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Egiziano Bambino

Posted: August 17th, 2023, 9:00 pm
by Hypnogagia
Not too long ago Baltany made a short run of bronze 43mm Egiziano homages. Received mine today and it’s a pretty good little watch. Good construction, nicely finished and keeps time well. On par with other micros like Steeldive and San Martin.

The case is CUSN8 bronze, 43mm, 14mm thick, 20mm lugs, thick and quite nice sapphire crystal, excellent lume and the movement seems pretty well regulated. The crown has a spring loaded tube, but only one gasket, the crown guard and lever are well made and nice and solid feeling, not wobbly at all. Overall well worth the price.

It’s a shame I had to tear its face off and rip its guts out. :evil:

The movement and dial will go to good use on another build, this one is going to be a fun project. My first big decision is what movement to use:

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A Vulcain signed Valjoux 7739- pretty much a base model of the 773X series. it has none of the Chrono functions, just central hour and minutes BUT also the seconds are at 9. Perfectly spaced so that it would look exactly like a regular Egiziano that was hit by a shrink ray.

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The second option is a rare and elusive Universal Geneve signed, finished and adjusted Felsa 745. This one only has central hours and minutes, but it’s an eight day movement.

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The 8 day is small enough that it could fit into any case (29mm), so I’m tempted to use it another project. A 38mm Nivada Depthmaster style case could be cool for a mini 8 day homage. Haven’t been able to source one for a reasonable price though.

What do you guys think?

I need to a full service on both movements, but both run reasonably well at the moment. After that I’ll draw up some dial designs, I’m pretty jazzed about this build!

Re: Egiziano Bambino

Posted: August 18th, 2023, 1:08 am
by Hidden Impact
If you’re going to do a movement swap and have both of these, to me it’s a no brainer.

8-day all the way baby!

8 Giorni Brevettato should also be on that dial, bro!

Can’t wait to see the results.


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Re: Egiziano Bambino

Posted: August 18th, 2023, 3:23 am
by daevildog
7739...think having second at 9 is essential.

Re: Egiziano Bambino

Posted: August 18th, 2023, 4:14 am
by Denis
Do as your heart tells you:) UG is a very dear factory to me, but in this case I would rather choose 7739..

Re: Egiziano Bambino

Posted: August 18th, 2023, 6:12 pm
by Hypnogagia
I hope mine turns out as cool looking as yours did @Hidden Impact. You were right about the quality of this case, I’ll be keeping Baltany on my radar for future builds. It’s a bummer they didn’t make more of these, I’d build one with each movement if I could fit it in the budget.

I did a test fit with both movements, looks like either one will match the stem height with +/- .5mm or so on the dial thickness. The 8 day is a little taller, but given that the movement is small, the dial can be slightly inside the rehaut.

Hmmm… maybe I’ll get two dials done, build both and then if it turns out well enough that I can’t decide get a second Baltany if there are any still available.

Re: Egiziano Bambino

Posted: August 19th, 2023, 4:37 am
by Fizzzz
Exiting project(s) !
Which hands will fit these movements?

Re: Egiziano Bambino

Posted: August 19th, 2023, 1:04 pm
by big eebee
Buy another one
Do both

Re: Egiziano Bambino

Posted: August 19th, 2023, 5:43 pm
by Hypnogagia
Fizzzz wrote: August 19th, 2023, 4:37 am Exiting project(s) !
Which hands will fit these movements?
I think most hands that fit the Valjoux 77XX series will work on the 7739, I need to measure the Felsa/Universal.

Gold, bronze, blued? Another tough choice. I’m also thinking about a sand/cream color dial.

Re: Egiziano Bambino

Posted: August 20th, 2023, 3:00 pm
by Mellons
big eebee wrote: August 19th, 2023, 1:04 pm Buy another one
Do both
+1

Re: Egiziano Bambino

Posted: August 20th, 2023, 11:45 pm
by Hypnogagia
I could make this one with the 7739 and then make a base 8 day model like a 610 or 560. Does anyone make a Due 38mm case? Or something that looks like a mini Radiomir?