Reply With Quotethat looks pretty awesome.......a great mod you've got there
There has been an increasing trend recently in producing 6309 mods sporting aftermarket 6105 dials. I thought I'd turn the tables and do a 6105 with a 6309 movement and dial. I have been trying to produce a day/date 6105 for over a year, initially by trying to find someone to do it for me, but as I became more confident fettling these old watches, I have finally got to the point where it seemed like I might be able to do it myself.
A week or so ago, I snagged a complete 6105-8110 case on Ebay. The case came with original crystal in decent nick, bezel, chapter ring, crown and stem and case back. But no movement or dial. However, I have several 6309 movements left over from other projects, one of which is a NOS movement from a dress watch that was surplus to requirements. Over the past few weeks I have also accumulated an original suwa 6309-7040 dial, in excellent condition, but with a less conspicuous bevel on the day/date aperture, some Plongeur hands from Yobokies and some 6309 stems, one of which I would need to swap with the 6105 stem.
The case was in very decent original condition, the crown locked and all the components were in excellent shape. However, it did have a few dings and so yesterday and today, I broke out the sand- and emory papers and cleaned and refinished the case. Next up, I swapped the English/French day wheel for an English/Roman one, removed the tab from the 6309 dial (otherwise it would not fit the case), and fitted it to the dial. Yobokies hands popped on next, with no problems. Crystal gasket, crystal and original chapter ring refitted and crystal retaining ring snapped back onto the case with a crystal press.
Now to fit the movement but first up the problem of the stem. This needed trimming to fit the case but I also needed to reduce its width because the crown tube on the 6105 case is considerably narrower than that on the 6309 divers. After some trial and error, the crown and new stem worked correctly. I needed to take a bit more off the stem at this point, because after I tightened up the case back, the crown could not be pulled out. The stem turned out to be fouling on the case back lip. Anyway, that was sorted out ok, movement popped in with salvaged movement ring from an old 6309-7290 diver. All that remained was the bezel and insert. A fresh, greased gasket into the cleaned turning ring, snapped onto the case, again with the crystal press and then the insert. The one I used is from an SKX007 diver but I enlarged the pip hole and replaced the original lume pip (ok I lost the original lume pip somewhere on the bedroom floor) with a relumed 6309 pip from a beaten up 6309 insert. And that's it.
I like the result but I did it more to satisfy my curiosity about how easy it would be to convert a 6105 to day/date. I had intended to use a MkII ploprof dial, but I think this looks nice, in spite of having lost the minute markers on the chapter ring (incidentally, the 6309 chapter rings will not fit the 6105 correctly. They are too tall and have a slightly narrower diameter).
Martin
that looks pretty awesome.......a great mod you've got there
Excellent post Martin, I'm really not sure how I feel about the watch though. Initially I thought no but the more I look at it the more I like it, I think its a grower and definately a one off. Well done mate 8)
Cheers
Simon
Ralph Waldo Emerson: We ask for long life, but 'tis deep life, or noble moments that signify. Let the measure of time be spiritual, not mechanical.
Thanks Simon. I feel the same. For me, it is the hands that are perhaps a tad too inyerface but I will see how it settles down. I may end up changing them for something a little more subdued. Quite a fun look though! I did a mock up before I started working on it to see what the Ploprof dial would look like but I am not really keen on this:Originally Posted by WORKSIMON
Martin
I did a mock up before I started working on it to see what the Ploprof dial would look like but I am not really keen on this:
Martin
I'm with you on that Martin, it does not look half as good as the finished model.
Cheers
Simon
Ralph Waldo Emerson: We ask for long life, but 'tis deep life, or noble moments that signify. Let the measure of time be spiritual, not mechanical.
I'm with you Martin, the dial looks great, but I think the plongeur hands grab the eye a bit too much. Even though I'm always partial to a bit of orange.
Possibly it's because both the hands and the dial markers are on the large size(?). It's always a tricky combination to get right.
Then again, it may grow on you.
excellent work there - well done 8)
This hybrid is superb and you've worked hard to achieve the results.
Thank you. The problem with the chapter ring is not so easy to solve. The 6309 chapter ring is a little too tall, has a slightly smaller diameter and is designed to work with a ring between it and the crystal gasket. More importantly, you need a tab on the dial to lock into the chapter ring to prevent it from freely rotating. The 6309 dials with tab in place will not fit the 6105 case because the case does not have the cut-out. This latter problem is only resolvable by re-engineering the case, something I am not prepared to do. I had to think long and hard enough about sanding off the tab from an original 6309 suwa dial but to vandalise the case would have been a bridge too far!
Martin
Now that was a pretty damn fast response and before I edited it too. :wink:Thank you. The problem with the chapter ring is not so easy to solve. The 6309 chapter ring is a little too tall, has a slightly smaller diameter and is designed to work with a ring between it and the crystal gasket. More importantly, you need a tab on the dial to lock into the chapter ring to prevent it from freely rotating. The 6309 dials with tab in place will not fit the 6105 case because the case does not have the cut-out. This latter problem is only resolvable by re-engineering the case, something I am not prepared to do. I had to think long and hard enough about sanding off the tab from an original 6309 suwa dial but to vandalise the case would have been a bridge too far!
Martin
I read your initial post and realised the same issues you have noted above. I know it will be nigh impossible to fit a chapter ring with minute markers to this particular watch. My comment was solely based on my personal taste. (eg. A minute chapter ring and non minute dial, or minute marked dial and plain chapter ring. I don't have the patience to wait until the minute hand gets to the hour marker to set the time).
Great post. But I will only go so far as fitting a 6309 movement , IF I can find a movement holder and a decent bezel. If someone has them, please do let me know. :wink:
Well done it looks great. :mrgreen:
I've seen Dr. Seiko (Randall Benson) put a 6105 coin-edge bezel on a 6309-7040 and it looked great. This is one step better!
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