Comment by germinalphrase
4 years ago
If you wouldn’t mind answering a question, how difficult is it to swap a dial/handset/movement set into a different case?
I saw a custom mod watch that paired the face/movement of a Marathon navigator with an O&W diver case*. Is a combination I find desirable (as the Marathon bezel is too chunky for my use), but the maker won’t respond to emails.
Is it possible that the combination could be “ drop in” or is it likely to require significant modification?
That really depends on the sizes, if the face and movement are the same size I expect it should be easy enough. You will need some tools and fine motor skill, but no where near as much as you need when taking apart a movement.
Looking at the two watches you mention, the navigator has a Quartz Harley Ronda 373 movement and the diver has a ETA 2824-2 movement. The 373 I can't find the specs for, but from an ebay auction it seems to be a 11½’’’ diameter. The 2824-2 is the same diameter. However, all 11½’’’ ronda quartz movements I can find are 3mm thick where the 2824 is 4.6mm. So what I'd expect is that it will fit, but you might not be able to secure it properly. It really depends on how the movement is held in place. Perhaps you can fabricate/3d-print a spacer for that.
Another consideration is the lug stem, that might not be the right size. To long is solveable, to short means buying a replacement. I am also not sure wether the stems can have a different thickness, to thin and it wont be waterproof, to thick just won't fit.
You could probably try without destroying anything (no guarantees ;)), you are not really touching any of the fragile & tiny parts. But you will atleast need tool(s) to open the cases, they might be different, and a tiny screwdriver to release the lug. And I wouldn't count on it remaining waterproof, not sure.
Thank you for the detailed response! It’s the sort of project I find intriguing, so I’ll have to do a little more digging. May end up being beyond me though.
Edit: I see that Marathon does make several watches with the 2824 (which would presumably simplify the process).
Depends. The ETA-2824 is a fairly common movement with inexpensive Chinese clones, so dials and hands are reasonably cheap and common. If the target case also uses the same ETA movement then it’s simple: Unscrew the back, remove the crown stem, drop the movement. Assembly is the reverse of removal.
Where it gets tricky is if the target doesn’t use the same movement. In that case, I’d just buy an AliExpress watch with the same dial size and an ETA clone movement. Otherwise you have to ensure your target is the correct size and you’ll probably need to 3D print a movement holder.
Thanks for the response!