 Wow! Way to ring in the New Year!! That looks incredibly well put together! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torresp Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 Contratulations, all those 1665 highly modded with 1570 movements are the best IMHO. Just put a gen tritum hands and you will get one-of-a-kind watch. Well done mate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted January 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 I'm speechless. Wear it well and it will be worn with a lot a pride i assume That is a work of art. Wear it well. I always enjoy seeing pics of your projects:) Just Gorgeous! I have an un-modded MBW DRSD coming and this is definitely an inspiration! Wow! Way to ring in the New Year!! That looks incredibly well put together! Contratulations, all those 1665 highly modded with 1570 movements are the best IMHO. Just put a gen tritum hands and you will get one-of-a-kind watch. Well done mate! Thanks All. There were a number of options I considered, but, ultimately, decided against. 1 of these were to use gen tritium hands. There were a couple of reasons I decided against using gen hands. For 1 thing, after I relumed them with Bergeon lume paste, the gen hands I have seen just did not look much different from the Clarks hands I ended up using. So I saw little to be gained. Secondly, most of the tritium hands I found for sale had darkened with age & would not match the white index markers that I spent so much time, effort & money to have made that way. And NOS white hands are few & far between. Finally, when I factored in the cost of most of the gen handsets I found (typically between $200 & $400+) & compared that with the less than $20 cost to purchase & lume a set of Clarks, it just made no sense whatsoever to spend 10 to 20 times as much for nearly the same (visual) result. But I can see why some might see value in just knowing their hands are gen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cib0rgman Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 That is some watch you got there. Congrats on that beauty. I have a MBW SD that The Zigmeister installed a 1570 on it but the date sometimes does not align well on the dial window. I am wondering the MBW dial Date window is smaller and position a little bit to the right in comparison with your dial. the only thing that bothers me. Regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted January 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 That is some watch you got there. Congrats on that beauty. I have a MBW SD that Ziggy installed a 1570 on it but the date sometimes does not align well on the dial window. I am wondering the MBW dial Date window is smaller and position a little bit to the right in comparison with your dial. the only thing that bothers me. The MBW dial was designed for an ETA movement, which places the center point of the date at a slightly different location. If you replace the MBW dial with an NDTrading or another good aftermarket dial that is made to fit a 157x calibre, it should align correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cib0rgman Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 I guess that NDT are better than MBW. Just what I need it to hear. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted January 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 I guess that NDT are better than MBW. Just what I need it to hear. Better insofar as they are made to fit the gen 157x movement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanikai Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 You've created a true Gem Freddy !! Congrats to you and your DRSD Live Strong and Wear it Well L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted January 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 Thanks for the kind words, Lani. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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