The MoonSwitch Project

[pippo]

I have contacted the seller for https://a.aliexpress.com/_EJXgTdf

I asked a picture to make sure the thickness was <14mm and unfortunately the caliber shows 14.74mm (crystal included).
Way too thick for me.

 

[Slugger]

I have contacted the seller for https://a.aliexpress.com/_EJXgTdf

I asked a picture to make sure the thickness was <14mm and unfortunately the caliber shows 14.74mm (crystal included).
Way too thick for me.

I’m sure many will appreciate this info. Thanks for sharing.

 

[willthewristmaster99]

Hey Slugger, kinda curious on your point of view considering your the grandpappy of all of our projects after all lol.

I just bought and received a beautiful metal Moonswatch from Caboose, I also have a couple regular plastic ones I plan on practicing with beforehand.

I also found a Irony Chrono on the bay, I will post a pic below I bid on it @28$

I believe that I have the "Ali case" which I believe is the preferred case for this project over the thinner version. It did say Ali case in the ad as well.

Other than tools and such, am I missing anything for this project? How does my donor watch look? Can I use the custom movement holder than came with my Caboose mod? Or perhaps the Irony holder, or even the plastic Moonswatch movement holder. These will be all the ones I have access too.

I honestly love this project and really hope I can build one for myself , I really hope to pursue a hobby in amature watch repair/making and I'm hoping this is my first step hope to hear back soon.

 

[Slugger]

Hey Slugger, kinda curious on your point of view considering your the grandpappy of all of our projects after all lol.

I just bought and received a beautiful metal Moonswatch from Caboose, I also have a couple regular plastic ones I plan on practicing with beforehand.

I also found a Irony Chrono on the bay, I will post a pic below I bid on it @28$

I believe that I have the "Ali case" which I believe is the preferred case for this project over the thinner version. It did say Ali case in the ad as well.

Other than tools and such, am I missing anything for this project? How does my donor watch look? Can I use the custom movement holder than came with my Caboose mod? Or perhaps the Irony holder, or even the plastic Moonswatch movement holder. These will be all the ones I have access too.

I honestly love this project and really hope I can build one for myself , I really hope to pursue a hobby in amature watch repair/making and I'm hoping this is my first step hope to hear back soon.

Welcome aboard the good ship MoonSwitch!
I’m not familiar with that Caboose MoonSwatch. I want to check it out.

As for the Ali plastic version, the best one has the removable battery cover. If the one you got doesn’t, it’s not a disaster. The “Switch” is essentially no different.
That Irony has the correct movement. Take your time unceasing it. Sometimes those cases, which were not intended to be opened, can be a real pain in the butt. You’ll need to remove the bezel and crystal and pull the stem out by force (you can’t get to a setting lever to release it) to get the movement out. Again, take your time.
Since (I assume) the PE-50 movement will end up in a parts drawer, it’s less stressful.

EXCEPT!!!! No matter what, you want to preserve the dial and hands from your Ali rep to move to the Irony movement. Protect them both from scratching. I use a square of plastic cut from a baggie.

Those subdials are on 0.20mm pinions that will snap off if you’re not careful. The sweep second pinion is even smaller (0.17mm) so take care that your levers (preferred) or presto tool are applying upward force only.

Once off, you must broach the hour, minute, and sweep second hands from your Ali donor to fit the ETA G10.212 movement from the Irony.

So buy the proper micro-sized broaches and a tool to hold the hands. If you’re planning to work on watches in the future you should have these tools anyway.

• The hour hand goes from 1.20mm to 1.50mm
• The minute hand goes from 0.70mm to 0.90mm
• The sweep second hand goes from 0.17mm to 0.25mm.
• The subdials on both donors are the same size (0.20mm).

A few words of caution need to be said here! Broaching the tube on the sweep second hand is a delicate operation. Do not try to do it without the proper tools. Remember, it’s the centerpiece of your chrono.

But, if you do, all is not lost, you can get a Speedmaster hand that is very similar to the one on the MoonSwatch.

As for your question about a movement holder. The ETA movement is 0.8mm larger than the PE-50 in diameter so you don’t need a movement holder; however, you will need to shave a little (very little) off the internal end of the pushers on the plastic rep to accommodate the larger genuine movement.

If you get stuck or want some help, don’t hesitate sending me a PM and, as always, please post photos of your finished project.

 

[willthewristmaster99]

Welcome aboard the good ship MoonSwitch!
I’m not familiar with that Caboose MoonSwatch. I want to check it out.

As for the Ali plastic version, the best one has the removable battery cover. If the one you got doesn’t, it’s not a disaster. The “Switch” is essentially no different.
That Irony has the correct movement. Take your time unceasing it. Sometimes those cases, which were not intended to be opened, can be a real pain in the butt. You’ll need to remove the bezel and crystal and pull the stem out by force (you can’t get to a setting lever to release it) to get the movement out. Again, take your time.
Since (I assume) the PE-50 movement will end up in a parts drawer, it’s less stressful.

EXCEPT!!!! No matter what, you want to preserve the dial and hands from your Ali rep to move to the Irony movement. Protect them both from scratching. I use a square of plastic cut from a baggie.

Those subdials are on 0.20mm pinions that will snap off if you’re not careful. The sweep second pinion is even smaller (0.17mm) so take care that your levers (preferred) or presto tool are applying upward force only.

Once off, you must broach the hour, minute, and sweep second hands from your Ali donor to fit the ETA G10.212 movement from the Irony.

So buy the proper micro-sized broaches and a tool to hold the hands. If you’re planning to work on watches in the future you should have these tools anyway.

• The hour hand goes from 1.20mm to 1.50mm
• The minute hand goes from 0.70mm to 0.90mm
• The sweep second hand goes from 0.17mm to 0.25mm.
• The subdials on both donors are the same size (0.20mm).

A few words of caution need to be said here! Broaching the tube on the sweep second hand is a delicate operation. Do not try to do it without the proper tools. Remember, it’s the centerpiece of your chrono.

But, if you do, all is not lost, you can get a Speedmaster hand that is very similar to the one on the MoonSwatch.

As for your question about a movement holder. The ETA movement is 0.8mm larger than the PE-50 in diameter so you don’t need a movement holder; however, you will need to shave a little (very little) off the internal end of the pushers on the plastic rep to accommodate the larger genuine movement.

If you get stuck or want some help, don’t hesitate sending me a PM and, as always, please post photos of your finished project.

Wow thanks so much Slugger! I will be sure to be as careful as I can be, I'm going to take your advice about the hand level instead of a presto tool (for now). I am very happy I will not need a custom movement ring or anything and I'm sure I can fit/finish the gen movement into the case. I wonder how the internal end of the pusher is in my Ali case and if I need to modify it at all.

In any case, I will have to start buying the tools and pieces and see what happens from there.

I will post some pics soon! Thanks for the incredible parts breakdown as well

 

[Karbon74]

By the time you finish, you will think several times that you should have just bought a gen and do the straight swap

 

[willthewristmaster99]

By the time you finish, you will think several times that you should have just bought a gen and do the straight swap

You mean buy a gen and do a straight swap into the metal Ali case? Honestly if this project doesn't work out for me, I probably will do this.

 

[Karbon74]

I am thinking of doing this for my own

 

[senzlez2]

I am thinking of doing this for my own

thats called cheating

 

[Slugger]

By the time you finish, you will think several times that you should have just bought a gen and do the straight swap

Oh, c’mon my friend. Would that be as fun?

 

[Karbon74]

Oh, c’mon my friend. Would that be as fun?

I just filed down and swapped the plastic rep crystal on an AliX case. Now, who is cheating

 

[Karbon74]

I just filed down and swapped the plastic rep crystal on an AliX case. Now, who is cheating

without forgetting the polywatch treatment afterwards to refinish the surface

 

[Slugger]

I just filed down and swapped the plastic rep crystal on an AliX case. Now, who is cheating

Not you! That’s for sure. Nice work.

 

[3nki1du]

Hey all, sorry to necro the thread but I was hoping to ask a question.
I'd love to do this movement swap over to the gen movement and install the whole thing in a metal case. I've got a pd1701 sitting around I can use to house it, but I haven't been able to find much info about how feasible that is. People talk about doing it, but not a lot of detail.
Does anyone here have experience with that? Would the PE50 movement holder here work to hold the gen movement too? Any info anyone could offer while I sit around for a few weeks waiting for parts would be great. Thank you!

 

[Karbon74]

Hey all, sorry to necro the thread but I was hoping to ask a question.
I'd love to do this movement swap over to the gen movement and install the whole thing in a metal case. I've got a pd1701 sitting around I can use to house it, but I haven't been able to find much info about how feasible that is. People talk about doing it, but not a lot of detail.
Does anyone here have experience with that? Would the PE50 movement holder here work to hold the gen movement too? Any info anyone could offer while I sit around for a few weeks waiting for parts would be great. Thank you!

It won’t work. But you should be able to use the VK63 holder in the Pagani, with some adaptations

 

[3nki1du]

Alright, sounds like a plan! I'll give it a go once I've got everything. Thanks!

 

[Karbon74]

Alright, sounds like a plan! I'll give it a go once I've got everything. Thanks!

My advice
Don’t destroy your gen

Instead buy a g10-212 eta
And hands

Then use a rep dial

 

[3nki1du]

My advice
Don’t destroy your gen

Instead buy a g10-212 eta
And hands

Then use a rep dial

Sorry I phrased things unclearly. That's basically what I plan to do. I've got the PD-1701, the rep moonswatch on the way, and also a Swatch Irony chrono that has the right movement. So the plan (theoretically) is to:
-Decase the Swatch and take the movement
-Decase the rep moonswatch and take the dial. I bought new hands except for the .2mm chrono ones because I don't have the tools to widen them to fit the ETAg10-212 anyway
-Take out the Pagani movement, and then reassemble the whole shebang and case it in the Pagani


Should be fun. Or I'll go nuts. Or both.

 

[Karbon74]

if i am not mistaken, the eta also has 0.20mm subdial hands

 

[Slugger]

if i am not mistaken, the eta also has 0.20mm subdial hands.

Sounds like @3nki1du has done his homework.

G10.212 hands are 150/90/25/20 while the PE50 hands are 120/70/17/20

The hour and minute hands are easily broached while the sweep second hand requires more finess as the tube tends to come loose. The three chronos, of course, are good to go.