When all parts are interchangeable: Royce aka Sandoz 7733

An ex Royce.....

Rolls Royce Phantom... Sadly it is non related to this post in anyway at all!

I can't afford the car, but I can barely, just barely afford the watch. This watch is a reincarnation of the Royce Chronograph from the 1960's era. It came from an Europe ebay seller.

The watch stainless steel case is in descent condition with minor scratches. There is a rotating bezel with 12 hours indicator. The dome shaped acrylic crystal gives a tell-tale sign of the age of this watch. The lugs are none visible and this watch is fitted with a leather strap. 

The original Royce dial has shown signed of decay. I can't find a replacement Royce dial and it is very expensive to restore or repaint the dial. However, I do have a few of this Sandoz 7733 dial and is easily interchangeable. Although is a simple swap, it is not without problems. 

One major problem is the subdial hands are black in colour. On blue dial, these are very difficult to see....... Both the Sandoz and the original Royce dial have tachymeter scale. 

The silver sword minute and hour hands look classically gorgeous. The chronograph sweeping hand has a small round tip on non-pointer end and a big lumed dot near the pointer end. 

The original crown is huge and handful, making winding the watch effortless. The chronograph buttons also very easy to operate.....

The stainless steel caseback is screw in type. Beneath it is the ever beautiful classic of all time, the Valjoux 7733 movement.

The Valjoux 7733 movement is a classic found in many famous name and expensive Chronograph Watches from the 1960's and 1970's. It is a hand winding 17 jewels mechanical chronograph with a frequency of 18,000 A/h and a power reserve of approximately 45 hours.

I doubt anyone would know how many brands of Valjoux 7733 existed and to collect all variants really need determination and very very very deep pocket and luck....... If one day I can find a descent condition Royce dial, I definitely want to restore this watch back to its original. 

My previous posts on Valjoux 7733:

1) Modified 7733 
2) Rotary 7733
3) My Chronographs 7733
4) Yema Meangraf 
5) Mervos 7733