ThePlayboy
Known Member
- 14/1/14
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Done! Great work by Domi, as usual. Now on to the next project.
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What AP Franken(s) do you have in the works?!
- Thread starter tosoboso
- Start date
- 9/10/18
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- 29/8/19
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- 9/10/18
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- 14/8/14
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- 9/10/18
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That's a great question, I'm not sure. I spoke with a dial restorationist and the issue is that the finish isn't painted, it's plated, so they want to strip it and re-do the entire thing. I'm reluctant to do that given how small the affected area is, so I'm going to hold off on the dial for now as I gather the other parts.
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- 14/8/14
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Yeah, stripping the dial would further ruin it IMO, even if it will end up looking better.
- 9/10/18
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Agreed. Honestly part of the affected area will be covered by the case anyway, so I can probably live with it even if I can't find someone to blend/hide whatever sliver is actually visible. I'm viewing it as a long-term, multi-year project so I'm not in a huge rush to find a solution.
Let’s just say it’s not a flaw you really need to fix before installing it. I would leave it and build the watch first.
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I would leave it as it is. AP blue hue is almost impossible to replicate. It’s a great catch as it is. theREALgoat and I discussed the condition of the dial a few weeks back, I didn’t find it disturbing at all. Given how small that dial is in real life that discolouration isn’t a great issue, especially given the location of the missing paint. Furthermore, the current condition somewhat resembles the so called tropical effects of the original 5402 dials so I’d look at it as a plus if I was to build a 15202 now and use that particular dial.
Just my 2 cents, as someone who’s built that same model. I’ve come to appreciate every little imperfection of every watch I owe, that’s what makes them unique...
- 26/8/12
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I personally wouldn’t mess with the original finish even if damaged. But if you do consider refinishing you can always send the restorationist a rep dial and ask them to strip it and do a finish to see what they are capable of. Will be an expensive experiment but better than stripping the Gen dial. Just a thought…
- 9/10/18
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I was definitely surprised by just how small the dial is in hand when I got it. Between the shine of the indices, hands, screws, and retaining ring/bezel, I don’t think it’s going to stick out much at first glance and I agree that imperfections add character.
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- 14/8/14
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Unless you can somehow get AP to refinish it (which is almost impossible, if not impossible), refinishing it would kind of defeat the purpose of buying a gen dial.
- 9/10/18
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That's a really good point. It seems too risky to refinish. I think I'll either find someone to do a very mild touch up on the corner after the damage is assessed on the assembled watch or, if that's not possible, just leave it as is. I put my odds of finding a gen rotor at pretty close to zero, so there's no world in which the watch isn't going to have some immediately glaring tells that it's an amalgamation, but that doesn't bother me.
Is any sort of modding needed to install a gen DW and Dial for the 15400 or is it all plug and play?
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Understand that the gen dw will not work with the rep movement. Forget about it unless you have a gen movement.
The gen dial needs to be properly aligned when installed and the feet are mostly trimmed away to fit it with the rep movement.
Great dial, lucky you. I'm also looking for a white dial for my JF 15450, but unfortunately I can't find anything.
- 9/10/18
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A couple of photos of my 15400 build before being shipped back to me from my watchmaker - all gen parts except for the midcase (which is modified ZF). I'll post better pics once I have it in-hand:
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