freddy333

(Gen 1601 & 16014)

Not at all. My mid-80s 16014 has round 3s & closed 6s/9s. On the other hand, my 1970 1601 has flat 3s & open 6s & 9s. I think there was some overlap on datewheels during the late 80s, so either style is acceptable.

Selling contraband (reps) is illegal in most countries.

I do not know the laws in France regarding the purchase of reps, but in most countries it is not (functionally) illegal to buy reps (only to sell them). However, it is possible that the buyer could still be charged whatever 'taxes' the country requires when importing a gen.

In a word, yes. It is obviously not the real deal. But, on the positive side, if the price is right (under $100), it might be a good investment because of the correct hand stack movement. Do you know the price?

My guess is they also sells reps.

Ending the work week wearing my albino '42

I can 2nd the vote for Epiphone. Although I do not own 1, I have played a handful of them & they all sound/play noticeably better than any of the look-alike brands.

For the past few years, I buy to keep.

The bezel angle/height is an issue, but I think the most obvious flaw (assuming you have 1 of the older low-profile mid-case Daytonas) is the height of the caseback, which is taller than the gen to allow the additional space required by the 7750 (the gen 4130 is a shallower movement, so the caseback is nearly flat). The difference in casebacks is similar to the difference between DW's V72 caseback & his 7750 caseback - the shallower V72 is shaped similar to the modern gen Daytona casebacks. The bezel angle/height is an issue, but I think the most obvious flaw (assuming you have 1 of the older low-profile mid-case Daytonas) is the height of the caseback, which is taller than the gen to allow the additional space required by the 7750 (the gen 4130 is a shallower movement, so the caseback is nearly flat). The difference in casebacks is similar to the difference between DW's V72 caseback & his 7750 caseback - the shallower V72 is shaped similar to the modern gen Daytona casebacks. If it were not for the fact that the modern Daytona case is wider than the vintage cases, I would remove the rotor on my 7750 & fit 1 of DW's V72 casebacks on my 116520. And if anyone knows of a source for the correct (shallow) caseback for a modern Daytona, please let me know.

Nanuq - The refinisher is the 1 we discussed to handle your GMT dial awhile back. You have to be very detailed in your request (including good, clear macros of what you want the end result to be) & patient in awaiting the final result (this datewheel had to be re-done 3 times to get to this point), but these guys can produce very good work.

I am thinking $300, $35 & $50.

Printing a vintage Rolex datewheel accurately is apparently not an easy task. I had a professional dial refinisher (which uses the original Rolex stampers & supplies refinishing work for Rolex) re-do 1 of my (corroded) gen 1035 datewheels. While the result exceeds the quality of any aftermarket datewheel I have encountered, even pros with oem tools cannot get all the details right. The blue lines illustrate a slight deviation of some dates from their proper position on the wheel, which leaves them too low/high in the date window. You can also see that the small serifs, apparent in the untouched wheel at right (from my albino '42), are missing from the refinished wheel at left

As of November 2010, I understand that the original test watch is still running fine.

By-Tor's explanation is spot-on. Rep collectors (us) are a very small part of the overall rep business & watches powered by the problematic secs @ 6 Asian 7750 sell very well internationally. So there is little impetus for the factories to expend the time/money required to properly address its inherent design problems. But for those who are adamant on having an accurate/reliable modern Daytona, read this (you may need to research the current website locations as they have changed since this article was posted) & this.

Clarks

In 1967, when the original 1665 was issued, Rolex was fitting brushed steel datewheels with flat-top 3s & open 6s & 9s. These 'silver' datewheels continued until the end of the 60s (though I understand that some remaining stock continued to get fitted into watches until about 1972 or so). In the early 70s, the brushed steel datewheels were replaced with white painted datewheels, but the fonts remained the same. Then, sometime in the mid-to-late 70s, the flat-top 3 was replaced by rounded 3s & I believe the 6s & 9s closed a few years later.

The issue has been under discussion for some time (along with some other interesting ideas) & there may be more to report in the near future.

By-Tor - I have suggested this previously, but I really think we should formally invite DW to become affiliated with RWG in a more direct form. I would rather not go into too many details publicly, but if you are interested, PM me.

Great work. Were it mine, I would perform a bit of enhanced patination on the hands & case so they do not look brand spanking new.

Please do not re-quote an entire post (including pics) just to add a short bit at the end.

If you are accustomed to wearing big watches, I can see how downsizing to a vintage classic might take some getting used to. But I think that if you have the confidence to set your own style, you can make any (gentleman's) watch look good (even if it happens to be the current fashion).

For anyone interested in the GMT (especially the modern versions), you should begin at By-Tor's reviews. These are must-reads with tons of detailed information on the model & the spark that ultimately instigated my '42 projects.