Watchmeister Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 In the early days of Offshore reps the only option for proper seconds at 12 functionality was the limited edition MBW with proper movement and gen dial and hands. At the time they were close to $4,000 and out of my league. Than a few months ago another member offered up his in parts. With case, bracelet, dial and hands in hand, I then ran out and bought a new NOS donor watch for the movement. Finally, off to another generous forum member's wonderful case man for a custom movement holder. The last step will be to Ziggy for a couple of his magical touches... And here is the result and at a much more affordable price. And the obligatory wrist shot: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotoman Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 Classy piece i was making some popcorn though, waiting for a longer history lesson i was like ohhh, grab the blanket and popcorn here we go but, classy piece Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archibald Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 Now that is a beautiful piece!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sql_pl Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 Oh dear... don't want to rain on your parade W but your datewheel is extremely sunken! And that crown as well! :) :) Great rare piece! Wear it well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shundi Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 Very nice... what did you use for a donor watch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cc Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 is this the case from the MBW or is it a gen case?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 Nicely done Kruz. Can't wait to see the finished product Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted January 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 Very nice... what did you use for a donor watch? I used a Concord but there are 3 or 4 brands that use the same movement/module combination. CC- I used the MBW case, They made the necessary adaptations for the offset crown/pushers to the cases they used for the proect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosk Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 I used a Concord but there are 3 or 4 brands that use the same movement/module combination. CC- I used the MBW case, They made the necessary adaptations for the offset crown/pushers to the cases they used for the proect. I think the only give away is the hands...so the asian hands for the old asian 7750 fit the concord movement? I have a concord but was missing too many parts like the modified case and was not sure which hands set to use. Awesome project! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted January 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 I think the only give away is the hands...so the asian hands for the old asian 7750 fit the concord movement? I have a concord but was missing too many parts like the modified case and was not sure which hands set to use. Awesome project! If I understand your comment, you are right that the issue is the hands. This particular watch is using gen hands. I believe the 7750 hour, minute and main chrono hands from are way too small (to fit on the canon pinion - not dimensions). And you would need to modify the case for the lower crown resulting from the base movement chrono module set-up and finally fabricate a movement ring to mount the movement into the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalayclass Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 If someone wants a movement I have one for sell, it's a Bulova (ETA+DD) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katerchen Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 congrats kruzer for sure a classy watch and definitely a "class of its own"!! george Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iceberg1459 Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 which movt. did you use? i thought only jlc has movt. with that subdial placing i could only find concords with el primero movt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosk Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 which movt. did you use? i thought only jlc has movt. with that subdial placing i could only find concords with el primero movt The concord ventu has an automatic ETA 2892-A2 w/module with the correct spacing. Does the pictured APROO have the gen hands? The hour hand seems to have too large of a base like the currect sec @12 reps and the MBW sec @9. -bosk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted January 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 I can't tell you for sure as I bought it "as is" from another trusted member. I can tell you that the hands do fit the canon pinion like a glove which I have been told no other rep hands do. Interestingly, it has always been possible to find dials but the key hindrance has been the hands since you can't open the barrel of the hand enough to fit on the pinion and still have enough metal in place for the hand to stay secure. I suppose it is possible that MBW made custom hands for them though since they have ready access to those sort of things. So I will defer to the experts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosk Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 I can't tell you for sure as I bought it "as is" from another trusted member. I can tell you that the hands do fit the canon pinion like a glove which I have been told no other rep hands do. Interestingly, it has always been possible to find dials but the key hindrance has been the hands since you can't open the barrel of the hand enough to fit on the pinion and still have enough metal in place for the hand to stay secure. I suppose it is possible that MBW made custom hands for them though since they have ready access to those sort of things. So I will defer to the experts. The MBW hands on an old 21K asian movement could always fit the an ETA 7750 but I was never sure if they would fit the AP gen-like movement. Thanks for sharing the detail of this great project Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shundi Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 I used a Concord but there are 3 or 4 brands that use the same movement/module combination. CC- I used the MBW case, They made the necessary adaptations for the offset crown/pushers to the cases they used for the proect. Ah I see...can't wait to see the finished project!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iceberg1459 Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 concord ventu orig. AP Movt same price Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosk Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 concord ventu orig. AP Movt same price hmmm...that AP org movement shown is in "not working" condition....a hard gamble at 2K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archibald Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 concord ventu orig. AP Movt same price No doubt about it--this is an expensive project, and you have to patient. If you don't have one of the original MBW case, you'd probably start by buying the best rep you can find, then you have to get a machinist to make the case accept the movement and change the crown tube position. Then the hard part: find hands, a dial. The rest is easy but expensive...you pick up a ventu or other suitable movement-donor watch and pop it right in. Luckily, my smith is a (swiss) trained machinist, but even so, this piece took a couple of tries, just because it's difficult to predict where the crown hole needs to be--the ROO case is oddly shaped inside and out and difficult to measure. Interesting question about the 21J hands....was there an ROO rep w/ a 21J movement? I remember a quartz one, but not a "day date" version. If there was a way to use rep hands and rep dials, the project would still easier but my smith surmises that neither will work. Ultimately, going through the effort or not is your personal answer to the following question: How much time and effort is the correct crown position and a reliable movement worth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted January 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 concord ventu orig. AP Movt same price Actually, NOS Ventu's are readily available at less than half the price of a non-working AP movement. And Arch is right - you absolutely need a great smith/machinist who can re-tool a case (if you don't have the MBW) and make a custom movement ring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerthat Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 This is fantastic, can't believe I missed this earlier!!! Time for a bump for the franken. So the bezel and the bracelet are also gen? Please share you opinions on quality and appearance of the brushing, etc... of the gen bracelet, gen bezel and gen case vs. the MBW or seconds at 12 counterparts. Great watch. I saw a similar gen dial on the bay not long ago, it sold for a very reasonable amount, I stayed away becuase I did not know if I could do anything with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted March 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 I know you stayed away from the dial because it didn't come with the inner "Tachymeter" bezel and as such was useless. On the case and bracelet they are not gen. They are MBW and although the brush work is fairly good on their stuff this one is worth a rebrush. I also had the benefit of a gen AP to compare the brushing. It is funny that this topic came up as I have just sent it out to Ziggy for a dial and hands change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosk Posted March 14, 2009 Report Share Posted March 14, 2009 I know you stayed away from the dial because it didn't come with the inner "Tachymeter" bezel and as such was useless. On the case and bracelet they are not gen. They are MBW and although the brush work is fairly good on their stuff this one is worth a rebrush. I also had the benefit of a gen AP to compare the brushing. It is funny that this topic came up as I have just sent it out to The Zigmeister for a dial and hands change. I've move one step closer to this project as well. I managed to score a gen dial. I have the movement already. I only need a properly drilled case and perhaps hands Or if I can find a blue tachymeter bezel ring, I'd stick this dial in a sec at 12 and have a semi-vintage APROO. -bosk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chronus Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 I've move one step closer to this project as well. I managed to score a gen dial. I have the movement already. I only need a properly drilled case and perhaps hands Or if I can find a blue tachymeter bezel ring, I'd stick this dial in a sec at 12 and have a semi-vintage APROO. -bosk Any advice where to get the movement and dial? I have one of the original MBWs still in the wrapper and at one point almost got their expensive version...! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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