My SKX031 Mod

[stissot]

My beloved SKX031 stopped working recently. Instead of trying to rip apart the movement to see what was wrong I decided to buy a new one and mod the watch.

I had to slightly modify the plastic spacer on the 7s26b 4:00 movement to get it to fit correctly in the case. I trimmed a bit of material from the crown opening. Fits fine.

I am using a Soxa 4:00 dial from 10watches. Trimmed the feet and used their dial adhesive to fix it to the movement.

The bezel insert is a rally-style from 10watches. It fits the SKX007 bezel just fine but required a bit of trimming and use of my crystal press to fit. The chapter ring is a polished aluminum one from 10watches as well.

Just waiting on my bubble-dome sapphire to arrive and I'll button it up. Still undecided on a strap. Probably another Di-Modell Rallye.

Current progress:




Completed Photos

[leroytwohawks]

Looks good so far. Do you think the trimming from the crown opening will effect it's water resistance at all?

[stissot]

Looks good so far. Do you think the trimming from the crown opening will effect it's water resistance at all?

I only trimmed the plastic spacer that holds the movement, so it shouldn't have an impact on the seals on the case and the crown itself.

[KUNISMAN]

Looks great...

[solesman]

That's an excellent mod! Looking forward to seeing it finished and strapped on.

[Jake B]

Looks great...My only suggestion is that I would've used the spacer from the original movement if you've kept it.

[stissot]

Looks great...My only suggestion is that I would've used the spacer from the original movement if you've kept it.

That was the original plan, but I didn't have the tiny Phillips head screwdriver I needed to remove the date wheel to get the spacer off, so I decided to do a little trimming and its now a perfect fit.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[bwyoung80]

I really like that, very good looking so far.

[stissot]

Thanks for the opinions, guys. I should have the sapphire by the end of the week. Just a matter of pressing it on... hopefully I don't screw it up.

I am 100% certain this is going on a Di Modell Rallye strap. I have my SKX007 on one right now... not sure if I'll buy a second or put the SKX on a different strap. The Rallye is my favorite around.

[KyleA]

OK, I have stumbled upon a lot of domed crystal mods. It seems that Seikos are the popular watch to mod with a really nice domed/bubbled crystal. honestly, if I could have it MY way, I would have all my watches with a gorgeous bubble chunk of sapphire. there is just something very magical that it does for the dial and the whole watch. The way it plays with light and shadows seems to give any watch a higher quality look and feel..

Anyway, I am curious to know where everyone is getting these bubbled crystal from! I have found several sites that sell sapphire crystal, but they are hardly bubbled and do not offer AR coating.

So, questions: 1. where can I get these sapphires at and how broad is the range of sizes - both diameter and thickness
2. can I put a Domed sapphire on a watch without a diver bezel? I would like to swap my sapphire for a bubble on one of my wittnauer watches.

I will probably post a new thread in the seiko/citizen section to get a more broad reach of answers! I figured I'd ask here first since you are doing it RIGHT NOW.

Thanks!