• Tired of adverts on RWI? - Subscribe by clicking HERE and PMing Trailboss for instructions and they will magically go away!

116520 Daytona black dials

Spatiumtemporis

I'm Pretty Popular
Patron
Certified
7/8/16
2,464
767
113
Hey guys,

I am trying to figure out which dial is period correct for my next franken 116520 build so i made this collage. Thought i might share.
Please note the pics are high-res so you can zoom in to view the details :

116520-black-dials.jpg


Tag meaning :

RS - Random serial
SC - short clasp / old style clasp
LC - long clasp / current style
DLE - double line engraving
NOREH - no rehaut engraving


More thoughts comming soon.
 
Last edited:

Spatiumtemporis

I'm Pretty Popular
Patron
Certified
7/8/16
2,464
767
113
( EDIT- as some mentioned like Marco1937 , the dials can be further differentiated by the 27 and 33 minute markers )

Here is what i've found so far :

1. Flat 4 dial serif, most likely 2002

- the 4 in the 40 of the seconds subdial is flat , upper part of the 4 is flat and wide
- 'O' in 'oyster' looks to be round
- 'swiss made' is serif
- 27 and 33 minute markers are long

flat-4-serif.jpg


2. Flat 4 dials, ~2003-2005

- the 4 in the 40 of the seconds subdial is flat , upper part of the 4 is flat and wide
- 'O' in 'oyster' looks to be more oval than round
- 'swiss made' is not serif
- 27 and 33 minute markers are long

flat-4-2.jpg


3. I'll call this Higher E or Upper E , 2003-2005

- The middle line of the E in ROLEX sits just above the midpoint of the letter
- 27 and 33 minute markers are long
- 4 in the 40 of the sec subdial is flat as well but the top part is narrower than on the flat 4 dials

higher-E.jpg


4. Lower E :) 2007-2009 :

- The middle line of the E is just below the letter's midpoint
- 27 and 33 minute markers are short

lower-E.jpg


5. Let's call this one : the Funny E :) - 2007 :
( i suspect this watch was serviced or something because both dial and hands look like 2002 , dial looks similar to the flat 4 serif one as well.
The case is indeed a 2007 m serial on this example )


- the line sits lower as well but the whole font looks different
- 27 and 33 min markers are long now
- 'swiss made' is serif

funny-E.jpg


6. FAT 'O' dials ~2010-2015:

- 'O' is "OYSTER' looks fat / rounded
- 27 and 33 min markers are long
- Rolex coronet has a bigger hole / more rouned as well

fat-O-2.jpg


7. FAT 'O' short ticks ~2015 :

- same as the regular fat 'O' dials but the 27 and 33 min markers are short this time

fat-O-short-ticks.jpg



8. APH dials ~2010-2015


- APH letters of the 'cosmograph' word are a bit separated from the rest of the word
- 'O' in 'Oyster' looks like a 0
- 27 and 33 minute markers are short

APH.jpg



Diffrences between the 'higher E', 'lower E' and the 'funny E' :

dial-diffrences.jpg
 
Last edited:

Spatiumtemporis

I'm Pretty Popular
Patron
Certified
7/8/16
2,464
767
113
Time perios so far for the 116520 black dial watches:

1. 2002-2004

- short clasp
- rehaut not engraved
- slim hands - green lume
- flat 4 dial - most likely

2. 2005

- no rehaut engraving
- fat hands - green lume
- 2005 correct dial
- short clasp

3. 2006-2008

- rehaut is engraved - not random!
- fat hands - green lume
- short clasp ( some 2008 have the new styled clapst though...)

4. 2009-2010

- engraved serial - not random !
- fat hands - green lume
- new style clasp - sanded ( some 2009 still have the old syle clasp )
- SEL is made out of 3 pieces clamped together !! - same goes for the older models as well.

5. 2011-2013 ( lume transitional period )

- you cand find both 2011 and 2012 with green lume hands and dials . Even some early daytons sold in 2013 were green but most likely these were made back in 2012.
- rehaut is engraved - random serial
- new style clasp - sanded
- aph , fat 'O' and the maybe the remaining dials can be found on these daytonas.
- SEL can be made out of 3 pieces clamped together on some 2011 models / SEL will be milled out of 1 single piece for the later modes.

6. 2014-2015

- rehaut engraved - random serial
- fat hands ( blue lume )
- new style clasp - sanded

7. 2016

- reahut may be laser etched - not sure
- fat hands ( blue lume)
- new style clasp - polished

Please feel free to chime in and share your thoughts !
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: KJ2020 and tmp2018

ssouthall6

Put Some Respect On My Name
10/10/13
3,539
1,562
113
Great work!

This is why noob only really have to get the ROLEX, actually just the RO in ROLEX right and they've got a passable dial, as the subdials can be explained away as dial variations
 
  • Like
Reactions: Spatiumtemporis

gekkehenkie

Renowned Member
21/7/14
888
205
43
Nice thread, are you sure about the sanded clasp on 2015 models? Arent they polished?
 

Spatiumtemporis

I'm Pretty Popular
Patron
Certified
7/8/16
2,464
767
113
Thanks guys ! gekkehenkie i'm pretty sure 2015 models had a sanded claps yes. 2015 subs had the sanded clasp as well.
 

Spatiumtemporis

I'm Pretty Popular
Patron
Certified
7/8/16
2,464
767
113
*** I've edited the 1st post to include these findings as well :


I've managed to find yet another difference between the dials of the last ( 4th remaining category ) caterogy as follows :

4. I'll call this Higher E or Upper E ( The middle line of the E in ROLEX sits just above the midpoint of the letter )

higher-E.jpg


5. Lower E :) ( The middle line of the E is just below the midpoint )

lower-E.jpg


6. Let's call this one : the Funny E :) ( the line sits lower as well but the whole font looks different )

funny-E.jpg


Diffrences between the 3 categories above :

dial-diffrences.jpg


If you guys can spot other differences as well please feel free to post them.
 
Last edited:

Mark1937

Put Some Respect On My Name
Patron
Certified
25/3/17
4,236
3,596
113
Great job.
Now you have to also differentiate them for short / long minutes at 27 - 33.
 

Spatiumtemporis

I'm Pretty Popular
Patron
Certified
7/8/16
2,464
767
113
Great job.
Now you have to also differentiate them for short / long minutes at 27 - 33.

wow, thx. haven't seen that .

1st post was edited. Please take a look and let me know if you see something else. Cheers!
 
Last edited:

tmp2018

Renowned Member
28/5/17
737
271
63
Great job.
Now you have to also differentiate them for short / long minutes at 27 - 33.

thats what i thought yesterday..."is the dial always one tick or does a two tick version exist etc.? is the rest exactly the same? what are other differences etc?"

daytona dials...insane.
 

masterpiece777

Active Member
17/6/19
489
270
63
EUROPE
verry great tread thanks for the effort really appreciate it.
i am very curious what dial version the new clean factory v3 116520 exaple they have used to rep.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mandipan

Degall

You're Saying I Can Sell?
25/8/19
29
3
3
Hi I think a 2015 for the big hole in the quadrant crown (I saw a 2015 like this on the internet) but let's wait for the most experienced
 
  • Like
Reactions: masterpiece777