Part 1 of Building the "Reprogle Ultra" Chronograph for Dawson's Graduation

Building the "Reprogle Ultra" Chronograph for Dawson's Graduation

Me, Dawson, and Alysa Grady at a Purdue football game in 2023

My son Dawson will be graduating from Purdue Polytechnic University this year, and per tradition I'm building him a wristwatch as a graduation present.

Originally the idea was to try to replicate an Omega Speedmaster Professional "Moonwatch".  Dawson has had a fascination and interest in the history of space exploration, and the Moonwatch was worn on the Apollo missions including the first moon landing.

For whatever reason, however, the watch parts market has not seen fit to provide the case, dial, and hands parts needed for hobbyists to put together a decent replica.  Cheap Moonwatch copies of the made in China exist, but that's not the point now, is it?

Choosing a design triggers a series of interdependent decisions constrained by availability, desired features, and technical compatibility.  Some of those questions:

1. What overall style?
2. What movement/case combinations are available?
3. Which of those fit
4. What movements are available for

Of the other options to include the Rolex Daytona, TAG Monaco, and Tudor Monte Carlo, Dawson settled on the Pilot chronograph style that originated during WWII.  Functionality and readability were the focus of the design, and the style continues to be popular 70+ years later.

Fortunately, one of my favorite watch part suppliers on eBay, SWISS-MADE-TIME, sells all of the parts needed to build and customize a watch based on the proven Valjoux 7750 chronograph movement.

Swiss Made Time also sells multiple variations of the 7750 with assorted features and complications such as: day, date (in various dial locations), moon phase, and quick set.  Besides the complications it comes in three grades: Standard, Elabore, and Top, with added decoration and timekeeping accuracy features.

Valjoux 7750 Top movement with blued screws and day/date

but in the end Dawson chose the original configuration with 6 hands plus the day and date windows at 3 o'clock.  The closest watch on the market to the final look is the IWC Pilot Chronograph 41 Blue Dial (reference IW3881).

For the hands, we looked at several options, and Dawson liked the look of chronographs like Tudor Monte Carlo and Breitling Chronomat with one or more orange hands.  So we decided on an orange sweep seconds hand and an orange running seconds subdial hand.  He made a mock-up in MS Paint with the two orange hands, and that became the design. The only other change was to make the day and date indicators black on white like the IWC above.

One other option Dawson chose was to add a bit of "pop" to the rear view by swapping out the winding rotor.

The final part of the watch design to decide was the strap or bracelet.  The classic pilot watch look includes a leather strap, often with rivets and contrasting stitching.

I had previously purchased custom leather goods from Etsy shops, and in particular I had a watch strap made from kangaroo leather which is very supple.   I ended up custom ordering the strap from TkachenkoLeather in Ukraine.  

Evgeniy makes goods from a variety of exotic leathers, and he was able to meet all of the requirements, except he did not have a buckle to match the matte titanium finish of the case.  After not finding an actual titanium buckle, I found a shop in the UK selling a sandblasted stainless steel buckle that should be a good match per the photo. I had suggested a deployant style clasp to Dawson, but he preferred the basic pin buckle instead.

Besides the watch itself, I ordered a gift/storage box, plus I picked up a nice watch winder I saw on an auction site.  Next comes the waiting for everything to arrive...

Patek Philippe Top Hat, reference 1450

 When I began this pursuit of repairing, restoring, and building watches, I never thought it might one day involve any kind of high-end watch such as a Patek Philippe.  But with the help of Karen, my treasure-hunting wife, a vintage Patek Philippe 1450 "Top Hat" manual wind watch became ours.

The watch was posted on the estate auction service Everything But the House (EBTH) and listed as "not running".  The posting photos showed that the case, crystal, hands, and dial seemed to be in very fine condition.  The movement appeared clean, without corrosion or damage, and the only really degraded part was the strap, which was black alligator with a (probably plated) yellow gold finish clasp.  The rectangular case is 18k rose/pink gold with hooded lugs and matching dial and hands.  The movement is a caliber 9-90, tonneau/barrel shaped, and manual wind.  The crystal did not appear to match the cylindrical shape fitted to the original Top Hat per photos and images from the period Patek catalog.  Despite much searching, I was unable to determine whether or not it might be original.

During the auction we researched the model and based on the movement serial number determined it was produced from 1940-1945, with this one likely in 1940.  Listings for 5 matching items on Chrono24 were priced from $10,000 to $19,000, and the auction stood at $2200 with 2 days to go.  We judged that many people would not want to risk investing in a watch with a bad movement, but I thought I would have a better chance than most to recover a reasonable price.  In the end, we decided to go for it and won the auction at $4810 plus tax and fees.  That weekend we drove the EBTH in Cincinnati to pick up the watch instead of having it shipped.

Once at home, I inspected it under the microscope looking for flaws.  The case, dial, crown, and hands still looked excellent with very few scratches at all and no blemishes on the dial.  Overall, amazing for an 83-year old watch.  The strap and buckles were okay, but we would likely replace it anyway.  

The one puzzling part was the crystal.  Under examination I could see the face of the crystal was perfectly flat with squared, sharp edges and vertical sides. The underside, however, was concave, distorting (shrinking) any image seen through the crystal.  No other online image of a Top Hat appeared to have this shape of crystal.  Also, the material felt like glass or possibly sapphire, but definitely was not acrylic or other plastic as I understood the original model was.

I measured the crystal to see if I could find a close match from the sources I had identified back when I was working on the Hamilton Myron and the pendant watch.  That's when I made a mistake -- I used my digital calipers to measure the outline of the crystal while mounted in the case, and the stainless steel jaws of the calipers scratched the very soft 18k solid gold of the watch case.  

That was frustrating and led me down a path of researching how to polish scratches out of gold.  It also led me to order a new digital caliper with plastic jaws.

I researched replacement crystals and found that G-S has an exact match acrylic model CX770 with cylindrical profile and correct dimensions (21.6 x 19.5 mm) 

The price for the crystal itself is only $12, but for an additional $25 plus shipping Crystal-fit will install it.  I haven't yet decided which I want to do.  I have replaced crystals twice before on vintage Hamiltons, and it was not that difficult.

To try and diagnose why the movement was not running, I removed the balance with the intent of reinstalling it correctly engaging the pallet fork.  However when I pulled it it was obvious that there was no power reaching the escape wheel.  I let down the mainspring power using the curved slot access to the click mechanism, and in doing so the crown turned only a couple of rotations.  This suggests that the mainspring is bound up or locked, which could be the cause of lack of power to the escapement.

Another issue I noticed with the watch is that when pulling out the crown, sometimes it will pop back in to the winding position.  Initially, I assumed it was due to the gunk built up in the keyless works, but when inspecting I noticed one of the two screws securing the detent spring to the main plate is missing (see arrow).   

I'm hoping I can repurpose a screw from one of the vintage Hamilton 980 or 75 size parts movements I have on hand.  The screw head is 0.8 mm, and some of the Hamilton screws are the same diameter, but I don't know if the thread and length match.

I ordered a replacement crystal from Crystalfit.com for $12 and a new mainspring from eBay for $35.  I'm thinking that I will go ahead and try to service the movement and refurbish the watch myself.  Through Patek, the service alone would be $900, not including parts, as I understand.  A Patek strap is $280 for calfskin or $475 for alligator, both without a buckle.  I can get a new Patek branded alligator strap on eBay for $250-300.  An 18k rose gold 14 mm buckle is listed at  $499, which is probably worth it.  Ofrei has a non-Patek 18k rose gold buckle for $340, and on eBay there are rose gold plated buckles for as low at $36. 

Building a Tudor Black Bey Red "Smiley" replica (for me)

 Some hobbyist watchmakers have a passion for making replica or "homage" watches for models they admire but can't afford.  Rolex is the most recognized luxury watch brand, but models start at around $8000 and can be over $50,000 for precious metal.  They are also very stylish, rugged, and accurate (for a mechanical watch).  

I built two Rolex copies in 2019, a black bezel Submariner for Riley, and the Ice Blue Day-Date (ref 228206), and they turned out fairly well, though each have had some trouble after I finished them.  

Now in 2022, I'm looking to build something different, and the model that caught my eye was the Tudor Heritage Black Bay Red (ref. 79220R).  

This was a model sold from 2012-2016 which became very popular for Tudor.  In particular the dark red metallic bezel attracted me because of the similarity to the color of my car.  

On the used market the Black Bay Red "Smiley" sells in the range of $3500-4000, and some people consider them collectible because during that time Tudor fitted it with a fairly mass-market ETA 2824-2 movement.  In 2016, Tudor released the 79230R, which looks similar but runs a Tudor in-house movement.

The 79220R has a couple of other distinctive features, one is the "rose logo" on the dial at 12.  In 2016 Tudor changed logos to a shield shape they still use in 2022. The other highlight on the dial is the label "SELF WINDING" in an upward curve at 6 o'clock that people describe as a "smiley".  The hands and dial indices have luminous paint outlined by rose gold.  Overall, to me the look is both sporty and classy, and it's very readable.

After selecting on the design, the next challenge is sourcing the components.  Replica watch part suppliers typically style the case to look like a desirable luxury watch but internally design it to fit an available movement such as the Seiko NH35 or ETA 2824-2 automatics or the ETA/Unitas 6497-2 manual wind.  So-called Superclones contain copies of the actual movement such as the Rolex 3235 complete with engraved logos and serial numbers.  I'm not comfortable working with these more expensive superclone movements, so I was happy to choose the 79220R based on the familiar and popular ETA 2824-2.  

Recently I have built two Panerai style watches, and Helenarou.com was my source for most of the parts.  I noticed they listed a Tudor Black Bay watch set, but it was SOLD OUT.

I contacted them directly, and they had the same set in stock except fully branded to match the authentic Tudor 79220R and based on the 2824-2 movement.  All of which is perfect.  Not only does it look great, but the crystal is sapphire with antireflective coating, the steel is 316L (same as original), and it is rated to 20ATM (200m) water depth like the genuine article.  From experience I learned with the Raffles.com Submariner set that these clone movements may look like a dive watch, but the cosmetics are the only priority, and the structure of the case/bezel/crystal can preclude any level of water resistance. Here are some photos of the product:

The only downside of Helenarou.com is they ship from Hong Kong, and currently small parcels like this can take anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks.

One small challenge is that the 79220R has no date display, so that function needs to be disabled in the movement so there are only two crown positions, making redundant the extra date setting position from the 2824-2.  I happened to find on Ebay someone selling a 2824-2 Elabore (high grade) movement modified for only two crown positions.  According to the listing it was unused and included the parts to restore the 3rd crown position.  Not only was it modified as I need, it also has the better Incabloc shock jewel system that normally is fitted only to the Top Grade 2824-2 ($310).  

After the case set including case, dial, and hands plus the movement, the only remaining part is a matching bracelet.  Seller on Etsy have Tudor-branded replacement bracelets for $55-85, as compared to a used authentic Tudor bracelet costing on the order of $1500 on Ebay.

While a convincing visual match, my experience is a branded copy bracelet is (as expected) not as well built, though much better than ultra-cheap stamped metal bracelets.  I found this model on Etsy from a UK source for $85.  Visually it's actually a copy not of the 79220R bracelet but the one shipped with the 79230R, the differences being the "rivets" on the sides of the links and the extra lines on the outer edge of each link, both of which give it a little more character than the overall smoother original.

The final puzzle piece does not make much sense because it will be hidden under the non-display case back, and it's a Tudor-branded auto-wind rotor.  I saw it on eBay for $10 and thought that would make me happy knowing it says Tudor inside in case anyone ever looked.

Building a surprise gift watch for Roberto

This year we had another addition to the family when my stepdaughter Lauren married Roberto.  As a "welcome to the family" gift for him, I decided to build a custom watch.  According to Lauren, he tends to wear larger, bolder watches.  In this photo I see an Invicta Russian Diver automatic, a Rolex Submariner clone, and a Sanwood quartz (Aliexpress brand).

So I wanted to choose a design that would be big on the wrist but with a classic heritage.  The selection of replica watch style parts is limited to a few styles, (Rolex, Omega, IWC, and Panerai come to mind). I wanted to base it on a Unitas 6497/6498 movement, and that limited it to IWC and Panerai with larger cases.

I had seen a article about how large watches, particularly Panerai, had been popularized by Sylvester Stallone in the 1990s, and I thought it would be fun to see what model(s) he wore and whether I could replicate it. Turns out he wore a Panerai Luminor during filming of the 1996 movie "Daylight" (link), and it boosted the trend toward big (44 mm and larger) watch cases.

Panerai started building the "Sly Tech" series of watches which now sell for $25k-40k on the used market (see this one).  This 5218-205A model served as the target for my design. This model not exactly like the one in Daylight, but I prefer it because it has a seconds hand in the sub-dial at 9:00. (By the way, the actual watch Stallone wore in the movie sold for $214,200 at auction in 2020.)

I found a nice copy of the Panerai Luminor watch case with a sapphire (very hard to scratch or break) crystal, a display back, and water resistant seals.  Panerai was asked in 1935 to make watches for the Italian Navy, which is why these models have dive watch features. Here's an article with the history of Panerai Luminor if you are interested.

The most distinctive feature of the Luminor case is the locking crown guard, which is designed to compress the crown (the thing you turn) against the case with a rubber O-ring in between to seal out any water.  It also ensures that the crown cannot be broken off by impact or accidentally pulled out to the setting position, which could result in the time changing.

The case back has a large display window to show off the design of the movement and to see the gold balance wheel moving back and forth exactly 3 times per second.  You can also watch the wheels (gears) move when the watch is wound. 

Anyway, the next step is to source the parts and tools.  Here's what I used:

Parts:

1. Watch case - Panerai copy with sapphire crystal and display back, designed for the Unitas 6497/6498 movement and clones like the Seagull ST36.  The case has O-rings for the case back and crown to give good water resistance.
2. Movement: Unitas 6497/6498 manual winding mechanical clone (ST36)
3. Dial & Hands - Panerai replicas with black dial and orange/yellow numerals. I decided to deviate from the original design by including a small seconds sub-dial at 9:00 so it is obvious that it's running.  The hands are white with black border matching the original design (with the addition of the small seconds hand).
4. Strap - The original came with a sharkskin leather strap with buckle. I found a store online in the Netherlands that sells one nearly identical to the original.
5. Bonus strap - I added an orange silicone strap for an optional sporty look.
6. Movement clamps - The movement I found did not appear to come with clamps and screws to secure the movement to the case, so I ordered 5 sets (need only 2 sets).
7. Winding stems - It's easy to snap a stem with the Panerai style folding crown lock if it's not cut to exactly the right length.  Turns out I did not need extras.
8. Gift box - A gift box is great for storage and to make it a proper gift.

New tools in addition to my standard watchmaking tools:

1. Case back wrench - This is a special opener for 12-sided Panerai style case backs.  When I fixed a friend's Panerai clone watch I used a mini bench vise to grab the flats of the case back, but I found an opener cheap on eBay.  Unfortunately, this one was not able to fit a the 40mm flats on the case back, so I'm ordering a special tool...
2. Panerai 40mm case opener - This tool makes it easy to screw/unscrew the case back.  I should have just bought this one in the first place.

Here's a photo of my watchmaker bench.

Nearly all of the parts were ordered from Asia and Europe and arrived within 15 days. The movement was first to arrive which was perfect because I wanted to test and adjust the timing.  The Swiss Unitas 6497 manual winding movement was originally built in the 1950s for Panerai.  It is copied now by several manufacturers, and the version I chose is one like used by Panerai with extra decoration -- special machining to catch the light, plus blued screw heads, and a swan-neck regulator.  

None of that makes it tell time better, but it looks cool through the display back. This version of the 6497 is very much like what Panerai used in the classic dive watches.  The first thing I did was put it on the Timegrapher, the instrument used to measure mechanical watch movements.

Out of the box it ran very strong and just a little fast at + 8.5 seconds per day.  That is about as good as it gets with this movement.  I wound it fully and let it run down until it was erratic, and it lasted about 52 hours.  The idea is that you wind a manual watch every morning when you put it on, and set the time if needed.

The black dial has orange numerals that glow green in the dark.  Seconds are counted on the small sub-dial at the 9 o'clock position. The simplicity of the dial layout was designed for high visibility in the dark and/or underwater.  The dial is then fitted to the movement and the three hands pressed onto the posts using a hand press.

After fitting the hands I moved the hands through 12 hours to ensure they do not physically interfere with each other during rotation.  Then the movement-dial-hands assembly is fitted into the case and secured by case clamps and screws (red circles).

I temporarily screwed in the case back and placed it on the Timegrapher to see if it was still in adjustment.  It was still running great at +2 seconds per day, so time to finish casing it.

Next, the winding stem (the shaft that the crown screws onto) has to be trimmed to the correct length.  I probably spent 2 hours just measuring, calculating, cutting, and filing the stem to get the right length.

Then I installed the crown guard for the last time, lubricated the O-rings with silicone, and screwed on the case back.  Before finally closing the case I cleaned both crystals with lens cleaner to remove any dust, smudges or hairs that might be stuck to either crystal.  Then I fitted the silicone strap and took it for a test drive.  (The orange band is a bonus to give it a second more rugged and sporty look.  Amazon has an infinite variety of straps.  Just look for a 24mm lug width strap. It tapers to 22mm at the buckle.

After I build a watch I always wear it for a few days to make sure nothing goes wrong, like a hand falls off inside and floats around the dial.  Or it just stops, or keeps bad time.  I like to set it in the morning then check it against my radio-calibrated clock for accuracy.

Still right on time at 8:35pm!

While waiting for the last items to arrive, I rented the Daylight movie on Prime to see the watch in action and snapped a of pic from the screen:

It was an OK movie, pretty good special effects and lots of explosions, car wrecks, cave-ins, and Stallone saving the day.

And here is a final shot of the completed watch with the sharkskin strap.  I like it so much I'm going to make one for me with a different dial and strap.

Repairing a Panerai Replica

Al, a friend and coworker had a "Panerai" replica he bought somewhere.  He was having a problem with the setting mechanism, and he had asked me if I could fix it.  While trying to do that I broke the winding stem off in crown threads.  Though it was an inexpensive watch, it was no longer usable, and I felt bad for Al and wanted to make it right. Though this watch has the same features as the Panerai Luminor Power Reserve PAM 090 model, but the Swiss maker was never produced with a white dial.

 In the photo above, one can see the gap between the crown and stem where it broke.

The repair presented three main challenges I had not faced before: 1) how to remove a Panerai-style case back which has a 12-sided gripping surface around the perimeter, 2) how to find a replacement winding stem, and 3) how to find a compatible crown or alternatively, remove the broken stem thread section from the threaded crown hole.

Winding stems are specific to movement design or "caliber".  This movement is of Asian manufacture but had no markings to lead to a parts catalog or compatible part.  The unique feature of the movement was the 4:30 power reserve subdial.  After massive googling and brute-force visual scanning of hundreds of online images, I found the correct movement model, the ST/TY2530 shown here.

Allwatchparts.com sells the whole movement for $42.95, but I only needed the winding stem (below).  I was able to order just the stem from Otto Frei for just $4.00. 

To open the case back, I could have purchased a special tool from eBay for about $30, but with no other use for the tool, that seemed like a bad investment.  I was able to use a small bench top vise to grab opposite flats of the case back to loosen it.

Despite lots more googling, I was unable to find a replacement crown, so I started looking for a way to remove a broken stem.  

I found this Omega forum post detailing how a broken stem can be essentially dissolved out of a crown by soaking it in a solution of alum and water.  The crown is stainless steel and corrosion resistant, but the mild steel stem is not.  There was nothing to lose except a couple of bucks for a can of alum (used for home canning) and time.  I soaked it in a Pyrex dish and checked it every day to see if there was any sign of it corroding away.

After about 4 days, the remainder of the stem had turned black, and I used a small screwdriver to scrape out the debris and I was in business!

From there, I was able to give everything a good cleaning, replace the movement in the case, adjust and regulate the timing and get it back to Al for more wrist time.