freddy333

Get a genuine vintage (pre-90s) steel Rolex Sub or Explorer. These tool watches are hearty, understated, will likely maintain or gain in value (so you can pass it on to your kids) & will always show your good taste without the bling of modern luxury watches.

The price of a good dial is often as much, if not more, than the price of a good rep, so why not just buy the rep with the dial you want?

No need to delete, but please do not duplicate posts in future.

I would say ALOT better.

Samkid10 - Please do not post duplicate posts.

Fortunately, Plexiglas polishes just as easily. There are a number of popular xtal polishes out there or you can use my favorite, Meguiar's PlastX plastic cleaner/polish (available at most auto parts suppliers).

Some were missing & changes have been afoot in the past couple of years since it was taken, but this shows better than half

Sorry, I did not see the 2nd to last pic. I thought you were using the bracelet shown in your 1st pics.

Maybe I misunderstood the problem? If the chrono seconds hand is consistently resetting at the same point off its null position, then you just need to r&r the hand again. But if the hand is resetting at different points, then you may have a loose arm wand (which is common on aftermarket hands, but very rare on gens) & epoxy is the most reliable fix.

The prototypes may have been made for PanAm, but never put into production. The caseback engravings may have been done by PanAm. Hard to say without any input from Rolex.

I would definitely begin the search for a dial replacement (& a better bracelet or nice strap). It is also fortuitous that you forgot to have Zig drill the lugs larger, because the 62xx Daytonas had small springbars (not the same as for Subs/SDs).

Always loved the early '39s. But are they nicer than a Newman? Not so sure about that

Remember to epoxy the chrono hands before install.

I see it from the opposite side. Anything over 40mm looks silly on my 7" wrist, which is why I love vintage Rolex (the sweet spot being between 36mm & 38mm)

Between Stefano's (1 of the authors of the Daytona bible) & Mondani's (Mondani is considered to be 1 of THE Rolex authorities by most of the major auction houses), I think the case of the albino '42 was settled some time ago. What I find interesting is that Stefano's dial is slightly different than Mondani's (which looks similar to mine, which was repainted by KR) As was mentioned some time ago, I believe these white dials were created either as prototypes or small-run marketing tests & not, as popular Rolex lore suggests, to placate PanAm ground crews.

Yes, but like many old watches, the (roulette) datewheel (hands & insert) was replaced at some point. On a 50+ year old watch, since everything looks genuine, this simply indicates that the watch has been serviced/maintained.

(click pic for additional details)

Thanks for all your hard work.

Casual Saturday

The date window in the new dial is probably offset a bit from its location on the original dial. Unfortunately, unless you have 1 of the older Rolex watches that had a press-fit (as opposed to footed) dial, your only options are to replace the original dial, buy another dial with the same date window location as your original dial or re-cut the date window in your new dial (which will likely damage the paint, requiring a complete repaint) so the date is properly centered within it.

Before hitting your 1st (rep) buy button, I would encourage you to read Toad's Newb Guide. Because the 'factories' that cobble reps together (manufacturing, the term generally accredited to the assembly/testing of genuine luxury watches, is not a term I would ascribe to the assembly of reps) institute little or no QC along the way, having realistic expectations now can save you alot of grief & hand-ringing later.