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Homemade Conquest Crown – will it work?

  1. Pahawi Jul 20, 2014

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    A little background - since the first time I saw Ulackfocus’s Conguest I’ve been looking for one of those and a little while ago I finally found one (sorry for the dust on the crystal). I'll dare to call the dial mint. I'll let the pics speak for the rest. Two of the lugs is bend a little, but I hope the watchmaker can fix that. Here the pics:

    IMG_0680 - Kopi.JPG

    IMG_0671.JPG

    IMG_0666.JPG

    Crown is not original, though, and the original type is very hard to come by, so I decided to have a little fun trying manufactory one myself. First step was building a cad model and for that I needed good pics and a couple of measurements of an original. Dennis (Ulackfocus) was very helpful with both pics and measurements of his (thanks again Dennis):

    OF-001 - Kopi.JPG

    Result of cad work:

    [ATTACH]830926[/ATTACH]


    Next was the cnc milling the back:

    OF-02.JPG

    Then front. Tool diameter is 0.2 millimeter (0.008 inch) – the smallest I’ve ever used :)

    [FONT=Arial][COLOR=#002060][SIZE=3][COLOR=#002060][FONT=Arial][COLOR=#002060][SIZE=3][COLOR=#002060][FONT=Arial][COLOR=#002060][SIZE=3][COLOR=#002060][FONT=Arial][COLOR=#002060][SIZE=3][COLOR=#002060][ATTACH]66596[/ATTACH] [/COLOR][/SIZE][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE][/COLOR][/FONT]

    Finished and a little polish ahead:

    OF-04.JPG

    OF-05.JPG

    OF-06.JPG


    The idea is to try finding a standard crown, lath it down, and press fit my crown on it. The watch and crown is now on the way to Christian (Watch Guy) in the UK, for a service, where he also will check, if it’s the whole thing is possible or not. If he says good for it, next move is to decide:

    1) Gold plating the crown.

    2) Use my crown to do a rubber mould and cast a copy in 18 or 14 karat (will there be noticeable color difference in 18 vs. 14 karat?) .

    Anyone know if these came gold plated, or as a gold cap, from the factory?

    Any input welcome.

    And yes, I know it’ll not be exactly as an original, but for me it's close enough until finding something better…… :) If it's thumbs down from the watchmaker - well, I've had the fun then :)
     
    Edited Sep 3, 2019
    Rman, JohnSteed, Privateday7 and 14 others like this.
  2. STANDY schizophrenic pizza orderer and watch collector Jul 20, 2014

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    If it's thumbs up your message box will crash::popcorn::
     
    dragoman likes this.
  3. X350 XJR Vintage Omega Aficionado Jul 20, 2014

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    WOW, what an amazing bit of machine work you've done there!

    I believe these were gold capped, however proper plating should work just fine. Making a mold and casting will probably loose too much crispness and detail.

    14 and 18k gold do have a different color, although it depends on the exact alloy.
     
  4. dsio Ash @ ΩF Staff Member Jul 20, 2014

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    Ok, that is deeply impressive, well bloody done mate!
     
  5. ulackfocus Jul 20, 2014

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    noelekal likes this.
  6. Pahawi Jul 20, 2014

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    Thanks guys, and great article, Ulack..... :thumbsup:
     
  7. Tritium Jul 20, 2014

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    Really impressed with your work :thumbsup:
    Next 321 parts!
     
  8. Dablitzer Jul 20, 2014

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    Superb Job Paul, full of such intricacies. I admire that you gave this a shot, let alone create such a good end product !! ;)
     
  9. dsio Ash @ ΩF Staff Member Jul 20, 2014

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    Even better a completely solid, flush fitting version of the number 6 endlink sort of built like the 808 internally but no.6 looking externally as an aftermarket part for daily wear. Number 6's are such rubbish for what they are, would love to keep mine in the safe and have a solid alternative.
     
  10. LouS Mrs Nataf's Other Son Staff Member Jul 20, 2014

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    Amazin'! Is there a firm that did this for you from your CAD work, or do you have access to the hardware?
     
  11. Pahawi Jul 20, 2014

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    All work by me and my machines :)
     
    Georgieboy58 and STANDY like this.
  12. kyle L Grasshopper Staff Member Jul 20, 2014

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    Amazing work!
     
  13. CdnWatchDoc Jul 20, 2014

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    Truly, a craftsman!! Keep this up and you will have a ton of requests from the members here!! :thumbsup:
     
  14. Trev The Architect Staff Member Jul 20, 2014

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    Oh wow, really impressive. Please tell us more about your family of machines :D
     
  15. Mothra Jul 21, 2014

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    :) I'd be happy to plate it for you if required....
     
  16. citizenrich Metal Mixer! Jul 21, 2014

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    XXX
     
    image.jpg image.jpg
  17. Pahawi Jul 21, 2014

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    Not much to tell, I'm afraid - just a CNC milling machine and some manuel machines ::shy::
     
  18. Pahawi Jul 21, 2014

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    Thanks - I'll remember that if Christian say good for the project. I know he use this place http://replateit.com , though, but if you can do the same, it would be easier, if not being forced to ship it to Canada..... I'll leave the decision to Christian, though.

    Thanks.
     
  19. ulackfocus Jul 21, 2014

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    Holy Feckin' Sheeyat - I want one of the finished products. :eek: ::jumpy:: Doesn't have to be plated, as I don't own a watch for it yet so I don't know what color the finish needs to be. Let me know when you have one so I can PayPal you the funds!
     
  20. Mothra Jul 21, 2014

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    :) Christian does a lot of my watches so he knows me, let me know if you want my contact details for him - id do your crown but wouldn't want to redo your case - if you need that get Christian to send it away...