Jump to content
When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
  • Current Donation Goals

Finishing the last 1%...


ubiquitous

Recommended Posts

For a while now, I've been feeling a little bored with my watches and with the hobby in general. As we all know, hobbies tend to remain interesting only when you have something to do, and when you don't... Well, boredom sets in. And then what?

That got me looking at my collection. I'm pretty satisifed with what's in the watch box- A very small collection of watches that I've been working on over the course of the last few years. However, having both Zenith Daytona projects side by side, there was one striking difference that started to stand out in my eye- The dial on the black Daytona is a repainted dial, and was far inferior in comparison to the genuine white dial that graced the other Cosmograph. So... I set about searching for the right dial. After some patience and with a bit of chance, I finally found a dial that was suitable. In short order, I had it on it's way to me and finally got around to swapping out the old repainted black dial in my Daytona with a genuine dial. Much, much better...

First a comparison of dials.

Old (repainted)

210862-16718.jpg

New (genuine)

210862-16719.jpg

Old dial in the watch

210862-16720.jpg

New dial in the watch

210862-16721.jpg

210862-16722.jpg

And a comparison of genuine dials (black and white)...

210862-16723.jpg

What a difference a dial makes. What's interesting is both were found in Italy :p

So... Now that that's done... What next?

:)

Thanks for looking...

R

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Darn, you're good at sourcing parts. :)

I had a hunch your old dial was not as sharp as it should be and thought it was the photos or needed to have my eyes checked. Good to know my vision is okay. :)

Glad you found your dial. The Daytona looks perfecto mundo! BTW, I think that new dial adds a tad more than just 1%.

Enjoy!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Beautiful as usual.

What's next you ask? A GMT Master of course. You have all the great sports Rollies now... but not the nicest one. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

Okay... So, maybe the upgrade is a little more than 1% :lol: It does make for a huge difference in eye appeal- Especially in the sun! The differences are subtle, but they are many-

1) The coronet shape at 12:00 is much better with much more defined edges, and slightly squared corners at the base of the coronet.

2) Dial printing is far crisper (yes, Serg- It's not your eyes, but the dial :) ).

3) Subdial rings are cream color (I think I actually liked the white better on the repaint), printing/font is bolder and the WG rings around the edge are thicker.

4) The hour indicies are smaller, thinner, and more 'precision'.

5) SWISS MADE is the correct size and correct color (i.e. on the old dial, you could see 'SWISS MADE' at 6:00 from across the room).

I must say, gents... Pictures just don't do this dial justice.

And with that said... My interest in the hobby is rekindled...

^_^

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ubi - HUUUUUUGE improvement in my opinion. It's like going from rep to gen IMO!!! Great find.

I must say... The white has always been my favorite, only because it looked cleaner to me. The black dial always had a tendency to look dirty, especially in direct sunlight as the indicies would reflect off the crystal, and then back off the dial and so on (much like all other glossy Rolex black dials). So, you'd see not only the indicies, but also the subdial rings and the sort reflected off the dial, and it just looked dirty.

However... I must admit that the black dial is starting to grow on me. After having spent some time with this one on the wrist, I'm finding that it has more eye appeal than the white. I find myself reaching for the black dial more often as it's just gorgeous to look at. The repainted dial was horrendously bad at reflecting the dial markers and subdial rings as it was solid black and very gloss. The genuine dial helps diffuse the reflection a bit, as close inspection under light reveals that it's not really black, but more of a charcoal-grey with brown color. The surface is slightly more matte... It's very hard to describe.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...
Please Sign In or Sign Up