Ocean Diver Watch Blog

OD Chrono on mesh bracelet

2010-11-22T11:11:00.000-08:00

Check out this watch/strap combo by midshipman01 on WatchUSeek. How cool is that? Photo by midshipman01.

GMT Exploring the Ocean Depths

2010-11-07T13:53:00.000-08:00

Great video of the Ocean Diver GMT being used during a dive expedition in Portugal with the Haliotis Padi Dive Cneter. Enjoy!

The full Prometheus Ocean Diver model line-up

2010-03-24T14:18:00.000-07:00

From left to right: Ocean Diver day/date, Ocean Diver GMT, and Ocean Diver Chronograph

Ocean Diver Chronograph | Sneak Peak Photos

2010-02-23T05:30:00.000-08:00

I just received an Ocean Diver Chronograph and I have to say that I'm blown away by how well it has turned out. It's not available for a little bit longer yet, but wanted to share a few quick (sneak peak) photos with you ahead of the weekend. The pushers not only look awesome, they work perfectly with good firm movements. Enjoy!

Watch Report reviews the Ocean Diver

2010-01-26T11:01:00.000-08:00

Another great review of the Ocean Diver, this one by Paul Hubbard at Watch Report that actually references this blog- ha! Paul gives some good feedback about the design of the watch hands too, which actually reflect the original design of the hands. Full review here.

"In my opinion, the Internet has been a godsend for the rise of small, independent watchmakers. They can find customers, actually converse about design, and foster a closer connection to far-flung fans. The Ocean Diver takes this collaboration to the next level."

Picture Gallery

2010-01-14T13:06:00.001-08:00

thewatchlounge reviews the OD

2010-01-04T17:28:00.000-08:00

A great review of the Ocean Diver by Tom Mulraney of thewatchlounge.com.This one again uses the photos I took of my OD on my back deck :) Not the best photos by any means but easier than taking their own I guess. Read the full review here.

"It’s not often you see someone convert their hobby into a commercial reality and with good reason. It’s not easy! When it does happen, however, the result can sometimes be something truly special, as is the case with the new Ocean Diver from the Prometheus Watch Company. This small Portuguese boutique manufacturer was only established in 2008 but thanks to their unswerving commitment to quality and their willingness to listen to feedback their latest offering is already a hit with enthusiasts the world over."

ABlogToRead: Retro cool Prometheus Ocean Diver watch review

2010-01-04T07:13:00.000-08:00

Another great review of the Ocean Diver by Ariel Admas of ABlogToRead. Check out the full article and the nice video review below.

"In all, the Ocean Diver delivers on its promise, a nicely made, highly functional, true diver's watch with a Swiss movement for a reasonable price. At $495 (339 euros) it is hard to beat what you get here. Plus, the watch is a limited edition of 500 pieces giving it an addition level of exclusivity. For all that I give the watch an aBlogtoRead.com good value award. You can get an Ocean Diver watch directly from Prometheus's website here."

Hodinkee reviews the Ocean Diver

2009-12-27T06:57:00.000-08:00

Great review of the Ocean Diver by the very well known and respected watch blog site Hodinkee. You can read the original article here: The Prometheus Ocean Diver: A Capable and Affordable, Swiss Made Diving Watch

"This watch, which retails for around $500 US, features a well-made case and also an ETA Swiss Automatic movement. Essentially, it does everything the Enzo Mechana does for less than half the price, and more than what the Deep Blue does for just about the same price."

JitteryJim reviews Ocean Diver

2009-12-10T07:32:00.000-08:00

Active Watchuseek forum member and avid collector, JitteryJim, posts an in-depth review of the Ocean Diver. A very well written review with absolutely beautiful photographs.

"At the end of the day Prometheus has produced a worthy entry into the mid-priced range diver category. It is a sold, well built watch with a lot of attractive features: the classic compressor style case, easy to read dial, well thought out design, sapphire crystal, good luminescence, and a complimentary strap. With the watch being Swiss made it will be more attractive to a wider audience, I believe, as many watch enthusiasts have not yet entirely warmed up on all Chinese built watches, especially at this price. For those that enjoy dive watches I believe you'd be quite pleased with the Ocean Diver. I am looking forward to the release of the other two Prometheus Ocean Diver models, the GMT and chronograph, which should be available sometime in 2010."

Swiss-Made Ocean Diver case sample pictures

2009-07-12T06:56:00.000-07:00

As you may have already read on my blog, last summer the manufacturing of my Ocean Diver watch design was stopped because the quality of the watch samples that we received from the original manufacturer partner were just not up to our expectations. It was extremely disappointing and frustrating for myself, Carlos the Prometheus Watch brand owner, and all of the avid watch collectors out there that had placed pre-orders with us. As tough as it was to make that decision, it was the right one.

Swiss Made Deliciousness...
The original Ocean Diver watch line was going to be Chinese made and use the very best Chinese movements we could source, but it just didn't work out that way despite the vast improvements in the quality and reputation of Chinese watch manufacturing in the last several years. Now, almost a year since we had hoped to be in full production, we are back on track with a new Swiss manufacturer with the goal of being in full production by later this summer.

Below are some photographs of the Ocean Diver watch case that I have just received from the new manufacturer. As you can see the quality and finish of the new cases is exceptional! Below you can see that we are no longer using a display back for the Ocean Diver, we have a beautifully engraved solid case back with an Oyster style notch for opening. Each watch will be individually numbered and engraved on the case back.

New case back design (left) and front bezel - beadblasted finish

As you can see from the close-up of the case back below, the entire Ocean Diver model line (OD, GMT, and Chronograph) will have text on the back giving me full credit for my design - that's pretty cool.

Designed by Brian F. Green - nice!

The case finish has changed too. We had originally planned on using a brushed finish to the entire case, but the quality of the finish that we had seen in our original samples was very off putting. After the decision to switch to an entirely new manufacturer, we decided to step back and think again about how we would ideally like the case to be finished, and general consensus for a diver tool watch was to have a satin beadblasted finish. So the case body, bezel, lugs, case back, and crowns all have a very utilitarian flat satin finish. As you can see from the side view below, the lugs are screwed instead of spring bars. Once you have a strap of this bad boy, there is no chance that the lugs are going to fail and send you watch to the bottom of the ocean while you're diving!

Detail of the OD crowns - individually milled on a CNC machine

I was asked to design an entirely new strap for the Ocean Diver instead of sourcing existing ones. In keeping with the retro design of the dive watch itself, I chose to design a modern day version of the classic Tropic dive watch strap of the 60s - made famous by Rolex Submariner, Blancpain, Lip Nautic Ski with compressor case, and Spirotechnique. It was also popularized by the many watches worn by Jacques Cousteau. The Ocean Diver version is made from high-grade silicone instead of rubber like the originals and sports the checkered grain pattern on the front with corresponding ventilation holes. My hope was to provide a very practical and sturdy strap that was in keeping with the overall OD design. I think I've done that, and hope you'll like it as much as I do.

Custom made silicone "tropic" strap

It's very exciting to finally see this project going to serious production. For a very long time I've dreamed of having my watch designs made into real examples and had toyed with the idea of funding it myself on a limited basis, but I never imagined that I would get the opportunity that I now have to see the design and the subsequent variations (Ocean Diver GMT, Ocean Diver Chronograph) go into full-scale production - and best of all, be manufactured by a highly recognizable Swiss company that also produces watches for many of the top Swiss brands in the business and using genuine Swiss Made ETA movements.

It really is a dream come true for me and words can't adequately express my thanks to Carlos for giving me this fabulous opportunity.

The Ocean Diver Watch Collection

2009-05-11T13:07:00.000-07:00

Those of you who follow my blog will know that as well as being passionate about everything to do with hiking and backpacking, I am a huge watch geek. I have been into watches for as long as I can remember and my personal collection is pretty significant :) I'm also an art major specializing in usability and have for the longest time wanted to see my own watch designs put into production.

That almost happened last year with my winning watch design going through the engineering process and being turned into a prototype with the intention of going into full production late last year. Unfortunately it never worked out, for various reasons that I won't go into the original plan of having the watch manufactured in China using Chinese movements didn't work. We were so close...

Fast forward to today, and the announcement that the Prometheus Watch Company will be releasing not one but three of my watch designs into full production and they will all be Swiss Made using Swiss movements. All three watches will be based on the original winning Ocean Diver design but with the two additional model options of a GMT movement with second time zone and a Chronograph version with sub-dials and tachymeter. I'm extremely excited to unveil the three new designs shown below as 3-D renderings. These should be available to purchase in November of this year and pre-orders will begin to be accepted soon.

Ocean Diver Collection

Ocean Diver (with ETA 2836-2 movement)
Ocean Diver GMT (with Prometheus GMT movement Swiss made and based on ETA 2836-2)
Ocean Diver Chronograph (with ETA 7750 movement)

Specifications:

Sandblasted matte finish
316L Stainless steel
Water resistant 300 meters
Swiss Made automatic movements
Diameter: 42 mm
Length: 51 mm
Lugs: 22mm
Super luminous
2 year warranty
Sapphire crystal
Rubber or leather strap (TBD)

Ocean Diver:

Ocean Diver GMT:

Ocean Diver Chronograph:

The prototype has landed :)

2008-11-27T19:20:00.000-08:00

So, late last night I drove to my local UPS depot to pick up the Ocean Diver watch prototype that had been expressed shipped to me from the manufacturer. UPS tried to deliver it in the morning but no one was home and rather than wait for Friday (Thursday is Thanksgiving for all you non US folks) I decided to go pick it up.

I waited until after the kids were tucked up in bed before opening the package and was so excited I could barley stand it. The watch looks so amazing in person it's hard to describe - seeing my design in the flesh and holding it in my hands was exhilarating and unbelievable at the same time. It's so cool. The pictures don't really do it justice, but here's a bunch I took today just because I could :)

Ocean Diver prototype pictures

2008-11-25T08:01:00.000-08:00

Amos, the watch manufacturer, has just sent me and the Prometheus brand owner a series of pictures of the fully assembled Ocean Diver prototype. He's also express shipped us both one of the prototypes shown in these pictures which should arrive Thursday or Friday - not sure because Thanksgiving holiday is Thursday.

I'm told I'll be getting the prototype with the polished case back, which was finished that way by mistake - the final versions will all have brushed case backs to match the finish of the rest of the watch body. There are some other small details that are being adjusted before production so these pictures should not be considered final - there just to show how the assembled watch will look.

I love it! Of course I'm biased as I designed the watch, but it's hard not to get excited about seeing your own design put into production and be so incredibly well accepted and desired by serious watch collectors.

We just received our first request from a watch dealer asking to become an authorized dealer of the Ocean Diver and Prometheus line. That's a significant step in the right direction for moving from internet sales only to over the counter - it blows my mind to think that people will be able to walk into a store and buy watches I have designed :)

I'll also be receiving one of the promotional Ocean Diver launch T-shirts in my express package, so stay tuned for some pictures of the watch and T-shirt when it arrives. For now, here is some prototype eye candy...

More Ocean Diver Pictures

2008-11-19T11:32:00.000-08:00

Front and back views of the complete watch :)

Assembled Ocean Diver prototype

2008-11-19T11:22:00.000-08:00

Here is the first picture of the fully assembled (but unfinished) Ocean Diver prototype. There's quite a bit of work remaining to be done and all of the parts have to be carefully finished/polished and cleans before final assembly - but this at least shows all the pieces put together :)

Prototype almost ready - early pictures

2008-10-31T10:05:00.000-07:00

It's still going to be another couple of weeks before a full prototype of my Ocean Diver will be ready, but below is an early picture of the main components assembled to show how it will look. I know I'm bias but I don't mind saying it's a nice looking watch :) Excuse the poor picture quality...

Ocean Diver dial pictures

2008-10-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

I've just received the first pictures of the actual dial of my Ocean Diver watch design. It looks amazing and if you look closely you can see a huge amount of luminous material on the hour numbers and indicies. This bad boy is going to light up a room with all that lume! We've used the same luminous material that Seiko uses on its dive watches.

Here's a picture of the internal rotating bezel. Notice how the 12 o'clock hour marker have luminous material applied.

I can't wait to see how the watch looks when it is completely assembled with hands and day/date dials. Getting closer to having that first prototype ready :)

G-Shock Mods Word Cloud

2008-10-13T14:54:00.000-07:00

Here is my G-Shock blog feed rendered as a Wordle cloud. If you haven't used Wordle before you have to check it out!

First pictures of Ocean Diver parts

2008-10-07T13:24:00.000-07:00

I've just received the first photos of some of the components of my Ocean Diver watch design from the manufacturer! The pieces are in their raw (unfinished) form and will need to go through several final finishing process before being ready for assembly, but even so it's very exciting to see my initial design turning into a reality. Enuf said, on with the pictures...

Here is the case back with lettering - #000/500 that's gonna be a rare one!

Here is the watch body with internal rotating bezel in place and strap attached.

Here's a shot from the back!

I'll post more pictures as I receive them.

Launch of Prometheus Watch Forum

2008-09-06T12:56:00.000-07:00

My Ocean Diver watch is being produced under the Prometheus Watch brand, a relatively new watch company that has big plans for future models. As many watch enthusiasts know Watchuseek (WUS) is the premier online forums site for everything related to watches and now home to the official Prometheus Watch Online Forum.

You can read the latest news about the Prometheus Watch brand, chat with other forum members, sign up for the newsletter, and voice you opinion about the watches on a public forum. I will be checking in as often as I can to respond to posts from forum members and adding updates about the progress of my Ocean Diver design.

Ocean Diver Specifications (full list)

2008-09-06T08:16:00.000-07:00

Here are the final specifications for the Ocean Diver:

316L Solid Stainless Steel Brushed Case
42mm case width
20 mm lug width
Overall thickness: 13.60 mm
Screwed in lug bars
Seiko lumibrite (similar to one used in Seiko Monster, so expect plenty of lume )
Limited production of 500 watches
Unidirection internal rotating bezel (feature usually found only on high grade Swiss watch models)
Flat Sapphire Crystal
Seagull ST-16 automatic 17-jewel movement
Screwed in crowns for both internal bezel and watch hands
Waterproof hardened leather strap
Stainless Steel See-through display case back
30 ATM Water Resistant (300m/1000ft)

Ocean Diver final specifications

2008-08-22T13:35:00.000-07:00

Well the last minute upgrade modifications were too last minute as it turns out, but that's how it goes. We're sticking with the original design with a few minor upgrades - which I think is for the best and is what the watch forum members voted for after all. The other upgrades will definitely be taken into consideration for the next models.

~~Domed anti-reflective crystal~~ Flat anti-reflective crystal
~~44mm case~~ 42mm case
~~22mm lug width~~ 20mm lug width
~~Solid~~ Screw in lug bars
~~Bead blasted~~ Brushed finish
Seiko LumiBrite luminous material

Tooling is underway and the first prototype should be ready in two months. I can't wait to get a prototype in my hands and see/feel a real version of my design - still exciting!

Upgrades/Modifications being considered

2008-08-13T10:38:00.000-07:00

Quick update: We are considering some last minute upgraded options for the Ocean Diver to improve its functionality and appeal to serious dive watch fans.

Domed anti-reflective crystal
44mm case
22mm lug width
Solid screw in lug bars
Bead blasted or brushed finish
Seiko LumiBrite luminous material

Here's how the new upgrades might look. Not a significant change but some nice additional touches! These have not been confirmed, naturally cost and time are two major factors :)

Presentation watch case

2008-08-12T09:48:00.000-07:00

Here is an example of the type of presentation case the Ocean Diver watches will be packaged in.

The leather pouch will be made to closely fit the shape of the watch so that is protected during shipping and presented clearly when stored or just not being used for a while. On the inside of the case cover there is a small pocket just the right size to hold a credit card, operating instructions, or a small cleaning cloth.

I really like the utilitarian design of this watch case, something that can be used one time for shipping or all the time for protection and traveling. The case cover is held securely closed by means of an elasticated strap that attaches to a button on the top of the cover, a simple but elegant solution.

Many dive watch manufacturers have moved towards large, heavy, waterproof presentation boxes - like the Pelican boxes - but that seems like such a waste to me and not where I want to be spending my money. I can't wait to see a finished watch inside the case - what a sight!

Ocean Diver Lume

2008-08-11T11:50:00.000-07:00

Luminescence that is. I was just told that the lume that will be applied to the dial will be almost identical to the type used by Seiko on its line of dive watches. That's great news.

The Seiko dive watches have long been hailed as having the brightest and longest lasting lume of nearly all watches.

To the left is the mock-up of the placement of the luminous material on the dial of my Ocean Diver - it's going to be a fantastic looking watch in the dark - very easy to read :)

Below is an example of how bright the Seiko lume is compared to two watches that are using Tritium 'tubes'. Tritium is considered to be self illuminating and will stay bright for years, whereas traditional lume material is charged by bright light and stays that way for just a couple of hours.

The high quality Superluminova-type material that s going to be used should please all of the lume-weenies on the watch forums!

Sample watch strap arrives!

2008-08-07T18:15:00.000-07:00

The watch manufacturer has just sent me a sample of the type of watch strap that we are looking to use on my Ocean Diver watch. We wanted a strap that is similar to the Kevlar ones, but as that is a brand name (therefore $$$) and generally only available via Germany, it put it outside of the budget.

The lug width for my watch will be 20mm, which is a very standard width for straps these days. The sample strap has a ballistic nylon outer shell that will not only be waterproof it will be very durable.

The back of the strap is made with an incredibly fine grain leather that feels very comfortable to wear. The strap is thick (~4mm) and looks like it would survive a direct hit from a missile, but it is more than flexible enough and comfortable to wear.

I'm wearing the strap right now on an old MWC Royal Navy diver watch that has 20mm lugs. The strap feels great and I'm looking to see if it gets any softer over time. Things are really moving along nicely...

Internal rotating bezel

2008-08-06T07:15:00.000-07:00

As I said, the manufacturing company was unsure on the best way to make the internal rotating bezel that I had designed be 'unidirectional'. Well that may be fixed now and below you can see an image of how that mechanism would look.

Ouch!

2008-08-05T11:43:00.001-07:00

This is a pretty rare for a tough G-Shock, but I did manage to totally ruin the crystal of my DW-5600E while goofing around outside. It probably saved my wrist from getting broken :)

Technical drawings

2008-08-05T11:09:00.000-07:00

Today is turning out to be a very busy day. I've just received the detailed mechanical drawings of my watch from the manufacturer - this is just too cool for words. So here are the pics...

3-D watch renderings

2008-08-05T08:56:00.000-07:00

I've just received some new 3-D renderings of the case of my watch from the manufacturer. They have been busy translating my initial design into detailed mechanical drawings in order to check on the feasibility of my original design.

We've already hit on an issue with having an unidirectional internal rotating bezel. It appears that it is technically very difficult to accomplish, so we're investigating our options. One simple solution is to make the crown for the rotating bezel be screw down so that it cannot accidentally be adjusted - this would also benefit the overall water resistance of the watch case.

So, while work is continuing on the details of the manufacturing let me show you some of the 3-D drawings that they've sent me :)

Completed watch design drawings

2008-07-18T13:39:00.000-07:00

Below is the most recent version of the watch design specifications. This is the working drawing that I was asked to create and provide to the brand owner and manufacturer so that they could take my design and translate into mechanical drawings and eventually a prototype. Can wait to see how it works out.

Watch design updates

2008-07-10T12:16:00.000-07:00

I've been working directly with the watch manufacturer and sponsor/owner to fine tune my design and I have to say that I am very impressed with what I have heard and seen thus far.

I just received the technical drawings for the 20-jewel automatic movement that will be powering the watch so that I can make sure that my dial design aligns perfectly with the day/date display wheels.

I get to choose the model name for the watch too and so far I still like the original name I came up with "Ocean Diver" but have a few more days to think about it and come up with something better or different - my wife has been providing a lot of suggestions, most of which are combinations of our kid's names.

Lots for me to do in getting my original design ready for the manufacturing team to create the technical/engineering drawings. I'm also looking at suitable straps for the watch and I'm currently leaning towards a black kevlar strap with white accent stitching.

More to come...

My Winning Watch Design

2008-07-07T09:36:00.000-07:00

For a very long time I have toyed with the idea of being a watch designer and some day having my own watch manufacturing company and seeing my ideas put into production. I've always been passionate about the design of watches and have a nice (some may say too big) collection of watches that I have put together over of the years. Well I don't have my own watch company yet, but as of this past weekend I have taken a step closer to realizing my dream - one of my favorite watch designs will be going into production!

I have been sketching out my own ideas for watch designs for several years, based on all of the individual components that I like about the watches I own. My collection has gotten quite large because of my constant quest for the "perfect" watch - a watch that encompasses all of the required elements for a very functional and practical watch.

An opportunity presented itself recent to submit some of my designs into a competition to have the winning design put into full production under an existing and emerging watch brand. The competition was hosted on a very popular online watch forum to gather feedback and votes from watch enthusiasts around the world. After several weeks of voting, my dive watch design was received the highest number of votes and was officially announced as the winning design on July 6th when the competition closed.

For me this is like a dream come true! The opportunity to not only see one of my designs be made into a real watch, but to go through the process of taking my initial design through the engineering and manufacturing process and having direct input into the specifications of the final product. The watch is expected to be available at the end of this year - just in time for Christmas.

I'll try to update this blog as I go through the process and will share information on the specifications as they become finalized. Preliminary pricing for the watch will be around 167 EUROs ($350 - $400US), it will have an automatic movement, scratch proof sapphire crystal, water resistance to 300m/1000ft, and have a see-thru display case back.

It should be an exciting next few months!

What NOT to do: The Omitted steps...

2008-03-03T10:38:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd share some of my lessons learned while attempting this project. Here are some of the steps that I took but deliberately omitted from the 'How To' because they were stupid, potentially damaging, and worst of all unnecessary. So to be very clear - DO NOT DO THIS, IT IS NOT NECESSARY AND COULD MOST LIKELY DAMAGE OR RUIN YOUR SCREEN!

After removing the whole module, I proceeded to strip it down so that I could remove the glass display. At the time I thought I would have to do that. So I removed the outer rubber casing...

Then I removed the inner metal casing...

To be left with the raw module. It was easy to see how the screen was held in place. There are three small retainers at the bottom of the plastic module housing that the glass sits under, and at the top of the screen there is a spring loaded or tensioned clip that holds the top of the glass firmly in place. More firmly than I would have ever imagined.

Once I figured it out I thought it would be easy to remove, and it was. I used my Bergeon small screwdriver to push up the spring clip at the top and "gently" lift out the screen. At this point things started going VERY BAD!

When I lifted out the top of the screen, one of the rubber conductor strips that I believe transfers a small electrical charge to the screen stayed stuck to the top edge and lifted out. I didn't realize how bad that was until I pulled it off and took out the whole screen with my tweezers.

At this point, I stopped taking pictures and began to wonder (or more accurately panic) about how I would ever get it back in again.

The problem was this. At either end of the glass screen there are long rubber-like electrical conductor strips (like the one that was stuck in the photo above). These two very thin strips actually sit underneath the glass when it is in place. By taking the glass out the rubber strips expanded slightly and became the full height of the gap.

When I tried to put the glass back in, it pinched the rubber strip on the end of the glass instead of underneath the glass, thereby adding extra length to the glass and stopping it from going back in. Here's a rough diagram to help explain it.

Furthermore, the rubber strips can't be removed because they transmit power to the display, I know because I found this out the hard way. I managed to get the glass back in, but because the rubber strips were not touching the underside of the display, the digits were not showing - actually to be more specific, only tiny parts of the display were showing.

After a very long time I managed to get the glass back in while keeping the two rubber strips underneath it. It wasn't pretty and caused some nasty glass cracking sounds - so avoid all of this by simply leaving the glass in!

How to convert a plain DW-5600 to a negative display

2008-02-29T10:36:00.000-08:00

This project was a little more adventurous for me and as you will see quite a bit more complicated than some of the other projects I've done with my G-Shocks. It involves doing some pretty nasty things to the screen of a G-Shock, so if you’re faint hearted this is probably not the ideal DIY project for you. If you’re still reading this and, like me, desperately want to try reversing the display of one of your digital watches – read on.

I’m going to be taking my plain DW-5600 and ‘hopefully’ converting the regular display into a negative one with the use of some self-adhesive polarizing film. There have been many questions about where to buy this posted in the various online forums. I bought mine from Polarization.com in Texas. The quality was very good, service excellent, and the shipping was pretty fast (3 days). I ordered the thinnest self-adhesive film they had in a relatively small size, part name was: “Linear Polarizer w/adhesive PFA”.

Ok, on to the project. First let me show you some of the tools you might like to have ready for this.

Plastic tweezers
Spring bar removal tool
Small flat head screwdriver
Some Q-Tips
A surgical scalpel or sharp modeling knife and fresh blades
The all important Husky mini screwdriver (a must have item)

With all the necessary tools in hand it’s time to start thinking about how to tackle this. I will be using the DW-5600 that I recently stealthed the bezel on. By reversing the display it should be a pretty fine looking little watch. The next few steps will be obvious to most of you, but I figured I’d snap some pictures anyway.

Take off the straps so that you can remove the back cover and so that they won’t get in the way while you are working on the body of the watch. I like to use my nifty little Bergeon spring bar tool that is designed specifically for this.

Next, carefully remove the four small screws that hold on the case back. Always make sure to put these somewhere safe and keep them together. This is where the Husky mini screwdriver comes in very handy.

Remove the metal case back carefully, trying not to disturb the rubber gasket that creates the watertight seal around the module.

You should see the rubber spacer that covers and adds protection to the inner module. Remove the rubber spacer using the tweezers for extra grip. It can sometimes feel like it is deliberately stuck to the module but it isn’t, it just gets pressed tightly and sticks a bit – it should come off very easily.

You should now be able to lift out the entire module by one of its edges using your tweezers. Mine actually fell right out when I flipped it over. Be patient, there’s really nothing holding it in other than the pressure of the buttons against the spring contacts.

I took off on a bit of a tangent here and decided to remove the black outer rubber protector and the metal inner ring casing. I also removed the glass screen from the module and spent the next three hours shouting and cursing at how hard it was to put the darn glass screen back in. I was also extremely annoyed at my stupidity as I discovered that it was not necessary to remove the glass at all (I learn as I go along..). I have deliberately omitted the next six or so images that I took of me removing the glass and putting it back in because it is not necessary and very nearly screwed up my display and module!

The next thing to do is to remove the polarizing film that is glued to the surface of the glass. The film is slightly smaller than the glass and can be seen easily if you look close up. I am using my scalpel to gently lift up the polarizing film a bit at a time. The trick is to slide the blade between the polarizing film and the glass.

Take your time and work from one edge of the polarizing film across to the other, slowly pushing the blade of your knife under more and more while still moving it from side to side. Eventually you will have the blade under far enough to lift off the polarizing film.

The film is stuck to the glass by a thin layer of tacky glue. It’s pretty nasty stuff so be patient and it will come up eventually. Lift off the polarizing film using your plastic tweezers. You can see that the film looks almost transparent while over the display and the digits are only visible on the parts of the display that are covered by the film – it’s quite amazing.

Here’s where it gets very cool. Simply turn the polarizing film around 90 degrees and as if by magic the digital display becomes reversed! The polarizing film does not need to be in contact with the glass to work.

At this point I used my Q-Tips and some Goof Off to clean the tacky glue residue from the glass and the old piece of polarizing film. Make sure you get the glass as ‘squeaky’ clean as you can. It took me several Q-Tips and about 15 minutes to get it perfectly clean. I promise you that the time spent getting the glue off as much as possible will be worth it. If there is any glue residue left on the glass it will show up when you stick on the new piece of polarizing film and you don’t want that.

Now let’s take a look at the digital module display using the new sheet of polarizing film. Here is the display with the film held in the regular position. The display is shown as normal and we can see the module is still ticking away quite happily.

Rotate the polarizing film 90 degrees just like you did with the piece that was removed from the glass and the display is reversed. Excellent, this ensures that the film is going to work – until this point it was a bit of a gamble on whether or not this particular type of polarizing film would work – looks good.

Next you’ll need to cut out a piece of the new polarizing film to the exact shape of the original piece. Make sure that you are cutting out the film with it turned in the right direction. Make doubly sure you have the film oriented so that it will make the display look reversed before you place the old piece on top as a cutting guide. Hint: you can tell when the two pieces are the right way because the original piece that you are using as a cutting template should look completely black. Notice in the picture below how the display is invisible without the polarizing film. Also notice the small box on the display in the upper right corner; this will be disappearing when we reverse the display using this ‘hack’. The factory reversed modules manage to reverse the box too – interesting distinction.

Hold the original piece of film tightly up to the corner of the new sheet and gently cut around it using your sharp knife. Make several slices using medium pressure rather than trying to cut all the way through on the first pass. By making several slices you will avoid slipping and hopefully avoid the loss of any finger tips! Just take your time.

Once you have cut out the new piece of polarizing film, hold it over the display to make sure that it fits and that it will create the desired negative effect. The film used here (details at top) was self-adhesive on one side and had a protective cover on the other. Remove the cover from the self adhesive side and without touching it carefully place the new piece of polarizing film onto the glass screen. Use your tweezers for better precision. Gently rub the polarizing film with a soft cloth or clean Q-Tip to make sure it is adequately stuck down. Then use your tweezers again to lift of the protective cover from the front of the film. You should be left with a smudge and fingerprint free surface.

The final step is to reassemble the whole thing. Carefully put the whole module back into the watch casing making sure it it seated down. I find that I nearly always have to use my tiny screwdriver to hold in the metal connectors where the buttons are in order to get a module back in. Replace the rubber spacer making sure that the protruding metal contacts show through. Then replace the metal case back and four screws. I’m not showing pictures of these steps because most of you know how to do this and if you don’t simply read through the steps above that describe how to take the module out.

When the case back is firmly screwed down, flip the whole thing over and admire your handy work, a beautiful, negative display module. Notice how the small box in the upper right corner of the display is no longer visible. This is one difference between the DIY reverse display and the factory fitted version, but I kind of like the minimal look anyway so no great loss for me.

Well that’s it. The hardest part of this whole project was biting the bullet on the polarizing film and waiting the couple of days it took for it to arrive. The rest was relatively easy, largely thanks to the excellent guide already posted online.

I hope you found this a little bit useful and I also hope this encourages a few of you to pop open that old G-Shock and hack a negative display. It took me a little over four hours to do this, but nearly three of those were spent trying to replace the glass display that I shouldn’t have removed in the first place. There were also some other distractions along the way.

I’ve done my best to provide as much detail as possible, but if you have any additional questions feel free to post a comment here and I’ll do my best to answer it. Happy hacking!

Brief G-Shock bezel stealthing guide

2008-02-21T10:35:00.000-08:00

Here is a very simple, stealthing project. I am planning to do a lot more to my little DW-5600 like reverse the display, stealth the faceplate (if possible), but for now I wanted to stealth the bezel (remove the white paint).

The first step was to gather all the necessary equipment. For me that means Goof Off (not Goo Gone or any similar sounding products), a small ceramic bowl/dish (plastic ones may melt with the Goof Off inside it) this is one I made myself, a small pair of tweezers, and an old toothbrush or scrubbing brush.

I removed the bezel from my DW-5600 and poured just enough of the Goof Off into the bottom of the bowl to cover the bottom. I place the bezel in the bowl face down so that the lettering was constantly submerged. Doing it this way saves using a lot of unnecessary Goof Off. I set my count down timer (CDT) for 20 minutes and stuck the bowl outside to avoid the nasty smell/fumes.

Beep, beep! Ok 20 minutes is up and I lift out the bezel using the tweezers. I take the toothbrush and dip it into the Goof Off and 'gently' scrub the lettering off the bezel. The paint just washes off and doesn't take very much effort with the toothbrush. Then I wash the bezel in warm soapy water to remove any chemicals and dry it off. After a quick reassembly the bezel is looking nice and stealthy.

Next will be for me to work on changing the polarizing film to make the display negative. Then I am thinking of ways I can black out all of the faceplate lettering... fun and games.

Not a lot of pictures here, but hopefully enough get a feel for how this works. The same process can be used for removing lettering or paint on resin straps. Happy stealthing!

Modified 5600 module - atomic sync screen

2008-01-29T06:30:00.000-08:00

I continue to play with the idea of ways to improve on the 5600 module for the future. Based on feedback from you guys I've been playing with how the atomic sync results screen might look, when you press the button to see when the last time it synced up was. I've replaced "GET" with "SYNC!" and it shows the day, full date, and time it was last successfully synced with the atomic signal.

I've also created the screen for setting the correct time zone "ZN" for your atomic signal. This is actually very close to the way the GW-5600 module provides the method of selecting the time zone in the watch setting mode.

I saw some more feedback recently, so I'm going to read through it and give it some more thought. It would be very exciting to be able to incorporate these minor changes into a new 5600 module, bit can't ever see that happening - CASIO you listening?

Updates to my modified 5600 module

2008-01-25T06:28:00.000-08:00

I've made a few updates to the module design based on great feedback that I got. This is still a work in progress and if you have any more suggestions let me know.

My modified version of the 5600 module

2008-01-23T06:26:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been racking my brain to determine what G-Shock would offer me the optimal functionality in order to be satisfied with just one watch, I know you're already thinking this guy is nuts but hear me out. My collection is very focused, mostly 5600s and a few Mudman models. The Mudmans were purchased on a whim mostly because of the great deal on Amazon and while I like them a lot and wear them extensively while outside, they are not my watch of choice - that lofty distinction is held by the 5600 range.

I've been wearing my GW-5600BCJ and my G-5600RB-1JF almost exclusively for weeks now and find myself swapping between the two depending on how I feel about having the day of the week and date displayed. There are other obvious differences (atomic sync) between them, but for the most part these two watches are close to perfect for me anyway. I'm excited about getting one of the new GWM-5600BC models in order to have all of the functions of my GW-5600BCJ plus the day displayed, it was about time Casio caught up with that oversight. But I still have this nagging feeling that despite the updates to the new GWM-5600 models there is just something not quite right or complete - be it the combination of functions offered or the way the information is displayed.

So, I've spent a couple of hours with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to put together my thoughts on what I would like to have in the ultimate 5600 module and tried to show that visually using the mock-ups below. The key changes for me were: 1) Having the current time displayed in the upper section whenever possible, 2) Showing the full date with year in the main time mode as well as the day of the week, 3) Having a dual time function instead of the World Time one - I personally prefer to have a fully functioning dual time zone rather than the World Time function - YMMV.

In order to achieve the changes I wanted, I had to make some modifications to the screen layout/real estate to accommodate the additional information. So take a look at what I've come up with and let me know what you think and what you would change if you could. I'd like to gather your feedback and use it to update the mock ups at some point in the future. So be constructive (and gentle) and let me know what you think of it (love it, hate it, offended by it - what ever). Remember this is MY take on what I would like to have in the ultimate 5600 module, it may not be everyone's cup of tea!

Mudman blog translated to Thai

2008-01-07T10:34:00.000-08:00

Here's an interesting update on my post about boiling my G-Shock Mudman.

I was recently contacted by a very nice person in Thailand, who has a blog about watches, to inquire if I would let them translate my post showing how to disassemble a G-Shock Mudman and boil the resin components to soften the buttons and strap into Thai so they could post it to their web blog.

Naturally I said that would be okay and simply asked that they add a link back to my original posting and leave the credits on my pictures intact.

So here it is, my first (and possibly last) Thai language translation posting: "Boiling Your G-Shock Mudman"

Mudman blog translated to Thai

2008-01-07T05:31:00.000-08:00

Cheap digital watches

2008-01-06T13:26:00.000-08:00

For the longest time I've been totally fascinated with high-end mechanical watches. Most of the watches I liked were way out of my league and too expensive, but over the years with patience and devotion I was able to track down and purchase some highly desirable models that to this day are the pride of my collection. Among my most prized acquisitions are a 1970 Omega Speedmaster manual wind "Moon Watch", a Doxa SUB Professional dive watch, and a Seiko "SUS" Military with 4S15 movement.

The detailed design and specific history of each of these models just seemed to strike a nerve in me, until recently that is.

Over the last few years I found myself thinking less about impressive high-end mechanical watches that I'd be too concerned about getting scratched or lost, so much so that I hardly ever wore them, and instead leaning more and more towards functionality.

Getting married and starting a family may have played a significant role in this also. Being practical and somewhat frugal has long since overtaken the desire or need to be fashionable and impress others. While I still work in a professional environment, I no longer work with people who are impressed by an expensive timepiece - not that I was really trying to impress in the first place - but any watch enthusiast likes to have his watch noticed in order to have the chance to ramble on about it.

These days I mostly find myself looking for functionality and durability in my watches. I'm still very mindful of design and aesthetics - I am an interface designer after all - but expensive mechanical watches, or watches in general, are just no longer a huge priority.

These days I find myself rethinking what a good watch is all about and for me the Casio G-Shock is about the closest thing to perfection I could find. I might even go so far as to say they could be considered "anti-watches." There's nothing cooler than something that subverts a whole culture larded with snobbery, pretension and competitive shopping - aka expensive mechanical watches. And besides the price, the G-Shock does the job better than most.

I also like things that are designed and made better than they need to be, but which cost no more than they have to. The utilitarian angle. A G-Shock can cost as little as $30 but it gives me an incredibly tough (nearly unbreakable) watch that is solar powered and synchronized every day to the atomic clock!

It just makes great all round sense. I don't have to worry about my watch getting scratched or damaged (assuming I could even damage one of these), and if I happen to loose it I go to Walmart and buy another one. I'll admit I never thought I'd see the day when I would be saying this, but I actually prefer to wear my G-Shock to the three mechanical watches I previously thought of as my pride and joys and any of my other watches.

How to trim a resin watch strap

2007-12-18T11:14:00.000-08:00

I have moved this post to my new G-Shock Modifications blog. You can read the full post with all of the images at the new separate blog site.

How to trim a resin watch strap

2007-12-18T10:33:00.000-08:00

The straps on several of my G-Shocks are just a bit too long, especially my GW-5600J, to the point where they stick out and catch on the cuff’s of my T-shirts and sleeves. I posted a question on a watch forum to ask if anyone ever trimmed their straps, partly because I was curious to know how many other pencil-wristed G-Shock wearers were having the same problem and partly to see how many people were willing to take a knife to their beloved Gs.

To my surprise, the resounding response was “yes”, followed by “just go ahead and cut it already”. There were varying methods and tools recommended for doing it, ranging from razor blades to scissors. Enough talk, on with the cutting…

The victim: My Atomic Solar Mudman. The strap is just a little too long and would be much better if I trimmed off about one inch (2.5cm).

I’m going to use a straight edge safety razor. I’m using the rounded edge of my cutting surface for this in order to keep the cut open as I slice into it, it will help stop the razor blade getting pinched. Decide where to make the cut… commit to it… cut!

The first cut is made and it has the classic shiny edge that none of us wants to end up with, but we’ll fix that later.

I’m going to use the safety razor to make two smaller cuts on the corners to trim off some of the excess and save myself some filing time with the emery board.

Now that the heavy work has been done, it’s time to shape the corners. I’m going to use an emery board to round the corners into the desired shape.

Ok, I’ve got the two corners nicely rounded - the emery board worked great!

Now I want to add a small bevel all the way around the end of the strap to try and make it blend in with the rest of the strap.

The end of the strap is now nicely rounded and beveled to match the rest of the strap – I could stop here and it would be just fine – but you know I can’t do that.

I need to polish/smooth off the slight roughness left behind by the emery board. In the past I’ve found that a pair of jeans can buff things up pretty well, so I’m going to see if my jeans will do the trick.

Well what do you know, the jeans worked great! The end is polished just to the point where it matches the non-shiny surface of the rest of the strap. I think the end result is awesome, I’m definitely happy with it.

That’s it! I think you’ll all agree that this is a great way to avoid having a nasty, shiny end to a trimmed resin strap - it was easy to do as well. It probably took me a whole lot longer to take these photos and write this up than it would to just cut the strap and clean it up – but I thought it would be fun for you all to see the steps. Hope you enjoyed it, now go fix those long straps!

Boiling a Casio G-Shock Mudman

2007-12-10T10:31:00.000-08:00

The buttons on the Casio G-Shock Mudman series are notoriously stiff to depress, mine appear to be no exception. Several people online have said that by boiling the bezel for 20-30 minutes you can soften them up. Well I have some spare time and a digital camera handy so I’m going to see if this crazy idea works.

Note: If you do not have the correct tools for doing this I suggest you stop right here. The screws on the Mudman are very small (little buggers) and without the correct screwdrivers you stand the chance of badly stripping the heads. Also, I take *no* responsibility for you doing this at home and ruining your watch.

Getting started: This is entirely optional. I am going to remove the straps on my Mudman to make things a little easier. I’m also going to throw them into the boiling water to see if the straps get softer after boiling.

Once the straps have been removed it makes it a little easier to handle the main body of the watch.

The next step is to remove the four screws holding the back on. These are very small Phillips head screws so as I mentioned before make sure you have the right sized screwdriver to avoid burring the heads up. [Edit: It's been pointed out that I did *NOT* have to remove the caseback in order to get the bezel off. If you do not want to remove it, keep reading through until you get to the point where I remove the two tiny screws on the side of the bezel at the 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock positions.]

Remove all four screws carefully and put them somewhere safe. The back cover will not come off yet, there are two even smaller screws on either side-edge of the case that need to be taken out.

Remove the two tiny screws that are on opposite sides of the case body. These can be found at the 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock positions. Keep these two screw separate from the others as they are a different size.

Once the final two screws have been removed you can start dismantling the case. The first thing to do is to remove the back case cover. This should already be loose and will lift right off.

Next, lift off the metal case back. Be sure to keep the watch body in the upside down position as shown otherwise the module could easily fall out. Sounds obvious but trust me…

You should now be able to see the full internal workings of the watch. The module is slightly hidden by a soft rubber protective cover – there is no need to remove this.

Next up, removing the outer bezel from the internal workings. I found this to be more tricky than I had expected. Take your time and slowly pry open the outer bezel. I found that by opening up the bezel on the square button side and then quickly opening up the bezel on the opposite large button side I was able to slip the workings out from the bezel.

Once you get that first edge out the whole inner module should pop right out. Be very careful not to disturb the small spring sticking out of the back of the module at the top (11 o’clock position in the picture below).

Below is the shot that many Mudman owners, myself included, have been waiting to see. A “naked” Mudman! It’s funny, during this entire process I began to really appreciate the quality and craftsmanship (albeit it fully automated) of this watch. No blemishes or flaws even on the pieces you would never normally see.

Ok, so the Mudman is now full disassembled and ready for the real science experiment. Begin boiling the water…

As I mentioned earlier, I am going to boil both pieces of the strap at the same time as I boil the outer bezel. I’ve got the water up to a rolling boil and I’m ready to take the plunge. In they go…

I’ve heard varying times provided for doing this, so I opted for somewhere in the middle – 20 minutes ought to be long enough to discern a difference. What better way to time this than with my atomic, solar Mudman!

While I’m waiting I go back to take a closer look at the “naked” Mudman. It looks pretty cool with its clothes off, but it’s a little too vulnerable to be messing around with it. Interestingly I had it set to beep on the hourly intervals and one came and went while it was out of the case – there was no sound because that tiny little spring sticking out of the back of the module was not making contact with the metal case back.

Mudman soup! Hmm, with a little fresh Rosemary this would be pretty good. The pieces continue to boil without any further interference – no need to stir.

After the time is up, 20 minutes in my case, I take them out of the water and place them on a soft towel to dry off. Make sure you allow plenty of time for the pieces to dry completely, the last thing you want to do is to trap moisture inside the bezel. They should dry very quickly given that the water was boiling. Once they are dry, work backwards through the steps above to reassemble the Mudman. Be careful not to over-tighten the screws, you find they stop perfectly when they are fully tight.

Here is the boiled and reassembled Mudman. The burning questions is: "Are the buttons softer after boiling the bezel?" The answer: "You bet they are!" I’d guess that they are anywhere between 40 – 50% softer than before being boiled. I noticed that the strap was much softer too and incredibly comfortable, not that it was bad to start with.

I’d say this was a great success. I had my doubts but it looks like this really works – I feel just like the Mythbusters. I will definitely being doing this for my atomic solar Muddy.

Well I hope you find this useful and somewhat entertaining. I enjoyed doing this and can attest that the difference is so noticeable that you won’t regret taking the time to go through these steps.

Boiling a Casio G-Shock Mudman

2007-12-10T09:20:00.000-08:00

I have moved this post to my new G-Shock Modifications blog. You can read the full post with all of the images at the new separate blog site.

Cussler writes Doxa book foreword

2006-10-14T06:10:00.000-07:00

Okay so I promise this is the last posting about the Doxa book, well maybe for a while anyway.

I had some great news just the other day, Clive Cussler the man who has more to do with keeping the Doxa dive watch alive than the Doxa watch company themselves has agreed to write the foreword of the Doxa book!

We all know that Clive Cussler can write – duh – but to have him agree to be a part of a book that I have been so personally involved with and also someone who I have the utmost respect and admiration for is just out of this world. Now I have to get a newer version of the book that has his foreword in it – darn!

Doxa Book on eBay

2006-09-29T19:46:00.000-07:00

I’m not sure exactly what to make of this, but a pre-release copy of the Doxa book that I did the cover artwork for is being auctioned off on eBay!

The copy is similar to the one that I have in that it was not meant for public release, it was made available by the author only to people that had helped him create it.

There’s always someone who wants to make a quick buck. Shame the person selling it on eBay couldn’t spell the author’s name correctly.

Doxa book published

2006-03-01T19:15:00.000-08:00

I'm totally stoked. The Doxa book that I designed the cover for has gone into print, but right now it's in very limited numbers and available to only a few people who helped with the book. These two pictures were taken by the author, Dr. Peter Millar, using the copy that he just received, click on them to see a larger version. My copy is in transit right now and I can't wait to get it.

I was very surprised to see that not only will the book have my cover design, but my Doxa blueprint illustration is prominently displayed on a full page inside the book - how totally cool is that? The author has also sent me a signed letter of thanks that was sized so that it could be placed inside the front of the book to make my copy truly unique. It's been a great experience helping with this project and finally seeing my work in print is even more exciting than I had anticipated.

Book Cover Comission

2006-01-31T12:25:00.000-08:00

I have just finished the design of my first book cover, and it probably comes as no big surprise that it was for a book about one of my favorite subjects - watches. Better yet it was for a book about the Doxa dive watch called; "SUB 300T A History of the Doxa Dive Watch". I'm not 100% sure when the book is being published, but you can bet that I will be getting my hands on at least one copy as soon as it hits the shelves.

I created the cover design to help the author complete what has been a very long and arduous labor of love. He had developed a cover design himself but was not very happy with it and when I offered to help he was more than pleased to let me come up with something new. He had already seen several of my watch illustrations and I had helped edit one of the first finished drafts of the book, so we knew each other to some degree. It's pretty exciting and another small indication that my passion and involvement with watches is slowly leading to bigger and better things.

Illustration Update

2006-01-16T19:24:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick update on the progress of my Bathys watch illustration. I've now completed the second draft of the blueprint which includes much more detail than the first version. It shows the internal workings of the movement including; the date wheels, the main gears, movement casing, and the electronic components that give the quartz movement its power.

A lot of the detail could not be seen from the reference photos I was given, but for those who think that quartz movements have little or no mechanical parts I say look again!

New Watch

2006-01-13T19:26:00.000-08:00

I just received my new Bathys Hawaii 100 Fathoms dive watch in the mail. It's a beauty for sure. Massive big dial with very clear markings and great lume. The case has a beautifully brushed finished and has a smooth silver PVD (TiCN) 2-micron coating that creates an ultra hard 3600 Vickers (regular 316L steel tops out at 220 Vickers) scratch resistant layer. It looks simple but it has everything a serious dive-rated watch needs. Anti-reflection coated sapphire crystal, water resistant to 200M (110 Fathoms, 660 feet), and a screw down crown and case back.

Bathys watch illustration

2006-01-07T19:27:00.000-08:00

A while ago I was approached by the owner of Bathys Hawaii watches to create a blueprint illustration of his first model, the 100 Fathoms dive watch. It's taken me some time to get started and part of that was waiting for john to finalize the design, but I'm pleased to say that the first draft is now complete and I feel as though I'm making good progress.

The final illustration will show the mechanics of the swiss movement as part of the blueprint illustration that is ghosted through from the watch. There are also several small modifications that I need to make, but all in all the illustration is going well. It's going to be used quite prominently for the advertising of the watch which makes me very proud that John was trusting enough to ask me to take this on considering this is the first of his line-up of designs for his new company!

So far it's been a very exciting and exhilarating experience working with John and being part of the "behind the scenes" as his new company puts the final touches on the watch and launches it for sale.

Watch Design

2005-08-31T07:29:00.000-07:00

Wow! I was just contacted by someone who wanted to know if they could commission me to create a blueprint style illustration, like the ones I had done of my Omega Speedmaster Professional and my Doxa SUB, for their new lines of watches.

The person who contacted me owns a new watch company that is due to launch its professional dive watches next month and wanted to get a blueprint drawn up of their first release. How cool is that? I haven't seen the watch yet, but I am a huge fan of dive watches and can't wait to see what it looks like. Plus being asked to do the illustration for them so that they can create posters or use it in advertising is awesome - needless to say I'm excited.

Finally my love of watches is paying off. Well to be more accurate it's my design and illustration skills that are paying off, but the fact that it's watch related is a bonus. I'll keep you all posted on how it goes.