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Hello from this frozen tundra called Minneapolis, Minnesota. My name is Chantal, I’m 35, and I’m the only female I know that likes to work on watches. I started to really love watches about 5 years ago. I think the action of flashing a wrist with vintage watch makes a strong positive statement about a person. That’s just my interest in what’s surface. The mechanics behind are what really interests me. I’ve always been the type to discover how things work and your service videos have helped me so dang much. I’ve watched probably a dozen of your videos that were at some point relative. Your servicing a mechanical and an automatic watch videos are ones I’ve viewed maybe a dozen times. I fix my friends watches now. When it comes to super hard fixes I am no master. End shake makes me shake with fear that i will screw that shelac up! But crystal changes and general servicing has been fun. 

I own about 7 watches that range in age and price. Omega 30T2, an omega 601, a Tudor black bay 36, 2 rolex date just 1601’s with 1570 caliber movements, a shinola quartz, and a super interesting ora unica with the nova design. My absolute dream watch is a Rolex Stella with the peppermint dial. 

Also in my spare time I refinish dials. Most of the dials I’ve done are for the Rolex 1601 and I paint them in Stella colors. I can teach anyone how to do this if you want to learn. I can use any dial, weld new feet on them, and with a good printer you can make anything you want. Or you spray them with car paint and use some clear coat acrylic spray. There’s lots more involved but that’s the gist. 

 

Thank you Stewart though! You have helped me so much! 

 

Cheers,

CAS

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Hello and welcome to the forum! Great to have you here and you'll soon discover there are lots of knowledgeable members.You have a nice collection and I'd like to know more about your method of printing dials. I tried it  a few times with an Omega Seamaster dial, but wasn't satisfied with the quality of the pixelated print. 

 

J

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Welcome! That times is gorgeous. May I ask do you just paint the dials or do anything to them? I'm interested in making dials and am unsure how to begin. I want to take blank dials and make my own custom design. Not looking for quantity just make a few for myself or a present. Glad to meet you I'm from upstate New York, did you get hammered with snow too, with more in the way?

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Hello from this frozen tundra called Minneapolis, Minnesota. My name is Chantal, I’m 35, and I’m the only female I know that likes to work on watches. I started to really love watches about 5 years ago. I think the action of flashing a wrist with vintage watch makes a strong positive statement about a person. That’s just my interest in what’s surface. The mechanics behind are what really interests me. I’ve always been the type to discover how things work and your service videos have helped me so dang much. I’ve watched probably a dozen of your videos that were at some point relative. Your servicing a mechanical and an automatic watch videos are ones I’ve viewed maybe a dozen times. I fix my friends watches now. When it comes to super hard fixes I am no master. End shake makes me shake with fear that i will screw that shelac up! But crystal changes and general servicing has been fun. 

I own about 7 watches that range in age and price. Omega 30T2, an omega 601, a Tudor black bay 36, 2 rolex date just 1601’s with 1570 caliber movements, a shinola quartz, and a super interesting ora unica with the nova design. My absolute dream watch is a Rolex Stella with the peppermint dial. 

Also in my spare time I refinish dials. Most of the dials I’ve done are for the Rolex 1601 and I paint them in Stella colors. I can teach anyone how to do this if you want to learn. I can use any dial, weld new feet on them, and with a good printer you can make anything you want. Or you spray them with car paint and use some clear coat acrylic spray. There’s lots more involved but that’s the gist. 

 

Thank you Stewart though! You have helped me so much! 

 

Cheers,

CAS

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I Chantal [emoji4] hope you'll forgive me for my broken english but I'm French native so I'll just do my best.

 

Considering the fact that you list 2 Date Just in your watch collection, may I suppose that the blue "Stella" is yours ?

If YES ... then congratulations about the work you did.

I've done some dial renovations and customisations myself with some success and I know how tricky it is and how risky it is too cause ruining a 1601 dial would be a real pitty.

Congratulations about your engine turned bezel too [emoji7] this is a proof of good taste indeed (I've just received one those days for my wife's 16223 and it's just gorgeous).

 

I'm pretty interested to know some more about the method you use to refinish dials.

Assuming you did the blue Date Just, I'm wondering :

- did you put a blue printed clear decal on it then coated it with clear varnish ?

- or did you sprayed some colored varnish directly on the dial ?.. after removing the diamonds of course

- what about the lume dots ? they are not blue colored so I suppose you redid them ... If YES you can be very proud of you cause you did a pretty good job

 

Hope you won't mind to share here some pics of the 1601 you refinished and some of your craft secrets (as you offered to do).

So I really hope to read some more from you.

 

Envoyé de mon Moto G (5) Plus en utilisant Tapatalk

 

 

 

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  • 9 months later...

Manodero and anilv, Thanks so much for  looking at my intro and commenting on my watch! I apologize for taking so long to respond here! I won’t let that happen again! I’m full blown committed to watchmaking these days and am actually going to switch careers and jump into watchmaking full time at the beginning of 2019. I’m so excited as I am so bored with being a software consultant for a large fortune 500 company, although it has repaid me with a comfortable life which I am truly greatful for. 

To answer your questions about how I made that dial I’ll list out the steps I took, but how you paint on the “Rolex oyster perpetual Datejust... superlative chronometer officially certified” is something that you will have to choose how to do on your own. You can have a dye made of the dial with the writing and use it as a trace, you can use an engraver and punch the letters a bit more into the dial so that when you paint your first layer you can still see the outline which is what I did. I’m sure there are several more ways. 

Step 1) if you are working with a Rolex dial and I suggest you do so so you can form this template, take a sheet of paper and trace the dial, at exactly each hour and each marked minute, draw a line from it on the paper so that at the end your paper looks like a sun with a bunch of rays but make sure you make the lines longer where the hour tacs are. Now take a compass tool and put the pin in the center of the dial and stretch the compass to the inner ring of the minutes tics. That is your distance that you need on your dial so make that ring on your template sheet. Do the same for the outer ring. 

2) I took an engraving tool and went over the letters on the dial with it so that they were deeper set into the dial. I also went over carefully and this takes a long time.. the inner and outer rings of the minutes area and engraved each minute tic. 

3) clear the dial by picking off the tacks and the Rolex crown insignia with a tweezers. Clear the paint by using solvent or by using a professional jeweling hand held polisher or sander if the dial is metal. Take a brass brush and lightly remove the metal. Make sure you do not go too deep. Try to make it as even as possible. 

4) place a toothpick in the center of the dial, suspend the toothpick (I did it with a clamp that usually holds wires that need to be soldered), make sure no dust in on the dial,  and spray acrylic spray paint onto the dial making sure to hit the dial from directly above and spray from 6-10 inches away. Make about two quick sprays and let it dry. Take a look and make sure no dust particulates are stuck in the paint. Also because you engraved the letter make sure you can still see them as the paint will be dented at the lettered spots. 

5) use acrylic paint and micro brushes and paint the letters in. Do not paint in straight lines. Instead make small dots.. this takes practice to get right. Because the dial is a bit dented in those spots the letters will not look raised from the rest of the paint.. you wouldn’t think it mattered since you have to clear coat it at the end but it does make a bit of a difference to me. The small dots will Give you a better idea of how straight your line will be. Connect the dots when you’re confident of your line. You need to do this with a 15-20x loupe or a microscope. If you make a mistake you have to soak your dial in solvent and start again or decide to live with it. Let the letters dry overnight. 

6) reaffix your dial with a toothpick in the center and suspend it. This time use a clear coat that a) dries fast b) is heat resistant c) will not yellow in the sun d) will not crack for many years. I use spraymax 2x glossy clear coat. Spray just once and let dry. 

7) You can buy Rolex crown stickers and you can also use the original Rolex crown that was in the dial but if you do you need to put two pieces of peg wood into the holes of the spot where the crown is and work with them in the holes each time you spray. You can also purchase diamond sticker tacs for watch dials. I use these because it’s way easier than putting peg wood into each tack hole in the dial. Put the dial in your template and stick each diamond stick exactly where the hour markers are. It’s coming together now right! 

8) I usually spray one more spray of clear coat onto the dial when I’m done setting the diamond stickers. This ensures me that the hour marker diamonds hand on tighter. This last spray must be thin however because you can get bubble type weird bunches of clear coat at the edge of the diamonds. 

 

Here is a picture of a dial I did with ticks but this took a really long time and I made a mistake when I was writing in the letters but I lived with it. Btw I’ve seen dials just like mine online actually for sale by an Asian company. They are not too expensive but the process of purchasing them is a pain. It’s a western union type of thing.. Personally I’m Leary of the whole western union deal but can see why it’s needed. (The dial is kind of oily sorry) 

I’ll write out instruction for printing dials tomorrow! Hope this helps. Again there are many ways to copy the letters and get them into the dial! You just have to research! 

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18 hours ago, Ilike2rolexmoveit said:

Manodero and anilv, Thanks so much for  looking at my intro and commenting on my watch ...

Hi Chantal

Sorry for cutting off almost all of your message but I don't want to "double post" you :) and congratulations for your professional switch !!!

Your dials look nice and I'm really impressed with your hand engraving method ... you should have a steady and free of coffe hand.

I'm waiting for your writing about your printing method ...

As we alrady discussed by PM I print my own dials using a decal method but, even if I'm really satiisfied with the results, that method give "flat" lettering and lacks a 3D effect ... So the more I work on watches the more I consider buying my own hand pad-printer (the first step to possibly creating my own micro brand but that's another story).

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