Quest for the GILT Grail ... Success finally !

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madasboot
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Re: Quest for the GILT Grail ... Success finally !

Post by madasboot »

My hands are shaking S. :)
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Fizzzz
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Re: Quest for the GILT Grail ... Success finally !

Post by Fizzzz »

madasboot wrote: January 9th, 2023, 6:25 am My hands are shaking S. :)
Hope your hands won't shake anymore for lume work ;)
madasboot
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Re: Quest for the GILT Grail ... Success finally !

Post by madasboot »

[/quote]
Hope your hands won't shake anymore for lume work ;)
[/quote]

I will dip them in ice if necessary :)
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straps68
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Re: Quest for the GILT Grail ... Success finally !

Post by straps68 »

I'm no expert but the dials look really great. Very well done!
madasboot
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Re: Quest for the GILT Grail ... Success finally !

Post by madasboot »

Some work over what I consider to be a superb craftsman output.
Thanks for sending S. @Fizzzz.
Thanks to you I already have an overnight and a half.

Let me share some pics.

The gilty beauty as it landed in this side of the pond.
smooth surface, gilt like I had never seen, punch like numerals as they should be; I guess I would be already happy to use it out of the box if I had a sweet tooth for rads, which I have not.

But I have to think it twice…
D4AF4853-7B2E-4E3B-B1A3-5B5182B36109.jpeg
First step… shower and a laquer bath.
Then whitening the recesses to enhance luminosity later.
Zinc oxyde and a second immersion…
comes out so shiny that one can shave looking at it.
62834119-60DE-4C42-894E-C8740B47B394.jpeg
and then the calvary…

Sanding, polishing, refining the surface and my favorite part; luming.
“Radium” mix formula with UV.
24B5A053-1BD3-49EC-B305-0864E4C6629B.jpeg
And so on, until done; and then the surface:
7EE2E98D-4ED1-4BDE-87A4-35D1EC7190B7.jpeg
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geoffdragon
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Re: Quest for the GILT Grail ... Success finally !

Post by geoffdragon »

Superb workmanship from the pair of you, truly outstanding.
Roll on a 37mm dial cali my side of the pond!
madasboot
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Re: Quest for the GILT Grail ... Success finally !

Post by madasboot »

And at this point would come the question;
vintage or out of the box feel?

Vintage anytime for me….

So, sanding, polishing and repolishing, ageing here and there, etc…

And it starts to look good for me.
60988F84-533A-4DC6-B3DE-F95E7126E6E6.jpeg
But in this area, like in many others in life, rarely enough is enough so, polish harder, darken here and there.
867E1DD8-C62A-4CB9-BBCA-A1166718E7F0.jpeg
et voila; toasted to my taste.

@Fizzzz, my friend, guys with your talent should be strapped to a workbench, well fed two or three times a day, and thrown at least into 16 hour sessions of work…

Your work is amazing and very user friendly.

I just wonder how a protein post like this doesn’t sudden turn red hot.

Hats off!
M.
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madasboot
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Re: Quest for the GILT Grail ... Success finally !

Post by madasboot »

One afterthought;

Anyone who has or had the privilege of a live contact with old horlogerie, especially OP and oysters know as well, or better, than I do that the most impressive feature is always the dial, and old dials were rarely industrialized, being the output of small batches (especially the tool watches), mostly manufactured.
This means perfection came at huge costs and the success rate on gilt dials was low, very low.
This means perfection had not the standards of our era but on the other hand they had something special and lost nowadays;
the crafted look and feel; even lume depended on the talent of the lumer and the most prolific were the ones who didn’t lick the brush between strokes.

What I feel in S’s dials is that they have that same feel.
Exactly the same feel as the ones he intends to homage.

Godspeed
M.
madasboot
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Re: Quest for the GILT Grail ... Success finally !

Post by madasboot »

geoffdragon wrote: January 13th, 2023, 6:57 am Superb workmanship from the pair of you, truly outstanding.
Roll on a 37mm dial cali my side of the pond!
Geoff,
Thank you my friend.
I am exclusively on cosmetics here, the lighter part.
The base work is outstanding and I have to bow to @Fizzzz craftsmanship and results.
These dials are superb.

Cheerio,
M.
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Fizzzz
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Re: Quest for the GILT Grail ... Success finally !

Post by Fizzzz »

@madasboot
Considering your experience with Gens, high end reps and VN dial artists,
considering your dial work, your luming talent and sense of detail,
I really take these compliments has an honor.
Thank you.

No pressure, but I look forward to see the next ones (6538 :crazy: ),
and I promise to surprise you again with my WIP :?:

PS:
Please forget any idea to strap me,
arrange with your wife for your bondage inclinations :P
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