Reply With QuoteLovely watch the FOIS but I’m with you entirely on the hands. Your replacements are going to make for a far superior watch IMO.
Congratulations on a fine acquisition sir
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Always thought I wanted the Speedy Pro. Never considered the FOIS as I didn't like the Alpha hands & no bracelet, but after tracking one down from an AD & getting a good discount on it I thought I'd give it chance.
I got an Uncle Seiko flat link bracelet that I fitted on the watch immediately and what a difference it made. I still don't like the Alpha hands so I acquired a full set of pre moon hands which will be fitted ASAP.
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Lovely watch the FOIS but I’m with you entirely on the hands. Your replacements are going to make for a far superior watch IMO.
Congratulations on a fine acquisition sir
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Seems like a nice project and I'm looking forward to see the result, even if I actually like the fois hands
It took me a while to find a seconds hand.
I thought it had already made a bid for freedom!Originally Posted by Normunds
It took me a while to find a seconds hand.
Yes the disappearing seconds hand. Who thought it was good idea?
It will be sent off to Simon Freese next week for the hands swap.
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Did the same. Standard pro hands on the FOIS. Best of both as the case shape is much nicer than the Pro with the only downside being the 19mm lugs
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Agree, that's a really nice customisation...best of both models.
Looks great but what does changing the hands and strap do to the value and originality?
Presumably if you keep the original hands they can always be swapped back?
Simon
I'm not bothered about any of that. I'll be keeping the original hands for if I ever sell it.
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That's nice. Much more legibleDid the same. Standard pro hands on the FOIS. Best of both as the case shape is much nicer than the Pro with the only downside being the 19mm lugs
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I like that. I suppose the lugs could lose 0.5mm off the inner faces to make them the full 20? That would allow for bracelets etc.
There are plenty of 19mm bracelets that fit the FOIS, both factory and aftermarket. The 1125/617 and US or Forstner Flatlinks to name but 3. Don't mess with the lugs, it will look crap.
Very nice on the flat link bracelet and the standard Moonwatch hands will look great. I think one of the big attractions, which rarely gets recognised, is the cleaner dial (no Professional script) and the longer hour markers. The same dial would look good in a Moonwatch too.
Good point. I love this case, the lack of crown guards must make winding it easier too.
The disappearing hand syndrome is what prompted me to mod my Broad Arrow
Before (on the left I am holding some white card under the camera, and simply by holding some black card on the right, all the hands disappear)
After (with white hand set, and the same cards - hey preseto, increased visibility)
Dave
That actually is a great mod regarding legibility! I like the look of the steel hands, but after all, there is a reason why the speedmaster professional ended up with white baton hands!The disappearing hand syndrome is what prompted me to mod my Broad Arrow
Before (on the left I am holding some white card under the camera, and simply by holding some black card on the right, all the hands disappear)
After (with white hand set, and the same cards - hey preseto, increased visibility)
Dave
Can I ask you how did you source white broad arrow hands? Is there an aftermarket seller for speedmaster hands?
And is the lume matching fairly well?
Is it just me, or are these Tritium hands you got here?
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I found a new set of hands on Ebay (with a different seconds hand) and got James (@thealchemistrelumer) to paint the replacement set of hands and re-lume then (the original lume was removed for hand painting).
He had the dial too and has worked with many Omegas so made a great lume match.
On a side note, the original steel hands would be so much more legible if they were folded (so at least one of the facets is more likely to be facing a light surface and make a reflection), but Broadarrow hands (like FOIS ones) are flat, so when they face something dark, they're gone.
D
Oh quite a bit of work done yes! The result really looks like it's worth though
I was thinking that about the original hands, I wish they did curve it a bit, or faceted it. If they was an edge in the middle of the hands, with one facet on each side, that would catch the light way better.
I'm attracted to the fois, but if the broad arrow, even when the hands disappear, has quite a bite of lume which can be seen, it looks like the alpha hands on the fois are really totally disappearing...
That was my first thought, but that seems to be the current packaging for OEM Omega handsets. I doubt if anything similar was being used when tritium hands were being sold. It's the pre-Moon/321 chrono secs hand style though.
The last OEM set of Moonwatch hands that I bought from Cousins had this style of hand - not what I wanted but arguing with Cousins won't get you very far. Much easier to buy the correct hand separately and take it on the chin.
Last edited by TomGW; 5th March 2021 at 19:44.
Yeah, we've all got family members like that.
Definitely luminova, I already checked
Maybe I'm in the minority but I have no problem at all with polished steel hands. I have straight lug Speedmasters with both the white hands and polished hands (and other watches inc Railmaster with polished) and find the polished version very usable.
As another aside, the lume on the FOIS, while not fantastic is in my experience better than that on the Pro. Personally I am on the fence and aesthetically at least do think I prefer polished alpha hands to the skinny white painted versions.
Last edited by Padders; 5th March 2021 at 20:44.
Some straps that were kindly given to me for free by the AD when I bought a couple of Zenith Chronomasters. Three original Zenith straps & a couple of nato straps, all 19mm width.
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It probably ‘better’ simply because there’s roughly 20% more of it.
That made me laugh out loud. Inspired!
Indeed. I always found the lume on the Pro pretty disappointing, particularly the hands which disappear at night but the FOIS, while still not brilliant is more legible.
Last edited by Padders; 7th March 2021 at 08:52.
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