freddy333 Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 Ken - Another option for the strap would be to keep the Rolex buckle, which looks good, & pick up the strap of your choice at just about any jewelers or shopping mall watch kiosk. Replace the strap's generic buckle with the Rolex buckle, fit the strap to your case & you are done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken fingerlove Posted April 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 Freddy, if I could find the strap I was looking for in any jeweler's, I would buy one, believe me. Don't think I haven't looked. I figured that since this is probably going to end up being the most expensive watch I own, I should get the strap I really want. (if you want a hint, this is from a certain Parisienne leather boutique). Yeah, the buckle does look good - the markings are all right, and it feels right, too. It'll go on the _right_ strap when it eventually arrives! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken fingerlove Posted June 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 And some progress "Managed to get the movement to fit inside the case eventually, after turning out the inside diameter slightly. Just need to set the clearance up for the dial now (so that the movement doesn't bear down on the dial when secured in place) and then onto the pushers and hands. The dial fits the movement o.k (must be a reworked Valjoux one). Will hopefully finish off this week now if all goes well." He reckons the hands fit fine, but as other people have found, I'm expecting there to be some issues with the pushers' thread pitch. He was telling me that the cousins crystal I sent him would be almost identical (if not OEM) to the gen crystal. He reckons there are only two or so factories in the world making these, so it would be surprising if it wasn't identical. He was very scathing of the 'rolex' bridges supplied with the kit. He thinks they are unuseable - they've been ground down to remove whatever engraving was there before, and now they're so thin they'll hardly even accept a jewel. So I guess the movement will have to remain as is, until I win the lottery and can justify thousands on a gen bridge - har har. Perhaps it'll be finished in time for my first day in my new job next Monday. I'm just glad he's started it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 Good to hear things are moving along. I would not lose any sleep over the branding on the bridges. Only you & your watchmaker will ever see them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 I've heard about those Rolex bridges being bad in the past quite a few times. I agree w/ freddy, don't worry about it. It's more important to spend money servicing the movement than to worry about correct bridges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chronus Posted June 29, 2009 Report Share Posted June 29, 2009 Hope the project is going well.. I'm in the same city as you, and wondering if I should go through the same process as you. I have the "donor" watch already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken fingerlove Posted July 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 So it's been 6 months since I started buying parts, and still no watch. Watchmaker is waiting for a new stem to arrive, he'll re-thread that, and then he reckons that will be it finito. And yes, he says he did have some issues with the threads on the pushers. It actually looks like I might get it before the WM9/BK DeepSea. Extraordinary! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken fingerlove Posted July 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Hope the project is going well.. I'm in the same city as you, and wondering if I should go through the same process as you. I have the "donor" watch already. I'd love to be any help I could, but I pretty much bought stuff and sent to to my watchmaker. He was in two minds as to whether he should take it on, in case anyone found out. He says he definitely wouldn't do another one, so I can't even give you his details. Are there ever London GTGs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chronus Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 I'd love to be any help I could, but I pretty much bought stuff and sent to to my watchmaker. He was in two minds as to whether he should take it on, in case anyone found out. He says he definitely wouldn't do another one, so I can't even give you his details. Are there ever London GTGs? There were a couple a few years ago. One in Milton Keynes I believe. I can't remember who organised that one, but there may be pictures on RWG1. There was a small one in Holborn just after that and the likes of V, Exper, Finepics, Kasigi (who hasn't been around for a while?), were there. There may still be pictures around. I remember taking my RXW Plasmir Milgraph there, and V had his 212 back then with the Hirsch Trieste deployant strap, relumed by finepics, and finepics with his beloved PAM127 ... those were the days Apologies to anyone I didn't list, my memory is hazy, and I got there a while later than everyone else, so may have missed a few. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken fingerlove Posted August 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2009 well, a month ago my watchmaker said all he had to do was fit the stem. That appears to have been slightly misleading. I rang him this morning, and the incomplete list of things he's had to do in the last month include 1) refinishing all the hands - he didn't like the painted hands, so stripped them and blacked them properly. He also had to broach all the hands to the correct size, and is currently having problems with the hour hand (which he has to fix after bending the tube), and is anticipating problems with the chrono second hand because it has to fit perfectly. 2) shortening the pushers - the pokey thing in the pushers was too long, so he shortened it 3) had to do some watchmakery magic with the movement holder screws - he made some into half screws (I'm not sure I understood the reasoning for this, but some of you guys might - something to do with this not being a mono case, or it being a mono case, I didn't get it - but it sounded very intricate!) So he's left with 2 hands to fit - then he has to fit the bezel. I hold no optimism that it will fit straight on. I fear for my bank account when he tells me these things. I think wisely he is doing this _very_ part time because it's such a nuisance. But he reckons I'll have it in one, maybe two weeks. Ha! On the positive side, I also sent him the MM DW that I also got with my donor watch to see if he could reattach the hands. This morning's phone call was the first time he'd mentioned it, but he says the chrono now doesn't make the movement die, and has put the hands on properly. So I can sell that with no bad conscience and recoup some money from his bill! Or maybe I'll keep it and have two daytonas. I hope my next post will contain some photographs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted August 14, 2009 Report Share Posted August 14, 2009 Read the various posted tutorials/journals describing the construction of a DW (including mine), you will see that no 2 construction projects ever go the same. Because the parts are manufactured without any consistent quality standards, sizes & dimensions often vary from part to part. This means that each part may need to be modded to fit the rest of the parts, which is both labor intensive & time consuming (not to mention requiring alot of patience). Building a DW is a test of will & definitely separates the men from the boys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken fingerlove Posted August 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2009 Read the various posted tutorials/journals describing the construction of a DW (including mine), you will see that no 2 construction projects ever go the same. Because the parts are manufactured without any consistent quality standards, sizes & dimensions often vary from part to part. This means that each part may need to be modded to fit the rest of the parts, which is both labor intensive & time consuming (not to mention requiring alot of patience). Building a DW is a test of will & definitely separates the men from the boys. If I'd appreciated what people said, I'm not sure I'd have gone and bought the pieces.. I'd have waited for one to appear in the for sale section I'm not doing anything but waiting, and it's not something I would want to do again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chronus Posted August 18, 2009 Report Share Posted August 18, 2009 Good to see the project is moving along... i hope the finished watch will be amazing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken fingerlove Posted August 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 Good to see the project is moving along... i hope the finished watch will be amazing I hope it will be too! Phone call from the watchmaker this afternoon asking if I had a spare plastic bezel insert. He fitted the bezel with some difficulty, then two minutes later the insert pinged across the room, having snapped under the strain. I did have a spare, luckily. Posted him that, the bracelet, and his cheque (I think he gave me a pretty good rate). He's putting the watch on his regulator.. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up the finished watch next weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chronus Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 That's very good news... as they say, all good things come to those who wait Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makubex05 Posted August 23, 2009 Report Share Posted August 23, 2009 (edited) Thanks to ken fingerlove for sharing this information. I have V72 from my vintage watch for a while that I am thinking to convert it to 6263. With J help and direction, I just ordered the DW kit and start the project. Many thanks for answering all my PM and give me some directions. Also, thanks to freddy333. I will not open another thread about my project but will briefly post my result here as well. The kit will arrive in 2 weeks. Let's see what happen Edited August 23, 2009 by makubex05 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken fingerlove Posted September 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2009 Hopefully I'll be able to pick up the finished watch next weekend. WHY DO I TEMPT FATE SO!!!! He eventually got in touch today. Said he'd finished the watch the day after I'd sent him the bracelet (which he polished up and attached - said the end links were for a slimmer lugged case, but it looks ok) and the second plastic insert (quick run around the inside with the file, and it snapped in place ok (slight gap around the outside, but invisible to the eye). Had it on the regulator, got it to 3 seconds a day (woo-hoo) and then tried to wind it up again, no dice. He said when winding, the minutes logger hand was visibly twitching. Suspect stem, but no, it was the same as the previous one. Partial dismantle to find it was (and I may be making this up, as I am reciting from memory) the crown wheel which had two screws holding it in place, and they'd both fallen out. It's in such an internal place that the total strip down and service (that I'd put off since the movement seemed in reasonable condition) will have to go ahead. Another few week's wait. On the plus side, he's posting me the MM daytona, so I can try wearing that. Or sell it. I'm glad I put the wheels in motion on another project to keep me occupied. C'est la vie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted September 4, 2009 Report Share Posted September 4, 2009 Sorry to hear the bad news. But, after all this time, you are much better off having the movement overhauled now (assuming the watchmaker knows what he is doing) than to tempt fate yet further by having it work on his bench only to fail some time after you get it back. This way, again, assuming the watchmaker knows what he is doing, you can be confident that you will have a properly functioning watch for the next 5-7 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken fingerlove Posted September 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2009 That's exactly my thought, Freddy. Much better it happens now than in a month, when I'd curse him from here to eternity. And I'm confident in his ability.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken fingerlove Posted June 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2010 Guess what is on my wrist this afternoon. Pics to follow over the weekend. This has been a pretty long wait! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted June 11, 2010 Report Share Posted June 11, 2010 Good things come to those who wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbutlerman Posted June 11, 2010 Report Share Posted June 11, 2010 Just read this thread! I am very excited to see the finished project! I can't imagine that long of a wait, I have trouble just waiting for a crystal to get AR coating! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken fingerlove Posted June 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2010 Here we go, that's what I'm talking about!! Some 'unboxing' pictures Not too much of a franken - the only gen things are the crown and the bracelet. End links are 357, which is wrong (am I right?), but they look semi-ok. I _really_ love the overall look of the watch. ***'s going to put another link in the bracelet for me soon, which should make it much more wearable (pretty tight right now), but I have the croc strap if needs be. Size is fine - just the narrowness of the bracelet at the clasp end looks odd right now. Lack of date and manual wind might get to me, but I'm excited right now. I waited so long, I browsed around for some other things like the box and the leaflets. I've just noticed that the Oyster leaflet has a twinlock on the front, which doesn't tally with the triplock on my watch. Boo. I didn't spend a lot of time investigating what leaflets came with what boxes, when. I have seen a gen for sale in one of these boxes, so that is possibly correct (not that it really matters). Next stop - new dial and mod, then new bezel (I'll postpone those for a much later date) Thanks everyone in the RWG Rolex area. I wouldn't have this without you. Kenny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted June 12, 2010 Report Share Posted June 12, 2010 Turned out beautifully! Very well done Very nice, clean PN. I bet the wait makes it even more special... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gran Posted June 12, 2010 Report Share Posted June 12, 2010 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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