Budget building the Tudor 9411

[ronin007]

this is my other phong case, bought off mapman57,engraved 9411 bought wanted a nice 5512 so had a swap, they are fantastic cases though and i love the bezels

 

[Hugop]

Yes they are great cases I have both a 7016 and 7021 from Phong.

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[jackthelux]

Great post thank you.
I see here the difference between a true specialist and the Tudor lover I am. Happy to see that the hands of my Snowflake are pretty good except the small tail of the second hand which is a bit short.
If you know the different cases can you rank them in terme of quality/close to gen ? I always wonder the pro and cons of the different case between : Phong/Helenarou/Yuki/Cartel and now JKF.

Regarding the plexi i give a great role to this piece…right after the dial. I use to work in a office and the reflexion of the artificial light is completly different from one plexi to another. Clark are not bad and better than the stock one, for the price it is a good improvement but remains way behind the gen. The good surprise comes from the sternkruz and I was impressed how good it looks.

Very interesting in your opinion about crystals...
It seems that the right sternkreuz ref for the 25 125 crystal is the xs 303 462, but I can't find it anywhere!
There is another ref maybe?
Can you link me?
Thanks

 

[Tudorflake]

I think there is German ebay seller ( watchparts24) with Sternkreuz which is listed as compatible with 25-125 but it does not specifically state the model xs 303 462 in the title and description. Price US $23.95. Wonder if it is the same.

 

[Hugop]

Go to here and scroll down past mid page and you will find the xs 303 462 for a little over $10.

I also like the Clark 25-125 for an inexpensive ($5) solution.

http://www.ofrei.com/page419.html

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[Hugop]

Here it is in the UK at Cousins as well. Under £5.

https://m.cousinsuk.com/sku/watch-p...erence/attribute-search/C8502?_=1484059807326

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[Hugop]

The Clark is a nice choice if like me you are prone to do this...

 

[txrob779]

I have built several snowflakes now and they range from entry level efforts to the very high end gen dialed, Phong cased wonder I wear now.

I have used yuki dials, rafflestine dials, HR dials and gen.

Hands from Yuki, rafflestime and onlinestorehk (ebay)

Cases I have used include Helenaroo, cartel, JKF and Phong

Plexi crystals from Clark, Sternkruz, cartel and gen

Swiss eta movements, eta clones and asian 21j

All that said here is the way I see the choice before you if you are building on a budget.

Obviously for the best most accurate a 9411 would have a gen dial, Phong case and back, a gen plexi, a gen 702 or 703 crown, gen 125 plexi, Clark bezel assembly, gen insert (easy in black almost impossible and expensive in blue), and a gen swiss 2784 movement. This is basically my set up now. Easily $2k.

Two weeks ago I bought another gen Tudor sub dial. This time a triangle no date. I wanted to get it into a case quick and had a JK fact case on hand. I am not sure but think this is the same as the cartel cases now? Someone chime in if you know. Ether way very similar. Long crown guards that give you plenty of material to reshape. I found this case to be good base to start with inexpensively.

I used some expensive parts with the rest of the build so I will stop there since I am discussing a budget build.

Knowing what I have used on these builds this is my opinion of the best budget build. The dial is key to the finished product. Next hands then crown guards followed by crown. I would use these parts and will try to approximate the cost as well.

9411 Dial and hand combo from yuki about $125
New JK fac or Cartel 1680 base watch with the extended crown guards. $218 with asian 2836. We are talking 9411 so the date disc has to be in the eta position. The date disc can be picked up for about $10 on the bay. You do have to have the skill to Change this disc when changing the dial and hands off. This also means you have to put a 125 plexi on there too. The cyclops is further to the right to accommodate the eta date position. Clark watch for $6?

You can stop there and have a decent snowy for $359. OR...


Aythaya crown and tube $35

If you are going blue you will need the dark blue clark 5513 insert $16

A plastic pearl pip from Aythaya $10 (they have to be lumed or colored by you)

At this point you would have a very presentable snowy for $420. The labor is all on you.

You can take all the parts here and with some skill and elbow greese change out parts and reshape the case. You will also want to drill those lug holes to 1.25mm to take gen spec fat spring bars. You should also polish the heck out of the clark 125 with polywatch (makes a new crystal look a lot more believable imo)

This will produce an even better looking finished product. It is all up to how far you want to take your efforts (and pocketbook).

Don't forget caseback engraving. Unless I missed that and an ETA 2784 or 2776. Same movement except the 2784 has a DW that u can remove. Believe me, done it. My 9401 has a 2874 w/yuki rotor, pvirus dial too

BTW, I got my acrylic pearl from Ofrei

 

[txrob779]

eBay donor watch bought ETA 2874 w/Yuki rotor

Before the swap and Yuki rotar. This 2874 was in a Sandoz. Now, the absolute correct moment is the ETA 2776 (2874 is the same movement only has a DW and the 2776 for a 9401 does not)

 

[Hugop]

Very nice Rob! I also like the Ofrei pearls. They look very much like the gen insert pearls I have. Much flatter profile than Aythaya but more than twic the cost.

I am also a fan of Pvirus dials. I have a bond four liner he did for me years ago.

I do have several variations of case backs I can post up. I will make some pics.


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[Hugop]

@txrob771 is that a JKF case? What back do you have on there now.


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[txrob779]

Very nice Rob! I also like the Ofrei pearls. They look very much like the gen insert pearls I have. Much flatter profile than Aythaya but more than twic the cost.

I am also a fan of Pvirus dials. I have a bond four liner he did for me years ago.

I do have several variations of case backs I can post up. I will make some pics.


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Ofrei calls it an "Acrylic Lume Dot" btw
F***** is hard to find if u don't know that

 

[txrob779]

@txrob771 is that a JKF case? What back do you have on there now.


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It's a Cartel 5513 case. Like 2012 version. My 9401 has been built and modded 3 different times. It started life with a myhand dial (bright blue which I think was the same dial as Yuki sold back in the day) to this pvirus dial (which was one of the last ones. The color is exactly like gen but the print font kinda sucks as it's blotchy if u macro piccitt)
Originally had the an ETA 2846 but I wanted as close as I could get it. Just for the quest of the build. My caseback AND lug engraving is from jmb

 

[txrob779]

Again,
My good good friend and neighbor jmb engraved my caseback and lugs with model #'s and serial (I think it's engraved anyway)
If u Search for txrob779 9401 there is a long ass thread on this build. All 3 times I do believe.

Thank you for reading me :junio:

 

[Hugop]

Here is a pic of one of Ofrei's lume pearls.

This one is from Aythaya watch.

 

[txrob779]

Yup, that's it..Same pearl for 5512/13's and 1680's if I remember correctly.

:bless:

 

[ronin007]

I need a back with engravings on if anyone has a spare to sell for a Mbw case

 

[txrob779]

I need a back with engravings on if anyone has a spare to sell for a Mbw case

PM member jmb in Texas...He might have the room to get you in his que and engrave your caseback.

Might even trade for that MBW case. Ya never know

 

[ronin007]

Thanks

 

[Hugop]

Here is a pic of my Phong case back. This is the older style whick would have been used is the 60's.

cant send one of the later style with the flat back right now. Will post one in a day or so.