ubiquitous

Great White gets my vote...

Franken-Daytona today... Franken-Daytona tomorrow...

Holy moly...

Indeed... A bit hard to put money into an item sight unseen. Perhaps an option for you guys looking for a steel bracelet is to look for a gen bracelet on eBay. Then again, I suppose there is no guarantee it would even fit properly...

kruz- Of course I LOVE the avatar! Very fitting haveblue- I think there will be an official offering once these are ready to go. Hopefully we'll have enough to go 'round

I was kind of hoping to see the Christmas theme last the entire year... I kid! I kid! Okay, bad joke...

Glad to know I'm not alone Was afraid I'd have to check myself into some 12 step program or something...

Stays on....

I believe you're better off buying a watch because you will enjoy it; if it increases in value, even better. But, if you buy a watch as an investment, and it never increases or declines in value, you will hate the watch and look at it as a waste of money and time (even though said watch may be very lovely in it's own right). Now, some of you may be wondering about the caseback discussion above, and I'd like to clarify that matching casebacks are always the preference. However, just because a caseback's numbers differ doesn't automatically make that watch wrong. My point was/is that one final decision shouldn't hinge on the back alone... Especially (but not indefinitely) if the watch is priced attractively as a result and everything else checks out. Consider this- if my collector friend did pass on his 6263 Daytona w/ 6265 ref'd back, he would have passed on a piece with an original and correct 3 color PN dial. That to me would have been an even graver mistake at the price he purchased at. Same goes for MoD 5517 MilSubs. The majority of these pieces have had the backs switched as they were serviced in batches and not properly organized during reassemble (which makes sense- Who would have known these were goig to be collector's pieces? At the time, they were tool watches with one purpose). Even further, some had 5513 ref'd backs and/or cases. If you passed on one of these (with Rolex UK verification) at any price because you were in search of a perfect matching back example, you may be searching for a very, very long time (and maybe never find one...). Now, on the other hand, movement serials and case serials are more of a concern. For example... If you found a 1019 Milguass with a D serial'd movement... That's one that I'd be very suspiscious of (and advise not to buy)... Even if the case and casebacks match...

My wife made an observation the other day- That observation being that I spend more time looking at people's wrists than anything else just to see what watches people are wearing. Now... This is, in my opinion, quite harmless and better than getting busted for checking out some other girl's 'assets' per se, but I realized that my wrist staring must be pretty apparent if she's mentioning it. What I'm wondering is... Is this common amongst all of us watch nerds?

Caseback mismatch is also a problem with the Mil-Subs (5517) due to the way they were serviced.

Nah... Casebacks vary. Serious collectors (at least the ones I know) don't let the casebacks bother them, even on $60k+ pieces. They're more concerned about the actual case and movement serial matching, which is far more important. EDIT to add that the above anecdote is based on one specific instance of a 6263 with 6265 back; watch is not a standard dial piece).

The most recent genuine 3646's I've seen sold were around the $60k to $65k mark.

Ack. His pic makes it hard to tell.

DLG and sect8- HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Looks great, tonton! Well done and very clean job. You're off to a great start!

Oh.... As for value, it's hard to say what this piece is worth without seeing it. Prices vary depending on condition, how complete the package is, etc; to have any idea of worth, it's best to let the eyes evaluate... What you may want to do, R, is have a look at the one chronomat bought the other day, as well as the one river posted for sale here about a month ago or so (I think?); since you have seen this watch in person, you can compare condition and prices to try to get a better idea if this piece is for you...

In a perfect world, yes. But this is not always the case... 1) It is common practice that Rolex will replace a caseback with new if the water resistance properties of the old caseback are compromised. 2) When #1 takes place, the old case information is not typically transferred to the new caseback. 3) For cases that are used amongst different model refs, common casebacks may be used. For instance, a 5512 back may be found on a 5513, or vice versa. This practice was more common amongst models like the DJ, but it has been known to happen on models like the Sub, Daytona etc. (actually, on 626x's, this was seen quite often). 4) Casesbacks were produced in batches, and sometimes production references (i.e. III/64, etc) don't always match up with the period correct s/n ranges. So, yes... It's always good to check the caseback numbers, but if they don't match, that doesn't necessarily mean that anything is actually wrong...

That case looks beefy!

16600 SD has a completely different bezel assembly compared to the 16610 Sub Date, and hence, different size insert. Same goes for the 14060.

Good stuff A few years back, a buddy of mine bought an FD for very little money- Apex seals were blown. He was planning on importing a 20B to try and transplant, but I think the car is still sitting under a tarp in the garage sans motor

The only last bit of advice I can give... Buy the watch because you like it... Not because it's an 'investment'. Watches make horrible investments

Absolutely correct, tvt. Value is in the original condition and state- Most importantly with the dial. Some of the value can be retained if the provenance of the dial can be definitively ascertained (i.e. service records indicating that an RSC or authorized agent performed the dial replacement), but overall collectability of the piece is determined by how original the condition is. Now, an exception can be made on a restored piece if all the original parts are accompanied with the watch. And yes... Even in poor condition, original is better than minty new replacements...

Hmmmm... Think we need some pics!

Indeed... With vintage, there are many risks. This is why it's so important to buy from a dealer or collector with provenance, reputation, history and expertise. You end up paying a bit more, but the peace of mind is worth it.