freddy333 Posted December 25, 2007 Report Share Posted December 25, 2007 After ruminating for some time over the idea of upgrading the dial in my 116520 Daytona with one of the dials that comes in some of the newer reps (these have more accurate fonts & subdials), I finally broke down & ordered a new 116520 from Josh about 10 days ago. The watch arrived yesterday and after an uneventful dial swap, I think my 3.5 year old 116520 (with low profile case, modded CGs & gen crown/tube/pushers) now lacks all the obvious rep sins & I could not be happier with the results. So unless someone spots something that I missed, I think I may be pretty close to done. Opinions? For its coming out, the 2 of us attended a Christmas party last night Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greystash Posted December 26, 2007 Report Share Posted December 26, 2007 That looks awesome freddy; Merry Christmas. How could anyone call that without holding it under their nose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Red Baron Posted December 26, 2007 Report Share Posted December 26, 2007 Agreed, looks great! Merry Christmas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutchy Posted December 26, 2007 Report Share Posted December 26, 2007 (edited) Fantastic looking!!! I think you're done! Merry christmas everyone! Edited December 26, 2007 by Dutchy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted December 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2007 Fantastic looking!!! I think you're done! Thank you & I think you are right.........at least I hope so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
By-Tor Posted December 26, 2007 Report Share Posted December 26, 2007 Nicely done Freddy! You know I'm a big fan of the white Daytona. Enjoy that beauty, and Merry Christmas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted December 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2007 Thanks and wishing you the same in return, By-Tor. And, by the way, it was your brilliant review of Josh's (Stephane's) watch that finally convinced me to do the dial swap. So thanks for that, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archibald Posted December 26, 2007 Report Share Posted December 26, 2007 Unless somone has the thickness of gen Daytonas memorized, you're good to go! Beautiful piece! BTW, has anyone managed to cut the feet off of a gen dial and throw it on a sec's @ 6 rep? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted December 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2007 Unless somone has the thickness of gen Daytonas memorized, you're good to go! Beautiful piece! BTW, has anyone managed to cut the feet off of a gen dial and throw it on a sec's @ 6 rep? Thanks, Archi. I almost did. A few months ago, I bid ($900) on a black gen 116520 dial (I wanted white, but beggars can't be choosers), but it ultimately sold for around $1,900, which was well into the range of irrationality, even for me. But, now, after doing the dial swap from Josh's watch (this is the same model that By-Tor recently reviewed), I am very glad I lost that bid because (from an arm's length, which remains my yardstick for gaging the accuracy of a rep watch) this new rep dial not only lacks all of the visible warts that afflicted previous dials, but it comes so close to the gen as to make another dial upgrade (to the gen) seem silly. Yes, the gen's subdial rings are a bit more matte, the printing is a tiny bit sharper (when viewed through a 4x loupe) & the white gold index surrounds sparkle better than the polished steel surrounds on the rep dial (the differences between polished steel & white gold are quite obvious in the case of larger components like bezels and dauphine hands, but not with tiny parts like these). When viewed in the wild (and not under store display lights), I just cannot justify the additional cost & trouble for the truly meager improvements a gen dial might provide. Unfortunately, the cases on these new Daytona reps are still pretty inaccurate. The CGs are too wide and misshapen (though these can be improved), the rehaut is too deep & the case body is noticeably thicker than the gen, which makes the watch sit too high on your wrist. My case is still thicker than the gen, but only by a mm or so, so the watch looks quite normal when on my wrist (Josh's case on left, mine on right) I should also mention that the movement is slightly different (more finished/decorated) than any of the 3 previous secs at 6 Asian 7750s I have worked with (so this may be another upgrade since Ziggy's last 7750 review update a few months ago). But since my original movement is one of the few that are still running (and keeping COSC time), I decided to keep this new movement as a backup. But it is definitely a looker compared to the movement in my watch (though I did swap the rotors since that is not likely to affect the movement's longevity & it is almost a dead-ringer for the gen rotor (except for the single fixing screw (there are 3 screws in the gen's rotor)) (Photo from Josh's website) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
POTR Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 I like it. Or, at least I can tolerate it well. 1, 3 & 9 are slightly twisted. So am I. (Actually 1 might be the camera angle...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted December 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 I like it. Or, at least I can tolerate it well. 1, 3 & 9 are slightly twisted. So am I. (Actually 1 might be the camera angle...) I think it is either the camera angle or the way light reflects off the metal surrounds. I just used a straightedge to check the alignment of all 6 pairs of markers (12/6, 1/7, 2/8, 3/9, 4/10 & 5/11) & they are dead on. But I am pretty twisted too, so who knows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
POTR Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 I could swear 9 & 3 look like they are rotated about 1/2 a degree... I think it is the camera angle with 1 though, making the "boat" tail look like is listing toward 2. Of course, if you listen to me too much, I'll only end up driving you nuts with minutiae... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sql_pl Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 Good job Freddy! It's a shame these modern Daytonas still have so many flaws left in rep form. Some friends of mine have gens and it is just not possible for me to get away with a rep... especially with the bezel height and overall thickness. Here is my gen dial that I've bought to put in my rep: Finally sold a rep and decided to keep the dial in case my gen 116520 that I will get sooner or later comes with black dial and I'd like to swap. Some pics of my old 116520 rep... Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted December 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 Thanks, and unless your Daytona owing friends are also TZ regulars, I seriously doubt that they would spot your rep Daytona. Rolex owners (except those who are TZ regulars or watchmakers) tend to know nothing about their watch beyond the name on the dial. One of the differences I have noted between the gen dial & the one I just installed is that the subdial rings on the gen are composed of about 12 ridges (you can almost count them in your pictures, but it is easier to do when you have the dial in your hand and view it through a loupe), while there are only 8 or 9 ridges in the subdial rings on the rep dial (my original rep dial has 14 or 15 ridges). If you do not mind my asking, what did you pay for your gen dial? You can PM me if you would rather not post the answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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