freddy333

2 things you can always count on when considering a Daytona (or other expensive Rolex) purchase on ebay - 1. Anyone who knows enough about watches to be able to remove the dial or movement from the case, knows exactly what the parts (and watch) are worth. You will NEVER find a gen Daytona dial and/or movement in usable condition being sold on ebay for less than market value, which, for a Daytona, is going to be at least a thousand dollars (and likely multiples of that). 2. Anyone who posts blurry photos and has a low number of previous 'watch' sales and/or with less than 98% buyer satisfaction ratings is likely a crook and a fraud. The auction you inquired about is a textbook example of both.

Nanuq & Repaustria are correct. You do not need the gasket, it just adds a bit more seal, but I do not have one in this 1665 (fitted with Clark's T39 Superdome)

If the watch is important to you, I would have it water-pressure tested by a watchmaker or keep it away from water altogether. And that means taking the watch off when you are washing or bathing as well as swimming. Even if a rep is advertised as being waterproof to some random depth, I would take that with a huge grain of salt, at least until you have the watch properly tested by a trained watchmaker. And even for watches that I have built myself (fitted with new seals), I tend to keep them away from water. Most of my watches are vintage models with gen parts that are often 2 or more decades old. Over time, plastic crystals can become hardened and brittle and may not properly seal against the case even though you cannot see anything wrong with them.

I find the black dial difficult to read under anything other than good lighting conditions, so I prefer the white dial. It is hard to say why the Daytona has become such a grail watch. Part of the reason is its connection to auto racing and Paul Newman (Newman is rumored to have worn a Daytona in the movie 'Winning', but it looks to me like another model) and part of the reason is the chronograph itself (chronographs have become very popular in general among collectors), and no doubt part of the lure is the constant lack of supply that Rolex bottlenecks as part of its very clever marketing strategy for the watch. Remember, that it is only in the last decade that the Daytona has became The IT watch with 2-5 year waiting lists. Believe it or not, during most of the Daytona's first 3 decades of life, dealers had alot of trouble moving them. Buyers thought the watch was ugly and overpriced. And, then, in the late 80's, an Italian magazine published a photo of Paul Newman wearing a vintage 6239 Daytona that his wife gave him as a birthday present and that seems to have been the match that lit the fire which has been growing hotter ever since.

There have been a few articles & tutorials on Datejusts recently. Here is mine.

Actually, the metal 'washer' normally found beneath the bezel on the 1665 (both gen and MBW) IS a spring. It should have a slight bend in it. The amount of bend controls the tension on the bezel -- the flatter the spring, the easier the bezel turns, the more bend in the spring, the tighter the bezel is to turn. Your 1665 MBW should have the flat spring below the bezel. If it is missing, I would contact the person you bought the watch from.

Pug -- Beautiful watches! And if I am not mistaken, it looks like the factory has finally drilled the correct (larger) sized lug holes. I hope you get alot of use out of them.

I agree with Repaustria -- the dial looks more like an NDT than a gen. But it looks an interesting project.

Vmena -- Good to see the finished project. Stainless Datejust is one of my favorites too Nice work.

Good work. .

Yes.

Tom -- You can pick up 19mm 7835s for under $250 on ebay. I doubt you will find one with the proper Daytona endlinks (they are rare), but if you watch the listings for a few weeks, you should be able to find a decent bracelet for your watch. The 357 links on my 6239 may not be a perfect fit, but they are close enough and relatively inexpensive (I paid less than $150 for the bracelet & end links)

The tops of the subdials on my watch are almost touching the 2 & 10 index markers (which is inaccurate), while there is a bit more space on Stephane's watch as well as all of the gen Daytonas I have seen, including the one you posted above. And it drives me nuts, because that is the only real obvious mistake on my watch.

Ubi uses gen cases for his 2 (Zenith-driven) 16520s, but his white 116520 has the original rep case like the one reviewed by By-Tor here. My case has different CGs and more accurate pushers & rehaut.

Nanuq -- One of the nice things about folded links is how easily they can be renewed with fairly simple tools (though it takes a bit of patience and ALOT of time) -- pair of simple flathead screwdrivers or; better yet, a small, smooth-jawed pair of needle-nose pliers. Unlike riveted links, folded links are just, well folded links. As you bend your wrist and put stress and pressure on the individual links, their ends tend to move apart which makes the bracelet loose. But all you need to do to renew them is squeeze the links back together. Just place tape on the link for added protection and then squeeze the links together. Afterwards, brush the scratches out with a Bergeon brushing pad and voil

$600-$800 for a folded link bracelet? That is highway robbery. I paid $145 for the last 7835 (ebay item 110148239330), which I used for the 6239 Newman Maybe the 20mm bracelets are more expensive, but the most I have paid for a 19mm folded link 7835 is $260 and I probably would not spend that much again since they can be found for under $200 if you are patient. Timeman also has folded link bracelets for less than $250, but his site is under construction now.

I have had several of these riveted rep bracelets and they all looked cheap, fake and then, as Nanuq said, they always fell apart. If you really want a more vintage look for your vintage Rolex rep, but do not want to pay for a riveted gen bracelet (I have seen riveted gen bracelets sell for as little as $250 in 'good' condition on ebay), why not use a folded bracelet instead? These typically sell for $150-$250 on ebay in good to excellent condition and they are much easier to size (just spread 2 center links, remove or add links & then close the open center links) and will make your rep look ALOT better than one of these cheesy riveted rep bracelets.

Anyone know of a source for gen or more accurate 3/6/9 index markers for the 116509 Daytona rep (This is Andrew's original photo) As you can see, the lume (the white portion) in the index markers is too large compared with the markers on this gen watch

tmg -- Which case is that? I cannot wait to see the finished project.

By-Tor -- I would like to add a couple of comments to your otherwise excellent review of one of the most beautiful & accurate reps ever made. First, I have seen at least 3 variations of the secs at 6 2001 Daytona. Each version has its own pluses and minuses and the buyer will need to decide which version looks best or more accurate to him or her. The version I have, which was purchased 3 years ago from a UK auction site and still runs +/-4 secs per day, has much more accurately shaped & sized CGs than the version Stephane (and Ubi) has, which are too wide and cover too much of the bottom of the crown compared to the gen. The CGs on my watch look almost exactly like the gen http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l127/fre...ip/Image3-1.jpg (This picture was taken before I replaced the crown/tube with gen parts) Second, the version I have has more accurate pushers & correct rehaut (note that there were at least 2 different pusher assemblies used on the gen Daytonas) http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l127/fre...ynip/Image2.jpg http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l127/fre...p/Image19-1.jpg In contrast, Stephane's version has more accurate subdial placement (mine are too close to the 2 & 10 o'clock index markers http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l127/fre...ynip/Image5.jpg At some point, I will purchase another watch like Stephane's and swap the dial for the one in my watch, so I will have the best of both worlds--a more correct case & dial & a working (backup) movement.

For those of you who missed the BOLD print -- NEVER put an assembled or running watch into an ultrasonic cleaner. Only the metal bracelet or the DISASSEMBLED watch parts should be cleaned this way. Some ultrasonic cleaners provide a stand that allows you to lower the metal bracelet into the tank while keeping the watch case above the level of the cleaning solution. But if you do not have one of these, I would recommend removing the bracelet from the watch case and clean it separately. Better safe than sorry. If your watch has recently been pressure tested (and is waterproof at sea level), you can follow Rolex's standard cleaning recommendations of using warm (not hot) soapy water to clean the entire watch. However, if you are not positive of your watch's condition, try Windex and a soft paper towel like Viva. Just a light spray (DO NOT SOAK THE WATCH) followed by a prompt wipe with the paper towel should clean the watch. For general fingerprints and dust, a microfiber cloth made for stainless steel (available at many hardware stores and online) will do the job.

Either that or purchase the new style tube (with a larger hole and splines around the inner perimeter of the wider end of the tube) from ebay or one of the parts houses like cousinsuk.com.

RTFM

Every watch collector, whether gen or rep, should have an ultrasonic cleaner. They are as important as a good set of tweezers and can be had for as little as $40. No amount of hand washing with toothbrushes, microfiber clothes or special cleaning compounds can possibly get your metal bracelets, jewelry and disassembled watch parts as clean. 1 tablespoon of pure ammonia (available from most grocers and druggists) added to a tank of hot tap water will remove all of the grease & grime that hides within your steel bracelet. You will be surprised how much gunk ends up in the bottom of the tank after treating a bracelet you have already cleaned by hand. Unless you are a watchmaker/jeweler and need to clean large numbers of parts, an ultrasonic cleaning machine (like this one) should be your next purchase Here is a link for more info

Nice work, Tribal. Enjoy your new watch Stephane.