6610 Gilt Dial EXPLORER build ... Twin Sisters

[manodeoro]

Today I've received something from Helenarou ... gold handset with 13mm minutes hand.
It will reworked, aged an relumed along the build but it looks already nice on the dial.
Look at how the minutes hand just touch the chapter ring ... I love that

 

[jimcon11]

Today I've received something from Helenarou ... gold handset with 13mm minutes hand.
It will reworked, aged an relumed along the build but it looks already nice on the dial.
Look at how the minutes hand just touch the chapter ring ... I love that

In all honestly mate I would steer clear of those hands... they are way too big and fat. The rectangular lume plots on the hands should never be wider than the batons on the dial. The HR hands are designed for her oversized Submariner builds.. I was worried that they would be like this.

​​​​​​
​​​​​​Its good to see she has that big ball second hand back though, it's very good, even tapers properly. It looks like the lume is on the wrong side on yours? But that can be easily fixed.

IMO you gotta go JK/Clarks hour hand and Raffles minute hand, and do a bit of blade work, then you'll have amazing hands that befit the quality of your builds .

 

[Mendota]

Yeah, those look like modern maxi sub hands. Indeed, that big ball seconds hand looks like it is upside down with the lume applied on the wrong side of the hand.

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[manodeoro]

In all honestly mate I would steer clear of those hands... they are way too big and fat. The rectangular lume plots on the hands should never be wider than the batons on the dial. The HR hands are designed for her oversized Submariner builds.. I was worried that they would be like this.

​​​​​​
​​​​​​Its good to see she has that big ball second hand back though, it's very good, even tapers properly. It looks like the lume is on the wrong side on yours? But that can be easily fixed.

IMO you gotta go JK/Clarks hour hand and Raffles minute hand, and do a bit of blade work, then you'll have amazing hands that befit the quality of your builds .

You are 100% true.
After speaking with Jsebwc I've already decided to go that way.
I already have a JK gold handset and the hour hand is great so I will order another one and two 6204 handset from Raffles for the minutes hands.
It will be more costly but I think the dials deserve some respect.

BTW ... here's a "before/after" side pic of the cases ... could be great when finished

 

[manodeoro]

Yeah, those look like modern maxi sub hands. Indeed, that big ball seconds hand looks like it is upside down with the lume applied on the wrong side of the hand.

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MY bad ... I did too quick and presented the seconds hand upside down

 

[manodeoro]

When I started that thread I thought about keeping those builds as low as possible ... now it seems that the budget will be higher than supposed

Handset budget only :
- Hours hand - from KJ Sub handset ($11)
- Minutes hand - from Raffles 6204 handset ($25)
- Seconds hand - from HR handset ($23)
So I'm now up to $59 for the handset only.

Add :
- Asian 2824-2
- ETA 2840 (from which I will keep only the balance wheel, escape wheel and pallet fork and put them on the A 2824-2 to convert it to low-beat)
- 20mm Rivet bracelet
Then I'm already about $200 in parts

Add some bucks for the lathe work and some other parts and I'm already about $350
And I'm happy enough that I build the gilt dials and do all the other case work myself.

Not really in the cheap range anymore ... but those Twin Sisters will be awesome at least I hope

 

[manodeoro]

So .... this WE I went hicking but I took some time to think about those handsets.
And yesterday evening I checked pics of 6610s both with or without red-depth rating and it seems they came indifferently with big or standard lollipop seconds hands.
And I must say I'm not a fan of big lollipop
I prefer those watches like this ... which really looks like a standard 6538 gold handset

I had been really specific when asking Mk at Helenarou ... I asked if he could get a gold handset with exactly the same look as the silver 6538 with 13mm minutes hand they sell.
So I consider Mk is faulty and I don't want to sit on a $5440 loss, so I've sent an email with 2 options :
1 - a complete refund, 2 gold handsets + shipping
2 - 2 silver 6538 handsets with 13mm minutes hand sent to me for free

I 'm an honest guy so if Mk agree with any of those 2 options I'll send back the wrong gold handsets (low shipping of course).

If Mk rejects both of the 2 options, I'll live with that as I will have no other choice but I'll certainly never ever buy anything from them.

Here's a pic of the 6538 silver handsets with 13mm minutes hands.
I think that with some rework (thin the metal parts both from the outside and the inside) and after gold plating, that handset could be OK
Feel free to give your opinions !!!

 

[Palace]

I have no clue about vintage builds so I sadly can't help you with your problem but I must say I really enjoy reading this thread.

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[manodeoro]

I have no clue about vintage builds so I sadly can't help you with your problem but I must say I really enjoy reading this thread.

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Glad you enjoy reading this ... that's my first purpose when posting
Second purpose being to get some help and opinions of course but everybody's welcome here

 

[snorky1]

Je suis littéralement fan !

 

[manodeoro]

Je suis littéralement fan !

Thank you ... Merci ????

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[dman9555]

Very cool process, how many man hours do you think this took? whatever it was it was well worth it.

 

[manodeoro]

Very cool process, how many man hours do you think this took? whatever it was it was well worth it.

I stopped counting after 20 hours + .... could sound too long and not worthy but I'm almost "prototyping" everything here ... do / erase / do again / etc ...
But it's still worthy as I at the end I'll finish with a pair of rare twin watches.

 

[dman9555]

Thats awesome, Once I get my act together I'd like to get in to a hobby like that, albeit at a more beginner level.

 

[manodeoro]

Thats awesome, Once I get my act together I'd like to get in to a hobby like that, albeit at a more beginner level.

May I ask what ACT means ?..
I suppose it's an acronym ?
BTW ... we all start as a beginner one day ... when I joined here 10/2016 the only thing I could do on a watch was putting a new battery in my Casio ... LOL

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[dman9555]

Hahaha, just meant when I get settled in my new apartment + job that's all.

 

[manodeoro]

That build is in "stand by" for somedays but I have some news about the gold handsets ...

Mk from Helenarou came back to me and said that he actually have the 6538 gold handset, exactly the same shape than de silver one and with 13mm minutes hand.
He said his shipping clerck sent the wrong style gold handsets by error and offered to send me the right ones.

So now I'm waiting for two 6538 gold handsets ... I hope they wil be OK.
If they are I'll probably keep all the hands (reworked and relume) and put the "big lollipop" idea asidefor now.

I din't think I'll update that thread until first week of August ... next week I'm leaving for a nice vacation


EDIT :
Mk just emailed me that I can keep the wrong style gold handsets, as a compensation for his error and me waiting some more time
So, if I'm able to matte a little the gold big lollipop without removing all the plating ... I could possibly try it

 

[Paglia Orba]

• Very promising build, can't wait til august!!!

 

[369mafia]

posting pics of GEN for reference and motivation. I am excited for the progress to continue!!

 

[lorenzo1910]

That's a beauty... great job! unk: