wiesn089

One of the most desired watches in our community is probably Rolex's Daytona Cosmograph in its vintage form, the 6263. Excellent cases for those willing to build/have build an almost indistinguishable rep exist with DW's cases supposedly due to its excellent price tag being the most chosen alternative. No matter what route you choose on this long and very, always more than anticipated, expensive journey sooner or later you will be stuck with the decision which bracelet to fit on your Daytona. In this pictorial I want to introduce three options and also point out their differences. I will also try to give my conclusion what I consider the most suitable one while providing everyone with good enough pictures to decide on their own. I added some watermarks to my pictures so they won't get abused for scam ebay listings, etc. I hope these don't distract too much. Let's go. Overview The contestants, all brand-new, from top to bottom: Gen Rolex 78350, Yuki 78350 and DW's stock option Length The first and most noticeable difference when comparing them side-by-side is their length. The gen bracelet has one link less than the other two options, they all have 5 removable links however. Also the different shape of the clasp and coronet on it are easily noticeable. Quality and feel-wise the DW bracelet I received feels ridiculously cheap compared to the other two. It's rattling uncomfortably and the clasp won't close properly. The other two options are very much alike with Yuki's 78350 rattling a tad more and generally feeling a little less substantial than the gen. Middle-Links Yuki's and Rolex's bracelets middle-links are flexible while DW's aren't. This again makes those two much more comfortable to wear than the stock option. Shine Shine-like Rolex's gen seems a little bit duller than the other two to me. I don't know if this is due to different kinds of metal being used or why this is the case. This is only noticeable when comparing the bracelets side-by-side however. Springbar Guide The guide where you fit the removable endlinks by springbars is differently shaped on the gen compared to the other two options. Gen Rolex springbars fit each option nonetheless. Clasp Coronet Not much here which isn't very apparent. Form and position of each coronet is very different. Rolex's coronet is beautiful, crisp and very elegant, whereas Yuki's got an "ironed-on" and clownish look to it which is only surpassed by DW's comically wrong and ugly example. For me this huge tell is very, very bothersome on both aftermarket options. My DW clasp doesn't close properly while on Yuki's and of course Rolex's bracelets this works flawlessly. Clasp Back Again I will let the pictures do most of the talking. Rolex's engraving again is very accurate, crisp and clear. Yuki partly succeeds in imitating the Rolex logo adequately but omits information concerning reference number and (supposedly) production date code. DW's logo is noticeable wrong and though it tries to incorporate reference number and other information there are only some fantasy numbers printed in their place. For me nothing much to worry about since hardly anyone will be close enough to examine the clasp back closely. Open Clasp Not much to add here. Endings I took pictures of both ends, but decided to show only one since they are identical on each bracelet anyway. Rolex very small and accurate, Yuki noticeable bigger and bolder, amazingly DW manages to replicate this engraving better than Yuki. Then again this isn't important in any way. Endlink-Fit This is how Rolex's and Yuki's bracelet (I didn't bother to put on DW's ridiculous non-closing bracelet on my watch again) looks fitted on my case using gen 571 endlinks. Rolex's looks slightly better since the endlinks fit the bracelet better which is supposedly due to the different shape of the springbar guide. The difference is a slightly bigger "gap" between endlink and bracelet as can be seen when you compare this on the bottom part of each picture. Btw. this is how my DW-"assembled" 6263 looked (and still looks) when it arrived over half a year ago (minus gen Tropic 21). Conclusion So, which one is the winner? Well for one: DW's definitely not. The stock bracelet is ridiculously cheap looking, cheap-feeling and a plain nuisance! Mine didn't close, rattled and almost made me throw my MM 6263 (which also arrived broken) straight in the trash. So which one, Yuki's or Rolex? Regarding price, I paid almost 500

Great news, thanks for your input so far guys! Does someone remember how much these were when they were available for the first time?

Beautiful, rosnik!

Sooooo, I was offered/found a case and am in contact with the seller. Is this it look MBW or something worthwhile at least? I had a look at Phong's/NDT's and came to the conclusion that when you compare the bezel (thicker numbers on Phong's) and caseback (no engraving) these definitely aren't the same. My main concern are the CGs which don't look very gen, but then again comparing these to other MBWs posted here there are similarities. I'll probably be able to get a Dial from the same seller (with pictures later on if everything works out). I'd appreciate your expert opinion very much, especially of the 16520 guys and case experts on here (hi Ubi, Flex, Freddy etc. ). BTW: 6263 still not finished and about to throw it out of the window, but review of bracelet options in the making (incl. gen 78350 with gen endlinks).

Cool find! Thanks for sharing!

I need one which will take gen parts, does one which is available do that incl. bezel?

Great, now that they fixed this one, they can build my freaking 42mm PO!

Yeah, he definitely knows his stuff!

Incredible! Anyone noticed the 17(!) Milsub guy on TZ? That's plain nuts!

There's a German watchmaker who sells them on ebay. If you send him an email he'll probably give you a discount. They are very well made, he also makes them for speedies and other watches.

The pics are great! The watches are simply amazing!

Zenith Daytona.

Brilliant, love the dial! I'd really love to see a side-by-side shot with your lovely 16520.

Personally I'm not a big fan of mercedes hands. I'm willing to overlook those on GMTs however...

Thanks for the input so far, guys. All offerings I found so far were in about the same price range ($100-200 give or take). NDT and a dealer from Vietnam seem to offer the same cases (at least they provided me with the same pictures). Is Phong's the same? Felix, I only found two gen cases and both were 3000€ and up that's still three times more than a modded aftermarket case (excl. bezel). For this difference you can almost get all other parts, for me that's simply not worth it. P.S. Wow flex, your Daytonas are amazing! Is the black one the gen case?

That's a beautiful piece. I'm also very curious about the source for your MBW case.

With my DW 6263 entering its finishing stage (waiting for a gen bracelet which should arrive soon and then its off to Domi ), I'm planning my next project, an El Primero 16520 franken with black dial. I love the El Primero Movement, especially its 36.000 beat rate and really like the fact that this would stay unchanged in "my" Daytona. I read every single thread on the few which are floating around here and to me it seems that the most critical part is acquiring a case (apart from hands issues later). Precisely because of that my plan is to get the case set first. Doing so won't leave me stuck with all other parts without the chance of finishing the project up in the end. As far as I understand there are three ways to go: 1) Get a gen case set 2) Get an NDT case set 3) MBW/MBK Case Set I don't want to go the gen route because, a) prices seem to be heading through the roof b ) they rarely pop up (at least I couldn't find many) c) I'm not shelling out 3000+

I'm willing to argue about that

These are even more beautiful in person, it's very hard to capture the amazing structure of the dial on photo. Man, I just love Speedmasters, everyone should have at least one!

very cool, thanks for posting!

Amazing, love the dial!

Looks amazing, the V72, too, is a true beauty! Wear it well! My MM DW 6263 will be on it's way to Domi shortly to fix everything which was wrong with it on arrival (a lot) plus a few upgrades. Only waiting for two cousins pushers which should arrive in the next few days, can't wait and your Daytona isn't helping!

This is my favorite Planet Ocean by far. I saw one these a few weeks ago alongside a meteoroid dial Speedy at the local Omega Boutique and it's an absolute stunner in person! I hope these will be available for some time since I'm in the process of finishing up my 6263 project and unfortunately right now there's now way I can justify one of these as well...

The one for $318? That's too much for me right now... guess I'll have to watch the sales corner some more

Ohh man, how long is this gonna take? Anyone got a broken 4th gen lying around, I'm planning on swapping all the parts anyway, I just need the freaking case...