Aligning an overlay to a shaved (.5mm) gen spec dial.. Possible?

[bc1221]

Bought a gen spec dial that I shaved to fit a cartel case.. i know.. i know.. I hated doing it but had to be done. At the time, i didnt eve think about the possibility of any issues with the overlay. Now I see the problem. Is there a way to do this? Or is there an overlay that moves the dates in slightly (about .5mm)? Tried shaving the date window slightly to the left but that is a terrifying thing to do and makes the window look like crap so I stopped as soon as I looked at it through a loupe. Luckily, I didt shave enough for it to be noticeable.

If not, I guess i'll try to finish my overlay project and see if I ca get one printed.

HALP!

 

[bc1221]

And why dont these factories make overlays that fit directly over an eta spec datewheel?? I always wondered that. It would make aligning the dates soooo much easier if they would just squarely fit on the eta datewheel...

 

[KJ2020]

ETA datewheels and later model gen (5 and 6 digit) Rolex datewheels are not in the same physical position on the movement so the date window positions are different by 1mm. Many rep Rolex dials have the ETA window moved to the Rolex position, hence the overlay. Other rep ETA Rolex dials do not have the date window moved and in fact have Rolex font datewheels in the native ETA position. It saves time and money to do this but it's a step away from gen.

As far as having a DW or DWO printed, they are done with a technique called pad printing which involves first making a stencil (called a cliche') and attaching the stencil to an inked pad (like a rubber ball) that is then pressed onto the object to release ink through the stencil. Preparing a cliche' for a specific print job can run about $500. Once it's done, DWs cost about 2 cents each to print plus the cost of the DW itself. This enables the 3.5 point DW fonts to be raised and clear with no bleeding. Other printing techniques, even with $200K+ laser printers will not produce adequate DWs for viewing under cyclops magnification.

This is true for 5 and 6 digit modern Rolexes. You may find standard (non-pad) printing acceptable for vintage models where the fonts are larger and clarity perfection is not as critical.

 

[bc1221]

Yea but vintage datewheels are just prints. Nothing raised so I may try printing one if I can’t find a way to get it to centered... any ideas?


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[KJ2020]

Ideally you would have and use a vector graphics file with the numbers laid out in the correct positions relative to each other and to the inner/outer circle arcs. Failing that you can scan a DW/DWO and smooth out the numeral edges manually til it's acceptable. Then print the image onto thin cardstock, paper, or a transparency and attach it to the DW.

 

[bc1221]

Ideally you would have and use a vector graphics file with the numbers laid out in the correct positions relative to each other and to the inner/outer circle arcs. Failing that you can scan a DW/DWO and smooth out the numeral edges manually til it's acceptable. Then print the image onto thin cardstock, paper, or a transparency and attach it to the DW.

Oh yea. I’ve been working on that for a little while. Basically, I’ve been tracing the numbers. I just need to make them to scale and then expand the numbers outward a bit.

I was actually asking for recommendations on how to align the cartel one or if there is one out there somewhere that would be a little further away from the inner edge.

The irony here is that most Rolex reps have dates outward. Lol. I have a rep datewheel where the numbers are off center a bit towards the right but it’s a modern datewheel so it wouldn’t be correct.

May try the 3035 datewheel from watchwholesaleoutlet. They have one for the 3035. I don’t think it has a flat top 3 though. Hrmm


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[Oascom]

If you want nice dwo you can get one for like 8.5$ if you get 100+ pieces. All you need is vector file and a lot patience

Ask SpongeBob he can connect you with the right people.

 

[bc1221]

If you want nice dwo you can get one for like 8.5$ if you get 100+ pieces. All you need is vector file and a lot patience

Ask SpongeBob he can connect you with the right people.

Yea. I’m working on the vector file. It’s just extremely tedious work. Then, I’ll try to find the correct dimensions. I also ordered the 3035 datewheel. If that one fits in the window, I’ll sand that down to make it an overlay. If it doesn’t, I’ll put that in my 16610 and start the 16800 build.

I guess we’ll see what happens.


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[KJ2020]

If you want nice dwo you can get one for like 8.5$ if you get 100+ pieces. All you need is vector file and a lot patience

Ask SpongeBob he can connect you with the right people.

so that's $850.00 for 100 pieces? pretty steep if you only need one DW

 

[Oascom]

so that's $850.00 for 100 pieces? pretty steep if you only need one DW

Yeah that's why I didn't proceed... But I wanted to make proper open 6&9 for ETA 1675 builds. There is no good version.

People would love to buy those for 30$ a piece so a nice profit there lol

 

[bc1221]

ETA datewheels and later model gen (5 and 6 digit) Rolex datewheels are not in the same physical position on the movement so the date window positions are different by 1mm. Many rep Rolex dials have the ETA window moved to the Rolex position, hence the overlay. Other rep ETA Rolex dials do not have the date window moved and in fact have Rolex font datewheels in the native ETA position. It saves time and money to do this but it's a step away from gen.

As far as having a DW or DWO printed, they are done with a technique called pad printing which involves first making a stencil (called a cliche') and attaching the stencil to an inked pad (like a rubber ball) that is then pressed onto the object to release ink through the stencil. Preparing a cliche' for a specific print job can run about $500. Once it's done, DWs cost about 2 cents each to print plus the cost of the DW itself. This enables the 3.5 point DW fonts to be raised and clear with no bleeding. Other printing techniques, even with $200K+ laser printers will not produce adequate DWs for viewing under cyclops magnification.

This is true for 5 and 6 digit modern Rolexes. You may find standard (non-pad) printing acceptable for vintage models where the fonts are larger and clarity perfection is not as critical.

I get what you mean but I was referring to the outer edge of the overlay just matching up directly with the ETA wheel’s outer edge. That way, you wouldn’t have to fiddle around trying to get the overlay centered with about 1mm of the edge of the overlay all around. I just don’t see why they can’t just make the overlay have the same outer edge size the same as the ETA one. I would imagine it would save them some time as well. Then again, they rarely seem to care if all of their dates are completely centered or not.




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[bc1221]

It’s times like these that i miss working at a print shop. Used to have this amazing plotter and all the tools I could possibly need to get amazing quality images.

I wish I had one of those but then again, with the cost of a plotter, I probably would just get better parts. Hehe


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[KJ2020]

Most of the overlays I've dealt with did have the outer perimeters perfectly aligned but I have had a few that were not so I know what you mean. Last one I did I put a red sharpie band around the DW it helped a lot on gauging an even border. Sanding off the DW to base metal brass color has the same effect but takes more time. I do it if vertical space is a concern.

What point size print is a plotter capable of? Ive had DWs printed by every shop in town including on a $100K+ printer and have yet to get a print quality suitable for viewing under cyclops magnification. It was very capable but not for 3.5 point numbers. I think pad printing is the only viable solution, at least for modern raised DWs.

 

[oldtools]

Yea. I’m working on the vector file. It’s just extremely tedious work. Then, I’ll try to find the correct dimensions. I also ordered the 3035 datewheel. If that one fits in the window, I’ll sand that down to make it an overlay. If it doesn’t, I’ll put that in my 16610 and start the 16800 build.

I guess we’ll see what happens.


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One thing to watch out for is the rotation of the date wheel. Here is a 3035 date wheel
Here is a 3135 date wheel. It rotates the same direction as an ETA date wheel.