I couldn't resist, put a black date-wheel in de black C5, sorry for the bad picture, but you get the idea...

Is that a risky modification for someone with limited skills? You know, the kind of person it formerly took a half-hour to change a strap?

Joe, put the screwdrivers away, I'm warning you!!

Seriously: this is a bit more complex then changing a strap. To give you an impression what I had to do:

- Open up the case
- Remove the crown
- Take the movement out of the case
- Take off the hands
- Take of the rotor so the movement can be placed safely into the movement-holder
- Remove the dial from the movement
- Remove the mechanism holding down the datewheel
- Remove the datewheel

Then you can change the datewheel and reverse the above steps with the new wheel. The most difficult part is removing and replacing the hands, this is an extremely delicate job that has to be performed with special tools. Those tiny polished hands are very easy to damage.

Before I was certain enough of myself that I could perform such a job I have practiced on at least a dozen training-calibers, and destroyed a few!

A last picture:

Congratulations Hans! Much better than before...

Nico

That looks pretty sharp!

Ok, I have gotten the hands off. I had to bend them a little to get them off, but little damage was done other than the hole is a little bigger than it was. Now what?

Oops. I meant to post a follow-up message to my previous message just a few minutes after the previous message was posted, but I forgot.


























I was just kidding about taking the hands off.

Hans wrote:

Speaking of the CW site photos not being good enough. In one of my other posts I mentioned how sometimes I see the offical photos and don't really take a liking to a particular model. Then, someone will post a photo of the same watch and I go hmmm, that looks pretty sharp. This photo of Hans is one of those. I never fancied the black MA until I saw this photo. Maybe...

I also agree that your pic gives more redit to the watch.

btw I never saw a real bad one of your hand most of them look prof. quality.

congrats with a nice combination!

I made one more modification, I simply couldn't resist. As an 'experiment' I changed the ETA's between the Aviator and the black Malvern:

The ETA-movement of the Aviator:



Black Malvern before:


Black Malvern after:


So after changing the strap with a genuine alligator from Hadley Roma, swapping the date with a black version of the date-disc, and replacing the ETA I am now wearing my Malvern I'm completely happy with, the watch looks and feels like a $2K one!

Hans, you are crazy

But I also like the ETA of the Aviator more than the ETA of the Malvern! It has the better finish IMHO.

Great modification!

Nico

By the way:

The photos are great!

Is there a realistic chance, that you can give a little tutorial (perhaps in a own thread) how you make these great photos?

I like your photos very much.

Nico

Hans, perhaps you should setup your own CW customization shop?

Hmmm, not a bad idea!!! I'll talk to Chris, see what he thinks!

Boy, that Aviator movement is a stunner, isn't it! Those first two photos, the back of the aviator and the back of the black Malvern, nicely show the difference in the crown between the two. I definitely like the bigger crown of the Aviator better.

Dito yours are better Hans