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RayCJ

By RayCJ
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RayCJ Member

RayCJ

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Yes, I know...  These are not the fanciest timepieces in the world but, I'm very happy with them. Every day, I select the one that best matches my work attire.  I tend to wear the black one in the evenings and on weekends.  They are all the same model of Seiko 5 (7S26C movement) in different colors.  They are dressed up just a bit with different bands obtained on Amazon from Hadley Roma (cloth leather) or iStrap (cowhide).  The iStrap versions have a nice deployment clasp.   Perhaps you've seen from one of my other posts, I purchased a timegrapher and regulated these.  They are all keeping time to a few seconds per day -well within 10s.  Two of them are essentially dead-on within 1-2 s/day.  Just about each one needed a slightly different method of regulation.

I've done a good bit of metal-work over the years but nothing artistic or related to jewelry. My goal is to remove the ring around the crystal on some of these and modify it somehow... -perhaps bright-polish them or hand engrave a simple pattern.  Another thought is to machine a ring groove and insert a corresponding bronze fitting.  I have sufficient equipment to modify these any way I wish -or make an entirely new case if I wanted to.  The real problem is that the artistic part of my brain insists that I hold my crayons with a closed fist.  We shall see...  It's just a thought for now.

Ray

Black.jpg

Blue.jpg

Green.jpg

Ivory1.jpg

Ivory2.jpg

Red.jpg

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dadistic Distinguished Member

dadistic

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Go for it!

One thing I've wanted  to do with my SNK809 is replace the flat mineral crystal with a CT063 domed sapphire one from Crystal TImes. I think it would give it a more vintage look.

And hey, if you can pull off engraving, you can always find inspiration in the engraving styes found on vintage watch bezels! 

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ricardopalamino Distinguished Member

ricardopalamino

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I would like to see what you are refering  to in what you say is a ring groove and bronze insert .  That takes some skills and tools that I don't have .

I like dadistic's idea of the domed sapphire crystal . I have several seiko divers I have fitted withe the double domed , blue tint crystals from Crystal Times and I like the look , and get compliments on them as well as install them on other peoples watches .

I think that Crystal times has a gallery displaying customers watches including some of mine .

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RayCJ Member

RayCJ

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Wow...  Thanks (Dadistic and Ricardo) for letting me know about Crystaltimes.  I had no idea such replacements were available.

I'll have to read-up about what double-domed means... I presume its concave or convex on both sides.   I noticed some of the replacements have optical coatings.  Wow, if it looks the way I envision it, that would really add a nice touch.

Ricardo... I have a full machine shop.  My father was a tool and die maker and my uncle was a metallurgist.  I was born/raised in their shop and worked as a machinist then, tool-die maker until the early 80's.  I've maintained an active role in metalworking and at one point, was semi-retired and ran a small business doing prototype development for medical devices as well as one-off fabrications for a friend who owns a large marina repair shop.

I've never taken one of my watches apart to see how the crystal is held in place.  I presume the tapered ring around the crystal can be removed.  I could modify or re-make a part like that with relative ease.  I could make it on manual equipment or I could have a CNC machine cut one out.  For a one-off piece, it would be easier to make on manual equipment.  Anyhow, some kind of a border made of a contrasting material around (or within) that tapered ring would look nice.  I can envision something inlayed or possible sweated or press-fit into place.

It would also be nice to engrave a simple design in that ring.  I've done a great deal of work with precision files but never with an artistic flair.   That will be a first and I suspect I'll need to make a few replacement rings if I decide to try my hand at this...

 

Ray

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RayCJ Member

RayCJ

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9 hours ago, frenchie said:

Very nice collection Ray, thanks for sharing it!

Looking forward to seeing your metal work! :)

Thanks for the encouragement!

I think I have an idea for a simple mod on the bezel.  Right now, I'm pondering the replacement crystals and if they should be AR color coated and if so, which colors would look better on each of the above watches.   The options are blue, purple, green and none at all.  I can visualize this style of coating but don't know how subtle or pronounced it is on these particular crystals.  It would be nice if they offered a general color correction, the same as what is available for eyeglass lenses.

Feel free to shout-out your suggestions.

Anyhow, I'm not planning on working on the bezel until the crystals are ordered and arrive.  (This way, I can screw the whole thing up all at one time :wacko:).

 

Ray

 

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