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Vintage Daytona 7205 Bracelet


VesperMatt

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Hey guys,

Piecing together one of my first projects. I've got an A7750 DW 6238 case and I'm trying to figure out what riveted bracelet is correct for this. I've searched and turned up varying opinions on 57 end links, which seem to be the most common on eBay. Some posts here say they should work and other saying they spin/have too much of a gap. Plus it seems to vary by case manufacturer (and unfortunately when DW machined the case) since I see different opinion of how end links fit for Gen vs DW vs Phong.

Can anyone with an A7750 DW case chime in on whats working for them? I could take photos of the case and lug holes when I get home this evening if that helps. Case, I believe, is identical to his 6239 case with the tumor on the side (which I need to get machined off) and I purchased it within the past month or two.

Trying to build a rep of the 6238 as seen in OHMSS for my James Bond collection

Cheers,

Matt

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My charts say the 7205 should have 71 end pieces for a 6239. I can check 'Rolex Daytona, a legend is born' tonite when I get home. It's the Bible!

I do know that my gen 78350 with 571 ends fits beautifully on my DW 6238, on the left in this pic:

P1010061.jpg

My 6238 is the V72 case, but my other DW's (7750 cases)also take the 571 ends perfectly. But the 78350 is a more modern bracelet- '76 on, and I guess you're looking for the more vintage look with the 7205. If a 57 end piece fits, I certainly wouldn't worry about it

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As alligoat said, the correct Daytona endlinks for a 7205 are 71s, but I wouldn't bother looking for them. They're incredibly rare and ridiculously expensive if you do find them. Expect to pay about $1000 for ONE endlink, and sky's-the-limit for a complete bracelet with 71s attached.

From what I can remember, a 57 will fit fine with not too bad a gap. The problem with 57s is the thinness of the link relative to the lugs. You'll be seeing a lot of the mid-case engravings. What I did on my 7205 was to find a pair of 357 endlinks and mount them onto the 7205. If you don't mind the mismatched numbers, it looks great.

Good luck on the 6238. I've dreamt of building a 'Lazenby' for some time, but I've yet to find a really good dial. Don't forget the red sweep hand!

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Well if it isn't the two main guys whose builds motivated my build. Thanks for chiming in fellows.

I passed on a couple 7205s because I wasn't sure if the 57s would fit. Anyone have any experience trying to fit 60s on the case? These are by far the two most common that come up. I'm aware of the cost of 71s and certainly am not springing for this as it would exceed the amount I've spent on parts to this point. Switching to 357s down the road definitely seems like an option as well, I'm most concerned that the clasp and blades/rivets look correct.

I'm copying AliGoat's build with an A7750 and dial from a cartel watch (that Mary sourced for me) inside a DW 6238 case. I thought I would be happy with just the cartel watch, but I couldn't stop thinking of those pushers! I've got a J&K crystal to put on there and the gen bracelet and crown are next on the to buy list. I still need to find someone who can do the machining to remove the 'tumor' as LHOOQ calls it and then I'm going to send it all off to Vac who said he can service the movement and remove the auto-wind to fit the thinner case back that came with the DW case.

I'm debating trying to paint the hands vs trying out the 'slimeball's' replacements - Anyone ever have any experience with his A7750 hands? He already has a set of hour and minute hands that are painted black. The second hand should be easy enough to paint red, I think.

My inspiration:

lazenby.jpg

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I'm copying AliGoat's build with an A7750 and dial from a cartel watch (that Mary sourced for me) inside a DW 6238 case.

Sheesh... Why didn't I think of this? I've still got a silver-dialed 6239/7750 that was rendered redundant by my V72 build. Matt, any chance of getting a picture of that dial? I'd like to be sure that it's the same silver sunburst as on the old cartel reps (and the gen), and not the white dial that Josh insists is on his new Sea-Gull Daytonas.

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Sure, just snapped this for you. This would be my first non-camera phone pic of a watch and I don't have a macro lense for my camera, so please excuse that. I took a photo of the cartel dial/movement inside the DW case, thats still the DW crystal on it. Next to it is my gen vintage datejust for comparison. The sunburst isn't as pronounced as on my datejust, but its there at certain angles.

I got the watch from Mary in the beginning of July.

dw6238.jpg

Let me know if you need a different angle of the dial or to change lighting or something? My camera battery died after taking a few pics, that was the best of the bunch.

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Thanks for that. I misread your post, and thought that Mary was able to find the dial by itself, but I guess that would be too good to be true! Still worth considering for the future, if I decide I've got to have a 6238.

The dial looks good to me. I would swap the subdial hands with DW's, as the cartel hands are a bit on the chubby side. If possible, I would also change the running seconds hand with a needle type, but I don't know if these are available for the 7750. It's worth a look. Finally, I would have jmb lathe a new bezel, as I'm not entirely convinced by the dimensions of DW's. But maybe we should see the final product before taking that step!

That said, the watch looks great as-is. It just needs a bit of a shave. :)

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The correct end link for a 6238 fitted with a 7205 bracelet is the 71, but you are unlikely to find a gen bracelet for sale. At least, not for less than a king's ransom. I have folded link 7835s with 357 links on all of my 62xx Daytonas & they fit well (though not perfectly). Using the Search, you will find more pics of bracelets on DWs than you can shake a stick at.

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  • 6 months later...

As alligoat said, the correct Daytona endlinks for a 7205 are 71s, but I wouldn't bother looking for them. They're incredibly rare and ridiculously expensive if you do find them. Expect to pay about $1000 for ONE endlink, and sky's-the-limit for a complete bracelet with 71s attached.

From what I can remember, a 57 will fit fine with not too bad a gap. The problem with 57s is the thinness of the link relative to the lugs. You'll be seeing a lot of the mid-case engravings. What I did on my 7205 was to find a pair of 357 endlinks and mount them onto the 7205. If you don't mind the mismatched numbers, it looks great.

I have the Cartel A7750 6238 from Mary. I tried gen 7205 rivet bracelets with 57 and 60 endlinks but they don't work too well. The gap between the top of the endlink and bezel and seeing the ugly unfinished sides of the case at the lugs are too much for me. Are 357 endlinks compatible with the Cartel case? If so, where can I find 357 endlinks without breaking the bank?

Also, where can I find skinnier subdial hands that work with A7750?

Thanks!

Edited by rwgforumfan
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I can't comment on which endlinks will fit your case, but you can get proper-width subdial hands from DW. Alternatively, WSO has a set of 7750 Daytona hands, but I've no idea if they're any good

If you really want to get all the details right, try finding a needle-like hand for the running seconds.

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I can't comment on which endlinks will fit your case, but you can get proper-width subdial hands from DW. Alternatively, WSO has a set of 7750 Daytona hands, but I've no idea if they're any good

If you really want to get all the details right, try finding a needle-like hand for the running seconds.

Will these subdial hands fit A7750? The listing says they are for Valjoux 72.

http://dw-watches.net63.net/wordpress/hands-for-all-vintage-daytona/

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The correct end link for a 6238 fitted with a 7205 bracelet is the 71, but you are unlikely to find a gen bracelet for sale. At least, not for less than a king's ransom. I have folded link 7835s with 357 links on all of my 62xx Daytonas & they fit well (though not perfectly).

Would that be wrong to put a 7835 folded bracelet on a 6238 pre-Daytona? Has there ever been a combination like this from Rolex?

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Rolex only ever offered the 6238 with 6635s or 7205s, both fitted with the same 71 ends. However, since later 6239/6241s were supplied with 7835s (fitted with either 271 or 371 ends), it would be reasonable that Rolex (or an owner) replaced a worn out 7205 with it. It all depends on how much originality figures into your scheme.

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Has anyone tried 357, 271 or 371 endlinks on Cartel A7750 6238? This is what mine looks like fitted with gen 57 and 60 endlinks. The gap is very noticeable.

gapy.jpg

The Cartel A7750 6238 case seems to be a lot thicker than the gen. The gen fitted with 57 endlinks looks fine here.

http://youtu.be/oJMGpY_xME4?t=2m59s

Edited by rwgforumfan
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I can't comment on which endlinks will fit your case, but you can get proper-width subdial hands from DW. Alternatively, WSO has a set of 7750 Daytona hands, but I've no idea if they're any good

If you really want to get all the details right, try finding a needle-like hand for the running seconds.

Who's WSO?

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