White Ceramic Series 7/8/9 modification

[mikedis]

While browsing Xianyu, as an American who knows no Chinese does, I found a listing for an Apple Watch modification service. They'll take your Series 7/8/9 and slap it into a White Ceramic shell from the Series 5. I wouldn't initially think this is possible, with the different watches being 4 generations apart, however from the photos it seems to not only be possible but done very well.

Anyone ever seen something like this done on our side of the pacific?

 

[mikedis]

I do remember a YouTube channel for an Apple Watch repair shop did an all clear Series 4(?) modification which rocked. They used a mold to create a new shell out of resin, then just swapped the parts over. I wonder if this would be easier to do with a resin 3D printer and a good CAD model of a Series 7/8/9 body?

 

[jz0309]

While browsing Xianyu, as an American who knows no Chinese does, I found a listing for an Apple Watch modification service. They'll take your Series 7/8/9 and slap it into a White Ceramic shell from the Series 5. I wouldn't initially think this is possible, with the different watches being 4 generations apart, however from the photos it seems to not only be possible but done very well.

Anyone ever seen something like this done on our side of the pacific?

you believe images found on some Chinese website? 7/8/9 have different screen size compared to 5 for one, don't know whether battery size is the same, plus, where do those ceramic shells come from?
and remember, you can buy a $10 Rolex in China too ...
personally, I wouldn't trust this one bit

 

[OrenLindsey]

You can get anodization for Apple Watches on eBay

 

[mikedis]

you believe images found on some Chinese website? 7/8/9 have different screen size compared to 5 for one, don't know whether battery size is the same, plus, where do those ceramic shells come from?
and remember, you can buy a $10 Rolex in China too ...
personally, I wouldn't trust this one bit

Chinese does not inherently mean fake. Physically, the watches are an extremely similar size, close enough where I think it would be possible. You can see on the 4th photo that the speaker holes have been milled to create one continuous speaker hole, just like the Series 7 has. As for the difference in screen sizes, you can tell in the photos that the glass isn't seated into the body fully, but to be fair all ceramic watches also had this lip.

I think it's done legitimately, and done very well I might add, albeit not to OEM quality. Still a very cool concept and I'd love to have one.

 

[PegasusTenma]

I always wanted to have the guts of an SE (for example) and put it inside the body of my Stainless Steel series 0

 

[perezr10]

While browsing Xianyu, as an American who knows no Chinese does, I found a listing for an Apple Watch modification service. They'll take your Series 7/8/9 and slap it into a White Ceramic shell from the Series 5. I wouldn't initially think this is possible, with the different watches being 4 generations apart, however from the photos it seems to not only be possible but done very well.

Anyone ever seen something like this done on our side of the pacific?

Holy crap! That’s amazing! I’d love a white ceramic series 9!

 

[mikedis]

Turns out one of my friends from China actually knows a guy who does this, modding custom ceramic watches. I'm getting more and more tempted to grab one.

 

[jz0309]

Turns out one of my friends from China actually knows a guy who does this, modding custom ceramic watches. I'm getting more and more tempted to grab one.

how much are they asking?

 

[mikedis]

how much are they asking?

The Xianyu listing was I believe about $500 usd, and you had to provide the old watch. Not really feasible to do outside of China as shipping can quickly add up, but I’m going to ask about it all more tomorrow.

 

[Floaaa]

Hey, very interesting! Do you have any updates? I have a SS S7, but i am tempted to buy an Ceramic S5… This custom one would be the best of both…

 

[mikedis]

Hey, very interesting! Do you have any updates? I have a SS S7, but i am tempted to buy an Ceramic S5… This custom one would be the best of both…

I'm waiting for someone in the modification game to finish a project so i can ask about them. The Series 5 ceramic shell is CNC machined to retrofit Series 7 internals, so it's all an OEM finish. Really cool. Also really expensive.