- 4/4/09
- 2,140
- 90
- 48
Here's a dressier build than the last few.
I'd been meaning to put together a Datejust for some time. I figured on finishing up the bigger projects first, and then, toward the end of the year, assembling something with a blue sunburst'n'sticks dial. (I really love those.) But circumstances moved this build forward by a couple of seasons.
During the course of my big, long V72 Daytona build, I hit on the idea of modding DW's dial to more closely resemble a gen. Specifically, I meant to take the coronet and metal hour markers from a Datejust dial, reshape the latter, and stick them onto the DW Daytona dial. I'd already bought a couple of ragged Beyeler dials for cheap before finding this one at a good price. It looked decent enough in the pictures, and all of its tall hour blocks were intact. I was ready to take it apart once I got it.
Thankfully, it passed through jmb's hands first, and he was horrified when I told him about my plan. I think there was a really good chance that Justin would rescue it from my pliers, and refuse to send it to me! I didn't take long to convince, and vowed to keep it intact and build a watch out of it. When the dial finally arrived, I quickly realized that it was never in any danger. It was a linen dial in almost-perfect condition. It had to be built.
That was back in April, so I spent the next several months gathering the rest of the parts and waiting for packages to arrive.
Case
Genuine 16014 snagged for $66 from a Korean seller. There was a bit of rust around the rehaut and beneath the gasket, but nothing life-threatening. The genuine engine-turned bezel was bought separately.
Movement
The Sea-Gull ST2130 (a 2824-2 by another name) was last seen in my Explorer Project 4 before it was replaced by a Rado 2472. The 16000 series Datejusts marked a shift from the aging 1570 of the 1600s to the 28,800BPH 3035. After so many projects with low-beat movements, it's remarkable how smooth 8bps looks. Now I want a Zenith El Primero. '69 with the gray/black/blue subdials, please.
Strap
Lucky me, finding a Rolex Genuine Lizard for $37! (Notice how I only mention prices on the good deals.) And in perfect shape, too. That said, these old straps are a lot more plasticky and less comfortable than what we expect these days. But it's a gen, dammit! The buckle is a Yuki 16mm.
Crown, Crystal, Hands, Datewheel
Crown is a genuine 600. Cyclope 114 by Clark. Hands provided and lumed by ChiMan. Datewheel was a free gift from the untrusted seller that sounds like Rusty Rhyme, so long as I ordered a watch with it. And that's why I have a Panerai 026K.
I can see why Justin builds so many of these. What a looker!
Thanks to J for making me see the light, alligoat for his invaluable help in gathering parts, and ChiMan for lending a hand (or three).
I'd been meaning to put together a Datejust for some time. I figured on finishing up the bigger projects first, and then, toward the end of the year, assembling something with a blue sunburst'n'sticks dial. (I really love those.) But circumstances moved this build forward by a couple of seasons.
During the course of my big, long V72 Daytona build, I hit on the idea of modding DW's dial to more closely resemble a gen. Specifically, I meant to take the coronet and metal hour markers from a Datejust dial, reshape the latter, and stick them onto the DW Daytona dial. I'd already bought a couple of ragged Beyeler dials for cheap before finding this one at a good price. It looked decent enough in the pictures, and all of its tall hour blocks were intact. I was ready to take it apart once I got it.
Thankfully, it passed through jmb's hands first, and he was horrified when I told him about my plan. I think there was a really good chance that Justin would rescue it from my pliers, and refuse to send it to me! I didn't take long to convince, and vowed to keep it intact and build a watch out of it. When the dial finally arrived, I quickly realized that it was never in any danger. It was a linen dial in almost-perfect condition. It had to be built.
That was back in April, so I spent the next several months gathering the rest of the parts and waiting for packages to arrive.
Case
Genuine 16014 snagged for $66 from a Korean seller. There was a bit of rust around the rehaut and beneath the gasket, but nothing life-threatening. The genuine engine-turned bezel was bought separately.
Movement
The Sea-Gull ST2130 (a 2824-2 by another name) was last seen in my Explorer Project 4 before it was replaced by a Rado 2472. The 16000 series Datejusts marked a shift from the aging 1570 of the 1600s to the 28,800BPH 3035. After so many projects with low-beat movements, it's remarkable how smooth 8bps looks. Now I want a Zenith El Primero. '69 with the gray/black/blue subdials, please.
Strap
Lucky me, finding a Rolex Genuine Lizard for $37! (Notice how I only mention prices on the good deals.) And in perfect shape, too. That said, these old straps are a lot more plasticky and less comfortable than what we expect these days. But it's a gen, dammit! The buckle is a Yuki 16mm.
Crown, Crystal, Hands, Datewheel
Crown is a genuine 600. Cyclope 114 by Clark. Hands provided and lumed by ChiMan. Datewheel was a free gift from the untrusted seller that sounds like Rusty Rhyme, so long as I ordered a watch with it. And that's why I have a Panerai 026K.
I can see why Justin builds so many of these. What a looker!
Thanks to J for making me see the light, alligoat for his invaluable help in gathering parts, and ChiMan for lending a hand (or three).
