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Showing content with the highest reputation on 01/31/2023 in all areas

  1. Update -- The Golden Cuckoo is now fitted with gen hands, balance/bridge, reversers & various screws to replace those that were either damaged or of poor quality. Although I had planned to swap the coronet for a gen, once I had the dial off & compared the clone to the gen -- & you are not going to believe this -- but the coronet on the clone dial is a clone of the gen 116508-0009 in the 2020-2021 Rolex catalog, page 141 if you have 1. Had I swapped the coronet, it would not match the catalog, so it had to stay. Some of the details, like the coronet on this particular model, seem to be unique to the 116508-0009. Another of these unique attributes are the 3 subdial hands, which are not only GLOSS black, but the paint is applied to the entire hand & is so THICK that it forms a cone around the center rivet. It is quite a distinctive look & something I have never seen before on a Rolex, especially when the light is reflected on an angle from the center of the hands. This is the only Daytona model I have seen that is painted this way (the subdial hands on all other Daytonas are painted with flat paint &/or have bare center rivet sections). Really, the only remaining tell -- & you have to know about it in the 1st place -- is the lack of an 'intense black' dial color. The 'intense black' of the gen is achieved much like many high-end black car finishes, which are often composed of a combination of deep purple & blue applied as a fine mist so it appears nearly matte from a distance. The clone is more of a semi-flat black, which, from an arm's length, looks like the gen. But this is the only detail that is missing as you view the dial close-up or through a loupe. If the case was solid 18kt, I would probably finish her off with a gen dial. But because gold plating is never permanent, I decided to draw the line there. Unfortunately, once again, because the clone's original parts are so good, the external gen parts swaps are subtle, so it may be difficult to see the improvements. But, like the gen, the macro viewer is well rewarded for their close attention with a stunningly beautiful handset. Also, because the watch sits about 3/4 mm lower on the wrist with the solid caseback, I may not fit this 1 with a display caseback. 3/4 mm may seem like a tiny difference, but it is quite noticeable when the watch is on the wrist. Still deciding -- gen auto-wind bridge & crown. The clone parts are so good (greatly exceeding Trustytime's pics of those parts on his website) that I am still ambivalent as to whether they are needed. So these are to be determined. This watch is incredibly beautiful. The more I look at her (yes, she's so striking that she's a she -- &, yes, I know what a she is when I see 1), the more I fall under her spell. How John Mayer could make a fuss over a mundane gold & green Daytona & miss this 1 entirely is beyond me. They are not even in the same galaxy & I say that as someone who -- up until now -- thought (most) yellow gold watches look needlessly ostentatious & silly.
    1 point
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