Hi everybody, after reading smoke thread about his clasp reworked by andrei01, I asked my-self if a similar work could be possibile on my Explorer Clasp.
The JF 214270 is really a nice rep, IMHO is a NWBIG without any doubt, but like many other reps, there is room to emprove it.
What I don't like most from the watch, is exactly the clasp. Seen from afar, is not so bad, but in the hands something disturbs me. The extender want stay in place, the edges are too sharp, the crown is brushed and not polished like the gen and also the safe close on the clasp could be emproved.
I asked Andrei if it was possible and he asked me YES, so I'm here to share my happiness with all of you.
I send him the whole bracelet because the screw near the clasp were so stiff that I preferred to don't touch them.
In the meantime that the bracelet was in his hands he did some brushing and polishing job also on it.
This is the situation before shipping:
As you can see the clasp had sharp edges, and I can assure you that they where sharp enough to bother and ruin some cuffs of my shirts...
Also the bracelet was not so well brushed, with oblique lines instead of straight ones.
The work starts:
First the clasp:
Look now how the secure is closing good, perfectly close on both side!
Perfectly buffed edges, perfectly rounded to match the pictorial gen. Crown polished like the gen, the JF comes with a wrong brushed crown.
Now the bracelet:
Tha bracelet was first professionally brushed and mirror finished on the side.
After this it was gently "massaged by hand" with specific grease, to reach every inner part of the links and give it the "marmble" solid effect that a brand new gen bracelet has.
And believe me, he reached this goal.
The bracelet is now incredibly solid and wonderful to touch.
Honestly, I didn't think there would be so much difference, but there is, and it's huge!
Now some pics of the whole thing:
Gen Vs Rep after work:
As you can see, the look is really near to gen. Unfortunately the crown is not so well shaped by JF and the "hole" where the fingernail goes to open the "secure" is a little different in dimension.
For this last particular, we both agree to leave it as is. A reshape is possible but needs much time and is a little too risky because it needs to be done by hand with all the difficulty you can imagine.
In my opinion, others are the important things and they were all addressed!
The sharpy edges were so terrible to touch, leaving signs on the bracelet when they come into contact. The closing wasn't perfect, the extender didn't engage. Now all those things are OK!
I want to say thanks to Andrei for the really good job that needs patience and skill, and he have both.
He works as if it were things of his own, with maximum care and precision.
A real professional way, with continuous updates on the job, with pics and information and, last but no the least, he acts like a friend
Now that I have it in my hands, I can say with certainty that a mod like this really puts a rep into an upper level, taking care of a things that too many times is not so well considered.
This is really the icing on the cake that a perfectionist can not fail to consider.
Sorry for the huge amount of photo, but I think they are necessary to appreciate all the work done.
The JF 214270 is really a nice rep, IMHO is a NWBIG without any doubt, but like many other reps, there is room to emprove it.
What I don't like most from the watch, is exactly the clasp. Seen from afar, is not so bad, but in the hands something disturbs me. The extender want stay in place, the edges are too sharp, the crown is brushed and not polished like the gen and also the safe close on the clasp could be emproved.
I asked Andrei if it was possible and he asked me YES, so I'm here to share my happiness with all of you.
I send him the whole bracelet because the screw near the clasp were so stiff that I preferred to don't touch them.
In the meantime that the bracelet was in his hands he did some brushing and polishing job also on it.
This is the situation before shipping:
As you can see the clasp had sharp edges, and I can assure you that they where sharp enough to bother and ruin some cuffs of my shirts...
Also the bracelet was not so well brushed, with oblique lines instead of straight ones.
The work starts:
First the clasp:
Look now how the secure is closing good, perfectly close on both side!
Perfectly buffed edges, perfectly rounded to match the pictorial gen. Crown polished like the gen, the JF comes with a wrong brushed crown.
Now the bracelet:
Tha bracelet was first professionally brushed and mirror finished on the side.
After this it was gently "massaged by hand" with specific grease, to reach every inner part of the links and give it the "marmble" solid effect that a brand new gen bracelet has.
And believe me, he reached this goal.
The bracelet is now incredibly solid and wonderful to touch.
Honestly, I didn't think there would be so much difference, but there is, and it's huge!
Now some pics of the whole thing:
Gen Vs Rep after work:
As you can see, the look is really near to gen. Unfortunately the crown is not so well shaped by JF and the "hole" where the fingernail goes to open the "secure" is a little different in dimension.
For this last particular, we both agree to leave it as is. A reshape is possible but needs much time and is a little too risky because it needs to be done by hand with all the difficulty you can imagine.
In my opinion, others are the important things and they were all addressed!
The sharpy edges were so terrible to touch, leaving signs on the bracelet when they come into contact. The closing wasn't perfect, the extender didn't engage. Now all those things are OK!
I want to say thanks to Andrei for the really good job that needs patience and skill, and he have both.
He works as if it were things of his own, with maximum care and precision.
A real professional way, with continuous updates on the job, with pics and information and, last but no the least, he acts like a friend
Now that I have it in my hands, I can say with certainty that a mod like this really puts a rep into an upper level, taking care of a things that too many times is not so well considered.
This is really the icing on the cake that a perfectionist can not fail to consider.
Sorry for the huge amount of photo, but I think they are necessary to appreciate all the work done.
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