Terrific Article about the Early Daytona 6239 on Hodinkee

[lhooq]

See here. 

 

Great photos, and good information throughout.  I never knew that the initial batch of 6239s had white (not silver) dials!

[panerai153]

Very interesting and informative read. That's a great watch, obviously doesn't have the pizazz of a PN Daytona, but certainly a very important watch, as it was the first of the Daytonas. 

[lhooq]

Very interesting and informative read. That's a great watch, obviously doesn't have the pizazz of a PN Daytona, but certainly a very important watch, as it was the first of the Daytonas. 

 

Going on visuals alone, I would take a Mk.I  Daytona over a Paul Newman. 

 

(Provided someone wrote me a check to cover the price difference!)

[freddy333]

Always loved the early '39s. But are they nicer than a Newman? Not so sure about that

[danielv2000]

I absolutely love the white dial! That being said, for me, it's a white dial PN with red subdials all the way. I'm glad to read they are not "rare". I will reference this article when my build is complete and someone points to it while it handsomely sits on my wrist.

[gplracer]

Great read!

[1680]

Great article, thanks for sharing!

 

This would be my grail dial (silver print, blue Daytona), imho much better than a PN:

 

[dieselpower]

Great article. Thanks for the thread! @ Freddy333 care to share the build spec for your Mk 1? I didn't know those 300mph bezels had been repped! Then again I hadn't particularly been looking. I do remember when I worked in a vintage watch dealership in London and being shown an underline Mk 1 'tona, as I recall the co-owner (one Mr N. Urul) was not keen on buying it as it was not an easy piece to sell on which totally concurs with the written article. Can't remember if he bought it or not but I bet it was around £4-5k at the time!

[devilseam]

Very interesting. Love these old daytonas and really miss my DW PN.

[freddy333]

@ Freddy333 care to share the build spec for your Mk 1? I didn't know those 300mph bezels had been repped!

 

The original watch came from our Japanese friend, Honpo (by way of member who happened to be in Honpo's neck of the woods at the time). Things may have changed in the intervening years, but he used to offer some of the most accurate (though not perfect) Rolex reps (including some very tasty tropical 6263s) that were unavailable from any other dealers. Unfortunately, he only sold to Japanese buyers & rarely responded to emails sent through his website unless you were located in Japan.

Anyway, the watch I received was in a pretty poor state (as is typical of most reps), but, after a thorough going-over, it received all the usual mods - gen crown/tube, xtal, 7835/19 bracelet & excised auto-wind module to install v72-style caseback. The watch is nearly due for an overhaul at which time I will exchange its dial crown for a gen to complete its transformation. Honpo's website seems to move around alot, but this is his current site. I noticed he has a number of vintage Rolex folded & rivet bracelets listed, but, as is the case for most of his stuff, little or no details about the items. So you would need to contact him & hope he responds.

[alligoat]

That white dialed 6239 is sweet!

 

 

thanks for the lead LH