- 28/5/07
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The goal was to recreate an early D series 25721st with vintage-correct details, with mild age-appropriate aging of lume and dial paint, and a case that is relatively clean and free of extensive refinishing. Owning the gen was not an appealing option for several reasons: The soaring price of vintage beast models, where an early D series with complete set and in near mint condition can command in the neighborhood of $60-90k; the generally terrible condition of any beast that is priced below $35k, with evidence of deep refinishing causing loss of mid case and bezel chamfers and sharpness, and at the same time loss of authenticity with the presence of service dials and hands; similarly the inflated price of tropical models...
So onto the story:
It was clear that no aftermarket DW would work in a convincing fashion— as much as I acknowledge the heroic efforts that went into making these great parts. So first we obtain a movement with a similar looking DW from an 80s vintage LWO283 from a Concord chrono (TAGs from this era have similar DWs suggesting this is a stock ETA spec). Peel off the DD2000 module to reveal the nicely aged ivory DW.
Comparison with 25721st beast pictures reveals good matches with many digits— and a lovely hook to the 7 consistent with D series builds that is absent on subsequent Offshore models. There are serifs that are fairly subtle. Digits “1”, “3”, “4” and “8” are particularly nice. Digits “6” and “9” are okay but less stylized than the 25721st. Also observe the lack of AR coating on these cyclops. Decreased visibility is the trade off but we are trying to go back to what was present in a 1993 model that was the first iteration of a now 27-year tradition with many subsequent important technical refinements.
Alignment of the DW with a vintage DD module with date cutout already blacked out and period-correct wide rectangular opening is good. Had to try a few different ETA 2892 to get the DW dead center vertically across all dates:
Next we have to find a tachy bezel set. We could borrow the 26237st tachy from the JF rep, but its typeface looks different and it’s color probably will not match coloring of a vintage dial due to the variability of the deep blue dial color in Offshore models.
We settle on this matched set with appropriate but not severe aging of dial paint, typically seen around cyclops and edge of tachymeter in D series watches. But importantly the subdials have not been scraped in a circular fashion by low placement of subdial hands, and the hour markers and logo are in excellent shape. This is about as much tropical as I can personally handle.
The fit on the assembled movement looks good. Starting to get excited with anticipation about the results. Blue color is deep, multidimensional and dynamic with light and angle. This is what AP blue is about. This should be Bobby Axelrod’s watch, if Billions show-runners had next level WIS insights in the way they do about liquor, and high-end living in general:
We then do a test fit in a franken machined front loading case courtesy of Domi:
The painful step of fitting hands to get a nice synchronization with date click at near midnight. A little bit of finagling and we settle on a 12:01 date flip. We’ve done better but this will suffice. We choose gen center hands and Mikey-supplied V2 white subdial hands, which are easy to install and de-install if needed without damage to hands or dial. We assemble the watch with a single AR crystal (unclear if this is period-correct but no-AR is not an option as the clarity and brilliance of the dial would be lost). The result is worthwhile, I think. I’m amazed that it took me this long to build one of these after seeing stunning examples from the pioneers in franken building from this community starting over a decade ago. While I love the cleanness of the 25940 models, and rubberclad look in general, the detailing and rich color of this model sets it apart. It also has a historical significance for me where the original issue date and the anniversary models bookend years that are personally relevant. Importantly, it’s taken away the need to hunt down a vintage gen for now.
Thanks for reading...
So onto the story:
It was clear that no aftermarket DW would work in a convincing fashion— as much as I acknowledge the heroic efforts that went into making these great parts. So first we obtain a movement with a similar looking DW from an 80s vintage LWO283 from a Concord chrono (TAGs from this era have similar DWs suggesting this is a stock ETA spec). Peel off the DD2000 module to reveal the nicely aged ivory DW.
Comparison with 25721st beast pictures reveals good matches with many digits— and a lovely hook to the 7 consistent with D series builds that is absent on subsequent Offshore models. There are serifs that are fairly subtle. Digits “1”, “3”, “4” and “8” are particularly nice. Digits “6” and “9” are okay but less stylized than the 25721st. Also observe the lack of AR coating on these cyclops. Decreased visibility is the trade off but we are trying to go back to what was present in a 1993 model that was the first iteration of a now 27-year tradition with many subsequent important technical refinements.
Alignment of the DW with a vintage DD module with date cutout already blacked out and period-correct wide rectangular opening is good. Had to try a few different ETA 2892 to get the DW dead center vertically across all dates:
Next we have to find a tachy bezel set. We could borrow the 26237st tachy from the JF rep, but its typeface looks different and it’s color probably will not match coloring of a vintage dial due to the variability of the deep blue dial color in Offshore models.
We settle on this matched set with appropriate but not severe aging of dial paint, typically seen around cyclops and edge of tachymeter in D series watches. But importantly the subdials have not been scraped in a circular fashion by low placement of subdial hands, and the hour markers and logo are in excellent shape. This is about as much tropical as I can personally handle.
The fit on the assembled movement looks good. Starting to get excited with anticipation about the results. Blue color is deep, multidimensional and dynamic with light and angle. This is what AP blue is about. This should be Bobby Axelrod’s watch, if Billions show-runners had next level WIS insights in the way they do about liquor, and high-end living in general:
We then do a test fit in a franken machined front loading case courtesy of Domi:
The painful step of fitting hands to get a nice synchronization with date click at near midnight. A little bit of finagling and we settle on a 12:01 date flip. We’ve done better but this will suffice. We choose gen center hands and Mikey-supplied V2 white subdial hands, which are easy to install and de-install if needed without damage to hands or dial. We assemble the watch with a single AR crystal (unclear if this is period-correct but no-AR is not an option as the clarity and brilliance of the dial would be lost). The result is worthwhile, I think. I’m amazed that it took me this long to build one of these after seeing stunning examples from the pioneers in franken building from this community starting over a decade ago. While I love the cleanness of the 25940 models, and rubberclad look in general, the detailing and rich color of this model sets it apart. It also has a historical significance for me where the original issue date and the anniversary models bookend years that are personally relevant. Importantly, it’s taken away the need to hunt down a vintage gen for now.
Thanks for reading...
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