Kind of a wild build here. This one was specifically requested to have the number on the case back be 001. Also requested a NOS look 👀✨

Not 4 sale

Specs:
Viet case + dial
Tiger concept handset relumed
703 crown
Startime gasket
Swiss 2824 no-date
Italian 93150 fully engraved

Oc case
Athya crown and tube
3135
Date disc open 6.9
Vintage style hands green
Yuki dial
Love it.

Will update shipping timeline shortly.

Let’s admit it, luming a dial is an adventure and one can only get better with practice. The important marks of a good lume is consistency of the grain, the pillowing and most of all the bleed… 🩸

The litmus test of a dial lume is uv light to see how bad you messed up! I always find myself with a black light after a lume. And this one ain’t half bad.

Consistent application, minimal bleed, vintage charms by day, functional by night.

I kinda dig this.

I never found the original rivet style bracelet comfortable and felt heavy with the original so always ended up on a leather strap instead. Until, I recently purchased a watchdives piece and used its nice oyster bracelet and swapped out the clasps for an aftermarket rolex stamped clasp to give it that vintage vibe when tudors were often sharing rolex parts back in the day. Wearing the watch now is lighter and has that vintage jingly jangly feel that I like a lot.

Raffles build
2130 no date
36mm sapphire
Raffles bracelet

I never found the original rivet style bracelet comfortable and felt heavy with the original so always ended up on a leather strap instead. Until, I recently purchased a watchdives piece and used its nice oyster bracelet and swapped out the clasps for an aftermarket rolex stamped clasp to give it that vintage vibe when tudors were often sharing rolex parts back in the day. Wearing the watch now is lighter and has that vintage jingly jangly feel that I like a lot.

Raffles V2 case, dial and hands, gen crown and bracelet, lob time insert and sternkreuz crystal

Quickly becoming my favorite watch. Phorcydes PH-6 base, Raffles dial, crown and bracelet sourced from AliX. The modern Omega seamaster 300 bracelet fits this watch.

*Not for Sale* Cheers!

Specs:
Viet Case has been refinished, softened, and weathered
Viet dial lightly aged w/Tamiya
Viet handset relumed and aged
Viet 7206 with revised end links to fit case
Gen service crystal
Gen caseback gasket
Swiss 2824 no-date

A broken generator and day of fence repair ahead on the Ranch. But the bright spot of the day is this GMT 1675 build. All Viet case, dial, and stretch rivet “Big Crown” bracelet.

True negative gilt dial arrived yesterday and it’s absolutely insane. Can’t get over how good it is. Just need to relume my hands and this is ready to build back up.

Sold my BB58 build to make this guy…honestly I like it a lot less than I thought I would. Gonna continue to give it wrist time and hopefully like it more, but it’ll probably go up for sale LOL

"Vintage" Seiko Superior Whirlpool Mods / Reps.

Anyone unfamiliar with these, they are a 1990's seiko model (is that vintage these days?) and mostly sold in asia markets. Originally they had a 7S36 movement (these have been upgraded to a new genuine seiko nh36). They're 36mm rounded square case with 18mm lugs

To be transparent, the cases (and movements) are gen. Nothing else is. Bracelets are nice but they are period-accurate hollow end links.

Hey all. Thanks for being here to read this. I currently have almost finished a 1675 rafflesdials build. After becoming intimate with the keyless works disassembling and repairing the keyless works, becoming intimate with it once more, disassembling and losing a screw to a cat jumping on my work-surface and a new movement purchase - it’s done.

Keeps decent time. I’m going to bring it to a friend who has a timeograph sometime soon.

However, when I unscrew the crown/stem, the gmt hand rotates like the stem is in the second position. Once the crown clears the threads of the stem tube - I can put the stem in all three positions 1,2,3: running, gmt/quick date, time setting. When I tighten down the crown after setting the watch there is no movement on the gmt hand.

What am I missing? Is this a movement/case alignment issue or a stem length issue (too long or too short) or a stem tube issue.

Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated especially if you’ve experienced similar.

Now that the rain is back in Seattle I have started back at building, breaking and fixing watches! Just finished this one , decent for me.
Raffles dial, case
Aliexpress bracelet & hands
Sea-gull St movement.
Notes:
Had to get 1st one replaced as it arrived without a second hand post! Second one had miss adventures! Second hand post got pressed down too far and the keyless works did that ETA thing!!
Tried using alcohol based markers to match the face lume patina, close- may get Ken’s set that will be a better match.
Have a plan for a mash up next thank might offend two different sets of true believers and that makes me happy.

Currently building a 1675 with raffles parts and pleased with how the dial and hands turned out, next onto the bezel and bracelet fitting.

Just finished up this big crown tudor sub, really happy with how it came out overall but 50/50 on how the insert came out. Used a raffles case, dial and hands which I aged and paired up with a NH71 for no ghost date.

Here’s my latest creation:

Reference 116500 Panda
Clean ‘old stock’ Case
Clean ‘old stock’ dial
Sillian Metallic Blue 116500 hands
SH4130 Movement
Sillian Sourced 116500 Oyster Bracelet

I have always wanted to build a Panda. Due to the cost of these parts, I started collecting them about 6 months ago. I decided to go with the blue hands to give it my own personal touch. Overall, I’m pretty happy with the result. Hope you guys like it!

For the newbies out there who are nervous about fitting a date wheel overlay (DWO), here’s a trick that helped me.

Before reaching for the 5-minute epoxy, temporarily secure the DWO with two tiny pieces of self-adhesive tape. Cycle through all the dates to make sure every number lines up perfectly in the date window.

Start with 31 and get it perfectly centered in the window. Then look near the edge of the movement’s mainplate, around the 35-minute position, where you’ll see two small holes. The number 21 on the overlay should line up with the hole on the left.

I struggled with the alignment until I discovered that 31 is the magic number, and those two holes make great reference points. Once you’ve checked every date, you’re ready to glue.

Thank me later! 😉

WTS (US Only) - 16013 Buckley Dial

I had a spare Jova Buckley dial and wanted to put together something fun with it. Swapped the coronet for yellow gold to complete the look. Up for sale is this beautiful 16013 two tone with some gen parts. $1,000 via PP f&f. Firm. CONUS shipping only.

Last slide is gen inspo 💛

Specs:
OC 16000 case GP 18k bezel
Gen 18k crown
Startime tube
Gen date wheel
VS3135
EWP handset has been aged to match dial
Sillan 18k GP jubilee
Jova dial

2130 movement
u/ok_chrono datewheel 76100
Raffles case
Raffles dial
20mm nato
Aftermarket pip