Daytona 116520 : a mid-range franken project

[mrsullivan]

Hi to all.

I don't like Daytonas, I never did. Until I passed a friend's gen white dial 116520 on my wrist a few months ago. Yes, after trying the ceramics without any feeling for them, I fell for the 116520. The dial, the steely bezel, the overall balance and feeling on the wrist made it all. Love at 1rst sight they say...

So here it is. Punching my friend to steal his watch not being an option, I slowly built the idea to go beyond the basic OOTB rep Dayto. If I have to own a rep 116520, it will be a franken.

I read much and follow several threads about it here, but so many options exist that I'd like some guidance to clear things up.
My goal is to go for a "mid-range" franken, based on as good gen parts as possible. I don't plan case modifications (so far), and try to keep finances "acceptable" (relatively speaking of course).

As today I have :

Noob 4130 116520
Gen used dial
Gen new SL hands (full set of six)
Gen new blistered crystal
ARF new bracelet + clasp

My concerns are :
- Bezel : i see a few used gen steel bezels for sale around, some in really good shape. Are they worth to buy, or ARF bezel will do the job? The basic Noobs seem a bit shallow to me are'nt they ?

- 4130 frankening : this is where I mainly start to be lost. Many movement parts are to be found, what would be the most worthy ones to get a nice 4130, working properly (please don't say "a gen one"!)?
I was thinking balance bridge, fragile parts such as clutch, maybe sliding pinion. Any advices?

Thank you all

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[p0pperini]

Nice project MrS.

Regarding the bezel, I guess nothing really beats a gen - so it’s just a matter of whether you fancy shelling out for one. The general consensus seems to be that the ARF is okay, and the Noob is pants. If you get hold of an ARF, could you let me know where from so I can try the source as well..?

Regarding the 4130, as it’s such a close clone of the original, and won’t be seen, why not just get it serviced and have done with it?

 

[Cadows]

Nice project MrS.

Regarding the bezel, I guess nothing really beats a gen - so it’s just a matter of whether you fancy shelling out for one. The general consensus seems to be that the ARF is okay, and the Noob is pants. If you get hold of an ARF, could you let me know where from so I can try the source as well..?

Regarding the 4130, as it’s such a close clone of the original, and won’t be seen, why not just get it serviced and have done with it?

Agree for the 4130. One question regarding to Noob case shape please. Is it THAT different from gen or it is acceptable? Thanks

 

[Shany]

Noob case is best around but not Perfect, lugs Are wrong and the Rehaut height is aswell wrong

 

[jcher]

Nice project MrS.

Regarding the bezel, I guess nothing really beats a gen - so it’s just a matter of whether you fancy shelling out for one. The general consensus seems to be that the ARF is okay, and the Noob is pants. If you get hold of an ARF, could you let me know where from so I can try the source as well..?

Regarding the 4130, as it’s such a close clone of the original, and won’t be seen, why not just get it serviced and have done with it?

Agree! No need to franken the movement - see it as commodity, if it dies get a new one ;-)

 

[mrsullivan]

I welcome these 1rst inputs, thank you.

I'm not used to source parts from TDs, is it absurd just to send a mail to Li or such and ask for ARF bezel ? Maybe some members can chime in if they have a specific lead for it, that's gonna help us both p0pperini.
Beside that, I see some used gen steel bezels for sale on C24, around the 500s, but of course there is a risk to get marks or paint loss.
All I know is that I'll change the original Noob for a better option.

Regarding the 4130, as it’s such a close clone of the original, and won’t be seen, why not just get it serviced and have done with it?

I know the Noob clone seems reliable, but the franken bug is hitching, with the idea to upgrade just what might be fragile or give more stability, PR or precision to the movement. If gen parts don't make any real improvement, then I'll just leave it as it is.

Edit : the watch is planned for a service anyway. I plan to have Johnny Depp working on it


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[mrsullivan]

I just checked what bezels watchesparts.com have to offer, and although not perfect their 116520 steel bezels engravings look quite decent.
Might be worth to give it a try.

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[p0pperini]

I know the Noob clone seems reliable, but the franken bug is hitching, with the idea to upgrade just what might be fragile or give more stability, PR or precision to the movement. If gen parts don't make any real improvement, then I'll just leave it as it is.

Edit : the watch is planned for a service anyway. I plan to have Johnny Depp working on it

It'll be interesting to know what Johnny D recommends. My Noob/ARF hybrid got built by Ado213 and its 4130 had to be serviced by him too, as the movement had already died before I sent it to him. Once the inevitable Chinese crud had been removed, he was pleasantly surprised by the otherwise good quality of the movement and pronounced it fit for prolonged use as timekeeper - and also as a chrono.

I just checked what bezels watchesparts.com have to offer, and although not perfect their 116520 steel bezels engravings look quite decent.
Might be worth to give it a try.

Nice find - looks promising! I'll take a look too.

 

[genown442]

It's a nice project, but I didn't like daytona like you before until the day I tried my brother 116520 black and fell completely in love with it, you have my opinion on the essentials for a good Franken !

 

[mrsullivan]

Nice find - looks promising! I'll take a look too.

Let's give credit of the find to mari115 's thread, great to have new sources for parts.

It seems you did'nt wait for long to order one, I'll wait for a few more picture to do as well, but their bezels do look nice at 1rst sight yes.
Exciting for sure if this company offers nice parts like this, without having to go through the often long TD's sourcing process.

Regarding the movement I'll let you know what JD thinks about it yes ok.

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[p0pperini]

It seems you did'nt wait for long to order one, I'll wait for a few more picture to do as well, but their bezels do look nice at 1rst sight yes.

Yeah, it slowly dawned on me as I was reading these threads that I've been here before... The watchparts.com bezel had previously been hailed as a winner elsewhere on the forum (which is why I had them saved in my eBay sellers list), but at the time I balked at the price. So I thought I may as well go for it now. I had a bit of money in PP from recent sales, and I seem to be getting less resistant to spending money on the 'tonas as time passes...

 

[mrsullivan]

I'll send watchesparts a message today to get more pictures of the SS bezel, as I'd like to make sure we're not back in the "too thin font Noob syndrom" with it.

It's unlikely that I find an ARF V1 SS bezel, so if I'm not satisfied with them the next option is to go for a second hand gen bezel.
In the meantime a couple of pics will be very welcome when you get your watchesparts order p0pperini.

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[p0pperini]

In the meantime a couple of pics will be very welcome when you get your watchesparts order p0pperini.

You can count on it, and on me either being pleasantly surprised or having a big sad.

 

[mrsullivan]

Answer from Johnny Depp : gen dial, gen hands, gen bezel, gen crystal maybe, a good ARF bracelet, and let me quote him : "stoooop"!

He agrees one can always buy more gen parts, but for a good standard reliability of the movement, the Noob 4130 only needs a service and is good to go.
Got it, good aftermarket or gen SS bezel is all I need now.

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[p0pperini]

Watchparts bezel order update: I chickened out, being unsure of the quality, and asked if they’d cancel the order and refund me (with little expectation that I’d be successful, as it’s eBay). But I just got notified of the refund - which was very nice of them.

 

[mrsullivan]

Watchparts bezel order update: I chickened out, being unsure of the quality, and asked if they’d cancel the order and refund me (with little expectation that I’d be successful, as it’s eBay). But I just got notified of the refund - which was very nice of them.

Yeah well, I understand, I don't know about their aftermarket bezel too. It looks ok, but maybe not enough to put along nice gen parts.

I'd be interested in reading a feedback about it still, but I think I'll go for a gen SS one to properly complete the frankening.

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[mari115]

The best rep / aftermarket bezel for 116520 is the ARF v1, very good font and deep /fat engravings, better than the noob for sure.

Only problem is that it's not available anymore, i had the luck to get one some time ago, but it's not being sold anymore.

Second best is Arf v2 as far as i know.

 

[cassapanca]

This is my “low cost” daytona..
noob 116500 v3
Gen dial
Arf bezel (70€ m2m)
Clark crystal (30€)
Hands relumed sl


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[mrsullivan]

This is my “low cost” daytona..
noob 116500 v3
Gen dial
Arf bezel (70€ m2m)
Clark crystal (30€)
Hands relumed sl


Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk

Nice watch, it looks like it has all the good rep/aftermarket parts around the gen dial. The ARF bezel looks better than the Noob indeed.
As today I'm going for a gen bezel though, made my mind on it

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[mrsullivan]

I finally got all the parts needed for the project : gen dial, gen hands, gen bezel and gen crystal. The bracelet is a brand new ARF.
Before everything flies to the builder, I thought it would be nice to go for a little "gen vs rep parts" comparison, just to enlight one more time the differences between the two, and pointing the upgrades gen bits bring to the Noob 116520 Daytona.

The gen parts are the ones off the watch on the pictures obviously.

Bezel
I go for a SS gen bezel. This one comes from C24, is second hand but I'm really happy with it's condition. It's close to new.

​​​​​​The Noob's engravements are clearly not as deep as gen, and the number's font (6 and 8 mainly) are off.


Hands
I went for a 6 hands gen set, although some think minute/hour gen hands are enough. To me the finishings of the gens are worth the whole package, the differences are at every level : minute/hour hands have better finish, the arrows's shape on the chrono hand is much nicer and the sharps ends of the gen subdial hands are a real upgrade.


Dial
Of course the dial is the major part of a Daytona franken. Although ARF seem to have got pretty decent dials, Noob's font is completely off gen. The whole markings + red Daytona are far from good with Noob. The subdials and mostly the markers are off too, the gen ones are evenly rounded and better polished. It's definitely worth buying the gen dial.


I won't show the gen crystal here, not really interesting off the watch and still sealed.

The whole thing goes to Johnny Depp next week, now the waiting can begin.

Cheers to all.