AO

All limited edition Dora the explorers, too! I've seen it first hand.

Randy V

And a buncha Sponge Bob Squarepants!



Some of them are posted in this thread on the Watches! forum here:

https://rennlist.com/forums/watches/...re-thread.html

Shawn Stanford

I've had personal experience with Randall Benson (Hands of Time), Duarte Mendonca (Northeast Watch Works), and Jack at Industrial Watch Works.

A chrono will also elevate the price significantly, and limit the source watches. A 7S26 is the way to go.

Tom. M

Hmmm.... Leather band with laser etched pascha pattern.... or pasha background (in black/lighter black) as the background for the face....

Maybe a rubber watch band with holes that mimic the phone dial ovals (raised relief)?..

Keep the ideas flowing....

BTW..I also like the idea of a chrono (ala Porsche Design 911 watch)..I know Audi has some branded watches that have the triple dials for less than $200...

MGW-Fla

Shawn you mentioned you had a quote for a complete Seiko 5 for $155; but you prefer the 7s26 Diver route instead & its up to us to get our own case, movement, & band & have the 928 dial assembled with our watch. I take it that it will be one direction or the other & not both, yes? So do you have final say, or is it up for a vote of those buying?

FWIW, my vote is for the assembled Seiko 5 at $155 for a couple of reasons. One, as I said previously, I like the clean, classy look of the plain stainless case, versus the diver's look with the chapter ring potentially distracting from the 928 face. I think the divers with the chapter ring also would result in a larger overall watch, which I'd not favor. I think the Seiko 5 allows for a bit wider choice of when you would wear the watch too, casual or more formal. To me, the diver design is more casual/outdoors use, & would not likely be one I'd wear for formal business or such. I'd like to have as wide of options as possible of times I could have it on my wrist.

Probably the biggest factor to me though is the trade off of just sending money, or having to go through the process to assemble. A completed Seiko 5 takes the hassle, time, grief, pricing, & guess work out of the process. Not having to find & buy your own watch, hoping I chose the correct mm size etc, & then dealing with a custom watch maker to do the assemble. Once the design of the face is set, just knowing where to send the money & then wait for your custom watch works way too well to want to deal with the assembly process.

depami

Seiko is Japanese. How about a Toyota Supra theme? .....

Shawn Stanford

The strap is a completely different kettle of fish. There are folks who make straps, but a custom strap is going to be big bucks, probably more than the watch: http://gearpatrol.com/2013/07/30/bes...atch-straps/2/

Doable. A very subtle pascha background with bright white indicators might look really nice.

Yeah, this is where I'm going to exercise the organizer's veto. I really don't like chronos. If someone else were doing this project, I'd vote against a chrono and if a chrono was offered, I wouldn't buy it. I used to own a Citizen Blue Angels Navihawk that I gave to a friend - he likes chronos, I don't.

Sorry to pee on anyone's parade, but if I'm driving the bus then we're going with the 7S26.

I'll double check with the manufacturer, but I don't see why we can't get some cased and some not. It's a small outfit overseas (Harold Ng has a sterling international reputation among the Seiko watch community. I've worked with him before.), so the big hurdle is getting the tooling done for the dial face. After there is a stack of dials, he should be able to do assembly on an individual basis.

FWIW: I'm planning on buying two dials. One I'll have transplanted into a diver, and one for putting into a 'dress' case.

Tom. M

Fine...I'll take my ball and go home LOL... No Worries...You organize it..you make the decisions

BTW...I've got a contact who works for Momentum watches (http://www.momentumwatch.com/) and I'm checking with him to see what they can do (not to take away from your project)..just checking available options..

Shawn Stanford

Please do! I love St Moritz: I have a titanium Himalaya that I wore in Iraq and still wear all the time, and a prototype diver with tritium tube hands and indices.

auzivision

I like what you are proposing with the 7s26 and agree that is a good economical platform to build from. Just google Seiko MODs and tons of information and websites appear. Kind of like sharks, there is cult like following of enthusiasts with forums dedicated to watch mods. Selecting the 7S26 opens a large range of options and support.

I do like the look of the 'dressier' cases but wouldn't rule out a dive watch either. Following are a couple cases I that caught my eye.

My favorite is this one:


others, might be the same as you showed earlier:





It will really come down to what dial or faceplate is designed... which is what you suggested initially. To get 50 people to agree on a faceplate that could basically be installed in a bunch of different cases. Or maybe have a case offering or two, or leave that to the buyer.



When you mentioned $155 per watch, was that for a complete watch case and all? Or is that for the dial with installation to an existing watch? If it's $155 ish for a complete custom automatic 928 watch... count me in! If the price is in addition too, I'd probably opt for just a dial and figure out how to do it myself.

So to sum it up as I see it, the goal is to come up with a custom 928 dial design that 50 people will buy. Staps, Cases, Hands, Assembly, etc would be determined later by the purchaser... with perhaps maybe a standard option or two for a complete package available through a supplier. Is that about right?

Shawn Stanford

That's for a complete watch of the non-diver Seiko 5 type. The quote I have for just the dial is $35.

That's correct

I'm trying to negotiate a set of hands into the dial price, so you'll also pick a hand set.

Bertrand Daoust

Nice watches Kurt.
I like the second one more.

auzivision

That sounds like a great deal considering all the steps involved swapping out a faceplate.

When it comes to facplace design what's the chances we could 'get away with' a small batch of dials using a 'reasonable facsimile' (as Jerry would call it) to the Porsche crest? Or the use of the word Porsche? A crest at noon and/or the word porsche might be interesting.

Kind of like this but not chrono:


or like this but not 911:


To bad we don't have an easily identifiable logo like these:


and a couple more Porsche related ideas:



If one was to 'borrow' from the original Laco based 928 version... my preference would be the noon marker, number font, and possibly car outline at the bottom.... leaving the 2, 8, 9 numbering schemed and tach hashmark coloring out. Hopefully, that would be enough different not to **** off the others. Also, most likely the hands will be different and obviously the case.

I'm also still intrigued by Jerry's idea on using the 9 o'clock position for 928. Just like last time, maybe RKD will start taking ideas and morphing them into a design.

Last time I just watched it happen and was very pleased with the result. My guess is this group can repeat itself with something equally unique and classy.

Thanks for taking the initiative.

Hilton

I think you read what you wanted to read, rather than the words I wrote?

I wasn't suggesting for a second that a copy should be made (in fact I'd prefer not) - just trying to work out what the boundaries are.

DKWalser

"I'm also still intrigued by Jerry's idea on using the 9 o'clock position for 928. Just like last time, maybe RDK will start taking ideas and morphing them into a design."

So am I. The 928 at 9 o'clock and a Porsche crest at 12 or 6 would make for a simple, elegant, understated design. There would be no need for a silhouette of car. Like the corvette and 911 watches, there's no need for a picture to tell the viewer what the watch is about.