lhooq

Anyone up for a fantasy build? One of my big regrets, Rolex parts-wise, is not snagging a NOS 116000 dial when it showed up on VRM a year ago. I don't think I've ever been so captivated by a dial upon first laying eyes on one: The perfect shade of blue, crisp white text printed on it, and applied metal markers. The 116000, for those unfamiliar with the model, is a 36mm Oyster Perpetual with a blue 3/6/9 dial. It's also more commonly known by its nickname, "The Blue Explorer". Now, I've had a thing for blue-sunburst Datejust dials for a very long time. Ditto Explorers. And while I've never been a huge fan of the 14270s and newer, any Explorer plus a beautiful blue dial should have been a slam dunk. So what went wrong? The selling price of EUR 300, for one thing. I swear that if it had been listed at EUR 299, I wouldn't have hesitated one second. Unfortunately, something about that "300" made me hem and haw for a few days, until the dial was gone. Since then, I've never seen another one come up for sale. A few months ago, I asked Justin if he'd ever seen a similar rep dial come up during his parts purchases. No blue OP, but he was able to locate a blue Explorer dial. Of course, there's no such thing, and the dial itself is an odd combination of several recent Explorer models. It most resembles a 14270, except that the numerals are polished metal (as on the 39mm 214270), rather than in-filled with white paint. The sticks are chubbier than on recent Explorers, the blue is a bit grayer than Rolex's sharp royal blue, and the print quality is dire. But it looks good at arm's length, especially when it catches a bit of sunlight. Justin put the entire watch together using parts he had on hand, and he did a great job as usual. The case is pretty good as far as rep DJ cases go. Inside it is an A2836 that's running really well. In fact, J set the watch to my local time right before sending it off. How amazing was it that, two weeks later, I opened the package to find the Explorer running and telling me the correct time? Not bad for a movement that started out with a few toothless gears! So the Bluxplorer becomes my new at-home beater, but I'm still keeping one eye open for that elusive 116000 dial. There's got to be another one out there.

1016 + 16014:

That's an old shot from Rome, which I took a couple of days after meeting up with sssurfer. I'd dropped the Tudor on the sidewalk in Bologna, but sssurfer's watchsmith got everything back in good shape--other than a big dent on the crown and some "vintagizing" around it!

Looking good, E. I had my orange'n'gray out today, too:

Welcome to the club, seagoing! That looks great!

Must be Seamaster Day!

I love vintage watches, but I don't think I want a new section. I like a separation by brand, rather than a catch-all subforum that mixes discussions about old Submariners with posts about 6152 project builds. ZK: You know which rep forum has its own vintage section? That's right... You know which one I'm talking about!

You'll have to forgive me, as I don't look at the exotic dials that often. In fact, I don't think I'd ever taken a really good look at NDT's Newmans before. On closer examination, I think the three-color NDT dial looks great. Serifs might be a bit overdone on the subdial numbers and on the 'DAYTONA' itself, but that's not a disqualifier. The minute track isn't sunken, but I think that's true of every aftermarket Newman dial. Otherwise, the coronet is well-defined (so you could forego a swap), and the print quality looks crisp. And crucially, it doesn't have the misshapen crosshairs in the 3 o'clock subdial like the InGod does. There's just the matter of it being 'Out of stock'...

F: As someone often cursed with severe stomach pains, I can sympathize. I'd hate to be so far away from the Home Toilet™ when that happened! It's been a fantastic read so far, and I love how your pictures make your experience so immediately real.

Your best exotic option is an InGod with a coronet swap, per Freddy's 6239. It's not perfect, but it's better than the rest.

Yikes! Posted in the wrong thread!

Something a little different:

I didn't realize the improvement was that pronounced. From DSN's preview pics, I could appreciate the correctly smaller text, but I couldn't make out any changes to the numerals and sticks. They still seem to have a tiny bit more pucker around the edges than the gen (based on memories of the one time I saw a genuine 082), but a big, big improvement. I can live without the new caseback, but I might have to contact DSN about a dial upgrade... Regarding the <acronym title="Crown Guard">CG</acronym>, all I know is that it was sourced and modded by R_Squared over on RG. I knew it looked a bit special, but I'm such a Panerai novice that I couldn't quite figure out why!

Had a Rolex-themed GTG with some friends today. I wore my 1016, but these were the highlights:

Lots of Subs today. Me too!

I'm not a big fan of modern Breitlings, but these are gorgeous. Funnily enough, the old Breitling I would most like to own would be a Cal.11 SuperOcean. Call me boring!

Beautiful shot, Cats! Jubilee Daytona for Sunday:

Amazing, F!

Daytona Saturday:

It's been a long time since I've seen that HMT! How are you, P?

A visitor from the east:

Well, let me know if you find it! I would be willing to spend more than that for a good 6238 dial. I reckon many others would, too. I've actually seen more 6234 dials come up for sale than 6238 dials. Unfortunately, all of the 6234s I've seen are either horribly refinished, or look as if they survived an atomic exchange.