I wanted something that looked like it 'went down with the ship', and also reflected a bit of Steam Punk aesthetic--which I very much like. It was never my intention to create something 'real', or a facsimile of a genuine Panerai. This is purely fun. The dial I used was an old sterile DSN I had around because it was the only one I could find made of brass--which I needed for the patina with the chemicals. I had originally intended to keep the second hand, but broke the pinion taking the hand off. !@#$%!!!! Thus the decision was easy! I actually prefer the simpler look, and since I was planning to clutter it up with stuff, I'm just as glad not to have the second hand. On a previous B&R build I'd made a 'riveted' patch and really liked that look. This time I intended to modify that a bit. Here I'm cutting out the thin sheet brass after creating the 'rivets' and cutting out the hole. The nail is the one I used to mark the rivets. I flattened the end slightly and made sure to sand the edges of the nail so it was round.
I intended to experiment with the dial, sanding most but not all of the old paint off it, then letting the chemicals attack the raw metal, leaving the rest. Didn't work. Made a mess. Thus I sanded the whole thing down, cleaned it with acetone, and immersed it in a chemical bath designed to patinate brass and copper:
It took several tries to get the patina I liked. As you can see, I also scored a vertical line across the dial face and added 'rivets' to one side. I burnished the lefthand side of the dial, and left the right untouched after the chemical bath. The hands were done too. The lume was placed on the back dial and the top dial then pressed into it--which made a reasonable facimili of a sausage dial. Why the little red mark? Dunno. Just thought it would look cool in a sort of military way. I really like this 'look' and went to bed a happy camper last night.
This is how it looked this morning:
The burnishing was gone, and the whole thing was far more brown than it was last night. More alarming, there were tiny dropplets of moisture on the dial. I gave the whole thing another rinse and realized that I had a choice: redo and try to recorver what I had yesterday, or carry on. I decided on the latter. If I don't like it in a few days, well, I'll redo.
Then it was time to tackle the case. I used a stainless 'ager' I bought, and it worked a treat. Paint it on and stainless goes black, then with a buffing wheel on my Dremel, I buffed off the worst of the aging, leaving the case looking as if it had been through the wars. I also softened the edges of the little tabs that stick out of the rotating bezel, and added a few scratches here and there. The danger, it seems to me, is that overdoing it is so easy......
And then it was put the whole thing together and add the Savage strap I had for a different watch. I should say that the strap that came from Timeshops was the very worst rep. strap I've come across--but I am not complaining. You get what you pay for.
....and another:
And that's it. I must again apologize for the photos. The ones taken through the watch crystal are 'orrible because I just don't know how to eliminate the glare. Those of you who post beautiful pictures..... I hang my head in shame
Oh yes, I forgot..... the pearl the original came with is truly 'orrible and I want to make another. I know people have made them. From what? It almost looks as if a blob of epoxy, properly positioned might do the trick, but I'd be grateful to hear from you experts.
