My 3646 "Kiefer" build
The watch I present today is inspired by a particular dial type used in a brief time span at the end the second world war on some of the watches used by the german Kampfschwimmer. According to the reference book by Wiegmann and Ehlers most of the watches used by this group featured a sterile three-piece dial, but a few of them were different.
They were made of a 1mm thick brass disc on which the numbers and indices are engraved. The plate was painted in black then the engravings were filled with the luminous paste, in a very similar way as we can observe in Pre-V dials which came many years later. Of course the Pre-V dials evolved to current sausage dials, and this is why imho the Kiefer dial can be considered the "progenitor" of the sausage dial. But I'm digressing...
Anyway, as far as I know there are only 13 documented 3646 watches using this type of dial, 9 are type D, two are type E and two are type G. The name Kiefer, which we commonly use to refer to this type of dial, comes from one of its original owners who was interviewed by Ehlers and Wiegmann while researching for their book.
It is indeed a very rare and fascinating dial.
This is what went into the build:
- Nightwatch 3646 "cali" case set, the one with the thin bezel. Lugs have been cut to size and soldered, crown tube soldered as well. The case set was tortured through many different steps to achieve the look of a watch who lived a long and adventurous life.
Ref pic:
Build:
- Nightwatch plexi was swapped for a sternkreuz high dome which was aged, repolished then artificially crazed. I sacrificed at least 5 plexis to achieve this, lucky me they are inexpensive
- Dial plate comes from a small batch produced by Elias on HF, painted and lumed by Bigwaved (thanks)
- Hands are from Binbin, blued and lumed by Bigwaved (...thanks again ). I threated them to achieve a rusty and decayed look, it was a pain to ruin the perfect job Dave did but I think this is how they should look on this build.
Ref pic:
Mine:
- And after all this mayhem dial and hands still glow, but some spots are brighter and some darker. I like it
- Caseback's radial brushing was removed and replaced with a rough straight brushing, slightly polished to simulate years of wear. I engraved my birthdate on the caseback by hand, like in the old times. The date is not very period correct but... I'm not that old
- Finally, the cracked leather strap is from Ilem in Turkey. It is a beautiful and comfortable strap, this guy is very recommended.
Some more pics:
As usual any comment or advice is welcome, I love to keep on learning. See you next time!
The watch I present today is inspired by a particular dial type used in a brief time span at the end the second world war on some of the watches used by the german Kampfschwimmer. According to the reference book by Wiegmann and Ehlers most of the watches used by this group featured a sterile three-piece dial, but a few of them were different.
They were made of a 1mm thick brass disc on which the numbers and indices are engraved. The plate was painted in black then the engravings were filled with the luminous paste, in a very similar way as we can observe in Pre-V dials which came many years later. Of course the Pre-V dials evolved to current sausage dials, and this is why imho the Kiefer dial can be considered the "progenitor" of the sausage dial. But I'm digressing...
Anyway, as far as I know there are only 13 documented 3646 watches using this type of dial, 9 are type D, two are type E and two are type G. The name Kiefer, which we commonly use to refer to this type of dial, comes from one of its original owners who was interviewed by Ehlers and Wiegmann while researching for their book.
It is indeed a very rare and fascinating dial.
This is what went into the build:
- Nightwatch 3646 "cali" case set, the one with the thin bezel. Lugs have been cut to size and soldered, crown tube soldered as well. The case set was tortured through many different steps to achieve the look of a watch who lived a long and adventurous life.
Ref pic:
Build:
- Nightwatch plexi was swapped for a sternkreuz high dome which was aged, repolished then artificially crazed. I sacrificed at least 5 plexis to achieve this, lucky me they are inexpensive
- Dial plate comes from a small batch produced by Elias on HF, painted and lumed by Bigwaved (thanks)
- Hands are from Binbin, blued and lumed by Bigwaved (...thanks again
). I threated them to achieve a rusty and decayed look, it was a pain to ruin the perfect job Dave did but I think this is how they should look on this build.Ref pic:
Mine:
- And after all this mayhem dial and hands still glow, but some spots are brighter and some darker. I like it
- Caseback's radial brushing was removed and replaced with a rough straight brushing, slightly polished to simulate years of wear. I engraved my birthdate on the caseback by hand, like in the old times. The date is not very period correct but... I'm not that old
- Finally, the cracked leather strap is from Ilem in Turkey. It is a beautiful and comfortable strap, this guy is very recommended.
Some more pics:
As usual any comment or advice is welcome, I love to keep on learning. See you next time!
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