Monday, 20 May 2019

Franken Mod : Turtle Explorer 1655 (Challenge Completed)



In my Rolex watch collection journey, I have had the Explorer ii in Polar and Black. However, I have not came across the vintage 1655, which was a very handsome piece. 


Certain micro brands e.g. Steinhart had this homage piece, but I would attempt to build one myself. And to make it different from the rest of the crowd, I want to have it in a cushion case and with a bidirectional GMT bezel. 


Not the easiest of task as most diver watches had unidirectional bezel, but I managed to come across this homage Turtle case and it could be tweaked to turn in bidirectional ways. Woohoo!!!

It was a simple Franken Mod for this homage piece, but the result had the following :

Movement : NH36
Dial : Dagaz Mountaineer Proto
Handset : Dagaz Stiletto
Bezel insert :Namokimods (under consideration)
Strap : MN type

I was still searching for a 24-hour GMT bezel like that of the 1655; but it wasn't easy to find one for Turtle. That was the reason why most modders preferred to utilise the SKX007 base watch- parts were aplenty! The nearest that I could get for the general look seemed to be this one from Namokimods.




Anyhow, at this point in time, the Franken Mod was sporting this look sans the 24-hour bezel insert.








Seeing the interim result, I would do another Franken Mod of the 1655; but on a SKX007 base watch instead. Perhaps a full DLC case with black GMT ceramic insert- that should make it stand out from a sea of SKX007 out there!

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