Leaderboard

Rest in peace Bob. Calmness, wisdom and wits. David, remarkable men like your father are very rare. I wish I could write more, but this has affected me more than I thought. Now I know why you never sent me that picture to show how you 6536 looked with the replacement insert I sent you. Hope you got to enjoy it though, even if just for a day. And that beautiful Panerai 6154 with desert/tan dial I built you 7 years ago.. that one I know you loved.

Alligoat summed the DW story up well. However, it is worth noting that 1 of the main selling points of DW's Daytonas was that both his 7750 & V72 cases had the correct offset pusher spacing (ie, the top pusher was closer to the crown than the bottom pusher), which correctly replicated the gen 62xx Daytonas. So, from the outside, regardless of which caliber resided inside the case, the offset pushers made the watch appear to be V72-powered like the gens (which were all powered by Rolex-modified Valjoux 72s). His cases were also fairly accurate in their overall dimensions, especially their thickness, which was another of the details that made DW cases legendary & set them apart from other premium aftermarket part suppliers. From an arm's length -- my benchmark for general credibility -- fitted with a credible-looking dial/handset & bracelet/strap, it was very difficult to ID a DW cased 62xx Daytona as anything but a gen. Goldie, my yellow 6239 Newman (which arrived with a 6241 Perspex-style bezel that I later changed to the 6239 gold-style you see below), was a sample DW made for me as a test to see how accurate the factory could make it & to see if there was sufficient interest for him to go into production. Unfortunately, the cost to manufacture the gold cases proved to be too high to make them marketable in the rep world. &, like all gold-plated steel cases, once they get scratched & reveal the underlying white metal, they become an expensive boat anchor -- unless you want to disassemble the watch & have it replated on your own. Of course, today, where gen Newmans often reach the $1M mark in auctions & good, V72-powered Newman frankens can sometimes bring upwards of $10k, these cases would make much more sense. But, sadly, I lost track of DW several years ago & he seems to have vanished from the scene.