TUDOR Black Bay 54 - 7924 Big Crown Build

[nbeezy]

Hello there,
as the titel suggests I am contemplating on starting a build with a ZF bb54 as a base. Not too long after the gen release of the bb54 I stumbled upon this beauty.

Now, I have never actually modded a watch in any significant capacity, but I do have a friend who dabbles in watchmaking. So basic "bolt on" work should not be an issue.
The key tasks of this build would be the replacing of the hands and the fitting of a 8mm Brevet crown. I tried to do my homework but i think i still need clarification in a lot of areas.

So first off, the hands:
Hands in question: https://rafflesdials.com/one-set-of...er-watch-fit-eta-2836-or-2824-for-mens-watch/
The name of the ZF bb54 suggests that it has an A2824 movement inside. Currently im not planning on reluming the hands to get the fauxtina right.

Question 1:
Do Raffles hands (claiming to be 2824 compatible) swap, no problem?


The crown tube removal:
As show in the video (

) and like some other build threads would suggest, there is a dedicated tool for the removal and installation of crown tubes. Yet some threads say you can install the new tube using the new crown ( https://forum.replica-watch.info/threads/building-a-5513-tutorial.10949961/ ).

Question 2:
What would be the easiest way to remove the old tube and install the new one? (preferably without buying tools, but if i have to -> wich one?)


The crown:
Finally, the crown itself. I fould two options: raffles and anthaya. First and foremost i lean towards the option that will give me the least headaches.

Raffles crown: https://rafflesdials.com/6538-6536-...-2813-or-8215-or-nh35-36-automatic-moverment/
Again, claims to fit the 2824 movements stem. Downside, there is no information on the website about the thread that is used and the outer diameter of 2,85 mm confuses me further.

Question 3:
Is the raffles crown a plug and play swap? Where do i find the correct thread?


Anthaya crown: http://parts.athayavintage.com/product/aftermarket-800-crown-and-tube/
Quote from the website: "If you plan to use this crown on automatic movement (0.90 mm stem), then you need to use 0.90 to 1.20 stem adapter". Upside, the information on the thread is very clear: M4 x 0,35.

Question 4:
I figure i need this adapter, will it be as easy as simply bolting everything together?


Biggest Question of all (5):
What did i miss to ask?


I am grateful for any information, thank you all in advance!

 

[tbandy]

Hey nbeezy, have you asked Ken ? (Rafflesdials.com)
He is very communicative and a nice person to deal with.

 

[dangerdan3]

Yes, 2824 hands should fit fine. Are they the correct length? Who knows. I’d measure the ZF BB54 hands and find some 2824 mercedes hands as close as possible.

The crown/crown tube… you could measure the diameter and thread pitch of the ZF BB54 crown tube and try to find a Brevet crown to fit that also accepts the 2824 stem thread. Or you could buy a brevet crown with 2824 stem thread and matching tube, then run the risk of needing to modify the ZF BB54 case to accept the crown tube if they are not the same thread pitch.

I’d start by disassembling a ZF BB54 and taking some measurements of the crown tube and case threads. Then the other decisions should be easy enough to make.

 

[nbeezy]

Yes, 2824 hands should fit fine. Are they the correct length? Who knows. I’d measure the ZF BB54 hands and find some 2824 mercedes hands as close as possible.

The crown/crown tube… you could measure the diameter and thread pitch of the ZF BB54 crown tube and try to find a Brevet crown to fit that also accepts the 2824 stem thread. Or you could buy a brevet crown with 2824 stem thread and matching tube, then run the risk of needing to modify the ZF BB54 case to accept the crown tube if they are not the same thread pitch.

I’d start by disassembling a ZF BB54 and taking some measurements of the crown tube and case threads. Then the other decisions should be easy enough to make.

Thanks for your input!
How would you go about finding a Brevet crown wich fits the zf tube? That would obviously be the ideal solution but i have no idea where to look besides raffles/anthaya.

 

[nbeezy]

Hey nbeezy, have you asked Ken ? (Rafflesdials.com)
He is very communicative and a nice person to deal with.

I didnt, but i will should i go for the raffles brevet crown.
Thanks!

 

[nbeezy]

Yes, 2824 hands should fit fine. Are they the correct length? Who knows. I’d measure the ZF BB54 hands and find some 2824 mercedes hands as close as possible.

The crown/crown tube… you could measure the diameter and thread pitch of the ZF BB54 crown tube and try to find a Brevet crown to fit that also accepts the 2824 stem thread. Or you could buy a brevet crown with 2824 stem thread and matching tube, then run the risk of needing to modify the ZF BB54 case to accept the crown tube if they are not the same thread pitch.

I’d start by disassembling a ZF BB54 and taking some measurements of the crown tube and case threads. Then the other decisions should be easy enough to make.

Also when it comes to the hands, ist says on the website that they are for 40 mm and 36mm Rolex models so i figured that generally the hands seem to be unisize.

 

[jamiex]

Have a look at Tiger Concept for hand sets.

http://www.tiger-concept.com/

 

[dangerdan3]

Thanks for your input!
How would you go about finding a Brevet crown wich fits the zf tube? That would obviously be the ideal solution but i have no idea where to look besides raffles/anthaya.

I’d but the watch and measure the ZF tube. Then go looking for something to fit. If that wasn’t available, I’d replace the lot.

 

[dangerdan3]

Also when it comes to the hands, ist says on the website that they are for 40 mm and 36mm Rolex models so i figured that generally the hands seem to be unisize.

They could be, but I’d rather measure them to be sure

 

[nbeezy]

Have a look at Tiger Concept for hand sets.

http://www.tiger-concept.com/

Definetly very interesting! They have Rolex 6538 hands with the white seconds.
Is there consensus on how they compare to raffles ones in terms of quality?

 

[maddizm]

Nice piece. How's the bezel action?

 

[nbeezy]

Well Boys, here goes nothing. Im buying the bb54.

 

[jamiex]

Well Boys, here goes nothing. Im buying the bb54.

Nice one mate. I've got an Athaya crown on the way and I've got a couple of spare 'Slay' hand sets for ETA so that's me sorted, I'll be on with my mod in a couple of weeks.

 

[nbeezy]

Nice one mate. I've got an Athaya crown on the way and I've got a couple of spare 'Slay' hand sets for ETA so that's me sorted, I'll be on with my mod in a couple of weeks.

Awesome! You going for the bb54 mod yourself or a different project?

 

[jamiex]

Awesome! You going for the bb54 mod yourself or a different project?

BB54 mod, seems easy enough even for me with my limited skills.

 

[nbeezy]

BB54 mod, seems easy enough even for me with my limited skills.

Definitely keep me posted on your progress! Did you buy the crown i linked with the stem adapter?

 

[jamiex]

Definitely keep me posted on your progress! Did you buy the crown i linked with the stem adapter?

Yes mate, I've got one on my 6538 and think that they're okay for the price. I ordered a couple of lume pips as well, I want to see what one of those will look like on it.

 

[nbeezy]

QC is in and watch is getting shipped. Lume pip is nicely centered and alignment looks good to me. 6 might be leaning to the left a bit but the qc of other members didnt look any better.

 

[jamiex]

It looks good, sometimes it's just the curve of the crystal that makes markers look off.

 

[nbeezy]

One thing that has me somewhat worried having seen the slender midcase in the QC pics is drilling a 3,3 mm hole into it, accomodating the Anthaya crown tube.
Anthaya crown and tiger hands are already ordered so we'll wait and see.
The raffles tube seems to be around 1 mm smaller when push comes to shove.