Lee's Watch Thread for MM'ers of Impeccable Taste

[WRXtranceformed]

Goodbye "Perfect SKX"! On to a new home:



I realized the other day that I had 4 black-faced divers and this one wasn't getting the wrist time it deserved. It was a little bittersweet because this was the watch that got me into the hobby and was the first mod project I did. I listed it yesterday and was blown away by how much interest I got. The gentlemen who bought it made me an offer I couldn't say no to, so it's headed out tomorrow!

That begins the next project which is to replace the blue dial in my collection. I've had my eye on a fairly new model after trying it on at a local Seiko outlet, the Seiko "Samurai":


Limited edition "Blue Lagoon" variant


I almost worked out a trade to use the Blue Lagoon as a base but ultimately decided on the blue dial / Blue+brown bezel variant of the standard Samurai, the SRPB49. I think the "Clou de Paris" texture on the dial will be much more visually interesting than the sunburst on the BL:



The case is a pretty sharp departure from most Seiko divers in that it's very angular and modern. It is actually a remake of a version that had a short production run in the early 2000s (on the right):


So I'm in the process of finding a donor watch and envisioning what will be on the docket to make the "Perfect Samurai". My inspiration is this:



What I'm thinking:
- Sapphire crystal swap
- LCBI bezel insert
- Possible yellow tipping the seconds hand (like on the blue lagoon model)
- Black date wheel
- *Possible NE15 swap (!) (this is a Seiko movement that's manufactured for other manufacturer watches and is considered a step up from the 4R35. Basically it's got a 50 hour power reserve vs. 40, tighter timekeeping tolerances and Seiko's SPRON mainspring that is much more durable and resistant to shock, temperature changes and position)

Stay tuned, this one will hopefully be awesome too when it's complete