• Tired of adverts on RWI? - Subscribe by clicking HERE and PMing Trailboss for instructions and they will magically go away!

VSF 300m case swap (titanium NTTD to standard steel)

morph2k4

Horology Curious
13/4/22
12
8
3
Hi Folks,
I've got a standard 300m and a titanium NTTD 300m, both from VSF. I'm wanting to make a lighter version of the standard watch (don't care for the vintage look). Would a case swap on these movements be feasible, or am I likely to run into all sorts of problems? I asked one watch maker who declined the job, not knowing if the stems would be compatible. Unfortunately, the NTTD is a no date, so a simple dial/hand swap probably wouldn't work.

Has anyone had a VSF NTTD open? I'm hoping everything is machined identically for simplicity's sake. If the project is essentially a movement swap, I'd consider trying my hand at it, or I'd be happy to just have a professional do the work.

Any insight greatly appreciated.
 

morph2k4

Horology Curious
13/4/22
12
8
3
Well, I got some tools and took a first pass at this myself. I popped both case backs, removed both crowns, and took out the movements to compare. This is what I found:

1. The cases are slightly different thicknesses, but I can't tell for sure what's different. The NTTD uses a 1/8 turn lock for the case back, where the standard has normal threads, but there is also a slight variation in depth that the movements sit.
2. Both movements use the same screws and clips to keep the movement in the case.
3. The decorative sleeves look similar, but the nodate is marked as a 8806 (no date version of 8800). Should have taken some pictures but I didn't.
4. The stems actually look identical. I'm not sure what I should have been looking for, but I couldn't tell a difference. Makes me wonder if the sleeved 2824s are the same (maybe just a date wheel removed on the NTTD?)
5. The 8800 movement fit into the NTTD case in a way that looked fine, but the shelf on the sleeve is about .3mm thicker. That results in the case clips not seating properly. The 8806 did fit fine in the standard case though. I did not check for stem alignment. Should have done that.

So ultimately, the movements cannot be directly swapped. The next question is, are the movement sleeves the only thing that is actually different? I don't know if the date vs nodate versions of the 2824 in these sleeves are actually different dimensions. I'm not thrilled about trying to remove and swap two sets of hands, potentially twice if it doesn't work, to try swapping the sleeves.

Still looking for a watch maker that would be willing to take a shot at doing this. I don't expect perfect results.