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freddy333

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$300? That's a thing of beauty. To be honest, it's identical (don't have in hand right now) to the MQ dial I purchased recently. Beautiful. I'd say closer to $750. It's MQ/Phong quality if not better.

Edited by danielv2000
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looks pretty good! The subdial numbers on the gen certainly are crisper and better defined,the serifs look a little p[rominent as well and as daniel said, the coronet is different, but who knows what was going on back then. I would bet that  at regular watch size, under a crystal, it would be hard to tell the difference.  I don't think this is a 300 buck dial though, probably closer to 1k, but i'm not to well versed on Daytonas.

 

"I know nothing about the Daytonas and such....is the marker at 6 position supposed to cover up "Swiss"..?? Weird, why are all the other markers square, but the marker @ 6 has a rounded bottom ?

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It's a very good looking dial but all wrong for your build Freddy.

Just send it to me and go find yourself a better one :inverted:

(of course I'm just kiddin')

 

I know nothing about the Daytonas and such....is the marker at 6 position supposed to cover up "Swiss"..??

+1

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It's ok. I don't like the bottom of the subdials at 6 and 9, they look frayed.. The writing is too thick as well as on the minute track. The subdial numbers are placed slightly too far 'in' to the subdials. Also the actual dial background (the black part that the red minute track is printed on looks a bit strange, weird texture. I don't know how much this dial costs without seeing the back and a lower profile view but its all the same, there's always an issue or issues with rep PN dials. Horrible for a perfectionist like myself. My Minh dial was great but not perfect so I bought a gen non PN dial..

Edit: frayed part is bottom of subdial at 6 and side of subdial at 9

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know nothing about the Daytonas and such....is the marker at 6 position supposed to cover up "Swiss"..??

I think that is just the camera angle & shadow, but I will know more when I see the dial in person.

 

 

 

looks pretty good! The subdial numbers on the gen certainly are crisper and better defined,the serifs look a little p[rominent as well and as daniel said, the coronet is different, but who knows what was going on back then. I would bet that  at regular watch size, under a crystal, it would be hard to tell the difference.  I don't think this is a 300 buck dial though, probably closer to 1k, but i'm not to well versed on Daytonas.

Weird, why are all the other markers square, but the marker @ 6 has a rounded bottom ?

All the markers appear square to me. I have seen at least 7 different crowns on gen Newmans & the crown on this easily fits within the range of those. Otherwise, I think you nailed it.

 

 

 

 

It's ok. I don't like the bottom of the subdials at 6 and 9, they look frayed.. The writing is too thick as well as on the minute track. The subdial numbers are placed slightly too far 'in' to the subdials. Also the actual dial background (the black part that the red minute track is printed on looks a bit strange, weird texture. I don't know how much this dial costs without seeing the back and a lower profile view but its all the same, there's always an issue or issues with rep PN dials. Horrible for a perfectionist like myself. My Minh dial was great but not perfect so I bought a gen non PN dial..

Edit: frayed part is bottom of subdial at 6 and side of subdial at 9

The 'fraying' is due to imperfections in the paint work & is typical of all aftermarket & some gen dials. It bothers neurotics like us, but is not an issue when the watch is viewed at an arm's length, which meets my benchmark for acceptability. I kind of agree with you about the placement (slightly too far inward) of the subdial printing, but, on the other hand, I am looking at some gens in my picture archive with similar placement, so I can live with it. That 'weird' texture along the minute track is typical of early Newman dials (mainly the 1st production runs) &, if done correctly, should be repeated (I hope) in the central whte area. This is 1 of the 1st details I look at when trying to authenticate Newman dials.

 

The dial in question is Minh's & it matches the Minh dial in my '41, which is currently the most accurate aftermarket dial I have seen. Cost is $1,100. The 3 details that sold me on these are the properly wide horizontal P in COSMOGRAPH (this is the only aftermarket Newman I have seen that got that correct), the pad-printing that was used to make these (& the gens - pad-printing produces raised text, which reflects light from the side; laser-printing produces flat, 2-dimension text, which does not reflect light from the side) & that gently mottled texture of the minute track (& hopefully the central white area)

IMG_00081_zps5fb16038.jpg

 

IMG_00061_zps0bce8849.jpg

 

IMG_00101_zps41de24c6.jpg

 

 

 

Certainly, not perfect when viewed in magnification, but it would certainly fool me in an otherwise correct watch when viewed from an arm's length in the real world & I love the black 1 in my '41

623962410322__-2_tonemapped1.jpg

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A gen Newman dial, if you can find 1, would cost you $10,000-$20,000. In that context, while still psychotic, $1,100 for a pretty accurate aftermarket dial (that makes a franken look gen to most) makes some sense. Nah, it is still insane & I should be locked in a rubber room that ticks

hangingrolex0282__-2_tonemapped-1.jpg

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If it's your passion then....yeah!

It is a lovely looking dial.

 

I guess if I stick at it for a couple of years then I'm sure the Mrs will understand "love, look at my new dial" how much was that "only 1k" BANG!! ouch :D

Edited by ceejay
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Oh, I didn't realize that the early PN's had that dial texture, cool. He did well then. I hate that Minh has the market cornered for these specific dials.. I emailed my new dial guy and he has a few PN's soon. I will post pics when I get them.

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Oh, I didn't realize that the early PN's had that dial texture, cool.

 

Early Newman dials had this surface texture

post-3175-0-65621200-1363377627_thumb.jp

 

 

The texture is not a requirement of authenticity, since most Newmans lack this, but it is 1 of those small details (along with 3-d dial lettering) that you generally only see on early gens. It is also 1 of the details that allow me to rationalize spending a ridiculous amount of money for a rep dlal. ;)

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It's amazing to see it zoomed in like that. Yes I can see that the texture is very grainy, if Minh got that right, which it looks like he did, then the other minor flaws are even more forgivable. It's just after my recent dealings with him I would love if someone else could make one as good or better so that there's a second option for people

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SLK62410162__-2_tonemapped1.jpg

Well, Minh certainly got my black dial right (though I did have to replace the crown with a gen (his old crowns looked alot like some of Phong's) & paint the square markers myself), which is why I went back to him for another white.
It is just a matter of time until all the other aftermarket sellers have similar (or the same) dials for sale & only a bit longer until someone (maybe even Minh himself) bests these & for 1/3 the price.

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FACTOID - Gen dials like these Newmans (as well as 'red' Subs & SDs) are painted using a process called pad printing. You can search out the details, but, basically, it involves engraving the text (today, the plate is chemically etched) & dial details into a flat plate of copper or bronze (I forget exactly what type metal Rolex used). The plate is then cleaned & a swath of white paint is squeegeed across the engraving, depositing the paint only into the grooves below the plate surface, leaving the rest of the plate clear of paint. Then, a large, soft pad, shaped somewhat like an upside-down onion, is lowered onto the painted plate. The paint gets transferred onto the face of the pad, which is then lowered onto a dial blank, thus depositing the paint in the appropriate areas of the dial. The process is repeated as many times as required to raise & thicken the paint on the dial, as per the maker's specification. A new (clean) plate, containing only, say, the outer minute marks & DAYTONA for a Newman (or the word SUBMARINER in the case of a 'red' Sub) is installed in the table & red paint is squeegeed across the engraving. The pad is again brought down onto the plate to collect the red paint & then moved over & lowered onto the dial (which already has the white paint applied) to apply red paint on top of the white painted areas that are to be red. If a thicker application of red is required, the process is repeated.

Over time, the red paint may wear off, which leaves the underlying white paint. This is why you may see a bit of white below the SWISS & red minute markers on the macro pic I posted above, or peeking out below SUBMARINER on some 'red' Subs or DRSDs.

Most aftermarket dials are printed, as opposed to painted, which is why the printing is 2-dimensional on aftermarket dials & 3-d on gens (& Minh's Newmans).

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