lhooq

I agree with C. I think it looks good, but start with the hands and the lume dots. They've got to get a whole lot yellower and dirtier.

Rolexaddict: It is a 300UPH bezel, but I should have mentioned that I needed to trim the inside of the bezel so that a Tropic 21 could fit. However, I remember reading that freddy333 did not need to modify the bezel on his DW 6239/V72; a genuine crystal fit perfectly.

red: Any watch that's lumed like your Stola demands attention. It's very Miami Beach. (That's a compliment!) Yeah, but they're all WORTHLESS FAKES!

Jimmy: I'm very sure that DW sells a Newman 6239 dial i.e. "ROLEX COSMOGRAPH" without the "OYSTER". Whether he has one in stock right now is another matter. He may have sent you that ROC dial because it was close enough, and you did give the OK to the preview picture. DW's always been an honest dealer to me, but you do have to be very specific when you order and know exactly what you want. Nice enough guy, but definitely not a hand-holder. You may believe otherwise right now, but I think that DW's exotic dials are some of the better ones on the aftermarket. Anyone who thinks it's "very bad" obviously hasn't seen most of the rep PNs out there. (Or he's just spoiled by $1800 dials.) I can think of one really nice one that sells for ~$150 out of Indonesia, but it's not currently listed on eBay. I'll see if I can find a picture. Don't be a sour-taster! As a newbie, you're very lucky to start out with one of DW's Daytonas, as they are the most accurate and undisputed best vintage Daytonas you can buy for less than $1000-1500. Seriously, that's the minimum you would have to pay for a better replica.

I honestly don't understand all the excitement over the new Explorer II. Other than the retro orange hand that drives people wild, it's a pretty timid evolution from the current model. After initially recoiling from it, I'm starting to think the black/RG ceramic Daytona will grow on me. I'd like to see it under ordinary lighting conditions. I've always found the YM2 to be a bit of a dog's breakfast, so I'll pass on this update!

Seeing redwatch's eye-catching Stolas Harbormaster got me thinking: How many "-master"s are there in the watch world? Do the people who name these pieces have no imagination? Let's start with the easy ones: Seamaster Speedmaster Railmaster GMT Master Yacht-Master I can think of at least another dozen. Keep it going!

Jimmy, a few quick points: 6239: Steel bezel, pump pushers. 6241: Black bezel, pump pushers. 6263: Black bezel, screwdown pushers. 6265: Steel bezel, screwdown pushers. There are a bunch of other manual Daytona reference numbers, but those are the big four. 6239/6241 are considered 'true' Paul Newmans by some, while many of the exotic dial 6263/6265s are considered suspect. It sounds like you bought a DW 6263 'Paul Newman'. If so, your dial is correct as 'OYSTER' indicates screwdown pushers. But it may be a 'correct' replica of an incorrect watch. Er... If you really want to be confused, search VRF for the great 'Kamal vs. Mayer' debates. You'll also start to understand what all this Texas dial talk is about. (Hint: It doesn't mean an extra-thick dial!)

Another amazing build, sly. A real beauty!

I've got a 7750-powered 6239, and I love it--except for the tumah beneath the crown. Yes, I know the later '39s were shaped differently from the earlier run, but DW's version has a lot of extra metal on the right-hand side. Otherwise, the case is finished very nicely, and the steel bezel is among the best aftermarket items available. Praetor (I think) correctly pointed out that the bezel was angled a bit more steeply than the gen, but this is a minor sin. Technically, your picture shows a 6241, but DW's black plastic bezel is great, too. The '110' spacing continues to be a problem, but getting rid of it requires spending big bucks (for, say, a Phong or a gen) or exchanging it for a different set of inaccuracies (as on Yuki's black bezel).

The ridiculously beautiful 300SLR coupé:

C, a winner is you!

What are the hand-hole diameters for a Valjoux 72 movement? From Googling I find that minute/hour are 110/160. Anyone know the sweep and register sizes?

The 7734 isn't what you'd call a good-looking movement, but it's prettier than a Lemania 5100!

From my readings, there are two distinct case profiles for the 6239. I'm not aware of similar sub-types for the 6263. For your reference: DW 6263/7750, ordered December 2009: DW 6239/7750, ordered September 2010:

Thanks, guys! I've been after a Seamaster 300 for a long time, but it's so hard to find one that is entirely original and is in decent shape. When in doubt... build!

DW now has his own section on RWG. There's an ad for his more expensive (and excellent) 6239/7750, but you should contact him and ask how much he's selling his 6263s for these days.

Respectfully, I'd say that VRF has the edge over our humble forum. But it's so much nicer here! And besides, I reckon more than a few RWGers hang out in that shark tank. "I like you. You have balls. I like balls."

None of the cartel vintage Daytonas has asymmetric pushers. All of them get key dimensions wrong, and these are less subtle than you might think. I find that a too-thick bezel or a too-shallow crystal is much more noticeable than subdials that are <0.5mm off. Considering an unmodded 6263/7750 from DW sells for well under $200, I don't see why you would consider anything else.

Very droll, you two, but we still haven't solved the mystery of whether redwatch's mum knitted that sweater for him.

Wow, it looks tiny on Ruud Gullit! Sarah Jessica Parker: Beautiful watch. Is it an Omega? Daniel Craig: No, Roleeks.

Great news for fans of the Little Explorer. Yuki just released a new dial "Rolex Explorer I 5500 dial (white luminous)" and it is a huge improvement over the other Explorer dials they've been selling lately. It actually resembles his old 5500 dials ('old' meaning two years ago), which gives me hope that his old 1016 dials will make a comeback. The markers and numerals no longer look like yellow balloons, the ROPE text is no longer oversized (though the coronet is now too small), and everything else just looks crisper. I would say it's the best aftermarket 5500 dial you can get right now.

Glub-glub...

Dang, I was hoping for the 917... (As if I could afford it.)

This project began last August, when I fortuitously found, and then won, an online auction for one of the infamous Vietnamese SM300s. The subsequent build is described in this thread. While I was very happy with the watch, there was always the nagging thought that I was just one part (one very big and expensive part!) away from what would essentially be a genuine watch. For the past two years, I’ve been on the lookout for either a vintage SM300 in good shape, or a Watchco SM300 for a good price. Never heard of Watchco? The company used to be Omega’s authorized parts distributor and service provider in Australia, and has made a tidy profit from building and selling ‘NOS’ SM300s out of readily available, genuine parts. I know there are big arguments over what separates franken from gen, but consider this: If you owned a vintage SM300 in terrible condition and sent it to Bienne for a full-on restoration, the watch you would receive after a couple of months would look identical to a Watchco Seamaster. To recap: A gen is assembled by Swiss hands, a NOS is put together by Aussies, but you, the enthusiast, can only manage a franken—even if all the parts are exactly the same. Process over content. It’s just like organic food! It took less than a month after completing the franken that I decided to go for the full Monty, and order the genuine case. That was mid-September. Since then, postal hell. The original package was lost, and the re-order was massively delayed. Communications with both CousinsUK’s support and various post offices have been… suboptimal. Even now, I’m still waiting for the Royal Mail to process my lost package claim. I get tired just writing about it, so let’s move on to the actual watch. So aside from the incomparable feeling of owning a gen (fine... a 'NOS'!), why was I so eager to spend big bucks on a replacement case? I’ll boil it down to two things: I wanted a go-anywhere watch with water resistance I could count on, and I really wanted the SM300’s awesome lume pattern: Check on both counts! As originally written, this was where I was supposed to compare the rep versus the gen case (as is my wont). I’ve decided to move the comparison to its own thread, and keep this one moving along. Onto the pretty pictures: Once again, the gorgeous Calibre 552—the most beautiful, mass-produced automatic movement of all time (along with the rest of Omega’s mid-500 series). There’s not much to say about the build this time around. Basically, the guts were transplanted from the VN to the genuine Omega case. The stem had to be shortened, as the crown was protruding a bit. The end. As you may have already noticed, I did get a new 20mm 'Milanese' to go with the case. At the risk of hitting my quota for superlatives, Omega still makes the best mesh bracelet on the market. Very solid, very shiny. The big, screw-down crown comes with the case and is correct for later Seamaster 300s. Same dial and hands as before. Omega no longer offers the No-Date dial as a part for sale, which is a shame. If you want one, be prepared to search longer and/or or pay more. Sharp bezel teeth. Lovely. The view from below. I never trusted the water-resistance of the VN rep, since I couldn't get its caseback to screw in properly when the gasket was in place. No such problems here. Engravings are arguably nicer than those on the original Seamaster 300 caseback. Lastly, some variations on a versatile watch: Looking Mil-spec, on olive drab NATO. Classic, understated 1171 bracelet. Into the 1970s, with flashy shark-proof mesh. LHOOQ's choice! Special thanks to ChiMan12 for his help, even if a lot of things didn't go according to plan!

You probably got here while following a link from this thread. For your reference, here's a link to last year's franken vintage SM300 thread, which has more details on the origin and particulars of the rep case. A couple of caveats to keep in mind: The Omega 166.0324 is not identical to vintage SM300 cases (165.024 and 166.024). Some of the differences are obvious (e.g. fonts on the engravings), while details like lug thickness are more subtle. Also note that the VN SM300 case has been lightly modded. When I first got the case, the entire surface was mirror-polished. I had it refinished to brushed/polished/brushed. (Gen in lower shot) Ubiquitous commented that my franken looked like a Seamaster 300 on steroids, a description I love. It definitely has exaggerated and beefier proportions: Check out the Superdome and the extra-tall bezel. It’s what I imagine Omega might have released if they’d decided to take on the Sea-Dweller in the 1960s. Note that both crowns are genuine. The rep uses the earlier Naiad crown, which is a push-in design that uses the same principle as Super Compressor cases: More pressure equals a tighter seal, or so the theory went. It was replaced in later SM300s by the narrower, taller screwdown crown seen on the gen. (Gen on right) The difference between the crowns is very clear from the front. I wish I’d chosen a darker background so the crystal profiles could be easier to see. The rep crystal is much taller and curvier. In the lower set you can see the sharply machined bezel teeth of the gen, compared to the melted –looking bumps on the rep. Also note the lug profiles and the placement of the holes. Big difference from this distance and angle, but pretty much impossible to tell from the front and from afar. Here’s the rep caseback, with the shallow engravings we’ve come to expect. Older versions of the VN rep were notorious for being "CERTIFED", but this was corrected in newer versions. (I’m assuming the two generations of VN reps are related, but I don’t know for sure.) The tell that persists is the pointed "A” in “WATERPROOF”. The inside of the caseback looks good to the untrained eye, but it actually looks nothing like the gen. Remember that serial number 613288, as you’ll see it on many, supposedly genuine SM300s on eBay. And the beautiful gen caseback, with multiple engine turnings on the inside. If you’re wondering about that big swirl around the OO of WATERPROOF… I slipped while trying to open the case! Very annoying, and it makes me miss the Oyster caseback. Note that the gen vintage caseback is very different from the new one. Finally, the view from the front. The bezel insert is the rep’s biggest weakness, and the first thing I tried to change last year. Unfortunately, its dimensions (and the dimensions of pretty much everything else on the VN) are too different from the gen. The numerals on the rep insert used to be pineapple-yellow, and looked terrible. Vintagizing helped a lot. The Vietnamese case served me very well for the last 6 months, but I don't expect this will be the last we see of it! I continue to sift through listings in search of parts...