Another Moonswatch metal case project

[M Scott]

If you want a simple mod, the jason007 is the best. You get a branded crown and a caseback
The case is thinner than the alix. The bracelet is okish but don’t expect ARF quality.

If you can do some more advanced modding, Pagani is nice.

Don’t buy the Pladen, it’s shit.

Agreed 100% - I have mixed and matched a lot of these pieces.

My favorite by far is a Pagani Case with the jason007 Case Back and an Omega Crown on a Leather Strap.
- 13.6 mm thick with an older, thinner Pagani Case and the jason007 Case back.
- 14.3 mm thick with all the newer style Pagani Cases with Pagani Case backs.
- 14.8 mm thick with the typical Aliexpress Cases.
- 15.0 mm thick for the jason007 case. Yes, the Cool Omega Case back is thinner, but the Case itself is Thicker.

The jason007 Bracelet looks good with the Omega Speedmaster engravings, but you can't fine tune the sizing like a Pagani. Also the Jason007 solid end links will favor a thicker wrist.

The Pagani Cases all have a Ceramic Bezel instead of Aluminum that is just cleaner and better quality.

 

[M Scott]

The Pagani’s a good choice, just be careful/specific when ordering because they’ve run through six different variations of bezel, many of which are super incorrect. I think the V1 may’ve had the most accurate bezel (including ‘Dot Over 90’!) V3 onward got rid of the DO90 and V4 and V5 switched to the English “Tachymeter” instead of the French, swapped for a 400 measurement dial instead of the correct 500, and I think it was V4 that was the most extraordinarily incorrect by making all the numbers circular around the dial rather than straight up and down. V6 is second best, since everything is decent but it’s missing the Dot Over 90.

Some of the AliX listings show one thing in the photo but are labeled something else in the product selection (i.e. it shows V3 or V6 but says V5) in which case you’ll probably receive V5 and it’ll be wrong. I had to send one back for that myself.

It's not just the Bezel... My older Pagani has a Thinner Profile on the Sides of the Case and No Blueish A/R Coating on the Crystal compared to all my Newer Versions.

No ‘Dot Over 90’ on the Bezel, so maybe my Older one is a V2?

 

[DapperDoctorHolmes]

Ooh I didn’t realize the earlier Pagani’s were also thinner, that’s good to know. I did notice the rep case back is 0.4mm thicker than the Pagani case back, but I think that’s kinda worth it. Do you prefer the lack of AR?

Since it seems nearly impossible to track down those really early Pagani versions, we’ll see what Watchdives has coming at what they’re calling Pagani’s price point

 

[Hprelude]

Late here but I did ask Jason how much just the case + bracelet would be (no movement) and he offered $50 USD shipped rather than $70, so that’s something. I still haven’t been able to verify from anyone exactly how thick the Jason007 rep is vs. the Pagani, but I’m curious about it.

Also of note is Watchdives is working on a cheaper V3 of their homage to ‘compete’ with the Pagani, which should be out in a month or so. It’s expected to be around the same price, but with an even more accurate bezel and even slimmer case - we’ll see if that ends up being true. They’re also working on a Speedmaster Reduced homage, which’d be a 39mm case rather than 42mm.

Interesting. Didn’t think to ask Jason007 for just the case. The dial looks to be pretty good from other purchasers. Also Jason007 seems to be super helpful. I asked whether he could send the watch with the seamaster Milanese strap and said he would, although he had a giggle and said that the speed master will look strange with a seamaster band. Personally I prefer the Milanese strap.

 

[Hprelude]

Agreed 100% - I have mixed and matched a lot of these pieces.

My favorite by far is a Pagani Case with the jason007 Case Back and an Omega Crown on a Leather Strap.
- 13.6 mm thick with an older, thinner Pagani Case and the jason007 Case back.
- 14.3 mm thick with all the newer style Pagani Cases with Pagani Case backs.
- 14.8 mm thick with the typical Aliexpress Cases.
- 15.0 mm thick for the jason007 case. Yes, the Cool Omega Case back is thinner, but the Case itself is Thicker.

The jason007 Bracelet looks good with the Omega Speedmaster engravings, but you can't fine tune the sizing like a Pagani. Also the Jason007 solid end links will favor a thicker wrist.

The Pagani Cases all have a Ceramic Bezel instead of Aluminum that is just cleaner and better quality.

Damn, seems like the jason007 case is the thickest out of the bunch. Will see when it arrives. This new watchdives rep seems promising.
Going back to AX versions, has anyone tried this one, brand name LIYAN

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mP6FqY0

 

[DapperDoctorHolmes]

I’ll also note that swapping bracelets can be fairly frustrating if they’re not built ‘for’ that specific case - it’ll gap a bit between the bracelet and the case up top unless you stuff it with aluminum foil underneath

That strategy works, but is gonna get real annoying real fast if you’re a fan of changing out straps with any regularity.

I’ve experienced that with the rep bracelet on the Pagani at least (and the Pagani bracelet doesn’t even fit on the rep case)

 

[Karbon74]

I am not crazy about the bracelets either.
I mean they are ok, but the pin adjustment is archaic and they are heavy

On the one I have listed right now, I put a Seamaster style bracelet, and it's so much more comfortable.
still with the pins though

 

[M Scott]

Ooh I didn’t realize the earlier Pagani’s were also thinner, that’s good to know. I did notice the rep case back is 0.4mm thicker than the Pagani case back, but I think that’s kinda worth it. Do you prefer the lack of AR?

Since it seems nearly impossible to track down those really early Pagani versions, we’ll see what Watchdives has coming at what they’re calling Pagani’s price point

- By my measurements, the jason 007 Replica Case back is actually 0.4 mm thinner than the Pagani Case back.
(I had always assumed that they were about the same thickness)

- The Blueness of the A/R only shows up under harsh lighting along the edge of the Crystal, but it doesn't seem to reduce reflections very well.
So yes, I would slightly prefer the lack of A/R.

Damn, seems like the jason007 case is the thickest out of the bunch. Will see when it arrives. This new watchdives rep seems promising.
Going back to AX versions, has anyone tried this one, brand name LIYAN

I measured the jason007 Case wrong as I had a Pagani Case back on it. (I had wrongly assumed that the thickness was about the same as the Replica Case back that the jason007 Case comes with)

I don't want to mislead anyone, so I went back and measured everything that I had more carefully.

- 13.65 mm thick with an older, thinner Pagani Case and the jason007 Case back.
- 14.05 mm thick with an older, thinner Pagani Case and Pagani Case back.
- 14.25 mm thick with all the newer style Pagani Cases with Pagani Case backs.
- 14.45 mm thick for the jason007 case. Yes, the Cool Omega Case back is thinner, but the Case itself is Thicker.
- 14.80 to 15.20 mm thick with the typical Aliexpress Cases.

 

[M Scott]

I’ll also note that swapping bracelets can be fairly frustrating if they’re not built ‘for’ that specific case - it’ll gap a bit between the bracelet and the case up top unless you stuff it with aluminum foil underneath

That strategy works, but is gonna get real annoying real fast if you’re a fan of changing out straps with any regularity.

I’ve experienced that with the rep bracelet on the Pagani at least (and the Pagani bracelet doesn’t even fit on the rep case)

I would agree with all of this too.
- The jason007 Engraved Speedmaster Bracelet looks great, but the Solid End Links are too loose on a Pagani Case. I had some Machining Work done to Mill out the Pagani End Links so I could fit them to the jason007 Bracelet. It fits and looks great, but I still prefer Leather Straps most of the time.

 

[DapperDoctorHolmes]

Thanks for that in depth comparison! Wonder if I somehow managed an older / slightly worse rep then, as my rep case back is definitely thicker than the Pagani.

14.2mm (Pagani Case with Pagani Case Back)
14.5mm (Pagani Case with Replica Case Back)

15.6mm (Replica Case with Replica Case Back)
15.2mm (Replica Case with Pagani Case Back)

Which is also interesting since that would seem to mean the Pagani case has an extra mm of screw down since it’s 14.5mm with the rep case back instead of 14.6mm.

Now you’ve got me wanting to track down a thinner rep case back…

 

[delmar]

Still waiting on my order from Watches_77 and an order from Rolex1. The order from Swatch1 was for two Mission to the Moon, but were different in that one had a ring between the crystal and the dial, along with a weight attached to the case back, the other had neither. Here is a mod with the frozen sub hand and a gold sub hand from Esslinger.

 

[tofino]

Heres a Mars from the cheap seller. Bit too silver on the dial but it works with the silver case.

 

[Karbon74]

I got one of those shimmery white dials, I gave the rep to a kid in the family. At least one guy is happy…

 

[tofino]

Should have ordered a Moon from them first. Much harder to fuck up black.

 

[delmar]

Heres a Mars from the cheap seller. Bit too silver on the dial but it works with the silver case.

Did someone say cheap seller? Care to share a link?

 

[M Scott]

Now you’ve got me wanting to track down a thinner rep case back…

I ordered 2 Speedmaster Rep Case backs from jason007 for $25 US each.
Lets hope that they are the same parts that were on the Watch that I got from him in May of this year.

 

[Caboose]

I ordered 2 Speedmaster Rep Case backs from jason007 for $25 US each.
Lets hope that they are the same parts that were on the Watch that I got from him in May of this year.

Did not realize you could just order the case backs from him, this is good info!

 

[tofino]

Did someone say cheap seller? Care to share a link?

Seller: qq409906347
Don't order the Mars unless you like silver dials. Although I am pretty sure most of these sellers are sourcing from multiple places, so who knows what you might get.

I ordered 2 Speedmaster Rep Case backs from jason007 for $25 US each.
Lets hope that they are the same parts that were on the Watch that I got from him in May of this year.

Great to know this is an option. give us an update in couple weeks!

 

[tofino]

I am very tempted to buy a fiber laser just to be able to engrave the speedy text and put a circle that you could glue the battery cover planets into.

 

[Caboose]

I am very tempted to buy a fiber laser just to be able to engrave the speedy text and put a circle that you could glue the battery cover planets into.

A laser that can engrave metal will not be cheap. I looked into this. Not worth it just for this.