Vintage project - new hands, dial and crown for Longines Czech AirForce

[Darthmemnoch]

I bought a gen Longines Czech AirForce some time ago and it came with a corroded dial, weong crystal, wrong hands (supposed to be cathedral hands) and wrong crown.

After hanging out in this forum, I came to be hopeful that I will be able to find someone to help build a new, dial, hands and crown and point me to a suitable replacement crystal. Can anyone point me in the right direction as to how to get this going?

 

[QinetiQ]

Oh man, when it comes to rare vintage pieces it will be quite hard to get gen parts for it. Especially for not so common brands as Longines. It could help if you post as much info as you can here in this thread so different people can have a look at it and maybe help out. Try posting things like serial/case number, what year was it made, model etc etc

 

[ThinkBachs]

Your best bet would to go here >>> and look for some help. I would think that there would be a few who can give you some much better feedback. I do know there there are places that refinish dials, but haven't a clue about who to recommend.

 

[Darthmemnoch]

thanks guys. Keep the ideas coming.

Some information on the watch can be found at www.ninanet.net/watches/others09/Mediums/mlonginesmil.html

I can't provide more info cause I am an absolute noob and dare not open the watch up to take measurements, etc.

I am not thinking of gen parts but am wondering if i can commission one of our famed builders can make or turn some parts for me. After all, you have done very well with all the vintage PAM homages.

 

[LHOOQ]

I suggest you head over to the Military Watch Resource Forums, as they'd be able to give you a good idea of what's possible and for how much. And further to TB's advice, you should also try WUS' Pilot's & Military Watches section.

Wish I could say more about what the vintage Panerai guys could do, but the only thing that came up in my searches was a project based on a Longines pocket watch movement.

 

[QinetiQ]

thanks guys. Keep the ideas coming.

Some information on the watch can be found at www.ninanet.net/watches/others09/Mediums/mlonginesmil.html

I can't provide more info cause I am an absolute noob and dare not open the watch up to take measurements, etc.

I am not thinking of gen parts but am wondering if i can commission one of our famed builders can make or turn some parts for me. After all, you have done very well with all the vintage PAM homages.

Wow that watch looks pretty darn nice!

 

[Darthmemnoch]

I bought this off a guy from the MWR forum. He promised me that it would not be too difficult to source the parts I need. After the sale, he told me that it's actually going to be quite tough to find anything there. After hanging out long enough in these gen watch forums, I note that this may be due to their obsession with keeping the watch as gen as possible, no Frankenstein or homage parts allowed mentality.

Only recently have I resurrected some hope after viewing all the wonderful panny builds. There is so much knowledge here, underground. I mean surely someone out there who can make a nice panny dial, crown, hands etc, can probably help with this one off project.

 

[QinetiQ]

I bought this off a guy from the MWR forum. He promised me that it would not be too difficult to source the parts I need. After the sale, he told me that it's actually going to be quite tough to find anything there.

What'a douchebag

 

[LHOOQ]

What'a douchebag

+1

...which is why I have never bid on any non-running watch that "just needs a few parts!".

It would be nice if you could keep the watch signed as a Longines, as it's a rather desirable model, and a good-looking one, too. The closest you can get to a modern version is the Spirit, which I believe is out of production, but still available at many Longines ADs.

 

[trailboss99]

Very nice! Can we see some pics of your example?
The dial can be refinished, tho I have no idea where, there are places that can refinish an enamel dial. You will have to ask around some of the gen fora or maybe ask one of the better vintage bloggers. Before anything you need to know the state of the MVT so the back needs to come off mate. It looks like a snap back so it just pries apart with a blade, a butter knife will do. If all looks reasonable it's time to take it to a watchmaker for a quote, our own RWI repairers can handle this one if you like or find a small independent watchmaker in your area. IF the MVT is repairable it's time to get an estimate on the dial. The hands should be easy to find. Something very close at least. If not, you could have a set waterjet cut, tubes installed and lumed. Not going to be a cheap or easy restore but it will be worth it, it's a lovely watch.



Col.

 

[Darthmemnoch]

Oh its running fine and keeps good time too. Only issue is the couple of inaccurate parts. As they are quite rare, I spent a fair bit to get it. If I could work on it, I would get a fresh identical dial made, preserve the old original one in a nice plastic storage case that u guys use to keep dials.

 

[Five of Clubs]

Since they don't all have to be gen parts, I'll chime in. Offrei has those hands (or something close) in many different sizes. You can paint/lume them yourself pretty easily if needed, so don't worry about those. The crystal probably could be matched up as well. Have a watchsmith tell you what size you need and then start searching for something with a profile that's close enough to the original that you can live with. I have no clue about the crown.

As for the dial, my suggestion echos Trailboss. Keep the original one instead of building another. The watch is old and isn't supposed to be perfect, so just try to find a way for it to look better. I would rather see some "aging" performed on the new hands to match the dial versus having them both look minty.

You probably feel like this project is out of your league, but it's not. Find a watchsmith to help you disassemble the watch and go from there. You'll learn a lot from it and be more proud of the results that way.

EDIT: POST SOME PICTURES!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Darthmemnoch]

Thanks for all the tips...

I'll get some pictures done up over the weekend...

In the meantime... to source a good watchmaker in Singapore who will tell me what size those hands and crystal are so that I can order them in from ofrei...

 

[Darthmemnoch]

As you can see, hands are wrong. Crystal is wrong too. I tried to measure the crystal size. Not sure if this is the right way but I need to change the crystal to a plexiglas hi dome. Anyone can help?

Thanks for all the tips...

I'll get some pictures done up over the weekend...

In the meantime... to source a good watchmaker in Singapore who will tell me what size those hands and crystal are so that I can order them in from ofrei...

 

[Five of Clubs]

Nice looking watch you have there! I got a little confused by the pictures at first until I realized there were two different watches.

The easiest way to measure the crystal on the Longines is to first remove it. There appears to be a ring around the crystal that will need to be retained. Here is a LINK to CousinsUK's domed plexi offerings. They are very inexpensive (most less than 2GBP), so you might want to consider ordering a few to be sure you will get one that has the profile you want and that it fits.

Here is another LINK to the luminous hands section offered by Ofrei. You need to do a little research to find out what sizes are required. Alternatively, these are pretty inexpensive as well ($4USD per set) so you could order multiple sets and have your watchsmith check them and mod as needed.

Ofrei also has a section for gen Longines crowns on their website, but none are listed. (Their site is a mess). You may want to call them as they could be able to supply the crown. I'm looking forward to see how this turns out!

 

[Darthmemnoch]

Any local watchsmiths in this forum?

 

[ThinkBachs]

Any local watchsmiths in this forum?

:facepalm: That's like asking us how far is it to your local gas station- too hard to tell if we don't know what "local" is.

My first recommendation is Katt- here in the US (which is local for me)

 

[Darthmemnoch]

Opps. I'm based in Singapore. The watch smiths here will probably not touch a rep watch.

 

[ThinkBachs]

The you need to contact Goin here on the forum, he should be able to help you out. He's located close by...

 

[rsea]

That's a great looking watch
I'd love a rep of it