Modding (Frankening) a 3K Aquanaut 5167

[europa2020]

Hi guys,

Been lurking on the forum a bit and decided to buy a 3K Aquanaut 5167 from JTime. I feel that I might mod it or franken it a bit with some gen stuff as far as that is possible. I've come across some parts on ebay but as im not that knowledgable I'd like to ask if anyone here has some information on which parts are best to get and where.

I found the following online, but im not sure if it's worth it, and if the differences are that much.

Gen Dial around 2k USD
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Patek-Phili...AAAOSwvMBeATVq
Does this fit the case? Opinions welcome

Gen strap and clasp
(no link needed, they are everywhere)

Gen Hands
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Patek-Phili...YAAOSwNlleMewT

Gen Complete main plate and rotor crown
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Patek-Phili...wAAOSwlsNfOsoE
Does this fit the case? Opinions welcome

Gen Crystal
https://www.ebay.com/itm/SAPPHIRE-CR....c100005.m1851
Does this fit the case? Opinions welcome

Gen Datewheel
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Patek-Phil...285139?hash=item3dad95de13:g:5PEAAOSwGLpfjaEd


I'm not saying im going to buy all these parts if they fit, im just trying to figure out which of these might be worth it and if there are cheaper alternatives (through modding for example).

Thanks for the help

 

[jholmeson]

Dial is brown for the rose gold. Crystal is aftermarket.

What are you unhappy with on the rep? It’s a lot to spend for extremely incremental upgrades.

 

[W47chl0v3r]

What experience do you have with modding? Buy gen hands and dial and call it a day. Rebuilding a Patek movement which is where the real costs come from takes a lot of money.

 

[LebronXiJames]

The 3kf 5167 is a pretty solid rep out of the box. The datewheel font has smaller text versus the gen. Impressive find on that date wheel, that is pretty difficult to find. In my opinion I think the 3kf dial is very close to the genuine one. However it’s based on the pre 2009 aquanaut which does not feature the text “Swiss made” at the bottom of the dial. This bothers some people but 3kf repped that specific pre 2009 dial model so it’s accurate in that sense.

The dial is usually accessible to be purchased on eBay regularly, so if you really wanted to go all out, you could wait on that and focus on the datewheel and hands first if you wanted.

There are modders on the forum that can also help with the franken work too. It would be cool to see some pictures or a thread on the work if you go through with it. Best of luck with the project!

 

[DerpyOfficer]

It should be noted that not to many gen parts will not fit for the 3K 324 movement. The gen bridge could fit-ish with slight modification but none of the corresponding pivot holes are the correct size. The gen train wheels don't fit, the automatic winding parts don't work because the gen pivots are too big for the main plate. In addition the gen 324 barrel arbor is smaller than the clone resulting in the clone barrel not fitting into the top plate. And you can't use a gen barrel because the gen barrel is actually BIGGER than the clone one, and won't fit into the main plate.

 

[APpee]

The 3kf 5167 is a pretty solid rep out of the box. The datewheel font has smaller text versus the gen. Impressive find on that date wheel, that is pretty difficult to find. In my opinion I think the 3kf dial is very close to the genuine one. However it’s based on the pre 2009 aquanaut which does not feature the text “Swiss made” at the bottom of the dial. This bothers some people but 3kf repped that specific pre 2009 dial model so it’s accurate in that sense.

The dial is usually accessible to be purchased on eBay regularly, so if you really wanted to go all out, you could wait on that and focus on the datewheel and hands first if you wanted.

There are modders on the forum that can also help with the franken work too. It would be cool to see some pictures or a thread on the work if you go through with it. Best of luck with the project!

This is my issue the 3K being based on the pre 2009 model. I’m leaning towards the ZF now for my franken build as I have a gen dial (Swiss made) so the ZF bezel profile is much more consistent with the model build


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