Latest homebuilt - reverse lume california dial - lume shots

[skidder]

Hi All, Been away a while snowboarding but when I got home a lum-tech california dial which I have been waiting for 3 months to receive was waiting for me. So this is the result.

45mm but feels smaller

First attempt at lume shots for me. Hope you like!

[Robin CB]

Wow - that lume must keep you awake at night

[skidder]

Wow - that lume must keep you awake at night

my wife who doesn't even pretend to be interested in watches noticed it! (and asked me to cover it up on the bedside table )

[Kip]

Another fine job skidder.

Exceptional lume and very interesting dial.

[alphajet]

Good job again skidder well done.

I have been tempted by Panerai homages myself but have not not around to doing anything about it yet. There are always heated debates on various watch forums usually centred around when does a homage become a fake. I would love to own a genuine Panerai, but it would be a little above my budget, anyway your homage looks great.

Does anyone know if there is any particular reason for the California dial, or is it just an artistic design?

[Rick]

Thats a beauty Skidder.
Nice,clean and uncluttered.
Well done yet again

[village]

Does anyone know if there is any particular reason for the California dial, or is it just an artistic design?

I think it harks back to the 30's/40's...i believe there was a company that used to refurb some Rolexes using this style of dial.They were based in California hence the name.

[skidder]

Thanks . According to wiki:

In watch-making, or horology, a California dial refers to a clock face that consists of half Roman (usually 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock) and half Arabic numerals (usually 4 o'clock to 8 o'clock). Sometimes the hours of 3, 6, and 9 are replaced with a dash instead of a numeral and an inverted triangle in place of the 12. The use of this dial style dates back to the 1930s, for example in early Rolexes, Marina Militare and Kampfschwimmer diver's watches. A number of Rolexes were refurbished by a company based in California using this style of dial, and resulting in the name "California dial".

The homage thing is always interesting. I think the minute you create something that is pretending to be something else to a semi-trained eye you are over-stepping the mark. I also think with the homage / fake debate the luminor cases are pretty close to the wind and straying into fake territory with Panerai's patented crown gaurd mechanism (wouldn't necessarily stop me making one for my own use if I wanted to but would want the dial to be made by me or obviously not copying one of their models). Personally I think this watch is barely even homage, more inspired by (how pompous can I get!!) - as far as I know Panerai have never done a white/cream cali dial. & I guess the cali dial is as much a rolex thing.

The case style has also existed in one form or another and with many brands since the 30s. I like Panerai well enough but would struggle to pay their prices, particularly for the Unitas based models. I understand they are doing some more interesting movements now but still think they are very top end for what they are. At that price I would be much more drawn to JLC et al.

This has a real swiss 6498 in it (not that there is anything wrong with the seagull ones), american dial and HK hands and case. No doubt the case manufacturer also supplies the homage people and perhaps even the out and out fakers!

[downer]

Nice work again Skidder. Reminds me that I need to hunt out a full-lume dialled watch one of these days.

[Loddonite]

<snip> I also think with the homage / fake debate the luminor cases are pretty close to the wind and straying into fake territory with Panerai's patented crown gaurd mechanism <snip>

I have not checked the sources on this but I seem to remember that the patent ran on the crown-guard, so Panerai trade-marked it. The words "Marina Militare" are a trade mark too - which explains why there are so few Chinese made Marina Militares on eBay now; Richemont's legal eagles have closed the sellers down.
I bought one long ago, before I understood how dubious it was to have those words on the dial (I swapped it for a sterile dial and I'm happier now ... though I wouldn't be surprised if my new dial came from a similar source ).


I like the overall look of your watch Skidder. I've not previously been a fan of the California 'style' but this makes it more than bearable and the white dial looks great. Good job!

[ianblyth]

Wow. That really is diferent.

Any tips on taking lume shots?

[skidder]

<snip> I also think with the homage / fake debate the luminor cases are pretty close to the wind and straying into fake territory with Panerai's patented crown gaurd mechanism <snip>

I have not checked the sources on this but I seem to remember that the patent ran on the crown-guard, so Panerai trade-marked it. The words "Marina Militare" are a trade mark too - which explains why there are so few Chinese made Marina Militares on eBay now; Richemont's legal eagles have closed the sellers down.
I bought one long ago, before I understood how dubious it was to have those words on the dial (I swapped it for a sterile dial and I'm happier now ... though I wouldn't be surprised if my new dial came from a similar source ).


I like the overall look of your watch Skidder. I've not previously been a fan of the California 'style' but this makes it more than bearable and the white dial looks great. Good job!

thanks, I like the white better than the black calis too. you're absolutely right re the crown guard that is the big no-no and marina malitare too

While the marina militares are off the bay there is no shortage of them. These are the perfect watch to experiment with homebuilds though as the big hand wound movements are so easy to work with.

[skidder]

Wow. That really is diferent.

Any tips on taking lume shots?

First time for me taking lume shots but seemed to work ok. I did reasonably wide aperture (can't remember but somewher between 2.8 and 5 I think), long exposure 1/2 sec or more (you can see the brighter one had a really long exposure), tripod and remote shutter so I didn't jog the camera. I was in my attic which is pitch black too.

[Dancematt]

Quality Homebuilt skidder!

Really want to get into this as a hobby and this looks fab, was thinking of using transfers ( lettering mostly ) from model kits on the dials as a way to get my own extra details on them. Werent Panerai' s orignally made by rolex? not sure if thats got anything to do with the california styling.

[skidder]

Quality Homebuilt skidder!

Really want to get into this as a hobby and this looks fab, was thinking of using transfers ( lettering mostly ) from model kits on the dials as a way to get my own extra details on them. Werent Panerai' s orignally made by rolex? not sure if thats got anything to do with the california styling.

Parts supplied by Rolex I believe but certainly no expert on them.

I have used waterslide decals printed on my home printer (that I use for radio control model decals) to make a dial and add detail to another. It's not perfect but it works:

this one is a decal applied to 0.5mm copper sheet - whole dial designed in photoshop



this one I added a logo with a decal: