Some members asked me for a build thread, so here we are.
The concept starts from the first Speedmaster issued in 1957. Hence the moniker « The Firstborn »
The donor watch is a Pagani Design 1766 and a Mission to Moon rep from Watches_77
The hands are NH35 Broad Arrows that I crimped to size.
The PE-50 hands (H/M/S/Sub) are sized as follows: 120/70/17/20
Quite tricky moving from NH 150/90/21. The holes are irregular from the pin vice but good grip nonetheless
Thankfully the subdial hands came stock from Cousins, choosing the leaf silver model
Hands and dial were aged using the same techniques as we practice on the 1016 thread. @369mafia @316lad @Geonor @dpd3672 my buddies
While I was at it, I also decided to open up the PE50 to freeze the 2h subdial using @Pinion Minion technique
When assembling, I encountered two challenges.
1. The sapphire crystal was too low and the seconds hand hit.
2. The rep dial was too small, leaving me only 0.1 mm of lip to hold the dial
After some soul searching and a good night rest, I had the ahah moment. So I shaped a rep acrylic crystal and glued it in. same as in the watch that @KGZ bought from me (thanks brother, and no you can’t have this one)
I could not get the exact snap fit, so hypocement it was.
However, in the process the crystal got cracked on the edges as it did not have a place to sit on. It holds by the sides…some minute glue posing here. Thanks @KJ2020 …yup used the tips from the 14060
I decided to keep it as is. 67 years deserve a couple of cracks…
Now to the dial. I don’t have a 3D printer. So I used the Pagani spacer, with fishline to hold everything in place. A custom made caseback spring holds the movement flush and aligned.
Still, I had to dislodge the bezel to get the spot aligment of the 60 marker on the 12
A 7mm Omega rep crown enhances the build credibility
I also sanded down the Pagani engraved logo from the caseback.
Finally, a nice vintage brown strap completes the build with a buckle with the logo in 3D
Wow, that was my longest post ever.
So now the pics
The concept starts from the first Speedmaster issued in 1957. Hence the moniker « The Firstborn »
The donor watch is a Pagani Design 1766 and a Mission to Moon rep from Watches_77
The hands are NH35 Broad Arrows that I crimped to size.
The PE-50 hands (H/M/S/Sub) are sized as follows: 120/70/17/20
Quite tricky moving from NH 150/90/21. The holes are irregular from the pin vice but good grip nonetheless
Thankfully the subdial hands came stock from Cousins, choosing the leaf silver model
Hands and dial were aged using the same techniques as we practice on the 1016 thread. @369mafia @316lad @Geonor @dpd3672 my buddies
While I was at it, I also decided to open up the PE50 to freeze the 2h subdial using @Pinion Minion technique
When assembling, I encountered two challenges.
1. The sapphire crystal was too low and the seconds hand hit.
2. The rep dial was too small, leaving me only 0.1 mm of lip to hold the dial
After some soul searching and a good night rest, I had the ahah moment. So I shaped a rep acrylic crystal and glued it in. same as in the watch that @KGZ bought from me (thanks brother, and no you can’t have this one)
I could not get the exact snap fit, so hypocement it was.
However, in the process the crystal got cracked on the edges as it did not have a place to sit on. It holds by the sides…some minute glue posing here. Thanks @KJ2020 …yup used the tips from the 14060
I decided to keep it as is. 67 years deserve a couple of cracks…
Now to the dial. I don’t have a 3D printer. So I used the Pagani spacer, with fishline to hold everything in place. A custom made caseback spring holds the movement flush and aligned.
Still, I had to dislodge the bezel to get the spot aligment of the 60 marker on the 12
A 7mm Omega rep crown enhances the build credibility
I also sanded down the Pagani engraved logo from the caseback.
Finally, a nice vintage brown strap completes the build with a buckle with the logo in 3D
Wow, that was my longest post ever.
So now the pics
Last edited:
