It might surprise you to learn that I don’t own any diver watches. I sold my 007 late last year and I just never got around to buying something to replace it. The 171 dial has always been at the top of my list so it made sense to use that in a personal build.
I like the simplicity of a 3 o’clock case with no guards so that was an easy choice. I have a small wrist and I wanted to keep the bulk down so I went with a slim coin edge bezel paired with a flat crystal with no beveled edge. This effectively makes it look like there is no crystal. The caseback is also a slim one giving the watch an overall thickness of just 12.3mm.
I had a bit of fun with the black date wheel. I’m not normally a fan of day/date dials and this balances it better for my taste. It’s commonly referred to as a domino.
I couldn’t find an insert, other than the standard SKX styles, so I made a sandwich type with a silver base to give it some interest. The top layer is half a mm narrower on the inner edge giving the overall insert a smaller feel which suits my wrist size. It’s the little things that add up to the overall effect.
I was asked by someone to make a 007 version of the insert and while I don’t make a habbit of selling parts I indulged him, and my curiosity. I was pleased with the result but the symmetry of the one’s in the original insert precisely at the 10 and 11 hour markers of the dial just pleases me to no end. It’s the little things…
Comments (3)
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Nice. Must have spent a fortune on an OEM SKX171 dial.
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Author
Yeah, they’re not cheap anymore. A couple of years ago they were reasonably priced but people have realised how nice of a dial it is.
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