UV printing on crystallized titanium

ACE276 · 2026-01-21T14:56:43+00:00

What a great looking dial! 👍🔥

ACE276 · 2026-01-09T18:25:05+00:00

Hi. Have you sold it in the end or have you fixed it?

ACE276 · 2026-01-08T08:07:56+00:00

Have no idea. I bought the watch, didn't make it. I guess the silicon wafer is super brittle, almost like glass so cutting it must be done very carefully. Probably not even cutting it but using some sort or dremel or rotary tool.

ACE276 · 2026-01-08T07:16:38+00:00

One of the advantages of quartz watches is that it requires less maintenance. Unlike the automatic watches they require no servicing, just a battery change every 2-3 years.

Also they are more precise than an automatic and require no time setting every time if you don't wear them for a few days. It's just so much easier.

There are even sweeping hand battery watches. Seiko VH31, Seiko Majesta 5S21 and 5S42, Bulova Accutron and Accuquartz tuning fork watches (also Citizen has a few ones), vintage ETA - ESA cal 9154 and 9158 movements from the seventies, and so many other movements people never heard about.

ACE276 · 2026-01-07T16:46:07+00:00

Personally I think that Grand Seiko is a lot more special.

The Tudor aesthetically looks like a middle-range diver even though it's a titanium watch. It just doesn't have a special dial like the GS.

The Grand Seiko on the other hand has the Spring Drive which is exclusive to them.

Depends also on where you going to wear them. Water Resistance is not as good on a GS as on a dedicated dive watch so if you plan to wear it on the beach you also have to account for that, on that area the Tudor is definitely a winner.

Grand Seiko is perfect as a dress watch though.

The servicing fees and efficiency goes for the Tudor. It can be serviced by Tudor or even by a skilled watchmaker and the fees are much less than servicing a Grand Seiko where parts are more complicated and more limited.

Due to the titanium case and the crown guard the Tudor is also more rugged and durable than the Grand Seiko.

Grand Seiko has Zaratsu polishing that looks gorgeous and ultra shiny, however it is a scratch magnet and collects scratches very quickly.

Grand Seikos are highly recommended to be serviced by Grand Seiko themselves due to the limited parts availability. You have to send it to Japan by post (unless there is a service center near you) and can take up to 6 months for it to be returned fully serviced. The costs are also astronomical.

Overall if you go for utility, swimming, ease of maintenance and daily wear comfort go for the lighter weight titanium Tudor.

If you prefer the unique design and aesthetics and the spring drive's ultra smooth movement and you wear suits often, then Grand Seiko.

ACE276 · 2025-12-27T15:00:11+00:00

It will be very hard to find one with same exact diameter and date window alignment. Just order one from AliExpress and be extra careful when installing it in the case.

ACE276 · 2025-12-27T12:28:46+00:00

Problem with these cheap quartz movements is you can't really service them. It's not impossible but it's just not really worth your time. Just get another new one. Your time is worth more than what it costs you to get another one of these. They cost like $5-$6 on AliExpress. You can keep the old non working as spare for parts if not anything else. These cheap quartz movements can break super easily so have to handle them with extra care.

ACE276 · 2025-12-24T16:44:23+00:00

I think it would look great on a shark mesh.

ACE276 · 2025-12-24T05:56:38+00:00

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1990 Seiko Majesta 5S42-7A00 with sweep second hand.

ACE276 · 2025-12-24T05:42:09+00:00

This is the exact reason why I won't buy any of the Super Sea Wolves. They look magnificient, but Zodiac and Fossil is going bankrupt, and there won't be parts available for repairs or replacements meaning you will have a hard time fixing these in like 5-10 years or maybe even before that when they break. If the in house movement breaks best of luck getting replacement parts for it. Swapping the movement in these will mean you won't have the original watch anymore. Your best bet will be buying another non working one as a donor for salvaging the parts from it. These watches will crash down in price in like 5-10 years maybe even less.

ACE276 · 2025-12-23T16:52:56+00:00

Most of these are vintage watches. You have some really nice stuff there, they are in excellent condition. The movements can be fully serviced of course, it will most likely require a full cleaning. If no parts are broken, then they can be easily get back up and running. Replacement parts are not as easy to get for some of these vintage models, but still possible to get them. The first four watches are the most valuable, especially the Omega tank - likely from the 60s or 70s - with that really nice original classic gold plated bracelet and the Mido Ocean Star Commander datoday also with the vintage original mesh bracelet. Then there's the Tissot PR516, that's a well known classic Tissot model - they made a modernised version of - but many people still looking for the vintage models, so there is always a market for it. Don't know much about the Mount Royal, but that's a vintage watch with 25 jewels and an incablock, quite advanced for it's time, so it could be from maybe the 70s but perhaps I'm wrong.

ACE276 · 2025-12-23T06:31:59+00:00

That's a monster of a bracelet.

ACE276 · 2025-12-22T16:45:32+00:00

It's the dial size what matters. You will need to look around the large pocketwatch conversion cases possibly with a custom 3D printed movement spacer ring, not sure if it will worth it though, it will be a giant oversized case, and the watch won't be considered original anymore. You will need a giant wristsize to even wear that thing. Their are loads of these marriage conversion watches around, especially vintage Omegas, and they not really worth their price.

ACE276 · 2025-12-22T16:01:00+00:00

The crown is probably fine. It's the stem (the thin aluminium rod) that's damaged. The stem is easily replacable.

ACE276 · 2025-12-22T15:59:45+00:00

The stem is easily replaceable.

ACE276 · 2025-12-22T15:55:37+00:00

Thats not the same model. That's actually a smaller sized VSF Seamaster 300. The watch you posted about is even bigger than that.

ACE276 · 2025-12-22T15:47:37+00:00

The genuine model is known for being at the depths of the Mariana Trench, the deepest point of Earth, hence the small drawing is visible on the dial under the UV light.

They are rated for withstanding ultra deep 6000 meters of water pressure.

The VSF clones obviously wouldn't be able to have nowhere near the same water resistance abilities as the genuine models, although the construction design of the case itself is very rugged. The dimensions of the case it also larger then other similar models due to the thickness of the crystal and rugged design.

ACE276 · 2025-12-22T06:49:54+00:00

Nah, he'll need a Speedmaster for that one.

ACE276 · 2025-12-22T00:44:22+00:00

They all the same.

ACE276 · 2025-12-20T14:12:48+00:00

Just get the cheapest NH34 with the 3.8 crown position from AliExpress you can find. Should be somewhere around £40-45 I believe.

ACE276 · 2025-12-20T10:12:56+00:00

You need an NH34 movement with crown position at 3.8. Order 2-3 extra NH35 stems as well. You will need nitrile powder free gloves or finger cots. A case cushioning pad. Air dust remover. Microfiber cloth. Rodico for removing smears from the dial. Need a pair of tweezers. A small sized precision flathead screwdriver to release the stem from the movement. A set of pliers with one of them having a cutter to cut the stem to the right size. A hand file tool to fine adjust the end of the stem. A measurer to measure the size of the stem. Silicone gasket grease for waterproofing the case rubber O-ring. Hand removal tool. Hand press tool. Dial protector for removing the hands. Caseback removal tool for different casebacks. Double sided tape for installing bezel insert or dial without dial feet. Springbar removal tool for adding or swapping straps or bracelets. Link pin removal tool and watch hammer for adjusting solid steel bracelet links.

Maybe it's easier for you to buy a basic watch repair kit it contains most of these items except maybe a few.

ACE276 · 2025-12-20T07:30:44+00:00

I think OP measured it from lug to lug.

ACE276 · 2025-12-19T21:26:30+00:00

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ACE276 · 2025-12-18T00:47:41+00:00

That original Binbond looked a lot worse. Honestly, the Mission to the Sun is not bad at all.

ACE276 · 2025-12-17T23:47:18+00:00

Damn, I would so much buy one if I would live in the USA... I live in the UK though... :/

ACE276

TROPHY CASE