A fun little project, 26mm to be exact, for the weekend. It’s my son’s first Cars themed watch, and now his first mod. Maybe I should have left it original, being his first watch, but now he’ll have some memories attached to it which will live on in the photos long after the watch is gone.
I sanded the dial back and after painting it matte black I engraved a simple pilot themed dial on it. No sapphire crystal on this one… The caseback engraving is just a little reminder for him. I hope he looks back at it fondly.
I searched for a strap and not surprisingly there wasn’t much to be found in 14mm, and certainly nothing that will fit his six year old wrist. I gave it some thought and realised that even if I were to find a nice strap he wouldn’t be able to use it. The experience of dealing with a buckle would frustrate him and he’d loose interest. With that in mind, I decided on a simple Velcro strap in a single pass style with no hardware to deal with. The idea is for him to be able to do it and this solution is as kid friendly as they come. Off to the hardware store where I found some 12mm velcro. A little smaller than the required 14mm but it had to do.
I’m pleased to report that he was thoroughly impressed with his first mod. We went to dinner on Saturday night and he proudly wore it and showed it off to his uncle and aunty. Seeing his little swagger was my favourite part of the whole project.
