Audemars Piguet LBJ Made Closer to Gen *loads of pics*

[Godfathar]

*All pictures on this thread are unedited and untouched to reflect the job done.​

Hello everyone, I bought an AP LBJ about 6 months ago, and of course announced it as soon as I have received it from josh.. and most of you who bought the LBJ know that the watch is impressive straight out of the box. That is true, but for me on a personal level, the devil is always hiding in the details, and although I have been wearing it, every time I look at it, which is almost all the time, few obvious details scream rep at me, for instance the white hand @12, the weird shade of blue on the other hands.. it kept making me annoyed when I look at the watch, the needle @12 should have been grey, why they went with white I have no idea..

​

But nevertheless, I have expressed my frustration on a thread here, and have seen many opinions on this regard, some told me live with it, and others perhaps were more understanding and told me if I don't feel comfortable, I should fix the problem, and that it is not a big issue, it could be fixed easily. This is where I got to meet my modder. a lovely gentleman that always says things as it is, if he can't do a job he will say it even before you send the watch to him, and this what I liked about the guy, being straight forward from day one. He looked at the watch and the idea and he agreed to take on the job. and since the watch will be at the hands of the all mighty, why not go the extra mile and super rep it as much as it is possible. So I got me a lovely 2X AR crystal from Profsteve..

​

Then asked my modder to also do the bezel screws recess job, which happened to be a breeze for him. I also asked him after opening the watch he should look at the pushers, we all know that the pushers @ 2 and 4 are not equally aligned, and it has been a talk for a while on the forums, I asked him to take a look and see what he can do about it, after having a look, we agreed to leave them alone, as there is not much can be done, unless you shorten the pusher screw @4, which makes the pusher not on working state.

I also asked him to re-brush the bezel as there was a little scratch on it. and last but not least, since it is with him, I asked him to do his magic and make this baby glow like never before, so he did a terrific lume job on it..
​

Enough talk, on with the pics.. I walk in my office this morning, and something was waiting for me downstairs..

It's packed very well

what a lovely crystal, or no crystal in many cases hahahaha

Corrected grey needle, and corrected shade of blue on the blue parts..

Recessed bezel screws just like gen.

few wristies for you..

a macro wristy shot

and last but not least, I had to show off the lume job he did.. it actually lights up almost the whole dial

​

To sum up the mods on this LBJ:

1) Installation of Profsteve's 2XAR
2) Correct all needles and hands colors
3) Bezel screws recessed
4) Relume
5) Rebrush bezel to perfection
6) Align pusher (not possible unfortunately)

 

[legend]

I have modded two Lebron James pusher@4 and they are still working. I know that all the pushers@4 were too long. Besides what you've done, the cyclops can also be modded to give more date depth and magnification, the hand base can be trimmed to be more gen like, and the markers at 3,6 and 9 straightened (looks ok in your case).
You've done a conmendable job none the less . Congrats and wear her well.


Message crafted while wrestling a juvenile crocodile that's unwilling to be captured and made into leather

 

[peterpl]

Why does everyone think the pushers are wrong? I've seen plenty of gen pics and the bottom pusher is ever so slightly longer than the top. That is true to gen.

Where is this misconception come that the pushers are identical in size?

 

[d4m.test]

This is great work buddy. I love my LBJ even with its flaws, but when people push the boundaries, it makes me smile. As Al has said, there are a few more things that can be done, but you've got that one looking beautiful. Congrats my friend!

 

[ortho]

Nice work!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Godfathar]

Thank you all for your kind words,

The markers at 3,6 and 9 are in pretty good shape. The tachy needed a minor 1/5 mm rotation but it was glued on and couldn't do it.. The DW mod, honestly we wanted to do it, but the modder was upfront with me and told me he doesn't know how to do it. We have never disused the hour hand to tell you the truth. as for the pusher, he told me that the only way is to cut it or shorten it, and there is a risk as we don't know the outcome, I decided not to risk it tbh.

legendkiller are you based in EU? or US?

 

[slaughterer62]

Congratulations Godfather. More and more members are showing a willingness to go further with their AP reps and bring them even closer to a genuine appearance. I like this development and I like threads like this. Cosmetic modification is such an alchemical art and I am not sure if a knowledge of watchmaking alone suffices. One really needs to know alot about materials and how they interact, and spend alot of time reviewing processes and results. Over the years one develops a knowledge of what works best and a detailed process for accomplishing even the smallest of things (a kind of art), as well as a lot of expensive tools. With the selection of a modder, I think it is best to find one who not only has really good materials, tools and techniques, but who also communicates honestly, and who you are comfortable with going down the Rabbit Hole of replica modification with.

 

[jamztio]

Well done. Additionally you can ask your modder to polish the top side of the gold pusher guards and replate them afterwards. That's one of the glaring flaws of the rep and I haven't seen it done before.


*Sent from my fingers using my head*

 

[Godfathar]

Congratulations Godfather. More and more members are showing a willingness to go further with their AP reps and bring them even closer to a genuine appearance. I like this development and I like threads like this. Cosmetic modification is such an alchemical art and I am not sure if a knowledge of watchmaking alone suffices. One really needs to know alot about materials and how they interact, and spend alot of time reviewing processes and results. Over the years one develops a knowledge of what works best and a detailed process for accomplishing even the smallest of things (a kind of art), as well as a lot of expensive tools. With the selection of a modder, I think it is best to find one who not only has really good materials, tools and techniques, but who also communicates honestly, and who you are comfortable with going down the Rabbit Hole of replica modification with.

Thanks for your input, I agree with you, the person needs to be artistic to be able to do such jobs, and the trust is the key in this. I should also add patience is also something you have to have lots from, or this won't work for you. I truly enjoy your knowledgeable posts on AP section

Well done. Additionally you can ask your modder to polish the top side of the gold pusher guards and replate them afterwards. That's one of the glaring flaws of the rep and I haven't seen it done before.


*Sent from my fingers using my head*

I have learned so much for all of you during the past few months, I think us in the rep forum are much more critical of the watches, and know the ins and outs of the gen watches more than any gen watch enthusiast. tbh, I think what you said is something 99% of the LBJ buyers couldn't spot, I am sure someone out there can do that job(replating it to the same exact color would be the most difficult part), but most of the people modding their LBJ would not spot this tell ( I know I didn't until you highlighted it here), and would rather go with the easier tells such as the ones I fixed, and perhaps the hour hand trim and the DW depth fix.

thanks for your kind input

 

[schumi]

Beautiful watch
Congrats man


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MADRED7]

WOW, this is a stunning result. It´s the smaller things that make a difference and the only one who needs to be 100% happy is you.

Congrats, great effort.

Dr. Theo

 

[Godfathar]

many thanks for your kind words

 

[firesuite]

did you ask him about rebrushing the 3 and 9 markers? they are brushed the wrong way, dead give away and the reason I sold mine.

 

[Godfathar]

^^ never noticed it before. it doesn't bother me really..

My main concerns were the colors of the needles, alignment, and recessed bezel screws, those are what bothered me when I looked at it before, all fixed, and included a 2XAR crystal to make it even better. I am a happy camper for now

 

[pm-guy]

Awesome watch you have there!
How i wish I can wear a 44mm AP....

 

[Bentleylover]

It's amazing looking piece buddy. My mate has a gen LBJ . Piece looks same as gen [emoji108][emoji108]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[domsdaddy123]

I read on here from a AP expert that gen has no AR..and 2xAR is a dead five away..is this true?

 

[Godfathar]

In my personal opinion, dead giveaway is when someone standing next to you or sitting on a meeting table with you sneaks a look at the watch, and realizes it's rep without actually holding it and looking closely for discrepancies, mind you how many people in the world would know that the markers 3 and 9 are brushed the wrong way, or the depth of the DW is wrong, just from sitting across the table.

I can assure you, the LBJ, even before modding it to bring it closer to gen, would not have a dead giveaway. I wore it many times before recently modding it, and ended up in a club in Monaco with someone who I know for sure has the gen, saluted me and complimented my watch. we never had the chance to compare watches, but from where we stood, not even someone wearing the gen realized. What I have modded, is because those little things were bothering me personally. not because the watch was a dead giveaway. a person standing next to me would not realize whether or not this is a 2XAR crystal or not. but when I look at it, I will smile to see how beautifully it made the dial look and pop back at me. same thing with the color corrections for the hands. all for my personal preference.

The watch is magnificent as it is. Please, if the things I did doesn't bother you, just enjoy the watch. I assure you, if you carry yourself right, no one will see the difference. We are here on this forum are more critical than 99% of the people you will meet daily in the real life.

I salute you all

 

[schumi]

In my personal opinion, dead giveaway is when someone standing next to you or sitting on a meeting table with you sneaks a look at the watch, and realizes it's rep without actually holding it and looking closely for discrepancies, mind you how many people in the world would know that the markers 3 and 9 are brushed the wrong way, or the depth of the DW is wrong, just from sitting across the table.

I can assure you, the LBJ, even before modding it to bring it closer to gen, would not have a dead giveaway. I wore it many times before recently modding it, and ended up in a club in Monaco with someone who I know for sure has the gen, saluted me and complimented my watch. we never had the chance to compare watches, but from where we stood, not even someone wearing the gen realized. What I have modded, is because those little things were bothering me personally. not because the watch was a dead giveaway. a person standing next to me would not realize whether or not this is a 2XAR crystal or not. but when I look at it, I will smile to see how beautifully it made the dial look and pop back at me. same thing with the color corrections for the hands. all for my personal preference.

The watch is magnificent as it is. Please, if the things I did doesn't bother you, just enjoy the watch. I assure you, if you carry yourself right, no one will see the difference. We are here on this forum are more critical than 99% of the people you will meet daily in the real life.

I salute you all

+1

Great work again brother
Very impressed


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Retina]

Nice mods and nice rep. It has become my favorite go to watch for special occasions, worth the extra mods