- 29/8/19
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Posting a detailed look into how my 5402 project was created for those who are curious about it.
The idea first popped into my head when I thought to myself how cool it would be to make a 5402 franken without the usual problems (thickness, separate casebacks like all other frankens built so far, not to mention the clasp and hands which are different than gen 15202 hands). At this point I had a 15202 franken with gen white dial and hands with an XF case. For financial reasons I sold the dial and hands to aqcuire other parts for other builds so I created a void where my gen dial and hands went. I then bought and installed a custom salmon dial and datedisk thinking that would satisfy me and fill that void but the thought was in the back of my mind to get a gen 15202 or 5402 dial. Some time later, I asked my contact completely out of the blue if he could make a 5402 custom case since he's made dozens of custom 15202 cases and projects. The conversation to buy it went like this:
After aqcuiring the case I never thought would exist in this hobby let alone when I asked for it out of the blue, the first of the problems arose. The XF bracelet when attached to the case created an unpleasant gap so much so that I even tried selling the case because I thought it would be impossible to adjust the lug holes and also to buy a gen dial. I installed my salmon dial in the watch case, called it a day and never took it out because of the large gap I thought was terrible. About 1 year passed from this point before I thought of how to address this problem. Using a diamond wire saw, I removed enough material to enlarge the holes and to also move them down 2mm so the case would fit perfectly with the bracelet. I used jb weld epoxy to fill the space where the old lug holes were and used a tungsten carbide drillbit to even out the new holes. Now I had the case and bracelet issue fixed, but still no gen dial.
Some time passed and more doubt enterred my mind about finishing the build, but I was still not happy with the salmon dial and wanted that blue hue and old looking font of the 5402 dial. One morning I browsed online and saw one and bought it without hesitation. It wasn't until I paid that I realized this dial didnt have markers. I was happy with this as I could add them later as markers have been sold before in the past. The important thing was the dial itself. The dial I bought was obtained from a watchmaker in Switzerland a long time ago per the seller. For being over 50 years old the wear is almost non-existant. On the back it is signed 60021 00010. I thought I had just won the lottery.
Back to the problems I mentioned above. Little did I know, when I removed the canon pinion and swapped it for another, I accidentally widened it so it now slipped when spinning on the center wheel. This caused the hands to never move and basically killed the watch for me, and my hopes. I didnt have the tools or people around me to fix it. There it sat for a week until I gathered the courage to address it and risked ruining the movement even more. Even when fully wound, the minute hand wouldnt move a smidge for hours. In addition, upon further inspection I realized that I used the wrong setting wheel when installing the watch. Big oops.
When my contact who sold me the case learned of this problem he then said I should take it to a professional to fix it. I agreed and then even consulted my local watchmaker about it. However, after spotting and tackling the setting wheel issue, I had a lot of confidence I could do it. I got the very loose canon pinion out, a set of small pliers and went to town on it. The tightening wasn't as hard as I imagined, but it was getting it back on that worried me. It didnt even budge when trying to press it back down, but I forced it on with a good amount of pressure and hoped for the best. It is supposed to be extremely tight to prevent it from slipping and I thought that I had done it. When it came time to case it back up, I spilled all 16 bezel screw pieces on my floor and thought "what the hell did I just do." Sure enough, I was able to find them all. After addressing all the problems with the case and bracelet lining up, acquiring a good enough gen dial, and troubleshooting and fixing my movement by myself like MacGyver everything was set for assembly.
So voila! My respectable 5402 franken was born. The hands now move properly, date disk flips over how it should, and no further issues require immediate attention to be able to wear this watch out in public. If anyone asked I'll say it's a gen 5402 A series number 666 after the devil. Just kidding, but this project sure was the project from hell...
The idea first popped into my head when I thought to myself how cool it would be to make a 5402 franken without the usual problems (thickness, separate casebacks like all other frankens built so far, not to mention the clasp and hands which are different than gen 15202 hands). At this point I had a 15202 franken with gen white dial and hands with an XF case. For financial reasons I sold the dial and hands to aqcuire other parts for other builds so I created a void where my gen dial and hands went. I then bought and installed a custom salmon dial and datedisk thinking that would satisfy me and fill that void but the thought was in the back of my mind to get a gen 15202 or 5402 dial. Some time later, I asked my contact completely out of the blue if he could make a 5402 custom case since he's made dozens of custom 15202 cases and projects. The conversation to buy it went like this:
After aqcuiring the case I never thought would exist in this hobby let alone when I asked for it out of the blue, the first of the problems arose. The XF bracelet when attached to the case created an unpleasant gap so much so that I even tried selling the case because I thought it would be impossible to adjust the lug holes and also to buy a gen dial. I installed my salmon dial in the watch case, called it a day and never took it out because of the large gap I thought was terrible. About 1 year passed from this point before I thought of how to address this problem. Using a diamond wire saw, I removed enough material to enlarge the holes and to also move them down 2mm so the case would fit perfectly with the bracelet. I used jb weld epoxy to fill the space where the old lug holes were and used a tungsten carbide drillbit to even out the new holes. Now I had the case and bracelet issue fixed, but still no gen dial.
Some time passed and more doubt enterred my mind about finishing the build, but I was still not happy with the salmon dial and wanted that blue hue and old looking font of the 5402 dial. One morning I browsed online and saw one and bought it without hesitation. It wasn't until I paid that I realized this dial didnt have markers. I was happy with this as I could add them later as markers have been sold before in the past. The important thing was the dial itself. The dial I bought was obtained from a watchmaker in Switzerland a long time ago per the seller. For being over 50 years old the wear is almost non-existant. On the back it is signed 60021 00010. I thought I had just won the lottery.
Back to the problems I mentioned above. Little did I know, when I removed the canon pinion and swapped it for another, I accidentally widened it so it now slipped when spinning on the center wheel. This caused the hands to never move and basically killed the watch for me, and my hopes. I didnt have the tools or people around me to fix it. There it sat for a week until I gathered the courage to address it and risked ruining the movement even more. Even when fully wound, the minute hand wouldnt move a smidge for hours. In addition, upon further inspection I realized that I used the wrong setting wheel when installing the watch. Big oops.
When my contact who sold me the case learned of this problem he then said I should take it to a professional to fix it. I agreed and then even consulted my local watchmaker about it. However, after spotting and tackling the setting wheel issue, I had a lot of confidence I could do it. I got the very loose canon pinion out, a set of small pliers and went to town on it. The tightening wasn't as hard as I imagined, but it was getting it back on that worried me. It didnt even budge when trying to press it back down, but I forced it on with a good amount of pressure and hoped for the best. It is supposed to be extremely tight to prevent it from slipping and I thought that I had done it. When it came time to case it back up, I spilled all 16 bezel screw pieces on my floor and thought "what the hell did I just do." Sure enough, I was able to find them all. After addressing all the problems with the case and bracelet lining up, acquiring a good enough gen dial, and troubleshooting and fixing my movement by myself like MacGyver everything was set for assembly.
So voila! My respectable 5402 franken was born. The hands now move properly, date disk flips over how it should, and no further issues require immediate attention to be able to wear this watch out in public. If anyone asked I'll say it's a gen 5402 A series number 666 after the devil. Just kidding, but this project sure was the project from hell...
