Pre-V 5218-203A...It's all in the details

[avitt]

My latest build:

The specs:

• Case is from a 118 that I purchased from River in 2004. Yes, that's right... It's titanium! (I notices a couple of years ago that it has those perfect Pre-V shaped lugs, and I waited for the chance to convert it.) You can see in the pictures that there is absolutely no difference in appearance between DLC coated Ti and steel. Lugs were drilled to accept 1.6mm Pre-V screws.
  
• Coating is my own "vintagized" DLC
  
• Case back if from Jakob
  
• Crystal is DSN sapphire, with AR stripped.
  
• Crown is T48 steel
  
• Crown guard is LH, with a Sead/Nembo lever. I modified the tip of the lever (turned it back away from the case a little, and shortened it). I also added the wire insulation mod, for a nice, soft feel.
  
• Strap is Frogman PAV99
  
• Buckle is a DSN blank sew-in, which I hand engraved and DLC coated.
  
• Pre-V screws are from that Australian eBay seller
  
• Movement is Swiss 6497 with tall CP.
  
• Hands are DSN. Lume was aged a bit in a toaster oven (about 400 degrees for about 20 minutes).
  
• And, of course, the dial is from FishGoDeep (routed to me in the US through NoobyPanFan). I matte sprayed it.
  
• Oh, almost forgot...This could really be considered a Franken, because the bezel (of all things) is genuine. It's from a 000, and came to me damaged. I had is refurbished, and it's a perfect fit.

 

[Dogma]

Damn fine job!! Great looking Pam

 

[COLDI]

That is pure sexiness! Congrats on such a great build. Truly a work of art!!

 

[tommy_boy]

There's something about the DLC that is fantastic. Nice strap choice, too!

 

[Dragonfly]

Real nice job Avitt Great looking pam!

 

[pedecter]

Great project. Do you have a lume shot?

 

[goin6633]

Fantastic work !
Really beautiful Pre-V ~~~~

 

[trksh-bzr]

knowing the story of such a watch, makes a new gen outta the box stink, huh, really beautyfull!!

 

[acharria]

Woow!!!

Looks Awesome, Indeed a DAmn Fine Job!!!
Two questions please.
1) How long to put this beauty together?
2) How much money are invested in this, more or less?
Tks and congrats avitt

 

[levelmanroger]

I'm not a Pam afficianado, but that is truly stunning. Your skills are impressive.

 

[avitt]

Thanks everyone!

Great project. Do you have a lume shot?

No, I didn't take a lume shot (before receiving an offer that I couldn't refuse, and selling the piece). Suffice it to say that the lume is slightly stronger than it should be (as a replica of aged tritium), but not as strong as new luminova.

Looks Awesome, Indeed a DAmn Fine Job!!!
Two questions please.
1) How long to put this beauty together?
2) How much money are invested in this, more or less?
Tks and congrats avitt

Interesting questions...

Aside from the time spend researching and acquiring the components, I'd say that I probably spent about 10 hours on the assembly. (Estimate about 1 hour to condition and bead-blast the case, 0.5 hour to engrave and bead-blast the buckle, 0.5 hour to strip the AR, 1 hour to fit the CG to the case, 1 hour to shape and trim the CG lever, 0.5 hour to install the wire insulation mod, 0.5 hour to drill the lugs, 0.5 hour to "vintagize" the coating, 0.5 hour to shape the CG pin, and maybe 3-4 hours for the final assembly).

Total investment in component was $1500+ (I know...I was pretty shocked too!)

 

[Aji]

That is one fine time piece.

What movement is in it?

 

[hubrisin]

You looking to sell?

 

[cambro]

you've put a lot of work into it... and it shows! great job.

 

[avitt]

Thanks again, guys!

That is one fine time piece.

What movement is in it?

This has a Swiss 6497, with OPII style plates (the type of movement that was used on early 036 reps).

You looking to sell?

I wasn't...

But the day that I posted this, I received an offer that I couldn't refuse...so off it went!

So now I'm off to finish a FGD 009 rep. (I still don't have a PVD Pam for myself.)

 

[watchman888]

Beautiful finish w/dlc on Ti. Seems a bit odd to cover Ti, but no arguing w/ the end result, it's great. Is the 'knobbly' look of the dlc simply due to your application process, or do you reckon it has something to do with the texture of the underlying Ti as well? Was Ti smooth?

I'd love to see a few shots of a build like this sometime, especially to see how you apply the dlc. I have no idea how it's applied!

Thanks again for sharing - a handsome piece!