ETUR ENDLINK AND CHEERGIANT CUSTOM STRAPS

Today, I am going to play around with some straps and endlinks.

1 Tudor Submariner Snowflake 94110 head.

2 Custom Cheergiant leather straps (Black and Chocolate Brown)
Brown one shown here. Black one is already partially mounted.

1 Pair of custom Etur Endlinks.

1 Original Tudor 9315 bracelet and a pair of 308B endlinks.

1 Pair of 20mm springbars.

1 Springbar removal tool.

This is a wristshot of the watch mounted on the original bracelet, endlinks and clasp. Standard way of wearing the watch. Perfect for Malaysia's hot and humid weather.

Next up is the Cheergiant straps.
Mr.George of Cheergiant Taiwan came highly recommended by a friend and he assured me he can make any strap at any configuration.
So, I thought why not?
E-mailed Mr.George which is a nice gentleman to deal with.
Told him what I want and provided him with the measurements.

 The end of the straps is made to measure specifically to fit the Rolex oyster fliplock clasp. It's easy to screw it up but Mr.George did an excellent job.

Once mounted, fits like a glove. How nice is that? Today I will only show the black strap mounted on. The brown strap is my spare :-)

Strap has been mounted on direct. Looks good?

Here's a wrist shot.

The clasp shot. Notice that the measurements are all correct as the clasp rest exactly in the middle. What a relief.
But wait... there's more.

The Etur endlinks.
I happen to know these on the TRF forum.
A gentleman registered as Etur custom made these for sale.
Cool... got a pair of my Rolex and Tudor Submariner.
Now these endlinks are specially machined to fit any Rolex cases that you want. Just let him know.
The pictures above show the machining to be precise and clean.

There aren't any screws or pressure points to keep the endlinks in place. Just slip it in... fits perfectly...

Winged area at the side to make sure it won't slip forward.

Mount the straps and the endlinks will stay in place.

Nice. No more gaps.

What do you guys think? Looks better now doesn't it?
I like it.

A wristshot. Definitely looked better.
I am so glad that the endlinks fit, the strap's measurements are spot on and everything works together as it should.

Just another way to wear the watch, gives it some variety.
I have just ordered more straps from Mr.George for my Seiko Dracula, PAM005 and I can't wait to get them and share them here as well.

TUDOR PELAGOS REF:25500TN

Visited my usual local AD a couple of weeks ago and I got to catch a glimpse (well, more than a glimpse) of the Basel 2012 announced model.
The Tudor Pelagos Ref: 25500TN

From my understanding, the whole watch including bracelet is made of Titanium. Except the clasp which is made from Stainless Steel. Very light for it's size.
Excellent legibility as the contrasts are pretty heavy... just Black and White. Thick fat snowflake hands, blocky markers.
Bezel insert is a matte finish ceramic... with generous lume applied underneath. I did not take a lume shot but it's really impressive. Glows blue.

Due to the flat caseback (forgot the take a pic), the watch sits nicely on my wrist. Case size is 42mm. Snowflake hands and block markers pays homage to Tudor Divers of old. This is an updated version. Snowflake Generation 2 so to speak.

Clasp is as I mentioned before made from Stainless Steel.
Offers 3 levels of micro adjustment, while the 4th level is a spring loaded adjustment. Whereby it expands and contracts following the divers wrist as the pressure changes during the dive will cause the blood vessels to swell making the wrists bigger.
A cool feature but most probably won't be used for 99.9% of the time... I reckon... but a cool feature nonetheless.
As for the clasp itself, I find it more complicated in built than the Rolex Clasps... will it last? I would have to reserve my judgement on that.

At 42mm, it looks way bigger than my Royal Oak Ref: 15400 as the bezel is black making the watch looks waaaay bigger.
It is comfortable on the wrist though due to the lightweight titanium used.
Will I get it? Contemplating...
Retail for this one is RM13132.
Cortina Watch at 1Borneo still have 1 unit in stock.
Do check it out if you're interested.

TUDOR SUBMARINER 94110

This is one of the watch in my collection that I deem "Untouchable"

Reason being these are harder and harder to come by in good condition and with the amount of franken watches out there, it's very hard to determine the authenticity.

And the best reason is, based on the serial number, this watch is actually produced on the same year I was born.

Yes... this watch is as old as I am... born on the year 1979.

Tudor Submariner 94110 "Snowflake"

Often referred to as the "Poor man's Submariner"

They are run on ETA movements but the case, bracelet and design is as Rolex as it gets.

Only thing missing is the crown on the dial.

This particular reference 94110 comes with the Snowflake Dial and Hands. Iconic in looks and design.

This year, Tudor actually released not one but two models paying homage to the Snowflake era.

I happen to come across this watch when a good friend of mine wanted to sell it. Needless to say, I bought it.

It was sent for service at Taipei Rolex Service Centre and verified that the movement and case matched.

When I received this watch, a quick check on the serial number database confirmed that this watch was manufactured on the year 1979!! My birth year!! Totally unexpected!! I am overjoyed.

Watch initially came without any bracelet.

Naturally, the hunt is on for a suitable endlink ref: 308b and a bracelet ref: 9315.

And boy was is hard to find... and expensive!!

This experience have made me wary of going into vintage watches anymore. Likely this will be the only vintage I own.

Bracelet is the older folded link type.

A real hassle to resize. But I did it myself anyway.

Remember the talk about patina on the Rolex Submariner post?

This is what I'm talking about.

Notice the tritium markers and hands colour has aged unevenly.

Some darker than others. This is what I call character.

No other watch will look like mine. This is unique to this watch alone. And alot of people value that.

Check out some of the peeling and cracking tritium.

The "T Swiss T" below the 6 o'clock markers is a sign that Tritium is used as the luminous material.

Shared the "Submariner" name with his bigger Rolex brother but water resistance is only rated at 200m.

Case design and screw in case back is also borrowed from the bigger brother Rolex.

Caseback engraving clearly states "Original Oyster Case by Rolex Geneva"

Crown is also Rolex signed... the Rolex Trip-lock Crown.

Check out the thick domed plexi glass.

Watches back then did not have the luxury of using box formed sapphire crystals... plexi is used.

Minor scratches can be polished off by using toothpaste... yes... toothpaste.

Drilled lugholes for easy bracelet or strap changes.

A little discrepancy I faced with the bracelet though.

Although it is clearly stamped ref: 9315... the width at the lug end is 18mm instead of 20mm... you can see from the picture above.

Now from what I know, Tudor did make some smaller Submariners... even Mini Subs... could this be a bracelet for those watches but stamped as the same 9315 reference code as well?

I don't really know but I suspect so. Not a deal breaker in anyway as the bracelet fit the endlinks.

I find this watch as versatile as the bigger brother the Rolex Submariner. I wear this mostly on nato strap which looks nicer.

Now do I think of this as a "Poor man's Submariner"? 

Definitely not. It can hold it's own even today.

For a 33 year old watch still running at +-4 seconds a day? Absolutely admirable.

Since the release of Tudor's newer models paying homage to this watch namely the Black Bay and Pelagos, demand for these have increased of late together with the asking prices. I am glad I got mine before all this and from a good friend which I consider my horology teacher.