TeeJay

All in the name of science Absolutely stunning photography

Awesome project I did a similar thing for a wall clock, but using a Panerai-style dial I'm not enough of an expert to comment on the shapes of the fonts, but, if this is for a clock (presumeably without a date function) I would ammend the dial to only read Oyster Perpetual, and clone the 9 marker to the 3 position Can't wait to see the finished product, mine turned out like junk, but with the right printer and paper, I'm sure you'll get a first class result

I'm sure I've read before that sometimes CGs weren't always perfectly symmetrical from the factory, but I may be mistaken...

Thanks for taking the time to do the review It's not a movement I'm likely to encounter, but it was a very informative read, thanks again

Same as 16610, teejay.

Bezel assembly is exactly the same- in fact, the 16610 uses the 16800 parts numbers as far as the whole bezel assembly isd concerned and the crystal is the same 295-C2. The case itself has a slightly shallower rehaut and is fitted with the 3035 movement. The 16610 case has the deeper rehaut and takes the 3135 movt.

Thanks guys, that's interesting to know I wondered if it might be the modern style case with the older style dial, but wanted to be sure Having a preference for the curved sides of the vintage cases, I wonder if anyone's tried putting a 16610 dial into a 1680/1513 case?

I do like the early 16610's, the one with the tritium dials and the 93150 bracelets w/ 501b end pieces.

But I'm sorta out there w/ Teejay- I like the vintage and these 16800's are getting to be vintage

Out of curiosity, what's the profile of the mid-case and bezel like on those? Is it like a 1680, or 16610?

After building a 6238/9 transitional and with parts left over, I decided it would be a no-brainer to build another one with the a 7750 movement. I have the original work in progress- the 'transitional', it's a V72 powered DW 6239 case with the 6238 dial and the 6239 bezel

In the process of building this watch, which has been a labor of love for the last two years, I bought a second cartel 6238 and thought I might be able to use some of the parts from it to make the 6238 w/ correct assymetrical pushers. Alas, I was delusional, chinese parts rarely are the same size as gen and the best I've been able to do to date is build a transitional 6238/9. But with an extra cartel 6238, I decided to get a DW 6239/a7750 case and see if I couldn't build another 'redundant bezeled pre-daytona'. It's called 'redundant bezel' because the tachymeter scale is printed on the dial of the 6238 and also on the bezel of the 6239. I must give credit to my friend, LHOOQ, because he's the one who coined the term and I do like it! At any rate, I was able to fit the 6238 dial with a7750 movt in the DW 6239/7750 case and I must say it looks good IMO! It's on the right in this pic, next to the transitional 6238/9 on the left.

One note, I did file off the 'tumah' on the crown side of the 6239/a7750 case. It's not completely gone, but almost so- what's left is fairly well hidden by the bezel. But this case really doesn't lend itself to installation of a 6238 bezel- the 'tumah' still shows too much. Luckily the 6239 V72 case doesn't have the same bulge- I may still be able to get a decent plain bezel for it, but I must say, I kinda like the 'redundant bezeled pre-daytona'!

One last thing, the a7750 redundant bezeled pre-daytona' isn't too expensive to build- a couple of hundred dollars for the cartel 6238 and another couple for the 6239/7750 case and you're there. Of course, you could buy a 6239/7750 Daytona from DW for about the same price. So pick your poison.

That's a really nice build A 'redundant bezel' project is one possible project I'm considering myself, but it will involve the black dial variant of yours, and a modern Daytona case. It all depends on how the dial I already have marries up to the movement of the pre-Daytona I've seen available. By preference, I would like to use my panda dial for a pre-Daytona, but, if the dial isn't useable, I'll be putting the pre-D movement and dial in the modern case, for a hybrid build (I had considered that the scales would be on both dial and bezel, but hadn't considered the term 'redundant bezel', props to LHOOQ for coining the phrase )

Interesting, and disappointing reading indeed, thanks for the heads up

I agree with the above comments about Rolex sports watches and bracelets, but, and this is a big but, the dauphine hands and white dial make the watch classy/elegant/formal enough to make the strap the better (IMO) choice. The bracelet looks wrong to my eyes, with the strap looking like a perfect match for the watch I would also agree that a Tropic-Style strap would probably also work quite well, with the basket-weave texture lending enough gravitas to outweigh the 'rubber strap sportiness', so also well worth a try if you have one

Modern...

None of the above, vintage all the way

Very nice build I think the bottom photo is the one which shows the dial to it's full potential, I bet it's stunning in direct sunlight at 'viewing angle'

I feel sorry for the guy that he got sold an unacceptably modified watch, but he really needs to suck it up, grow a pair, and have a word with the AD about getting a full refund. If one watch came through the shop in a modified manner, who's to say that others won't be similarly 'modified'... That AD would have lost all credibility as far as I'm concerned. The OP should be taking his business elsewhere for sure, and if he's concerned about the cost of the trips, maybe he shouldn't be buying such an expensive watch (I know, I know, it's the principle, he shouldn't have to pay out. We shouldn't have to pay out to send reps back to our dealers, but that's the way of the world...)

:thumbsupsmileyanim:

That's some really nice macro work, amigo

Oh man, really sorry to hear that, bro It goes without saying, that healing thoughts and prayers are on their way

That's going to be a sweet project, can't wait to see how it comes out

Love it If someone wants 100% perfection, they should buy a the real thing or get seriously into franken building. Even the most moderately priced reps offer a reasonable approximation of the originals they are representations of which should be acceptable to anyone after a nice watch. Seeing people miss the wood for the trees makes me laugh

:thumbsupsmileyanim: :thumbsupsmileyanim: :thumbsupsmileyanim:

Screw Rolex, Tudor For the Win

Bergies, no doubt about it

DOH!!! Believe it or not, that's where a lot the "aging" on my gen Rollies has happened...literally bashing them on the bike stands locking my bike up.

Another thing to note...realistically, in terms of price, spending $400 on a REP should be considered a status symbol even though it's a rep because most of society only spends $50 on their Timex or $100 on their watches.

That is so true, I worked out a while back that in terms of watches I've bought to cannibalize for parts, I've easily spent $500 on this one...

TeeJay, I'm with you re: the iPhone thing. It's far and away the most useful tool I can carry with me besides a Leatherman Squirt P4.

So whad'ja do to yours? Mine went swimming

Natural causes with mine (ish) Tried to load the facebook app one morning, and it loaded some of my info, some of Emilys (we've both logged in on the phone before to check statuses) so I tried the homekey/top key re-boot trick. When I next turned it on, it showed the Apple logo for about 15 seconds, then the screen blacked out, and that's all it'll do Tried plugging it into the computer to do a restore via iTunes, and the computer won't even recognize that an external device has been plugged in To be fair, it has had two years worth of heavy use, and the battery life had been starting to get bad, and the top key was starting to get a bit temperemental, so I knew it was due a service, it's just wierd what happened to it I've found a company online who specialize in iPhone repairs, and once the inheritance money comes through, I'll be sending it off to the spa in hopes it can be fixed I'm not thrilled at the idea of losing 600+ photos (including wedding and portfolio work) and all the contact details I had for folks, but if they can recondition the phone and get it working again, losing the info would be a sacrifice worth paying to get it working again Fingers crossed

Dragging this back on topic, I was in the Dr. office yesterday and walking out, saw an elder gent waiting there, wearing a Pepsi GMT. My immediate reaction? "Guy must be a retired pilot."

Why did I think that?

Reasonable assumption from the available clues

Rolex is to watches as Apple is to Computer/Gadgets. I know more people toting Apple devices around as a status symbol, then watch wearers these days.

I read an article a while back which pretty much said that anyone who owned an iPad was an elitist douche, and anyone wanting to own one was just a wannabe

To address the point though, I would say that like Rolex (in the days of old) Apple products had a reputation for being very good for their intended purpose (ie graphics based applications) and 'the tool of professionals'. Having used an iPhone for almost two years, I can honestly say it was the most versatile piece of technology I have ever owned, and was a professionally required purchase, rather than purchassing a luxury item for 'bragging rights'. To say I'm desperate to get it fixed, is an understatemnt, as every day I am unable to use it, I realize just how useful it was as a tool (not even necessarily as a telephone) I think Rolex, like Apple, is a damned if you do, damned if you don't product. If someone is to wear a gen, someone is goingto think they are an elitist douche, and if someone wears a rep, someone else is going to think they're a wannabe. Sadly, there's not the option to say "I'm wearing a rep because I'm not prepared to buy the real thing, but I'm really not a poser, honest!" I think as mentioned above, the only important thing is to wear the watches we like, and forget what anyone else might be thinking, afterall, if they have a problem, they're the one with the problem

An interesting topic to bring up, and one which is certainly going to get some interesting discussion here. I think by discussing it here, rather than on TZ, another facet of the discussion will focus on wearing a rep rather than a gen.

I think there are many gen Rolex owners who purchase the watches solely as elitist status symbols, but I know that there are also those who do not hold that view. I don't think that those two camps can be divided solely along the lines contemporary/vintage, because while there are indeed those who have their aged vintages and wear them on a daily basis, there are also those who wastefully keep them in safes, purely as 'value items' (personally, that makes me feel that people like that are missing the point of owning the product, and should instead just keep a bar of platinum in their vault) On the contemporary side, there are those who might want to purchase a watch which they feel is going to be with them a long time and give years of good service, just as there are those who want to 'buy a Rolex' so they can look like a bigshot and impress bar skanks and jailbait. They, like those who keep timepieces in safes, are missing the point of owning a watch and appreciating it for what it is.

I don't own a gen Rolex and would never buy one on principle (my anti-commercialism views) yet I do appreciate the aesthetics of the Rolex models, and feel that reps give me the chance to appreciate that aesthetic without having to buy the original. Much as someone might appreciate a fine painting and hang a print of it in their home or office (because they rather obviously cannot acquire the original) I don't think my appreciation of Rolex is to do with the perceived status symbol, simply because in my time collecting, Rolex has not always held my attention as a brand, and also, because I prefer the different dial formats of the Tudor line, which while equally collectable, are only really recognized by other serious collectors (never had anyone made a comment on my Tudor subs) and do not show the Rolex branding. Would I wear a sterile Homage? On the one hand, I would say no, simply because it is not a complete recreation of the original (just as a print of the Great Wave which was missing Mt Fuji would be inaccurate and incomplete) but on the other hand, I would probably be just as capable of appreciating it 'as a watch', and enjoying it for what it does represent, rather than what it does not...

Just my .2c, looking forwards to reading other's thoughts

Well, their goal is to make money And they seem to do so quite well. In the big picture, they'd rather focus on the people that buy Rolex for the image it represents; in contrast the collector's segment is a small niche in relative terms when compared to the global market of people who will buy a new Rolex sinply for having a Rolex (with no real interest in the oldies, the history, etc). Few of those folks end up becoming involved in the brand and discovering the vintage stuff, but I am sure that this figure is probably pretty low in the ratio.

I think you're quite right there, and a good example of that 'I want a Rolex for the sake of having a Rolex' mindset is well demonstrated here by those who post looking for 'the best sub', but never post again once they've got their answer. It's a common phenomenon, and I'd say the amount of times that question comes up, is probably a good example of how many folks in the real world gen market might think the same thing (after all, it was trying on a gen Sub which first made me look into getting a rep instead...) Of course, the varying aesthetics of the vintage models is definitely going to appeal to those with an overall interest in watches (or maybe just offer a different 'set of options' for the person choosing a single watch) but for the most part, I would definitely agree that Rolex is aiming to focus less on retention of existing customers, but more on acquiring new customers who will buy a new watch. As you say though, their goal is to make money, so I guess they're succeeding

Even vintage collectors buy new pieces every now and then... They gotta have their beaters, right?

That's what the safe queens should have been used for

Good to see you posting, brother Circumstances are going to give me the opportunity to expand my collection/complete some long-overdue projects in the not to distant future, so watch this space