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If you want someone done right... (Engraving content)

newest dude on the forum

newest dude on the forum

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I've been looking at my options for lug and caseback engraving. After considering everything I decided to develop my own capability to do it.

I first looked at fiber lasers. It's the easiest option and they can engrave steel. The issue is that the engraving is dark and superficial.

I then looked into CNC machines. Due to the curve of the case you need a fairly advanced machine to do it. Also it comes out a little too perfect. You can see that Rolex lug engravings have variability and imperfections.

3qth1F.jpg

3qt2Mt.jpg


So, I decided that in order to do this right I would have to buy an old school pantograph engraver like Rolex actually used. That's what I did this morning.

3qteoE.jpg

3qt5Tn.jpg


So, now I'm going to build a jig to hold watch cases and get this dialed in. This hobby takes you to some weird places...
 
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Vitto2

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Il tuo hobby è molto interessante.
Dopo aver commissionato 4 super franken in un anno (con calibro originale ovviamente) ho finalmente capito che il problema delle casse anche più costose sta nell'incisione troppo perfette.
L'unica starada è il pantografo.
 
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eBoy

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Vitto2 said:
Il tuo hobby è molto interessante.
Dopo aver commissionato 4 super franken in un anno (con calibro originale ovviamente) ho finalmente capito che il problema delle casse anche più costose sta nell'incisione troppo perfette.
L'unica starada è il pantografo.
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Please only post in English in the main forum sections.

Si prega di postare solo in inglese nelle sezioni principali del forum.

The only sub sections where you can post in Italian or other languages are in the international section. Thank you for your understanding.
 
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Vitto2

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Sorry,

Your hobby is very interesting.
After ordering 4 super franken in one year (with the original caliber of course) I finally understood that the problem with even the most expensive cases is that the engraving is too perfect.
The only starada is the pantograph.
 
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newest dude on the forum

newest dude on the forum

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The EnGrave Yard
So, after spending the past couple days in some corners of the internet I wasn't aware existed, I have gotten my figurative hands on a font set that has got to be one of the exact same font sets that Rolex used up until about 1980. It's also the correct size to achieve lug engraving. I paid for it and it's in the mail, next up is getting my literal hands on the font set. In the meantime, I'm practicing and getting my technique down.

Boring details below, for those so-inclined:

In the mid-century there was one monster for pantograph engraving and it was New Hermes. Chances are, if a business was doing serious engraving they were using a New Hermes machine and font sets. The machines that I have right now are both New Hermes and I started searching through their font sets and contacting people who seemed knowledgeable on the subject. If you take a quick look through some New Hermes fonts you'll see that Rolex definitely used New Hermes font sets (not surprising since they were the best in the game). The tricky part is that Rolex lug engraving is about 1.5 mm to 2 mm on the largest examples. The New Hermes machines can achieve a size reduction of 6x. The tricky thing then becomes finding the correct font that is also the correct size that can achieve lug engraving size. I got lucky that some experts helped me on my way, and now I've got the correct set on the way.
 
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chrome72

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newest dude on the forum said:
So, after spending the past couple days in some corners of the internet I wasn't aware existed, I have gotten my figurative hands on a font set that has got to be one of the exact same font sets that Rolex used up until about 1980. It's also the correct size to achieve lug engraving. I paid for it and it's in the mail, next up is getting my literal hands on the font set. In the meantime, I'm practicing and getting my technique down.

Boring details below, for those so-inclined:

In the mid-century there was one monster for pantograph engraving and it was New Hermes. Chances are, if a business was doing serious engraving they were using a New Hermes machine and font sets. The machines that I have right now are both New Hermes and I started searching through their font sets and contacting people who seemed knowledgeable on the subject. If you take a quick look through some New Hermes fonts you'll see that Rolex definitely used New Hermes font sets (not surprising since they were the best in the game). The tricky part is that Rolex lug engraving is about 1.5 mm to 2 mm on the largest examples. The New Hermes machines can achieve a size reduction of 6x. The tricky thing then becomes finding the correct font that is also the correct size that can achieve lug engraving size. I got lucky that some experts helped me on my way, and now I've got the correct set on the way.
Click to expand...
got pics of it?
 
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