Cannibal 0 Posted February 10, 2014 So as the title says, I'm swapping in a swiss 7750 into my Cousteau chrono. The movement I purchased comes with black day and date wheels. Should I keep them black, as that would compliment the black on the dial, however the OE look is to have white day/date wheels. Or is it an easy enough swap for the watchmaker to put the asian date wheels on the swiss movement? Thoughts? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DR3M3L 4 Posted February 10, 2014 I would keep the white datewheel overlay Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cannibal 0 Posted February 10, 2014 thanks for the input. So by overlay, do you mean the day/date wheels are just sitting on top of the gear train associated with the mechanics of changing the date? Ie. keep the swiss gearing and pop out the black overlay and insert the white? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DR3M3L 4 Posted February 11, 2014 There is actually a date wheel which is mounted in the movement, which has an overlay with a printed date ring. If you swap the overlay you'll be sure it'll keep working and won't mess up your movement Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cannibal 0 Posted February 11, 2014 Thanks for confirming this. Awesome! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daywatch 4 Posted February 12, 2014 Hi, better ask the watchmaker what the extra charge is and than decide. Would be interested in knowing more since I have the CD 2008 just for a few days now. What the movement cost, what the watchmaker charges and how does it run after.... was Your movement broken? maybe when all is done You can share Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cannibal 0 Posted February 13, 2014 Hi, better ask the watchmaker what the extra charge is and than decide. Would be interested in knowing more since I have the CD 2008 just for a few days now. What the movement cost, what the watchmaker charges and how does it run after.... was Your movement broken? maybe when all is done You can share I might be doing a contra deal with the watchmaker as I make straps and he said he'd like one or two of mine. Plus, he is jonesing for the dial and hands this movement comes with, so... but other watchmakers I asked about a swap said ~$100 is the going rate for a 7750 movement swap. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
twofake 0 Posted February 13, 2014 I would keep the original date wheel if it fits in as I read the rep date wheel is not as good . Please post lots of pics when done and even show your straps you make. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daywatch 4 Posted February 13, 2014 Hi again and thx for the info, that gives some idea. Any place You show the straps You´re making? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cannibal 0 Posted February 25, 2014 There's pix of two of my straps in my FS post. One is gone but one remains for sale. Check out the watch parts/accessories section. I have a 243 incoming and just made three straps for it. Once it lands I'll post pix. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cannibal 0 Posted April 7, 2014 Just to update the tale of woe regarding my Cousteau. I have the swiss 7750 ready to go in, but in the meantime, the watch started to lose about 5 min per hour on top of the 4-5 hour overnight loss. This is interesting because the watch kept perfect time (ie easily inside COSC standards) from say 6 a.m to 10:30 p.m. And then it just started dropping time. And to make it weirder, it wasn't all the time, Some days it loses 5m/hr and other times it runs fine. To top this frustration off, the crown became difficult to screw down. It would take many turns to 'catch' on the threads, but once it caught, it screwed down fine. I'd had enough and contacted the TD and I've now shipped it off to China for him to service it. Gah... what a PITA. Particularly cuz it cost $75 to ship from Canada to China tracked via air mail. So when I get it back, I'll see how it runs. In the meantime I'll order swiss date wheels for it and then i'm ready for a full on swiss swap. Wish me luck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wiz 0 Posted April 7, 2014 I don't think this watch has overlays on the date/day wheels. I'm actually pretty sure they don't, unless the makers changed the design recently. About swapping an asian 7750 with a swiss, you need to know it's not a straight swap. The posts holding the subdials hands and the center chrono hand are larger, therefore the hands need to be broached. This means the little tube holding the hands onto the "post" of wheels need to be enlarged. Problem is, these rep hands are made of aluminum, instead of using brass or steel, like higher quality hands. While these last 2 alloys will tend to expand when you try to enlarge the tubes, aluminum will tend to crack. Sometimes these are just micro cracks, and the hand will still be alright, sometimes the cracks will be a little bigger, and it may cause issues. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KeNnY 29 Posted April 7, 2014 I don't think this watch has overlays on the date/day wheels. I'm actually pretty sure they don't, unless the makers changed the design recently. About swapping an asian 7750 with a swiss, you need to know it's not a straight swap. The posts holding the subdials hands and the center chrono hand are larger, therefore the hands need to be broached. This means the little tube holding the hands onto the "post" of wheels need to be enlarged. Problem is, these rep hands are made of aluminum, instead of using brass or steel, like higher quality hands. While these last 2 alloys will tend to expand when you try to enlarge the tubes, aluminum will tend to crack. Sometimes these are just micro cracks, and the hand will still be alright, sometimes the cracks will be a little bigger, and it may cause issues. +1 about the hands Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cannibal 0 Posted April 7, 2014 Thanks guys... well aware of the hand issue and the watchmaker who will be doing the swap is a master at this sort of thing. He put a 70 year old Hamilton pocketwatch movment into a 47mm rad case and in so doing had to make and install new dial feet and also sleeves for the pinions so that he could affix hands made for a 6497 movment. It'll be in excellent hands. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
higginsd 0 Posted April 8, 2014 So I'm lucky so source a set of gen hands for my 3777. Now there is only one last hurdle to my 3777 superfranken: a gen 79320... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
profsteve 3 Posted April 8, 2014 where did you get the swiss 7750 and how much was it? Ofrei? They are between about 375 and 500 which to my mind is a good deal for a new swiss 7750 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cannibal 0 Posted April 9, 2014 I got it on ebay from a powerseller. it's a Tissot that came with the dial and hands for $325. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
twofake 0 Posted April 9, 2014 So is the iwc watch in china or did you get it back? Still waiting for pics...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cannibal 0 Posted April 9, 2014 So is the iwc watch in china or did you get it back? Still waiting for pics...... Still on it's way to China. Sent on Saturday, due to arrive there on the 17th. Shipping tracked via air was $75. So however long Trevor takes to fix it and ship it back after that. I'm guessing I'll see it mid-May. Sometime after that it'll go to my guy in Montreal for the transplant. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
twofake 0 Posted April 9, 2014 You must have a lot of patience to wait so long for this one. Nice rep though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cannibal 0 Posted April 14, 2014 . Nice rep though. That's why I'm patient. He has the watch now so we'll see how long he takes to fix and once it lands, see how well it works. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cannibal 0 Posted July 29, 2014 (edited) Just thought I'd update this thread. The Cousteau came back from China and I figured with a new A7750 inside, it should work fine. Oh how I was wrong. While the hour/minute hands would set, they wouldn't engage to actually tell time. The movement runs fine but some issue likely due to how poorly it was packed on it's return trip from the TD. Anyways... one of our fine members here currently has it, finalizing the Swiss 7750 swap. So some genuine 7750 hands and genuine day and date wheels sent along for the install. The movement checked out to be first rate, with proper date snaps over midnight, chrono functions work perfectly... all in all a solid movement. Only issue was the hands. Seems the Gen 7750 chrono hands and the central seconds hand (not IWC hands, generic 7750 hands) didn't all fit as they should. More amazingly, the Asian hands DO fit on the chrono. Thankfully, the Swiss movement I supplied came with proper hands (and dial) so the 7750 slayer is modding that central sweep hand to look like the OE IWC hand and I'm expecting it to be done any day now. FWIW the vendor of the gen hands emailed a response when I told him the hands don't fit. My donor movement is a Tissot. Apparently Tissot and some other related brands sourced brand-specific hand sizes that are unknown to us regular folks due to poor records or some such thing, and that's why the standard, gen replacement hands didn't fit. Something to keep in mind if anyone else considers a Swiss swap. Of course once I get it, I'll share pix. Edited July 29, 2014 by Cannibal Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
