Going "Franken" ?

[Akira 0]

Hi guys,

I might have talked with some about it in the SB allready,

but I hope you guys share your experiences and can give advice.

 

I'm 22 years old, student, only earning little money in my little spare time.

I really love my UPO from Mary and I'm thinking about modding it.

It's not like I haven't the money to do so and its not unlikely that I could own

a gen PO.

 

My situation is:

I'm confident telling people I'm wearing a rep.

All my friends know, the people who asked me know.

I don't have to convince myself or an AD.

 

So should I be happy with the nice watch and just don't give about the blueish AR and the crappy lume?

Like everyone who owns reps I like people who don't know me thinking its a gen,

but everyone close to me knowes anyways.

 

Is buying a gen crystal/hands or reluming and stuff just a silly idea?

 

Why did you built a franken?

Have you been in this situation?

Why do you mod your watches?

 

Help/ opinions appreciated

[Pentax 0]

You see something for the first time, you don't have any idea about the details you think it's correct. Then comes some watch nerd along and tells you that the gen is this the gen is that..... And then you start saying I want to have it like the gen. So then starts the modding.

So after you have modded the watch for the first 5 minutes you feel that you have the perfect watch . Then cones another watch nerd and says well on the gen this is 5 degrees more left and that 3 degrees more right and then you start to think about that fine details........

 

My point is that if you see it and you like it the way it is then the watch is ok for you, if you start to hear each opinion not knowing if he who is giving you the advice is actualy a professional or actually know he's stuff...

 

I have encountered many on this site saying this wrong that is wrong and then counter posts from other members no it right ect... We do not work in any OEM factories and we have non idea what we are good at though is comparing with out knowing why someone was constructed the way it was.

 

I have read comments that gets my hair standing sometimes from members.

 

 

That is how I see it

[Akira 0]

Where are you "franken" owners ?

[randy3y 0]

I am considering a highly modded Daytona 6263 by SpinMaster.

 

Any comments by the pros around here would be appreciated.

 

 

[Luthier 1]

Flo, I, personally, don't give a damn about nerds, I wear watch I like, and I'm happy.

Advice - relume your UPO, and forget about modding, unless you have tons of free time and money.

Buying a gen. is the stupidiest thing ever, if very decent reps available. A lot of much, much more important things in your life exist - your girl, your way to become a prof. fashion designer, your studies in Japan or USA... these things will determine your life, not a watches.

Anyway, you'll never mod anything that will become 1:1, period.

[KBH 7]

Here's why I went "franken":

 

 

You just can't get the the same quality rep...

[speedzmaster 0]

Do your reps look as good as any of these?

[Akira 0]

Do your reps look as good as any of these?

 

 

Is this a bad rep of a Rolex Submariner?

 

 

Those Franken look great!

But throwing in pictures isn't really an answer, where your motivation came from.

Was it because of obvious tells, or the fun of modding it yourself and stuff?

I'd really like to know why you did it.

 

 

George thanks for you honest opinion.

[Pentax 0]

Akira

 

That's a Tudor snowflake that's what it's gen looks like

 

Tudor and rolex were once one company

[Akira 0]

Akira

 

That's a Tudor snowflake that's what it's gen looks like

 

Tudor and rolex were once one company

 

It was ment to be sarcastic.

[Brightlight 0]

There are probably more motivations than Frankens. What possible use are other peoples' motivations to you, you have to have motivations of your own or it just doesn't work. I've modded as an experiment, for fun, to try out techniques, to get closer to gen, etc, etc. However the most important thing to remember is your Franken will never be a gen, the closest you can get is to use all gen parts from case and dial, etc, to movement. The next level is to use all gen apart from movement and hands, as is I believe the case with KBH's Datejusts (I have two DJs also at that level). Then you can use aftermarket, but fairly accurate cases, parts, etc, but these can be variable in quality and accuracy. Finally there is modding a rep to make it more gen like. The danger with these, particularly the last two levels is all you end up with is a very expensive rep.

 

Another thing you have to be careful about is listening to 'experts'. If they all agreed it would be a miracle! When I built my first DJ I got anal about the fact that it should have a datewheel with open 6s and 9s, until it was pointed out to me by one who did know, that if a 70's DJ had been regularly serviced by Rolex, it would have had the datewheel replaced at some point by a more modern one. Suddenly this became unimportant...........

 

You have to do things for what you want, not what you think others will expect.

[Pentax 0]

+1 BL

[KBH 7]

The whole purpose of watch forums are to keep from getting scammed and to get the best possible reps as close to gen as possible. Isn't that what we all strive for and obsess over?. Why would modding a watch to get closer to the gen not be considered the natural and ultimate extension of what we are all looking for.

 

When it becomes foolish is when you start buying all the mods at outrageous prices like the vintage Pamboyz do. And you have no personal satisfaction of creating something yourself and second, the total cost is as much as, or almost as much as, a gen. If you can't do the majority of it yourself you should stick to out of the box reps.

 

Like anything, you have to decide what's good for you but keep it in perspective that when you're done it's still just a rep.

[Member X 91]

+1 to BL and KBH!

 

I wouldn't bother adding too many gen parts to a rep unless they are reasonably priced and make a noticeable difference to the watch, or unless you're building ground-up from gen case etc, like the DJs above. Spending $1k modding when you can buy a gen for $2k is just silly, it has to make financial sense unless you have the spare cash!

 

All IMHO, obviously :bcake:

[rc42 0]

Hey Akira,

 

The UPO is a great looking watch and the rep is pretty good as delivered but if you're serious about modding it here's an idea about what's involved:

http://www.replica-watches-guide.com/forum...p?showtopic=144

 

As to whether you should, only you can really answer that but as a guide if you look down to the rep on your wrist and something about it annoys or irritates you then I'd say you either need to mod it or get a different watch.

However, if you look down at your watch with pride and a few seconds later have to look again because you forgot to actually read the time when you first looked then no modding will improve on that, leave it as it is.

 

 

As to gen vs rep, no modding will ever give you the quality of a gen and it will never feel 'gen' on your wrist, it will just be able to fool a higher standard of watch geek with ever more expensive and ever smaller changes. Personally I've never met a 'real' person that could spot a fake Rolex even if the second hand ticked, generally people don't notice what watch you're wearing, its just not important to them.

 

You have to decide what's important to you, although the modding process itself can be a fun hobby just for the sake of it.

[AustinTech 0]

I own a gen PO and I think the only thing the rep needs is a better AR coating. Other than that - just enjoy the rep. I bought the gen because I realized that the PO is a watch that is going to be a classic that I will enjoy for decades. And I had the cash to buy it without breaking a sweat. Otherwise, I would have stuck with the rep.

[Akira 0]

Thanks for your posts!

 

rc42 Superb tutorial !

 

I really love the UPO and I often look at it just to enjoy the watch.

 

I guess if I have little extra to spend, I will get an AR-job and reluming.

Finedd allready told me the price and its totally acceptable.

[scope 3]

I enjoy learning and changing,modding, and fixing watches period! I don't really care when someone

calls me a nut for having a gen 1570 movement in a rep case. It was fun to build and I learned a lot

doing it. Always do what you enjoy. It is a great hobby and still is cheaper than my other passion of restoring cars!

[Baldrick 1]

Regardless of how much you spend on it, how much you mod it, EVERY time you look at it on your wrist, a little worm tunnelling in your brain will ALWAYS prompt the question, "does it look genuine", "will it pass muster" especially when you are with friends or in imminent danger from someone who KNOWS Rolexes or watches, and the answer never comes, because you KNOW it isn't genuine, the doubt can't be eradicated, you may feel a smug sense of satisfaction knowing that you've done everything to make it look genuine, but when it comes to the point where you have to hand it over, you'll always be nervous.

 

Just enjoy your watch as it's meant to be enjoyed, you've already stated the following.

 

My situation is:

I'm confident telling people I'm wearing a rep.

All my friends know, the people who asked me know.

I don't have to convince myself or an AD.

 

If you're confident abiout telling people, then you don't need to worry about modding it.

 

If all your friends know, why would you need to mod it, to make it look more genuine, your friends wouldn't know the difference, besides which your credibility is already shot, they'll take a lot of convincing in future if you buy a gen.

 

If you don't have to convince yourself, then there would be no satisfaction in it, and if you don't have to convince an AD, what's the point?

 

There are too many experts on these fora, telling you shit, there is no 'DE FACTO' standard for datewheels / dials / bands / cases or anything Rolex related, there are loads of 'Franken' Rolexes out there all from Montres Rolex themselves and Rolex in particular are very guilty of not adhering to a standard when servicing your watch, companies such as PP / Vacheron keep a more detailed record of what they produce and are more faithful in terms of servicing.

 

Just enjoy the watch, if you have to do any mods, then AR and lume would be the best options for you, they both offer a discernible benefit, crown tubes / different colour datewheels etc etc do not!

[greg_r 81]

Great post, Balders. Agree 100%

 

The REAL reason for modding is if you enjoy working on your own watches. I can see the fascination there, but I never did see the point of paying someone else to do these things - ultimately all you end up with is a more expensive rep.