[F]#TBT Customize the legendary Czech Prim Sports Diver

Imagine taking a 500 euro watch to the Artisans de Genève workshop and having them create something truly unique. That’s exactly what happened with a well-worn and forgotten Prim Sport timepiece I received as a Christmas gift in 2019 from beloved watchmaker Tomas Sinal.

You’ve read a lot about Tomas Sinal over the last six years that I’ve been keeping the #TBT torch burning. My watchmaker and now good friend, he is one of the most curious people, patient and understanding of my inquisitiveness. On many occasions, I have brought him watches with movements, complications that most watchmakers would never touch, or in a broken state. He often had to take a deep breath, but he never let me down and went to the impossible to save some of my watches. Thank you, Tomas.

Czech legend

Thomas knows how much I like unusual watches, so he decided to surprise me. It was already six years ago that he embarked on the challenging mission of creating a special version of the Prim sports watch, a legendary Czech diver’s watch from the 1970s that is not so well known among collectors. This watch is a product of the Prim manufacturer that made Czechoslovakia the eighth largest watch-producing country in the world in 1949.

The birth of an idea

In early 2019, I stormed into Thomas’ workshop and dropped off a strange Timex Heinz on his workbench. Yes, this is the watch that joined Ed Sheeran’s watch collection after being featured on #TBT. Well, I guess the only thing he doesn’t have there is a Prim Sport with a Phantom Seconds Disc and a cartoon of himself.

When Thomas was thinking of a gift for me, a Timex Heinz came to mind. The idea was born when he came across the remains of an abandoned Prim Sport in a parts stock. The movement is all original, but the plexi crystal, hands and dial are fake, as is the transparent disc with the text.

The hard part

It was a real challenge to fit the transparent disc under the crystal so that it could rotate without friction. The disc needed to be heated to give it a specific shape. This was done by guesswork, so it took a whole day to prepare the disc and countless trial and error attempts. Once complete, the second real challenge was finding the exact center of the disc. Although the movement was all original, Thomas had to make a new tube on a lathe to glue the disc to.

Primm Sports’ change of direction

I turned my newly customized Prim Sport watch over and another surprise awaited me. I hate the term “exhibition caseback” but it fits perfectly here. Prim Sport is nothing less than a working watch to me. Even though the movement is very simple, it is a wonderful experience to see it through the sapphire crystal. What makes it even more special is that it is engraved with not only Prim but also my name. Yes, my name is engraved on the movement of the watch. It’s very touching. Thank you.

The beauty of the dial

I never got bored of the dial, and not just because of the character of the dial itself. I like the pale white Prim Sport dial because it’s unusual in itself. But what I love most about it are the big, bold luminous indices. This may be the best photo I’ve ever taken that shows the plasticity of a lume application. There’s no framing to hold it in place. Thomas’ application is phenomenal, from the statuesque feel the indices give to the precision of the contours of each black index. Hats off to Thomas’ lume, its aged tones, and the application method.

Final thoughts on Prim Sport

At the time of its production, the Prim Sport could easily compete with the best diver’s watches available. The fact that the first Czechoslovakian swimmer to cross the English Channel (known as La Manche in France) wore a Prim Sport on his wrist is a testament to its quality. I’m not sure if my watchmaker will create another unique watch with a cartoon version of you on it, but if you want to add one watch from the Czech brand Prim to your collection, it should be the first generation Prim Sport.