In this tutorial, I’m walking you through the hardest watch build I’ve ever attempted: a stainless steel Casio Royale (AE1200) with three mods stacked on top of each other. A custom logo on the dial, a half negative screen mod, and a full hydromod where the entire case gets filled with oil.
This build was a commission for a client who wanted something nobody else on their team would have, and it pushed every technique I’ve learned over the years to the limit. If you’ve ever wanted to try a hydromod yourself, or you’re just curious how these mods actually come together, this is the full process from start to finish.
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Links and resources mentioned
Tools and materials
- Casio Royale AE1200W
- Small Phillips screwdriver
- Tweezers
- Transparency film
- Scissors and craft knife
- Gel filters
- Polarizing film
Timestamps
- 0:00 — Intro and tools
- 0:51 — Strap and case-back removal
- 1:31 — Logo mod
- 2:06 — Taking apart the module
- 3:06 — Negative-screen mod
- 5:25 — Hydromod
- 7:55 — Final reveal
#casio #watchmod #customwatch #diy #watchcollector #retrowatch #tutorial
Transcript
Intro & Tools
0:00 · Today, I’m going to walk you through what it takes to modify the stainless steel Casio and turn [music] it into something that looks like this.
0:06 · So, let’s get into it. First, we’re going to need some tools. So, we’re going to need a screwdriver, a fine pair of tweezers. We’re going to need a scalpel. That’s going to help us cut the polarizing filter. And we’re going to need a bunch of other things. So, this is a spring bar tool. It’ll allow us to take the strap off of it. I’ve linked all of the tools below. So, if you are wanting to pick up anything, feel free to go to the description.
0:31 · There’s also a few more general tools.
0:32 · This is a 3D printed pry bar that I use to get the polarizing film off. You can use double-sided tape for the logo. You can also pressure fit that. I just find it works better. And then we’re going to be doing a hydromod at the end. So, there’s some oil that we’re going to use. And then finally, you just need a dish that’s deep enough to hold the watch and and contain the oil.
0:49 · So, let’s hop into it. The first thing that we’re going to want to do is take off the band. This just allows us easier access to the module. It allows us to take off the case back a lot easier. So, for the stainless steel case, there’s a little hole that you have to get the spring bar tool in. And I find this is one of the harder straps to take off in the Casio Royale series. Once you’ve got the strap off, you can take the case back off by undoing the screws. It doesn’t matter when you’re undoing it which order. I like to do it in X pattern because that’s the best way to put it on.
Strap Removal & Case back Removal
1:20 · Then you’re going to take off that gasket, that little rubber thing, and pull out the module. You can use your tweezers. You can pull it out. Or you can just use your fingers.
1:29 · We’re going to take out the bezel.
Logo Mod
1:31 · That’s what you’re seeing here. And we’re going to put tape around the edges. And this is going to hold on the logo that I’m kind of placing behind it.
1:39 · In this case, I printed the logo on like transparency film. I’ve linked that in the comments below as well. And so, you can go out and buy it. You can print it on kind of the highest settings that your that your printer can do.
1:52 · Take your time and line up the logo. It I find it really is like if you the more time you take, the easier it is going forward.
2:01 · Once you’ve got it all lined up, you’re just going to kind of press firmly and make sure that the tape really holds it.
Taking Apart the Module
2:06 · Next up, we’re going to be taking apart the module.
2:10 · In this case, there’s a number of clips that you go around it. So, just take like a flathead screwdriver, take your tweezers, and you’re just going to pry the clips up and going around the module until that back part separates.
2:25 · As you’re pulling apart the module, just be really careful. There’s a little piezo spring on the top. And if it drops, you can see me picking it up here.
2:33 · If you lose that, you just won’t get any beeps or any noises from the Casio anymore. So, just make sure when you separate it apart that you’re taking that and putting it in a safe spot for later on.
2:44 · Next up, we’re going to take the PCB off. So, that’s that green part. That’s what actually runs the watch. There’s two little clips on either side. And behind that, you’ll see the screen.
2:56 · You’ll see a light spreader.
2:58 · To take the LCD off, we’re just going to like use our thumbnail to unclip it there. And here you can see the light spreader. And just make sure that you’re putting stuff back in the same spot so that you know what to do.
Negative Screen Mod
3:10 · Here, we’re going to be taking off the polarizing film. So, the first layer of the LCD is what’s called a polarizing film. It’s what shows or allows the text to come through. So, you’re going to do a really shallow cut just trying to take that top layer off. You have to go a little firmer than you would expect, but you want to make sure that you’re not going deeper. Once you get an edge up, you can either continue to use a knife or I’ve using this pry tool I’m using this pry tool that I 3D printed. And you just want to get like your finger in it and be able to kind of pry it off.
3:41 · This is the part that takes way more pressure than you would ever expect. You think you’re going to break it, but I promise you you’re not. So, go slowly with the knife. And then here, you can use much more pressure than you would expect.
3:56 · Once you’ve got that film off, there’s going to be some glue and adhesive. So, you’re going to take isopropyl alcohol and just clean it off.
4:04 · Next up, you’re going to cut your polar new polarizing film to size. And you want to orient it in a way that it turns it dark like this. And then you’re just going to use a pry tool or your fingers to kind of press out all of those air bubbles going from one corner to another to make sure that it’s perfect. Next up, we’re putting the module back together just to take some measurements. These things are the connectors from the PCB to LCD. There’s two different sizes, so just make sure you’re putting the right one in the right size. We’re going to put the PCB back on. We’re going to put the battery back back on.
4:32 · And this is just going to allow us to take some measurements to know where to do the half screen mod. So, I want the top half of this watch to be the normal kind of white background black text. And I want the back or the bottom to be that negative screen mod. Here I’m resetting the module so that it it turns back on.
4:53 · That’s called an AC reset.
4:55 · You can see that I’ve kind of mapped out where the screen is. And this is just going to allow me to cut along those lines so that I can put the regular polarizing film back on.
5:07 · Later on in the watch, you’ll see I actually didn’t do that top section. It just became way too much. And so, I only did the bottom and the top half as the negative and positive screen mods.
5:19 · Here I’m putting on the regular polarizing filter. I’m squeezing out all of the air bubbles again making sure that everything is lined up.
Hydro Mod
5:26 · Next up, we’re going to be doing a hydromod. The reason to do a hydromod is kind of twofold. The first, the main one for most people is for visibility. The negative screen mod can sometimes be a little hard to read. So, a hydromod helps with that. The other is improving the waterproofness of a watch. The oil allows it to be more kind of water resistant so you can dive to deeper depths.
5:50 · To do this, you’re going to be pouring oil in. And the biggest thing you want to make sure is getting all of those air bubbles out. So, you’re going to see like kind of tilting the watch, making sure to get everything out. When you first put the bezel in, there there’s actually an air bubble at the bottom of it that’s trapped between the logo. So, I’m trying to like get that out by tilting it and pressing it, making sure that the oil kind of seeps into all of the parts. This is by far the messiest part of any mod I’ve ever done.
6:19 · You want to fill it right to the top.
6:20 · And as you put the module back in, the oil is going to spill over. And that’s how you make sure that you have no air bubbles at all. So, here I’m pushing down all of the buttons, making sure that everything works, making sure that the module is seated at properly.
6:38 · Once you’ve got the module seated properly, you’re going to want to top it up with oil. So, at this point, we’re going to fully submerge the module so that we make sure that everything all of the air bubbles are out.
6:50 · As it Once it’s fully submerged, you’re going to just press down on the module.
6:54 · There’s going to be little bits of air trapped within it. So, here you can see some of the little bubbles coming out.
7:00 · And this is really just to ensure that there’s no air bubbles at all left in the final product. Cuz what happens is over time, you will eventually see them if you don’t do these steps.
7:10 · We’re going to start reassembling the watch. So, we’re going to put that gasket back on. This is a lot more finicky under oil. It moves a lot slower. And again, you’re trying to get it so there’s no air bubbles trapped. So, you can see that there’s that recess in the case back. You’re just trying to make sure that you have enough oil in it so that you can kind of let all of those bubbles escape.
7:31 · Once you’ve got all of the air out, we’re going to put the case back back on. So, we’ll put the screws in. Again, super finicky because it’s kind of under oil. But as we’re putting the screws back on, this is where we really want to make sure that we’re doing it in an X pattern. And that makes sure that we’re not pinching the gasket. It makes sure that we’re putting the case back on kind of evenly throughout the process. So, once you put all of the screws back on, you can look at kind of the first view of what you’ve done. And you’re going to clean it off. Make sure that you get all of that oil off.
Final Reveal
8:01 · This is where you can use some soap. So, you can actually wash it with water hot water and soap to get all of the the oil off of it. And then we’re going to start reassembling. So, we’re going to put our case and we’re going to put our strap back on kind of in the same way that you took it off. So, you just get your case back to your spring back tool in and kind of pry the spring bar down.
8:23 · And that’s it. That’s how you do a hydromod. That’s how you do a logo. And that’s how you do a negative screen mod.
8:29 · Thanks for watching.