# New Diver (or Is It?)



## pauluspaolo (Feb 24, 2003)

My latest custom watch - an easy conversion and I think it looks pretty good


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## Mrcrowley (Apr 23, 2003)

Indeed.

Where did that come from? Have I seen it in another guise?


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

umm not so sure about those hands Paul. Like the dial though!


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## mat (Feb 25, 2003)

I'm with PG... nice dial but the hands are very small


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## pauluspaolo (Feb 24, 2003)

I wasn't too keen on the shape of hands at first, however they are the original hands from the donor watch so I used them to keep the conversion simple. The dial is split into two displays - minutes on the outside and hours on the inside, the hour hand is short so that it points to the correct hour. They are Seiko hands so the lume is great, lume on the dial is restricted to the dots just outside the minute markers at 5, 10, 15 etc.

I think the watch would look better (certainly not as busy) if the minute chapter was blank - either black or silver would be an improvement. I'm not sure if I should paint in (I'd use black modelling enamel) the numbers/markings on the bezel. Suggestions/opinions gratefully received.

Thanks chaps


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

yep I'd certainlt paint in the bezel markings, when I did one I used a satin finish spray paint, prayed the whole bezel then removed the paint off the top (it just rubbed of because the steel was so shiney it didn't stick.


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## MIKE (Feb 23, 2003)

Hi Paul,

The dial and hands look fine









but not keen on the bezel







I would paint it in as you have suggested or exchange it for one with a traditional insert if it's possible.

MIKE..


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## pauluspaolo (Feb 24, 2003)

The case is an skx171 that's been beadblasted - the bezel is a one piece design (so doesn't have a replaceable bezel insert) besides which I like the fact that it's different from the usual Seiko ones. I'm still haven't decided if I'm going to paint the markers or not - maybe I'll just paint the numbers (the triangle at 12 on the bezel is luminous by the way)


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## bry1975 (Feb 6, 2004)

Splendid looking watch jolly ole chap









Regards

Bry


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## gregor (Nov 5, 2003)

Hi Paul, Hi all,

great work on that watch Paul!

I was wondering how easy/ or how difficult it is to customise a watch....?

Since I rather like the customised watches by for example Bill Yao.

It's because I think normal dials are often too busy.

(That's why I like for example the PRS11, or the orsa watch that was mentioned here: orsa?)

But..what if I get myself a seiko BM, and a new dial and hands from Bill Yao...

how succesful or frustrated will I get trying to make a "new watch"?

Bare in mind that I have never even opened the back of a watch...

(I realis I will need some tools too!)

cheers,

Gregor


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## K.I.T.T. (Sep 5, 2003)

Since in this particular instance the case has been bead-blasted... I'd suspect that it is another piece of Bry1975's work... I've had a case blasted by him and I know that Paul has had a few cases blasted in the past...









He does do very good work, so I think that we'd both recommend his work!
















In fact if memory serves he actually did customise at least one Seiko Black Monster a couple of months ago.

So if the customising bug does bite then he is the guy that you should email or PM to get the case work done...
















As to the internal customising / swapping of the dial/hands etc. I'm sure that Paul will add another bit to this forum thread at some point!!!!!! or one of the other members of the forum will offer advice.

Mike


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

gregor said:
 

> Hi Paul, Hi all,
> 
> great work on that watch Paul!
> 
> ...


It is bloody fiddly, you'll end up making mistakes, scrating dials, droping screws in the carpet (or even the seconds hands in your computer keyboard







) but it is good fun and if you get one right the sense of achievement if fantastic.

My advice would be get some crap off ebay and practice before you start taking two good and poss expensive watches to bits. If you find it's too difficult or your all thumbs then you haven't lost much.


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

I've seen av picture of the origional watch now paul and I don't like the hands on that either so it's not your case that's making me think that. As it's a 7s26 there are plenty to choose from if you want a change.

here's a quick pic of the after and before bezel I painted.


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## gregor (Nov 5, 2003)

Thanks Paul,

I have a cheap, plastic, mwc watch here, quartz, but I will start with having a look inside of that.

Cheers,

Gregor


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## julian (Jun 3, 2003)

I like Paul's watch .And that Angling Times model .How did you get hold pf that one ?

I'm currently looking for a used SNX809 black or dk blue dial Seiko 5 with luming Arabics to act as a movement donor for a 007 case .


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## gregor (Nov 5, 2003)

Hi,

question:

To change the hands, and the dial, you need some tools right?

Maybe tweasers? (is that the right word?) and other tools?

and maybe also some valium or prozak to stop the hands shaking?









Maybe I should just forget about it, and keep saving money to buy that Doxa diver that I like so much...

Gregor


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

Ebay Julian, caked in dried river bank slime, honest you should have smelt it when I cleaned it up!

I love the watch as well, the hands are fab with the diamonds on the bottom, but it is cheap cased and movement.


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

Gregor, you'll need case back remover, good set of tweezers and jewlers screwdrivers ( a lot of dials have tiny screws holding them in place) you can get a hand removal tool which helps prevent scratching the dial but I manage with screwdrivers, and you'll need a loupe, these things are tiny, oh and yes valium may help!


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## pauluspaolo (Feb 24, 2003)

Hi Gregor,

If you want to get into watch tinkering then I think that you will need some basic tools - a case back opener is a must, as are some decent jewellers screwdrivers. A hand removal tool is a good idea if you intend to go as far as removing hands, but not a necessity as I've successfully removed hands using tweezers and screwdrivers. Everything is incredibly small and delicate (especially hands which are also very easy to drop and lose) - so some sort of magnifier is useful too. I tend to work over a tray so that if anything's dropped then (hopefully) it will fall on the tray and be relatively easy to find. I find that the worst job in the modifications I do is reftting the hands - very fiddly and easy to damage them.

The modified watch above was easy to do as the replacement hands, dial & movement were just removed from one case and fitted into the other. No hand or dial removal (and refitting) was needed at all. The worst part was getting the stem free so the movement could be removed from the original case.

PG's idea of practicing on an old watch is a good idea.

Good luck and I look forward to seeing some of your efforts


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## gregor (Nov 5, 2003)

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the info!

I might be temted to try!

The watches that I like are clean dial military/diver style watches,

so it sure would be cool to customise my own watch into this style. Good thing about it would be that after a while, when really regretting the actions taken new actions can be taken to undo it.









So...I would need a Seiko,

a tool set,

new dial and new hands.

well..ahum... dont expect pictures about this topic from me all too soon...

I will think it over a many couples of times before I start.









Gregor


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## pauluspaolo (Feb 24, 2003)

Here's another shot of the watch - it shows the inked in bezel numbers. I like the watch but I still can't make up my mind about the hands (they are different from normal divers hands at least). I'm thinking about ordering some Type 1 Bill Yao hands as they'd go well with military dial style, but I'd probaby keep the Seiko red tipped second hand - in my opinion it looks good.

Ta for looking


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## pauluspaolo (Feb 24, 2003)

Here we go again







- I seem to be able to post pictures one week and not others, it's something I'm doing wrong I'm sure!!


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