quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
New watch day! The beater watch gang acquired a new member today.

Yeah.....I got the orange one.

This one didn’t set me back much at all. $175 shipped brand new is a small price to pay for a 300m Doxa Sub 300T homage with a Seiko NH35A movement, sapphire crystal and a beads of rice bracelet. It has some opportunities for improvement but overall it’s better than I was expecting.

Whoever engraved the case back might be the same supplier for Glycine case backs as it looks damn similar in design, feel and finish. My first thought was damn it looks and feels VERY similar to the case back on my Glycine combat subs.

The bezel action takes some effort to rotate the bezel but it isn’t terrible and they lumed the wrong part of the bezel I believe but otherwise it’s a great watch for the money. I’m not sure why the part of the bezel that doesn’t move has lume. Is it like that on Doxa? I don’t have a real Doxa to compare it to yet but I have plans to fix that VERY soon. Leaning towards an Aquamaeine 300 or 300T but the orange dial is mighty tempting.

The blue AR coating on the crystal is a nice touch too.


Likes:
-good communication from the company, I had multiple emails informing me of the progress of my watch as it headed my way
-decent execution for such an inexpensive homage
-Sapphire crystal w/ blue AR
-Applied markers with generous amounts of lume
-Inexpensive price tag
-common, robust Seiko auto movement
-Bracelet adjustment tool provided in the watch case
-signed crown
-nice effort on the case back with a decent overall end result

Dislikes:
-not a strap monster & not easy to put on mesh, it needs curved spring bars to use any bracket other than the oem supplied bracelet.
-I can pry the bezel off with my fingernail
-The bezel doesn’t use a Seiko style click spring but rather a bent piece of metal drilled into a hole for retention/clicking action
-inexpensive bracelet that sticks out and looks odd on my wrist, I would have designed it differently



Behold Watch Dives Tactical Frog in its inexpensive glory.







Here’s a shot showing the blue anti reflective coating.



I’m having too much fun with this little homage. Reenacting one of my fav scenes in the movie Sahara. Hahahahahahah

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
Is that your retro-movement Speedy? Very nice.

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quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
That is so beautiful rOgue. Modern art at its finest right there. I truly believe Omega makes some of the absolute best looking movements for the money.

I love the white hands on that speedy. I’m a sucker for a black dial with white hands. I love how they look.



VThoky, that samurai looks great on a NATO strap. Next time I see you I’ve got a bracelet for you to try out on that baby.

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quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
I’m a sucker for a black dial with white hands. I love how they look.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
VThoky, that samurai looks great on a NATO strap. Next time I see you I’ve got a bracelet for you to try out on that baby.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
Yeah man. Strapcode is legit. In my many interactions with them I have always experienced surprisingly fast shipping. I really like their watch bracelets, especially their 22mm Winghead Shark mesh bracelet. I LOVE the many different types of 20mm & 22mm clasps they sell individually. I especially like their DLC/PVD Hidden Deployant Clasp (Butterfly Clasp) when it is paired with a DLC/PVD shark mesh bracelet (from a different manufacturer) that has flat mesh on the outside.

I suppose you know your into watches deep when you begin customizing and assembling bracelets with components from different manufacturers.

quote:

Originally posted by r0gue:

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
Pickle Rick, as long as you get the crystal pressed in evenly and the gasket is properly seated you will be fine. You should be able to look at the crystal and gasket and see if there are any issues. Some people recommend you buy a new crystal gasket but I’ve seen people reuse the old gasket and not have any water intrusion issues. Personally, I would recommend using a new gasket since they are inexpensive. I’ve seen some guys do crystal upgrades on the YouTube with the most basic of tools and it didn’t look hard at all. Quality tools will of course make pressing in a crystal easier.

I just ordered a bunch of components for a few custom builds. I’ll soon be trying my hand at installing a sapphire crystal to replace a scratched hardlex on one of my turtles. I have an inexpensive crystal press that came with a very basic watchmaking kit. The crystal press also works great for installing bezels. I’ll let you know how it goes.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
Pickle Rick,

Good news is that Seiko watches are hands down the most supported watches on earth for aftermarket/ modding. The sky is basically the limit with Seiko. This along with the bang for buck is why I love the Seiko brand. Non watch people sometimes scoff at Seiko but the mods often fly under the radar and are hard to identify, this only makes them more fun. It’s neat when someone asks you about a watch and you tell them you built it from two watches and some aftermarket parts. Conversations like that usually leads to a bunch of questions.

If you want a one of the best cases or crystals or case backs I would go with Crystal Times. They are practically a one stop shop if they have the stuff that suits your fancy as far as style/aesthetics. Crystal Times

I ordered a bunch of watch hands, hand instillation tools, chapter rings, gaskets, a bezel, bezel insert and a sapphire crystal with blue anti reflective coating from Namoki mods. Link to Namoki They had everything I needed and were a one stop shop for my specific builds... I should also mention they didn’t tempt me nearly as much to scoop up a few extra cases, display case backs and start more projects as CT (Crystal Times) would have. My next builds after the current builds are finished will be sourcing parts from Crystal Times, Namoki, and Yobokies. Link to Yobokies There are lots of great suppliers, it really will come down to who has what you want in stock, and who has the specific dial, case or aesthetic look you are going for as many of the aftermarket suppliers have unique parts. This is what makes the mod world so fun. As I find more suppliers I like I will pass the info along as well as updates on my builds.

I have a really cool build that will be done soon. It’s drawing from Doxa’s super cool style, Seiko’s iconic turtle and an OEM Seiko ice blue dial that is damn hard to find. It’s going to look a bit like a Doxa Sub 300T Searambler mixed with a Doxa Sub300T Aquamarine and an older (now discontinued) Seiko 5 as well as the Seiko SRP Turtle. Some would consider modding rare watches to be sacrilegious but to me that is how you build the most unique mods.