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Franken 5402 Project - Two years in the making ... Merry Christmas!

LuminorReptar

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27/3/17
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Beyond the Pines.
Hey everyone , firstly I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday!

Jumping straight into it, I wanted to share this incredible 5402 Franken project. This is something really special to me, it has taken roughly 2 years to complete. Will let the pictures speak for itself:
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The base watch used is an XF 15202 running the modified Miyota 9015, which functions in the same way as the gen 5402. You need to backtrack the hands and then advance them again past midnight in order to set the date. The DW transitions in the same direction as gen as well.

The dial is a genuine 5402 C-Serial from roughly early to mid 1980's

The hands are the original XF hands that have been relumed to match the dial indices.

The bracelet is an older style MBW (14790) that I sourced here on RWI, the clasp is not correct for a 5402 however it is still much closer to the genuine bracelet than the original XF, which was designed of course after a 15202.

The case was aged, and the bezel screws were reshaped to give them the same rounded appearance as seen in gen.

Lastly and arguably one of the most important details (aside from the dial) is the datewheel. The 5402 has a very unique and signature font, and in my opinion adds a huge amount of character to this reference. In order to achieve this, I took it upon myself to custom make an overlay in the correct font as gen.

Huge credit and thanks to MajWilliams for taking the original scans of the genuine 5402 date disc which he had in his possession. Without these scans it would have been near impossible to get the level of accuracy needed to create an overlay.

The gen datewheel scans were traced (painstakingly by yours truly, in Ai) , and then rendered in CAD. A local supplier helped tweak the scale of it in order for printing.

Overall, I couldn't be happier with the way it has turned out. Some progress pics of the work to create the overlay:

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Hope you guys have enjoyed the details of this project. It's taken a lot of time and energy but the results make the whole process worth it. I think this is an excellent build to close out the year, and while I can't say with certainty, I think it appropriate that this may also be the final "big project franken" that I see myself working on.

There is still one detail missing however, I was just too excited to wait and share. Currently in the making is a custom solid case back, which will be engraved to the correct style and serial as gen. Currently the XF original exhibition case back is fitted, and this is an inaccuracy that will soon be replaced.

The base for the solid case back was provided by Spongebob. The engraving renders were hand drawn by myself and submitted with a local CNC factory who will do the final work. This should be a tremendous improvement not only to hide the movement, as well as give the correct appearance of gen case back, but I believe it should also help shave a few millimeters off the overall thickness. Some pics of the renderings :

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Measuring now, the XF case clocks in at 8.3mm , where the genuine 5402 measures an impressively thin 7mm. I have no expectations to meet 7mm thickness but if I can get it under 8mm would be exceptional in itself.

Will be sure to update the post with the final results of the solid case back with custom engravings.

Thanks for everyone who took the time to read through this post. Wishing you all a great new year!
 

BreitlingBoi

Horology Curious
24/10/19
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Just incredible! The level of detail and effort here to make this build possible encapsulates everything I love about the RWI community.

Well done tracing in Illustrator. Not an easy task. I can’t even begin to imagine what it takes to put everything into a CAD design and have it made.

Well done! ????????????????????
 
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OffshoreNL

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Following this one! Great story behind this build! The length some of us go through to get things done makes this rep hobby as addicting as it is :)
 
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philwongnz

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Wow.. The serif of the datewheel. Was it pad printed?

Sent from my SM-N976B using Tapatalk
 

H S

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Outstanding work! You have my congrats on your labor of love. I look forward to seeing the finished case back on that beauty when completed.

Enjoy it and I hope you have a Happy New Year.
 
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Tobel

Put Some Respect On My Name
6/7/17
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Such a great project and awesome result. Congrats mate, wear it in good health
 
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asanibal

Renowned Member
19/10/08
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Great project
I want one of that date wheels !! Please!

Wouldn’t be easier to find a MBK from Rolexfinder? Or and old MBW?
Your donor was a XF? The hour pizza hand base looks a little bit big,.. if you can achieve thinning it it would be much better imho.



Congratulations for your grail …


GEN for references … it is a amazing !!

Not sure but your dial looks like a 1992 period so open caseback?

e5e6d699bf7e326039b0af5b5d978e12.png

46318b42576413152160fa1e3fe080f7.png


094bed3796c88534c89e52a5dc9ef427.png


6a523849cffdde29311fb74318ab6d81.png


5e856632dc028b70211d3129b98a20a5.jpg







My old 5402 MBW. From 2000 period

feea8ef8dd49c64a95b61e4b7fb5e617.jpg


MY MBK Rolexfinder edition

5b21ebc818d7a1db073c563ee4885d81.jpg
 
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LuminorReptar

RepTime BST Mod
27/3/17
1,917
970
113
Beyond the Pines.
Great project
I want one of that date wheels !! Please!

Wouldn’t be easier to find a MBK from Rolexfinder? Or and old MBW?
Your donor was a XF? The hour pizza hand base looks a little bit big,.. if you can achieve thinning it it would be much better imho.


Congratulations for your grail …


GEN for references … it is a amazing !!

Not sure but your dial looks like a 1992 period so open caseback?


My old 5402 MBW. From 2000 period


MY MBK Rolexfinder edition

Hey man thanks for the input & feedback!

I've done some extensive homework on researching the year of the dial but its really very difficult to pinpoint. I've seen references in gen 5402 from B-Serial, C-Serial, and D-Serial all with the same AP logo at 12:00 position.

The detailing to note here is the print of the "Audemars Piguet" font. The style from my dial appears to be closer to that of the 1980's than the newer font which appears on early to mid 1990's.

Also just to point out, the reference you've linked above which is from 1992, is actually a reference 14802 not a 5402. These are more or less the exact same model but the 14802 was a limited edition release, and it specifically featured an exhibition case back. The 5402 reference, even though had the same dial, was still fitted with a solid case back.

Here is a reference from Christies with a B-Serial : https://www.christies.com/zh/lot/lot-6269053 (1978)

Another reference from HQ Milton with a C-Serial : https://www.hqmilton.com/timepieces/q05vnqo2/1980-s-audemars-piguet-5402-5095 (vaguely mentions 1980's)

Lastly two references with D-Serial : https://www.watchpool24.com/en/30734495/audemars-piguet-royal-oak-5402-jumbo (1980)

Another from Tropical Watch (D-Serial) : https://tropicalwatch.com/watches/qto0 (no mention of year)

Would be great if I could get a conclusive answer on what year is the most accurate, but it seems there is a lot of overlap between serial numbers & this specific dial orientation between late 1970's into mid to late 1980's and possibly even early 1990's ..

With that in mind I've resigned to just enjoying the watch for what it is..

Also congrats on both your builds they are really stunning! I
 

Erinoush

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Hi ,
Congrats for your efforts and patience....
For me 5402 is certainly one of the most important piece of the watch history it broke all the rules and if today the market is selling sport steal pieces at more than X0000$ it is certainly due to the craziness of AP and Genta....

2 things about what is above shown & mentioned:
-First the technical drawing above shown is wrong and doesn't represent a 5402, this latter has a fixed caseback, you cannot detach it from the case, the case is a one piece forged case as you can see below, which means there is no caseback, it is just part of the case. the screws are just there to retain the bezel.
-Second, there is no 5402 with an open case back for the obvious reason above mentionned, and your watch does mimic a late B or C series.
Cheers,
jlHdVp.png
 
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Plaasbaas

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This is next level. Your skill and dedication is admirable! Very beautiful, thanks for sharing.

Wear it in good health.
 
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LuminorReptar

RepTime BST Mod
27/3/17
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Beyond the Pines.
Hi ,
Congrats for your efforts and patience....
For me 5402 is certainly one of the most important piece of the watch history it broke all the rules and if today the market is selling sport steal pieces at more than X0000$ it is certainly due to the craziness of AP and Genta....

2 things about what is above shown & mentioned:
-First the technical drawing above shown is wrong and doesn't represent a 5402, this latter has a fixed caseback, you cannot detach it from the case, the case is a one piece forged case as you can see below, which means there is no caseback, it is just part of the case. the screws are just there to retain the bezel.
-Second, there is no 5402 with an open case back for the obvious reason above mentionned, and your watch does mimic a late B or C series.
Cheers,

Thanks for the informative schematic!

Crazy - I honestly never noticed nor realized the 5402 case back was fixed as part o the midcase. Looking at it now I can see it so obviously, but overlooked this detail earlier.

In any case a solid closed case back will be an improvement over how it looks now, fingers crossed the engravings look decent.

Would certainly consider updating genuine hands if the opportunity arises. Just not clear whether they will fit the Miyota 9015 movement. Something to study down the road perhaps
 
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Erinoush

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jlKD3Q.png

Thanks for the informative schematic!

Crazy - I honestly never noticed nor realized the 5402 case back was fixed as part o the midcase. Looking at it now I can see it so obviously, but overlooked this detail earlier.

In any case a solid closed case back will be an improvement over how it looks now, fingers crossed the engravings look decent.

Would certainly consider updating genuine hands if the opportunity arises. Just not clear whether they will fit the Miyota 9015 movement. Something to study down the road perhaps

If you speak French that's a very nice tribute to the 5402 ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwUTCa3HaAc
 
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LuminorReptar

RepTime BST Mod
27/3/17
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970
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Beyond the Pines.
Updating with a little bit of progress, the case back prototype was received and the detailing looks quite decent.

The serial itself came out a bit thick, but I have also observed some variation here in gen.

There is also a bit of finishing work required to get it looking perfect.

Unfortunately, there was a minor issue with some of the measurements fitting the caseback to the XF midcase, so the supplier has gone back to rework another sample

Hopefully in about 3-4 weeks should have everything finished !

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