hiker01

The POWERMAX - - - that is! Thanks RWG for giving me the venue to learn so much about watches (GEN & REP), develop what little skill I have in watch repair and mod, challenge me to take and develop better pictures and having a place to show off the results! I have tried other Foras, but the caliber of our ADMIN and members here are second to none, that's why I stayed! We have members here from all walks of life, all over the world with different races and religion, different jobs and financial standing, but overall......we try to live in harmony and understnding (I understood Woodstock by the time it happened!). For sure we have some mis-understanding, but....hey, who doesn't, it's never a perfect world, but we understand each other! This place is like a home for most of us! A place where we could vent, share, help, get helped, analyze and get analyzed; earn.....spend...get broke , get excited (not just by watches, but some boobies and if we get lucky, some beauty muff worth diving for ! So, folks; my Hearfelt thanks and Kudos to everyone! To those I have slighted or have misunderstandings with, my deepest apology ! RWG Rocks! Hike

ahhhhhhh......where are the pictures? Can't see them!

Wearing my SSD today with some views of its environment: Have a nice weekend everyone, while I dig myself out of a Foot of snow!

You're not suppose to screw the crown....that would hurt.........

WHY WOMEN SHOULDN'T TAKE MEN SHOPPING After I retired, my wife insisted that I accompany her on her trips to Target. Unfortunately, like most men, I found shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out. Equally unfortunate, my wife is like most women - she loves to browse. Yesterday my dear wife received the following letter from the local Target. Dear Mrs. Samuel, Over the past six months, your husband has caused quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and have been forced to ban both of you from the store. Our complaints against your husband, Mr. Samuel, are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras. 1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in other people's carts when they weren't looking. 2. July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in House wares to go off at 5-minute intervals. 3. July 7: He made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the women's restroom. 4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official voice, 'Code 3 in House wares. Get on it right away'. This caused the employee to leave her assigned station and receive a reprimand from her Supervisor that in turn resulted with a union grievance, causing management to lose time and costing the company money. 5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M&Ms on layaway. 6. August 14: Moved a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area. 7. August 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told the children shoppers he'd invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department to which twenty children obliged. 8. August 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began crying and screamed, 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?' EMTs were called. 9. September 4: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose. 10. September 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the antidepressants were... 11. October 3: Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the 'Mission Impossible' theme. 12. October 6: In the auto department, he practiced his 'Madonna look' by using different sizes of funnels. 13. October 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed through, yelled 'PICK ME! PICK ME!' 14. October 21: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed 'OH NO! IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!' And last, but not least: 15. October 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, and then yelled very loudly, 'Hey! There's no toilet paper in here.' One of the clerks passed out.

The world is getting stranger by the minute!

CS4 Dude! Classic!!! Wow! Nice my friend! You got a bucket oif those spare ready to slap assembly???

DRSD for me this Thurs:

Wow! Tha's is something new! Cross mine, but so far all my USPS Priority shipment had made it domestic and Worlwide un-insured! I use the flat rate small box, though! It cost the same as the flat rate envelop on the USPS Website with an account! Sorry to hear your headache, Kurt! Hope they all turn up! Hike

Thanks, Bro! Good to see you posting on the Wristie! We need some colored arms in here! BTW: Are those hackr's tooth you're wearing as bracelet/arm band??? Ouch! The poor guy !

The Daytona Saga by William Massena August 11, 2001 Fig. 1 Few watches compare to the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona. It's legendary among enthusiasts. Rolex remains itself an enigma and 'hides' behind the walls of its huge headquarters when questions are asked. Why did the Daytona become such a prized object among collectors and consumers alike? The fascination for the Daytona has continually increased in the past decade, rumors about a new model are abundant, but few know the story behind the myth. I. The Heritage The Rolex Cosmograph introduced in 1961 was the first new chronograph model released after the death of Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf in 1960. Rolex has been manufacturing chronographs since the thirties and many different models were released during, forties and the fifties. Most chronographs were "Anti-magnetic" (protected from daily magnetic influence on the movement) and can be found in oyster cases, non-water resistant models as well as some square shape watches such as the reference 3529. Rolex also added some complications to a few chronographs; the most famous model is the 6036 (produced between 1951 and 1953) which has day, date and month. Some Rolex chronograph prior to the introduction of the Cosmograph had three register subdials, such as this example of the 6234, also known as the "Jean Claude Killy", named after the famous French ski champion (Fig. 2) but historically most had 2 registers. Fig. 2 The Chronographs were not the most popular Rolex models and were produced in limited quantities. Rolex may have been the first sport watch company but could not popularize the chronograph despite the timing utility for racers. In the book "The best of Time, Rolex wristwatches", Dowling and Hess recount that one of the authors could not purchase a Rolex at a discount, except for the chronograph. In my opinion, before the production of less expensive chronograph movements in the late fifties, such as the Valjoux 72, customers regarded chronographs as an overpriced luxury with little practicality. The usefulness of a time interval measuring instrument that did not interfere with the timekeeping of the watch, was reserved to a very few such as doctors, pilots, and sport racers. Fig. 3 The first Cosmograph Daytona was reference 6238 (1961-1967) (fig 3), also known in Italy as the pre-Daytona Cosmograph. It was the last Rolex with a tachometer scale on the dial, and the first watch to bear the name Cosmograph. Later, Rolex retrofitted some of these references with a Daytona dial and bezel. II. TheCosmograph Daytona models In 1957, Omega released the Speedmaster which was designed for motor sport lovers, the watch had an outside steel tachometer bezel with large arrow hands and was a manual wind chronograph. The watch was not an immediate success but Omega did not stop improving on the design, and the watch was rapidly updated with straight hands and a black bezel. By the early sixties, the watch had a following among sportsmen and pilots. Rolex soon followed with the introduction in 1961 of the Rolex Cosmograph (the name had been registered in 1953) 6238, and soon added two new models the 6239 (Fig. 4) and the 6241 (Fig. 5). Most had the added word "Daytona" (around the hour track subsidiary dial at 6 o'clock) but some dials had the word "Daytona" below "Cosmograph" (fig 4 &5). It was named in honor of the famed Daytona car races, a favorite among Hollywood celebrities. The 6239 & 6241: Fig. 4 These are the early Cosmograph Daytona wristwatches: the 6239 had a metal bezel and the 6241 had a black bezel. The dial configuration for both watches was the same; they could be fitted with a silver dial with black subdials or a black dial with white subdials. An exotic dial could also be fitted for these watches. These early Daytona were fitted with the manual Rolex 722 movement, a Valjoux 72 based movement with a 42 hour power reserve and a classic column wheel design. These two watches were not oyster models because of the regular non-screw chronograph pushers. Rolex soon realized that it needed to release an oyster model. The 6240 Rolex first attempt to release an Oyster Cosmograph with screw down chronograph pushers happened in 1965 with the released of the 6240 (Fig. 6), according to Osvaldo Patrizzi, the 6240 was a prototype model, however it lasted 4 years in the Rolex brochure and was replaced by the 6263 (Fig. 7, Fig. 8, & Fig. 9). The major difference between these two watches was that the 6240 were released with the Rolex caliber 722 while the 6263 were fitted with the newer Rolex caliber 727. Also, the 6240 has a thinner minute hand Fig. 6 The 6263 & 6265 Fig. 7 Released in 1970, the Rolex Oyster Cosmograph Daytona had the same case diameter of 37mm as its predecessors but was fitted with new screw down chronograph pushers and a new caliber also based on the reliable Valjoux 72, the Rolex 727. The 6263 (Fig. 8 & 9) had a black bezel while the 6265 (fig10 & 11) had a metal bezel. It is interesting to know that many Rolex dealers would switch bezel on these models at the request of the client. Thus, today, we can find these Daytona with a different bezel configuration. Both watches could have a back/white subdials dial or a Silver/Black subdials (also known as Panda with a black bezel, fig . These dials had the words "oyster" added below Cosmograph. The Water resistance of the watch was much improved thanks to the screw down pushers but also the wearer could not accidentally push them while diving. These two new references replaced the older 6239 and 6241, however, Rolex still had for a brief period two non screw down Cosmographs in their catalogue. Also the Gold Daytona had the words "Superlative chronometer. Officially certified" on the dial (Fig. 7). Fig. 8 Fig. 9 Fig. 10 Fig. 11 The 6262 & 6264 These two models were identical to their predecessors and had the regular pushers, however because these were fitted with the new calibre Rolex 727, Rolex gave them new reference numbers, the 6262 and 6264 replaced the 6239 and 6241 respectively. These two new references lasted about 2 years (1970-1972) since they were not as popular as the new screw down references. Why would Rolex release another non-screw pusher? A fact which at first glance seemed puzzling and perhaps even questionable in terms of marketing strategy. However, it reveals that the 6239 and 6241 may have had a following among wearers that needed to activate the chronograph rapidly without having to unscrew the pushers and did not need extra water resistance. Finally, some of them were fitted with the screw down pushers at the request of the retailer or the client. All these references were also available in 14ct and 18 ct gold case, with and without bracelets except maybe the 6240. Rolex also added a new jewelry Daytona, the 6269. The 6269 The 6269 (fig 14) was a gold Cosmograph Daytona with a factory diamonds dial and a factory diamonds bezel. It was probably released in the early 1980's. The watch had limited popularity and was the only type of jewelry Daytona available until the released of the sapphire model in 1988. The 16520: The Daytona popularity became a phenomenon when Rolex announced that the previous models were discontinued and that a new model will soon be released. In a matter of months, the Cosmograph Daytona price skyrocketed. The buyers were mostly Italian collectors and dealers. Until 1992, and the devaluation of the lira, the Italian market had mostly contributed to the price inflation of the Daytona. From 1992, the Japanese and American markets had picked up on the Daytona craze and the prices continued to rise. It is within that context that Rolex released in 1988 the new Daytona 16520 (fig 1). It had a larger 40 mm case a shoulder crown guard and a sapphire crystal. Also, the Daytona 16520 was fitted with the Zenith El Primero 400, renamed Rolex Calibre 4030. It was the first automatic Daytona and the only stainless steel model with was a certified chronometer. Thus the dial had the words "Oyster Perpetual" and "Superlative Chronometer officially certified" added. This model had many dial and case combination from Stainless steel to 18kt White Gold (reference 16519 released in 1997) on a strap, but also 18kt/SS (reference 16523) (fig17) on a bracelet and 18Kt Gold on Bracelet (reference 16528) or a strap (16518) (fig 12). The Models References Year Metal Size Movement Pushers Exotic Dial Bezel Brac/Strap 6239 /4/8 1961-1970 SS, Yellow 14Kt & 18Kt 37mm Manual, Rolex 722-1 (Valjoux 72) / Cal 72B Non-screw Yes Metal Yes/Yes 6241 /4/8 1961-1970 SS, Yellow 14Kt & 18Kt 37mm Manual, Rolex 722-1 (Valjoux 72) / Cal 72B Non-screw Yes Black Yes/Yes 6240 1965-1969 SS 37mm Manual, Rolex 722-1 (Valjoux 72) / Cal 72B Screw ? Black Yes/Yes 6262 /4/8 1970-1972 SS, Yellow 14Kt & 18Kt 37mm Manual, Rolex 727 (Valjoux 72) Non-screw Yes Metal Yes/Yes 6263 /4/8 1971-1987 SS, Yellow 14Kt & 18Kt 37mm Manual, Rolex 727 (Valjoux 72) Screw Yes Black Yes/Yes 6264 /4/8 1970-1972 SS, Yellow 14Kt & 18Kt 37mm Manual, Rolex 727 (Valjoux 72) Non-screw Yes Black Yes/Yes 6265 /4/8 1971-1987 SS, Yellow 14Kt & 18Kt 37mm Manual, Rolex 727 (Valjoux 72) Screw Yes Metal Yes/Yes 6269 1980-1987 Yellow 18Kt diamond dial only 37mm Manual, Rolex 727(Valjoux 72) Screw No Diams Yes/Yes 16520 1988-2000 SS 40mm Auto, Rolex 4030 (Zenith 400) Screw No Metal Yes/No 16523 1988-2000 Yellow 18Kt & SS 40mm Auto, Rolex 4030 (Zenith 400) Screw No Metal Yes/No 16528 1988-2000 Yellow 18Kt 40mm Auto, Rolex 4030 (Zenith 400) Screw No Metal Yes/No 16518 1992-2000 Yellow 18Kt 40mm Auto, Rolex 4030 (Zenith 400) Screw No/Arabic Metal No/Yes 16519 1997-2000 White 18Kt 40mm Auto, Rolex 4030 (Zenith 400) Screw No/Arabic Metal No/Yes 116520 2000- SS 40mm Auto, Rolex 4130 Screw No Metal Yes/No 116523 2000- Yellow 18Kt and SS 40mm Auto, Rolex 4130 Screw No Metal Yes/No 116528 2000- Yellow 18Kt 40mm Auto, Rolex 4130 Screw Yes/Arabic Metal Yes/No 116518 2000- Yellow 18Kt 40mm Auto, Rolex 4130 Screw No/Arabic Metal No/Yes 116519 2000- White 18Kt 40mm Auto, Rolex 4130 Screw No/Arabic Metal No/Yes III. The Exotic dial also known as "Paul Newman" Fig. 5 Fig. 05b? With the Cosmograph model, Rolex offered an exotic dial as an option. The dial had a red outer track and the subsidiary dials featured square markers. Also, the 9 O'clock subsidiary dial had the minute tracker 15,30,45,60 (Fig. 5) instead of 20,40,60 for the second on the regular dial (Fig. 4). It is also believed that the 6263 and 6265 did not have a red outer track and some did not have the words Daytona around the subsidiary dial at 6 O'clock. Some dismiss the latter exotic dials as an invention of forgers. We believe that indeed the latter dial existed. The Italians collectors quickly nicknamed this exotic dial; "the Paul Newman Daytona". The origin of the name can be traced back to the actor, Paul Newman was wearing that watch during the filming of Winning and also in his private life. The Exotic Paul Newman dial Daytona is considered a much more rare watch than the regular dial and therefore commands a much higher premium among collectors. These are the 4 possible combinations for the Exotic dial 6239 & 6241 Black dial/white subdial/white outer track background/red track. White dial/black subdial/black outer track background/red track (Fig. 5). 6263, 6265, 6262, 6264 Black dial/white subdial/white outer track background/black track. White dial/black subdial/black outer track background/white track. It is not known if the 6240 was ever fitted with a Paul Newman dial. However, if it did, it would most likely have been with the earlier version. Finally, the exotic dial also existed for the Gold version, the white background was replaced by a champagne color, word Daytona was written in gray and the outer track was of matching color (Fig. 13). Fig. 13 IV. The movements that fitted the Daytona Rolex 722 The Rolex 722 was based on the Valjoux 72. A manual movement of 29,5 mm (13 lignes), 18,000 beats per hour and 17 jewels. The 722 was a very reliable movement and with a Glucydur balance and could be adjusted to 3 positions. The chronograph functions are using a column wheel. It was in use from 1961 to 1970 and fitted the model 6238,6239,6240,6241. Rolex 727 The Rolex 727 was also based on the Valjoux 72 but with a balance oscillation of 21,600 beats per hour. It was adjusted to five positions. Furthermore, the gold references were certified chronometers. Model 6262,6263,6264,6265,6269. Rolex 4030 The Rolex 4030 (Fig. 14) was based on the famous automatic Zenith El Primero 400. The movement has a rotor mounted on ball bearing with an autonomy of 40 hours. Rolex made many modifications to the El Primero. The most important are to reduce the balance oscillation from 36,000 beats per hour to 28,800, thus reducing the frequency from 5 Hz to 4 HZ, a Breguet balance spring was added. A Glucydur balance, a Microstella fine adjustment . This is a column wheel chronograph. The movement has a diameter of 30 mm (13.5 lignes), thickness of 6.55 mm and 31 jewels.Model 16520, 16523, 16528,etc

TSA has just announce new Airport Check-in Screening Process due to current Terrorist Activities. This applies to all Departure Flights from US Territories and into US Territories! Please be advised of the following and allow yourself some extra time: - all liquid and gels must be under 4oz. and put inside Ziplock Bag and separated from luggage and put on bins and on conveyor belts thru X-Ray machine! - laptops must be removed from bag and put on bins and on conveyor belts thru X-Ray machine! - all shoes and belts must be remove and put on bins and on conveyor belts thru X-Ray machine! - all underwares (boxer shorts, Jockey shorts, panties, body stockings) must be removed and put on bins and on conveyor belts thru X-Ray and sniffer machine!

BS for Hump day:

Damn......finally, an arm with Tattoos more than Lani's! Great!!!!!...................................................oh, was there a watch in there???? Good lookin one Dude! And I can't believe this......I just took some shots of mine with the Maratac Strap for tomorrows, well today for you.....wristies! Check it out then.....I don't wanna rain on your parade! Good pickup! F-

That must be her setting by the window.........looking all nostalgic.........and happy, I saw last Tuesday!

mAN.....THIS IS NOT rIGHT! OK......here goes:

Dani, That mullah would get you an excellent nite in Bangkok! Damn!

Damn, Lucky man!

Sweet! Nicely done!

Big change there, Bud! The clasps is the #1 weakness of most HBB! I have the same problem with mine, although the King surprisingly is not as bad! Enjoy while you can! F- Monday???

Pho.......good to see you back and with your charm intack! Glad your 2010 is up to a good start! Inviteus to your first concert! Goodluck! F-

+1! And the only ones who knows most of the inaccuracies are us!

Thanks, my Friend!~ I wish the dial was as "correct" as the shot! That's why I switched it into Black for the correct flat "A" on the "Daytona": Hey Dems.......I know, big "Character" change when you put a Croc on it! If you do, just remember the 6263 is 19mm on the lugs! Hike