First mod build, Van Gogh Diver (WIP)
I assembled my first mod watch this afternoon. It’s an NH35 based watch. My son picked the Stary Night dial, inspired by the painting my Mom did 30 years ago, which in turn was inspired by a crazy dude who was missing an ear and stuck at an asylum when he painted it in 1889😜
I’m big on diver watches, and thought a big clunky bronze diver case might be in line with late 19th century (Van Gogh-era) bronze diver bell helmets of Jules Verne-ish vibe. I’m looking forward to some patina.
I was concerned the dial might be a cheezy ink jet replica, but in fact it’s about as nice as could be with thick paint textured in daylight, and a lumed up starry night swirl in the dark. The hour markers have excellent lume that match the color and intensity of the lumed bezel.
The hands are immediately begging for a do-over. Lume is currently barely nominal on the hands, which is not going to work me. Further, I want a second hand. The second hand that I bought seems to have a male fitting, while the NH35 seems to have a male fitting for the second hand attachment, as such I don’t see how that I can get it to work. I liked the cathedral look as a nod to the Jules Verne/Victorian era I was going for, but lume function is not something I want to compromise on. Not sure yet what I’m going to do about this. I need to find out how I can identify the correct fitting second hand, as well as know whether the lume brightness is going to work. The AliExpress hand description said it was for NH35, so I’m at a loss. This is WIP #2.
WIP #1: Crown stem is too short. Doh! I had thought I might have to saw off the factory stem and super glue together the case crown, with the NH35 factory stem. Nope! The NH35 factory stem is too short for this case! I have to research what to do here. Any suggestions? I finished assembling about 3 minutes before the watch set time, and quickly jiggled the weight balance to wind up the watch so that I could be in sync with real time (ignore date please).
My question to experienced modders…:
1. How do you deal with a crown stem that is too short to link up with case crown?
2. Where is a good source of NH35 hands, and how do you ensure good lume with them?
3. Are NH35 second hands typically female mount and I ordered the wrong ones, or did I miss something?
I’m very interested to hear your comments. Thanks.
I’m a software engineer and watch enthusiast. I’m not excited about brand or heritage, but rather engineering tech.... spring drive, solar GPS, electrostatic drive, transistor tuning fork regulation,...
That’s a lovely unique build well done sir 👏🏻👏🏻
1/ extenders will sort out a short stem you can also get adaptors to go to different tap sizes.
2/ I get all my parts from AliExpress as that’s where they’re all made 👍🏻
3/ NH35 hands and indeed most hands are female to accept the centre wheel pivot. NH35 hands will also fit NH36,38,39
The second hand could be faulty, ie not drilled during manufacture, thus will not accept the pivot🤔
Finding a super lume on the hands can be a bit hit and miss though…
Van Gogh is DEF one of my favorites.
I've never seen anyone be able to take a scene of some trees on a sunny day, and make them seem so angry/menacing. When you see his stuff, more so in person, you can see the mental issues he was dealing with. First artist I actually saw the difference or the why you need to see them in person. The texture and strokes contribute to the piece.
Also they are waaaay smaller than I expected them to be lol.
Not too mention the awesomeness that is Starry Night.
Well 👍🏻!
That’s a lovely unique build well done sir 👏🏻👏🏻
1/ extenders will sort out a short stem you can also get adaptors to go to different tap sizes.
2/ I get all my parts from AliExpress as that’s where they’re all made 👍🏻
3/ NH35 hands and indeed most hands are female to accept the centre wheel pivot. NH35 hands will also fit NH36,38,39
The second hand could be faulty, ie not drilled during manufacture, thus will not accept the pivot🤔
Finding a super lume on the hands can be a bit hit and miss though…
Thank you Andy! That’s just the kind of information I was looking for! While looking for the extensions, I found that I could buy the NH35 stems too. I must have missed that part in my quick University of YouTube class. I think I’ll order both. I expect that will do the trick for the crown stem.
Thanks for confirmation on the second hand expected to be female. I think I’ll order a few hands, with primary focus being on visibility and lume, and hopefully an easy to mount second hand 😂
Van Gogh is DEF one of my favorites.
I've never seen anyone be able to take a scene of some trees on a sunny day, and make them seem so angry/menacing. When you see his stuff, more so in person, you can see the mental issues he was dealing with. First artist I actually saw the difference or the why you need to see them in person. The texture and strokes contribute to the piece.
Also they are waaaay smaller than I expected them to be lol.
Not too mention the awesomeness that is Starry Night.
Well 👍🏻!
Thanks! I’ve always loved how the textures of the paint are conveyed in his paintings, though never studied it closely. I look forward to doing so next opportunity.
Thanks! I’ve always loved how the textures of the paint are conveyed in his paintings, though never studied it closely. I look forward to doing so next opportunity.
Yea, it was the first real time I was like, "Huh, that's what all the high faluting art peeps talk about when studying painting, and what jumps out. I actually see something!" 😂
Now that I've seen it, much more meaning. Especially what I call his "angry" trees. Idyllic pictures of olive and other trees in daylight. But there's an almost Tim Burton-esque vibe emanating out of them based off the color, texture, and shape. Kinda oddly dark. To me that is, YMMV.
Edit: Not a bad thing btws. His stuff is some of my all time favorite.
I also enjoy John Singer Sargent, Frederic Remington, and Course of Empire by Thomas Cole, and The Gulf Stream by Winslow Homer.
Yea, it was the first real time I was like, "Huh, that's what all the high faluting art peeps talk about when studying painting, and what jumps out. I actually see something!" 😂
Now that I've seen it, much more meaning. Especially what I call his "angry" trees. Idyllic pictures of olive and other trees in daylight. But there's an almost Tim Burton-esque vibe emanating out of them based off the color, texture, and shape. Kinda oddly dark. To me that is, YMMV.
Edit: Not a bad thing btws. His stuff is some of my all time favorite.
I also enjoy John Singer Sargent, Frederic Remington, and Course of Empire by Thomas Cole, and The Gulf Stream by Winslow Homer.
It’s great to appreciate art and I only appreciate it from the point of view that it’s very pleasing and interesting to look at, not from a critics point of view 😂
One of my favourites is the fighting temeraire by turner…
Namoki mods is a decent source of all sorts of Seiko mod parts. You can also buy an uncut winding stem from them.
Namoki mods is a decent source of all sorts of Seiko mod parts. You can also buy an uncut winding stem from them.
Excellent. Thank you. I’ll check them out!
Great job. Anything Vincent is a plus. Love that bronze case. And I love the Panerai style crown guard. Well done.
Great job. Anything Vincent is a plus. Love that bronze case. And I love the Panerai style crown guard. Well done.
Thank you! That kind of feedback in encouraging.