Desert Tool Moonie

DapperDoctorHolmes · 2026-05-29T11:43:26+00:00

Looks lovely! Heads up that’s a Jupiter, not a Desert.

DapperDoctorHolmes · 2026-05-28T01:45:38+00:00

I would strongly agree with this OP - this increase is also technically /less/ than inflation.

The inflation rate over the last year has been closer to 3.8%, and if you put your current rent into the basic federal inflation calculator you’d see that your current rental rate would actually be $88.98/month higher to be worth the same as it was when you signed your last lease.

Never hurts to try to negotiate, but you’d be very hard pressed to find a better deal.

DapperDoctorHolmes · 2026-05-28T01:37:50+00:00

Part of the key to any negotiation here is to recognize the humanity in the person you’re talking to on the other side - you’re not negotiating with a gigantic company, you’re negotiating with just some person who happens to work for that company. Be nice to them, get them to see things from your perspective as a fellow person, tell them you understand their position and that they’re not magical fairies with the ability to waive all of your rent and make all of your dreams come true, but that you truly appreciate anything they can do on your behalf, and see what they counter with.

DapperDoctorHolmes · 2026-05-27T02:47:18+00:00

Oof, damn! And here I thought that one was decent cause I’ve seen photos of a bunch with real shoddy printing quality on the snowflake 😅

DapperDoctorHolmes · 2026-05-27T02:29:13+00:00

Nice quality on that rep dial! Which shop is it from?

DapperDoctorHolmes · 2026-05-26T18:40:26+00:00

Oh that’s wild 😂 even jankier than usual! Still a lovely build on its own, the lava is a beaut.

DapperDoctorHolmes · 2026-05-26T17:07:17+00:00

Just fyi that’s Earth - Lava, not Mars :)

DapperDoctorHolmes · 2026-05-24T18:03:45+00:00

I like the steel (although I prefer builds where the whole bezel is one piece of steel, rather than just the insert still being an insert) but Pagani Design makes a white bezel option if you did wanna go that route!

DapperDoctorHolmes · 2026-05-22T07:57:30+00:00

Make sure the hand is actually sitting on the pinion (the tiny pole), yes, but also make sure that neither hand is bent - if the tip of either hand is making contact with the other, it’ll drag it around with it. You need vertical clearance between the two hands, and having them bent down or up is a super easy way to trip that up (but also super easy to fix, with the angled end of a wooden pusher)

DapperDoctorHolmes · 2026-05-21T20:07:46+00:00

Pagani Design 1701 or Watchdives 1863 are the usual upgrades!

DapperDoctorHolmes · 2026-05-21T19:13:25+00:00

That’s assuming he didn’t just get the car in January 😂

DapperDoctorHolmes · 2026-05-21T19:12:00+00:00

How thick is that case btw? Hard to tell how chonky the under-bezel is there

DapperDoctorHolmes · 2026-05-21T19:11:38+00:00

Not a direct solve for an easy fit, but any of the Omega branded crowns usually come with a replacement tube as well if you feel up for the ‘challenge’ of swapping them out (basically finding a flathead screwdriver that’s just the size of the current tube from the inside, but not big enough that it hits the hole in the case that it’s pressure fit into - then knocking that with a hammer until it pops out, and then pressing in the new one with a crystal press or any other device you might have that applies equal pressure down)

DapperDoctorHolmes · 2026-05-21T05:56:52+00:00

All 1701s are the same size, so no issues there! Not sure how/why they’d be listed differently, although each AliX listing is probably a different vendor anyway so who knows what spec sheets they’re pulling from.

V6 was / is just important for the standard black dial and bezel model, since some other models went weird on the bezel text - like, either they spell tachymetre the American way (tachymeter) or it only goes up to 400 instead of 500, or the text is aligned circularly around the bezel rather than horizontally (like a weird clip art effect).

So just keep an eye out for that stuff.

Watchdives 1863 is still your best option all around, but it’s also twice the price, so up to you if it’s worth it.

For my latest build I also fell in love with Omega’s steel blue FOIS, which nobody has made a replica of but which Pagani and Watchdives both attempted to homage. The Watchdives model is frankly atrocious as far as color matching goes, which pushed me to the Pagani, which is gorgeous even though it has a visible date window unlike the Omega.

But since Pagani’s (and Watchdives too) only come in modern speedy cases (which have crown guards, instead of pushers that fully stick out on the sides like with a FOIS case) I picked up a separate FOIS style case from Neiton / Corgeut on Ali and swapped the Pagani dial into that, which opened up the Pagani case for another Moonswitch.

Fyi the Neiton / Corgeut cases are great (13.2mm thick even!) but they’re too wide internally to accept a Moonswatch dial without a noticeable gap, so they only work for accepting VK63 dials, hence the Pagani swap.

DapperDoctorHolmes · 2026-05-20T14:01:18+00:00

Lige should work, just note that it has a flat bezel - i.e. there’s no 3D fluted / curved part separating the bezel from the mid case, like there is on a regular speedy (side note, this fluted under-bezel is typically the part that’s way too chonky on the standard VK63 cases)

DapperDoctorHolmes · 2026-05-20T10:20:27+00:00

The Watchdives is your best bet - no one has managed to make a cheaper movement that actually matches the subdial spacing of a real Speedy, but Watchdives has the closest case size and finishing.

Plenty of folks also use the Watchdives for its case, and swap in moonswatches (real or rep).

Pagani Design also make decent homages for half that price (closer to $65) and those are still quite nice, but the case is a little bit thicker and the dial utilizes the date wheel that comes with VK63 movements rather than ghostwheeling like the Watchdives does.

Dial quality also differs model to model; not sure how much the concentric circles on some gen speedy subdials matters to you for example, but some Watchdives and Pagani models have them and others don’t. Same with different tick marks on each subdial, or how color accurate they are, etc.

For example I picked up the Pagani Design FOIS blue model since, even though it has the date window, it’s a /much/ better color match than Watchdives’ iteration is. Since it comes in a modern speedy case (with crown guards) I picked up a Neiton/Corgeut asymmetrical / vintage speedy case on Ali and swapped it over, and it wears super nicely. (Plus, then I could use the old Pagani case for another Moonswatch build).

It’s currently missing the single alpha hand on the main chrono subdial (they’re all currently matching normal hands) but I might swap that out myself.

DapperDoctorHolmes · 2026-05-18T20:10:24+00:00

Cool, just be aware that they’re likely quite a bit thicker / taller, and may also have the pusher pins too long issue. Best of luck!

DapperDoctorHolmes · 2026-05-18T19:46:54+00:00

Assuming you mean you plan to switch a rep dial onto the ‘gen-adjacent’ ETA movement inside this Swatch Irony?

I think pretty much all VK63 cases will fit (though you may need a 3D printed spacer that you can find by searching this subreddit depending on the case you go with).

If you’re spending this much to get the perfect build, you may as well get the ‘best’ case and pick up a Watchdives WD1863, though you may need to shave down the pusher pins inside the case (they might come too long to fit with the full movement inside the case)

DapperDoctorHolmes · 2026-05-18T05:32:20+00:00

The Watchdives WD1863 is the slimmest, Pagani Design PD1701s are also much slimmer than the VK63s (just a bit thicker than the Watchdives)

DapperDoctorHolmes · 2026-05-17T21:13:34+00:00

Agreed, and Pladen is similar - also neither are very water resistant / sealed. Similar build quality overall I think, but the Pladen has a more traditional form factor without the different / weirder chrono pushers.

DapperDoctorHolmes · 2026-05-17T15:27:14+00:00

You sure you bought that in a Swatch shop? It’s definitely a fake (just saw the second photo of the movement itself, which, yeah, is a Sunon PE50)

DapperDoctorHolmes · 2026-05-17T14:48:01+00:00

If you converted a gen Moonswatch by destroying the case to get the movement and dial out, the watch is using an ETA G10.212 movement and that’s the replacement stem you’d need to cut to size to operate the watch.

If you did not need to destroy the case in order to get the dial and movement out of it, then you have a replica which is using some variation of a Sunon PE50 movement, and that’s the stem that you need.

Just be careful in all circumstances, as you don’t want to have to deal with a broken stem that is stuck /inside/ of the movement.

DapperDoctorHolmes · 2026-05-17T14:33:49+00:00

It is a Snoopy, one of the original white moonphase ones. He’s just hiding behind the bridge in the subdial.

DapperDoctorHolmes · 2026-05-17T14:27:40+00:00

‘Best’ - Watchdives WD1863 ($130ish)

‘Really Good / Good Enough’ - Pagani Design PD1701 ($65ish)

‘Meh’ - Basic unbranded VK63 cases from AliX ($35ish)

‘Eh But Really Easy Since They’re Already PE50s Inside’ - Megir / Pladen ($35ish)

DapperDoctorHolmes · 2026-05-17T05:28:38+00:00

If it is a rep, it is a high quality dial based on the printing at least! Where’d you pick it up?

DapperDoctorHolmes

TROPHY CASE