Franken Watch

[commoner]

Just looking at opinions from brothers here:

I know changing straps o bracelet or vice versa are common and would not be considered as a Franken Watch

but will/have you consider/done changing the following, and will this consider to be a Franken Watch if the parts are from the same series of the same make?

1. Hour/second or GMT hands.... imagine changing your explorer 2 to become steve mcqueen, standard hands to gold hands...

2. your standard DJ dial, you change to Mother of Pearl, or with diamond markers, or simply changing from blue to computer?

3. the bezel. from standard to diamond studded?

I asked because I cannot afford to buy so many watches but was thinking maybe to change the look every 6 months or 1 year, SAME WATCH DIFFERENT LOOK, and if the authorise service centres will do that like Rolex or Omega.....

[tsetse]

Just looking at opinions from brothers here:

I know changing straps o bracelet or vice versa are common and would not be considered as a Franken Watch

but will/have you consider/done changing the following, and will this consider to be a Franken Watch if the parts are from the same series of the same make?

1. Hour/second or GMT hands.... imagine changing your explorer 2 to become steve mcqueen, standard hands to gold hands...

2. your standard DJ dial, you change to Mother of Pearl, or with diamond markers, or simply changing from blue to computer?

3. the bezel. from standard to diamond studded?

I asked because I cannot afford to buy so many watches but was thinking maybe to change the look every 6 months or 1 year, SAME WATCH DIFFERENT LOOK, and if the authorise service centres will do that like Rolex or Omega.....

My views:-

Actually I think it should be alright cos I also tot of modding watches too, just like a car, just that different ppl might have different views towards a modded watch.

For eg. now I have a PAM 104 and I decide to change the hands to gold one and the dial to tobacco one and I manage to find Original Parts that can fit. (I know don have compatible parts but just stating an example).

So you wear and U meet a group of friends and some passerbys and ppl make remarks like:" eh that one is 104 right? how come Gold Hands and tobacco dial sia....confirm fake one. Buy fake one also must buy a proper fake ma". This is the negative impact that you may face if you have a modded watch. But of cos if you are those that don't care what others think and as long you know your watch is authentic then this is not a negative point.

Another thing that may arise is that, would you be selling this watch in future? Are the mods reversible??? Bcos some ppl may like the mods you make and willing to pay the appropriate price for your watch which is reasonable. Some people may not be willing to buy at all or maybe press your price down to your unacceptable level.

If you know that you will keep this watch for a long while and you dont care what others think then by all means go ahead if not then I feel its better to keep your watches in its original condition.

This is my advise haha, don mind my long winded post ya

[feilong108]

The watches are yours...Do as your heart desire...hehehehe....no point worrying about wad ppl might have to sae....

Down side is that after u mod the watches...the resale value sure suffer de...hahaha...

Life is too short to worry about other ppl opinions...

P.S: was told off by 1 swiss siao fren regarding my seagull chrono...Quoted by him...Bo lui mai buay chiong eh Breguet leh....Hehehehehe....

[wees]

Get the manufacture to do it - then you have a manufacture authorised custom piece Otherwise you could have a franken Actually, even if done by the manufacturer, it can move towards franken territory. Say you sent a piece in for servicing and they replaced a worn jewel - I think most of us wouldn't think twice about it and get the work done. But say the manufacture replaced the entire movement with the latest iteration (eg non coax in an Omega to a coax) - would this be a Franken? Moving towards Ship of Theseus issues here. I've got a piece in for custom work for which I've not yet given the green light, partly because I'm grappling with these issues. I'm thinking of having the manufacture make modifications to the escapement, escape wheel bridge and possibly a custom rotor. If the work is done, it strictly will not conform to any official model. It will be a customised piece. But will it also be a franken?

[commoner]

not so much of a movement,,,,,,,, i am refering more to the dials (changing black explorer 2 dial to white), bezel or hands that are basically cosmetic external appearance, and easily replace back to original,,,,,

will you guys do it? and will the authorised centres do them?

[wees]

I think if it's a custom dial and the manufacture/authorised centre will do it, then I'd think it acceptable. If they won't, or if the dial is basically from another model (ie mix and match), then it sails close to the winds of frankenland. That said, it's your watch, you can generally do as you please with it, especially if it's reversible.