alligoat Posted September 30, 2010 Report Posted September 30, 2010 I recently built DW 6239 with a 6238 dial- I referred to it as a transitional 6238/9. Powered by a Wittnauer V72 and with a J&W 6238 dial, it turned out OK. I got a set of black subdial hands and then I got a 6238 bezel from DW- I was on my way to building the 6238. Cases for the 6238 and the 6239 are almost identical- according to 'Rolex Daytona, a legend is born', they have the same measurement across (36mm) and top to bottom (35mm). At that point, the only difference would be the bezel. Both take a T-21 crystal. So I installed the 6238 bezel- here it is on the left Watch on the right is the cartel 6238 with the a7750, symmetrical pushers and a terrible 6mm crown which I really need to change out! As you can see, the DW 6238 has a decidely flat look to the bezel- wide and flat. The cartel watch has a better bezel with a steeper pitch to it. In a side shot, you can see the difference- DW in front, cartel in back I guess for a while I'll go back to the 6238/9 transitional look while I try to come up with a better bezel. It's sure too bad that the cartel watch doesn't have assymetrical pushers! It's really not a bad rep.
chiman12 Posted September 30, 2010 Report Posted September 30, 2010 Even with the bezel, that DW is looking dang fine!!!
kbh Posted September 30, 2010 Report Posted September 30, 2010 They're both great looking watches. You're making me want one. Couldn't you take the guts out of a cartel model and put it directly into a DW 7750 case? That would certainly interest me. Also, I assume the bezels aren't interchangeable on your two watches?
lhooq Posted September 30, 2010 Report Posted September 30, 2010 The crown-side "tumah" is not nearly as obvious as I thought it would be. Source a more accurate bezel, and that's going to look even better. I think it's a great look as-is, though I do miss the look of the redundant tachy markings!
freddy333 Posted September 30, 2010 Report Posted September 30, 2010 Why not get a DW 7750 case, which has the asymmetrical pushers, & then swap out the crown/tube?
chiman12 Posted September 30, 2010 Report Posted September 30, 2010 alligoat...I have an extra cartel 623x case. I'm going to try and use the bezel on it for a completely different application. If it doesn't work and will fit on the DW...it's yours...
freddy333 Posted September 30, 2010 Report Posted September 30, 2010 I seem to recall that a couple of years ago I transplanted the bezel from a standard pre-Daytona rep (with symmetrical pushers) onto a DW case without any problem. I thought I took some pics, but they were lost (along with a couple of gigs worth of gen pics) when my computer crashed earlier this year.
alligoat Posted September 30, 2010 Author Report Posted September 30, 2010 Thanks guys for the kind words. Couldn't you take the guts out of a cartel model and put it directly into a DW 7750 case? That would certainly interest me. Also, I assume the bezels aren't interchangeable on your two watches? I've got a Dw 6239/7750 case and I'm going to put a cartel 6238 movt and dial into it- just haven't got there yet. The cartel bezel and the DW bezel aren't the same size- typical chinese engineering- they build a nice 6238 but the dimensions vary from gen slightly. DW's stuff is closer to gen dimensions- I fit a T-21 on the case. The crown-side "tumah" is not nearly as obvious as I thought it would be. Source a more accurate bezel, and that's going to look even better. I think it's a great look as-is, though I do miss the look of the redundant tachy markings! This is an earlier DW 6239 case- all it has is a little bulge below the crown. Like you say LH, sourcing a better bezel is the key now. I put the 6239 bezel back on this morning- I do like it! Freddy, like you say, I do have a DW 7750 case and I am going to swap in a cartel 6238 with a7750 movt. Chi, I don't think your 623x bezel will fit my DW case/crystal, but you never know. OD of the T-21 is 30.5mm.
jmb Posted September 30, 2010 Report Posted September 30, 2010 M, we might be able to get together and whip up a bezel to your specifications!
alligoat Posted September 30, 2010 Author Report Posted September 30, 2010 10-4, J! With a little help from LHOOQ, it ought to be a snap! I was looking at this earlier 6036 today- look how small the bezel is, inside of the case, so to speak. By the time they came out with the 6234, it was larger And this 6238 is the look I'm after I've got a spare cartel 6238 case and bezel also- I'm moving the guts into the DW 6239/7750 case (eventually). the cartel bezel is OK, it's just a tad too big!
Ephry73 Posted March 6, 2012 Report Posted March 6, 2012 Should there be a slight roundness to the top edge of the bezel? There is a certain bezel that I will try on the DW case that I received in erro from Ken at Raffles. It is meant for a 1016, but it is waay too small, yet the inside diameter(crystal side) looks correct for a t19 or 21 E
lhooq Posted March 7, 2012 Report Posted March 7, 2012 Did this ever happen? I did a quick eyeball estimate of the 6238 bezel way back when, but it never got to the lathing stage. If I recall correctly, fabricating a correctly-sized 6238 bezel would have resulted in a "tumah" looking far worse than ever. Of course, jmb later showed just how finely you can shave lugs, as evidenced on my FAP 6239. The way I see it, the main difficulty in a 6238 build would be finding a good dial for it. The best available is the one from the old 7750-powered cartel reps. We know the Phong dials are lacking, and DW's own take on the silver 6238 was one big disappointment. I'd love to see one of our aftermarket suppliers produce a really good 6238 dial, but considering how hard they struggle to make a decent Daytona dial, that seems unlikely.
Ephry73 Posted March 7, 2012 Report Posted March 7, 2012 This will be a really really nice build for sure. That cream dial on a nice oiled brown leather strap my my E
Ephry73 Posted April 27, 2012 Report Posted April 27, 2012 Any updates? I think I got bit by the bug! E
lhooq Posted April 27, 2012 Report Posted April 27, 2012 alligoat and I were watching an auction for a genuine 6238 silver dial, but someone snatched it out from under our noses. It better not be one of you maniacs!
Ephry73 Posted April 27, 2012 Report Posted April 27, 2012 I SAW IT!!!!! There is another silver 6238 on the bay DW is making me an offer that is very hard to refuse E
lhooq Posted April 27, 2012 Report Posted April 27, 2012 I SAW IT!!!!! There is another silver 6238 on the bay Are you talking about the $17,000 6238 with the spotty dial, or the $17,0000 6238 with the badly-refinished dial?
Ephry73 Posted April 27, 2012 Report Posted April 27, 2012 Neither, I was talking about just the dial for 1k plus. I lost the link or the auction and cannot find it. The 6238 silver is nice, but a panda would be awesome! Then again, a nice 6234 can do all the jobs equally well
lhooq Posted April 27, 2012 Report Posted April 27, 2012 Well, let me know if you find it! I would be willing to spend more than that for a good 6238 dial. I reckon many others would, too. I've actually seen more 6234 dials come up for sale than 6238 dials. Unfortunately, all of the 6234s I've seen are either horribly refinished, or look as if they survived an atomic exchange.
Ephry73 Posted April 27, 2012 Report Posted April 27, 2012 Well, let me know if you find it! I would be willing to spend more than that for a good 6238 dial. I reckon many others would, too. I've actually seen more 6234 dials come up for sale than 6238 dials. Unfortunately, all of the 6234s I've seen are either horribly refinished, or look as if they survived an atomic exchange. Ditto, however, I wouldn't mind a 6234 that looks as if did see WWII and Korea E
Ephry73 Posted June 9, 2012 Report Posted June 9, 2012 I love the silver dial, but I think I love another version better. Whilst browsing the web looking for reference pictures and drinking some Scotch, I found this (courtesy of network54.com) I think is suits my style better. Now that DW is becoming harder to find, who could provide a dial like this? ANy updates on the project? E
lhooq Posted June 9, 2012 Report Posted June 9, 2012 I love the silver dial, but I think I love another version better. A black 6238 dial in near-NOS condition went up on eBay last year. Winning bid was above $30,000. So... Should I put it in a DW case, or do I spring for a Phong?
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