Anybody ever build a NH35/36 watch from parts?
Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2022 11:37 am
I was down the rabbit hole that is AliExpress during their sale last week, and I saw one of the side window recommendations for aftermarket SKX007 knock off cases, case back, bezel, crystal, dial, stem, crown and hands sets. On sale, these were as low at $35 (prices higher now). NH35/NH36's are $35-$40 from other sellers. Was tempted to buy and build a cheap watch out of these things. Anybody done it? I've generally not bought a ton of automatics (sacrilege!), but having a cheap watch that's Tennessee Vols colors seemed like a fun project.
Link
If you look at the pictures, chapter rings look off on many of the examples, but it looks like the crystals aren't installed, so maybe they're just slapped together for pics? Also, this black case with orange setup has a red signed crown. Probably could paint that, or the site says they can give you a custom mix of parts.
Any reason this would be overly complicated if you've done basic watch mods in the past and have a cheap crystal press and other basic watch tools? I've watched Youtube vids of most of the mods that people do, so don't think I couldn't do it. Not a ton of money to risk, either. I'm sure I could piece together better components and spend a bunch more money if I wanted to, but was thinking keep this low budget as more of an adult lego project vs having a $400 bespoke watch.
Link
If you look at the pictures, chapter rings look off on many of the examples, but it looks like the crystals aren't installed, so maybe they're just slapped together for pics? Also, this black case with orange setup has a red signed crown. Probably could paint that, or the site says they can give you a custom mix of parts.
Any reason this would be overly complicated if you've done basic watch mods in the past and have a cheap crystal press and other basic watch tools? I've watched Youtube vids of most of the mods that people do, so don't think I couldn't do it. Not a ton of money to risk, either. I'm sure I could piece together better components and spend a bunch more money if I wanted to, but was thinking keep this low budget as more of an adult lego project vs having a $400 bespoke watch.