freddy333

Yes, alot of interesting pics & articles there. Enjoy.

To be honest, I have replaced the battery & upgraded the hard drive a couple of times, but it does the job very well. And, these days, it attracts attention as a piece of 'vintage' gear.

If it ain't broke.................

No.

Glad to help.

Since I am up working past midnight (early Saturday morning), I might as well start the weekend wristies while wearing my beater

Once the dial is off, just apply a dot of boot polish where you want it. In this case, since the dial will already be black (in my case, the dial was brown & I was darkening it), you would use brown polish. Just apply a dot around the center hole & rub your finger in a circular fashion to spread it around the hole, being careful to keep away from the text. Same thing around the date window & anywhere else on the dial you want to lighten. Just err on the side of using too little & you should be fine. Once the color looks the way you want it, you can optionally give the entire dial a light spray of clear or yellow matte varnish.

No, not mine. But I wish it was. They could easily produce an updated version today, but, as Rolex has said many times, they are in the business of selling new watches, not rehashing the past (Milgauss & Prince, excepted). Additionally, I think Rolex (& most of the other luxury watch brands) are targeting their marketing towards Asian customers, who prefer big, gaudy pieces (I have heard through reliable sources that Asia, in general, & China, in particular, were the impetus for the supersized cases & added bling that we have seen from the historically slow-to-change Rolex in recent years). Probably 2 truck loads & your & Nanuq's less than fawning opinions of the watch were probably shared by whoever Rolex polled back in the 1960s when they made the decision not to market these Ferrari Daytonas (as some have termed them). My guess is that it was produced as a market test or promotion. Maybe it was made as part of a race sponsorship that got cancelled or something like that? Remember, the Daytona was originally called the 'Le Mans'. I am only aware of 3 authenticated copies of this watch. Clapton had 1 (I think it was sold as part of the famous Clapton auction several years ago & I think the buyer has remained silent), Goldberg has 1 & Rolex has the remaining 1 in their private collection.

Actually, you are not too far off on the application. I use a toothpick to apply the polish & then diffuse (smear) it as needed with my finger. Although there does not seem to be alot of consistency with dial patina, I generally find that the area around the center pinion tends to be darker. I think the color variation is due to a combination of UV exposure & reaction by the paint & since it is covered by the hands, the center tends to be less affected than other areas of the dial. But I also apply a bit of polish to other bits just to help maintain some inconsistency. The trick is to keep the color variations to within a narrow range, so the dial appears differently depending on the ambient lighting.

I hate to say it & hopefully I am wrong, but I have a feeling the reason the overlay re-centered itself after being jolted is because it is coming off the datewheel & you may soon have another problem.

Any less gagging here?

Exactly, my thoughts. Summer watch to wear at the polo club on a warm day. Almost Gatsby-esque.

Yes & another of those small run samples likely made as a market test or as part of a promotional campaign or for a special customer that were never meant for retail sale, but that ultimately made its way into the market. Like the white 6542, I believe this is another of those vintage Rolex rarities that are generally attributed to urban myth, but are in fact genuine.

Gen

The 7206 was available in both expansion & non-expansion form (I have an expansion 7206 on my 6536/1 & it is 1 of the most uncomfortable bracelets Rolex ever made). I have never seen an official explanation of the differences between the 6636 & 7206 riveted bracelets, aside from the fact that the former was discontinued in the mid-1960s & the latter remained in production (on a limited basis) until the mid-2000s.

Not likely, but I will add you to the waiting list (the list is longer than most new steel Daytona waiting lists). Not officially, no. The 6542 was shipped with either the 6636 or 7206, each with 80 ends, which is what I have fitted to my black dialed '42 However, as was the case back then, Rolex dealers had alot more latitude & control over which Rolexes they sold & how they sold them. It was common practice for dealers to offer the customer his/her choice of bracelet/strap & I have a couple of pics in my archives of early, 1-owner '42s sold at auction with (big crown) folded link, jubilees. While I love the folded link Oysters, the jubilee is alot more comfortable &, with the more formal whte dial, I think the jubilee compliments it better than the more workmanlike Oyster. I generally pair my Aryan 'Master with a '58 folded link 6251H with 55 ends, which would be chronologically correct.

For whatever it is worth, I have had the same problem (chipping paint) with MQ's ($1k+) dials. Unfortunately, that seems to be an all too common hallmark of aftermarket quality.

Der Fuhrer was a great diplomat (he got everything he wanted out of Chamberlain & the French prior to the war), but a terrible military strategist. On the other hand, I think your plan is brilliant.

I generally apply the boot polish prior to the varnish. You just have to be careful to avoid darkening the text. The only thing that should be on top of the final finish layer is the lume

In that case, it sounds like a good idea. I look forward to seeing what you come up with. If successful, it might be worthwhile considering something similar to search gens & gen parts on the major gen sites (TZ, VRF, Rolexforums, etc).