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NSD ready for action! I gotta say the sharp bezel is going to eat my shirt cuffs on the inside.

Ostrich on the new Daytona:

“Conan, why do you build Daytona frankens with Valjoux 72 movements?” “To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women. But mostly so you can use a genuine dial.” I’m loath to call any watch a "Grail". One of my pet peeves is how the term gets thrown around to describe any flavor of the month or passing fancy. A Grail, per the late Chuck Maddox, is supposed to be the goal at the end of a quest both long and difficult. In Chuck's case, it was a Speedmaster Automatic with a Lemania 5100. In my universe of reps and frankens, I think this build qualifies (at least, until I can figure out how to assemble a CK2915 Speedy out of spare parts). So here, then, is my Grail Daytona. I still don't like the way that sounds. I've had my share of vintage Daytona reps over the years, but my first love was the 6263 with the standard silver dial, featuring "Daytona" in red script. In other words, "Big Red". In my early days on RWG, I was inspired by the Daytonas of guys like like Freddy, avitt, Eunomians, and several others. But the one post that I remember most clearly -and is actuallys till bookmarked- is vlaletom's comprehensively photographed DW 6263 with Roamer Stingray movement. It was a beautiful build, and it staggered me to consider the effort needed to gather those parts and put the thing together. The dial was a wonderfully detailed, aftermarket Big Red--the best dial that DW ever produced, in my opinion. The panda 6263 was the configuration I chose when I placed my first order with DW in 2009. Unfortunately, the dial I got was a bit on the crap side, and it was replaced after a few months by a Daytona-less ROC. That first 6263 was joined by a DW 6239/7750 the following year. Then in 2011, I finally joined the V72 club with my FAP 6239. But it was always my plan to return to the 6263--with a vengeance! More recent inspirations include ubiquitous's pristine 6265 with service dial, and wiesn089's 6265 with an original black Sigma dial. I had the opportunity to buy both of these watches and save a bit of cash, but, well... Putting one together is just too much fun, isn't it? As nice as DW's old "Big Red" was, I resolved to snag a genuine dial if one showed up at a reasonable price. I'm not sure what was the exact catalyst for this build. It may have been the 571 endlinks that I got for a great price at the start of the year. (I'm serious: A pair of endlinks might have started this.) I also had a couple of 6263/V72 cases from DW's "Retirement Sale"--right before my dealings with him turned sour. Then in February, I started talking to vlydog about possible movements for his 6263 build, and I think that's when I seriously thought about getting on with my own project. I braced my wallet for future financial shocks, and begin my search for a movement. Movement My first candidate was a Valjoux 72 from a Gallet. As it turned out, I couldn't bring myself to tear apart such a handsome watch, so its movement stayed where it was. Good thing I had spotted a Valjoux 726 less than 24 hours after winning the Gallet. Better still, the 726 was inside a frankly hideous Jules Jurgensen from the late 1970s. The Valjoux 726, for those that don't know, is one of the final evolutions of the Valjoux 72: 21600bph instead of the older movement's 18000bph, and it served as the base movement for the Rolex 727. Perfect for a 6263. Those are brown subdials in a gold dial, ringed with a huge fluted bezel that made the watch look like a metal sunflower. (Gut it! Gut it!) Here's the relocated V726. On the right, note the phony service marks, courtesy of Phong: Big thanks to alligoat for helping me secure this donor watch on short notice. Case The original plan was to start with a final-generation DW 6263 case, and have it extensively modified. However, valty's case comparison weighed heavily on my mind--particularly the thinness of the Phong case versus the DW. The thick midsection was something I noticed when I had placed my old DW 6263 next to a genuine. Was the improvement over DW worth the 400-500% increase in price? Honestly, no, but rationality doesn't figure into most of this build. This was the first time I had ordered anything from Phong, so I should note that he was very easy to deal with. He also gave me a choice: Did I want an unblemished, new-look 6263 case, or one that had undergone the "vintage" treatment? I didn't know precisely what he meant by that so I asked for pictures. He sent me a series of comparison shots, and I was intrigued. I went for vintage. On the left is "vintage" Phong; on the right is a never-used DW 6263 case. Note the reflections. Not only were the sharp edges dulled, but the polished surfaces of the steel had taken on a cloudy sheen. It wasn't a satin finish; you could still see your own reflection, albeit through a soft-focus lens. The metal didn't appear to be scuffed-up, but looked naturally worn: Now let's take a closer look at the surface of the "vintage" case: Interesting… Is it an effect caused by chemicals, or several layers of of scuff/polish? It's a very nice case, though not quite a spitting image of the gen. As on the DW, it would be nice if the crown protruded less, and was more tightly tucked beneath the bezel lip. It would be nice if the upper portion of the pusher cutouts intersected with the upper edge of the lugs. And it would also be nice if the lugholes were positioned more accurately, eliminating the need to modify the 571 endlinks for a proper fit. I'm also sure that the shape of the genuine lugs is composed of more compound curves. However, all of these would only be noticed in a direct side-by-side, and maybe only in macro shots. Move your eyes back a few inches and this Phong case is very convincing. Note the serial number. Not only is this a faux-birth-year watch for me, but the last six digits make it a birthday watch, too. I stole that idea from ubiquitous! Dial & Hands This was the big one. I had managed to find an old DW dial for the Valjoux 72 from another member. It looked terrific--far better than any DW dial I'd previously owned, but I only ever planned to use it in a worst-case scenario. Soon after, a service dial showed up on eBay. Unfortunately, I lost the bidding war to our very own vlydog (but we're still on good terms!), and had to look again. Eventually, I was able to find a genuine service dial (stamped "Singer") from a seller in Italy. It was a huge relief when I finally opened that small, plastic box containing the dial. That was three weeks ago, in upstate New York. It's a beautiful dial, and it's great not having to worry about how well or how poorly the smallest detail has been replicated. I can spot a bit of wear on the areas immediately surrounding the subdials, but otherwise the condition is excellent. Everything is wonderfully crisp, and the base color takes on a coppery hue when viewed under certain lights and at acute angles. Unfortunately, I missed out on a genuine handset. Instead, I used DW hands for everything except the chronograph sweep, which came from Phong. Bezel I recently reviewed three 6263 bezels, which you can read about here. I thought the New York bezel was the best of the bunch, and close enough in appearance to a genuine hoop. Gen bezel prices have exploded in the past year, and it's become difficult for me to justify the cost versus the marginal improvement in accuracy. And I didn't want to ruin the overall look of this watch by buying a cheaper-but-damaged bezel. Incidentally, the crystal is a genuine Tropic 21. Crown & Pushers I briefly considered genuine Mk 1 pushers and reconfiguring the watch as an early-70s 6263, but decided to minimize costs and headches. Besides, I can’t tell the difference between Ofrei pushers and the later gen units, so I ordered from Otto. The crown is an early 703 with the tall coronet. It came to me courtesy of vlydog, a most hospitable gentleman. On the right photo, note the shallow cutouts for the pushers. This is another flaw of the Phong case, as the gen has more pronounced indentations. DW replicated those details more accurately. Bracelet & Endlinks As I mentioned above, I was able to snag a pair of 571s for a great price. Unfortunately, it took a lot of trimming and reshaping by my watchsmith to get them to fit the Phong case properly. They were so changed, in fact, that I wondered whether I should have used and modified the 557s that came with the bracelet, and sold the 571s for a quick gain on VRM. Well, what’s done is done, and at least I get to see those '571' stampings from behind. wiesn089 helped me find and verify a genuine 78350 that was legitimate, in good condition, and priced well. If you haven’t read it yet, his comparison of a gen bracelet versus aftermarket 78350s is an invaluable resource. The springbars are from Ofrei. Alternatively, I still love a Daytona on Tropic rubber: I’m still not sure about calling this 6263 a Grail. I’ve had longer projects (like my Omega Seamaster 300 and Tudor 7032 V2), and this build went more smoothly and swiftly than others. But this is definitely the most expensive frankensteiner I’ve ever put together, and I have wanted a Big Red since 2009. So… Grail. Sure. But don’t mistake my indifference to the term with my feelings toward Big Red. I absolutely love it. So kiss a little longer, stay close a little longer Hold tight a little longer, longer with Big Red! That Big Red freshness lasts right through it Your fresh breath goes on and on, while you chew it! Say goodbye a little longer, make it last a little longer Give your breath long-lasting freshness, with Big Red!!!

yea, you can go a few routes. these are pretty good for the money. http://www.ebay.com/itm/200645015744?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D200645015744%26_rdc%3D1 these are better quality, but they are considerably more. http://www.ebay.com/sch/Watches-/14324/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=staib

Moon....Hammy.....get it?

Sunset light hits 5512 on a lazy evening.

Well at-least i got my 1st thread with *hot* next to it

That was kind of you. I was on a date and in my youthful arrogance was wearing a terrible rep chronograph. She called me out on it, due to the subdials not functioning and the big second hand sweeping. Needless to say the evening did not go well.

I saw reps on 2 guys at work. Both were Daytonas. Biggest tell was the needles on the sub dials are all pointed in different directions (static) and the large seconds hand was moving. After a few minutes, the subdial hands are still in the same location. I did not call them out as I did not want to embarrass them.

Do yourself a favor and just get both