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Daytona Dream...
Rolex lover, but I love old Rolex watches, like I love old guns, old aircrafts and old sport cars. Thats just me. End of 2009 I have sold most of my modern Rolex reps and invested the bucks in parts to build myself vintage time pieces. Old projects were 1675 GMT but right now its just on the side, the time I will find accurate dials and cases at a reasonable price. Then, I will have a look and consider also Subs and SD... later this year, if I find enough time to play.
Vintage Rolex cosmographs are my new whim now. In fact its (imho) the only accurate reps actually and there are many sources to get cases, dials and various parts to build something looking good.
I have built only 6263 and 6265 models with screwed chrono pushers. Now, I will start with older models like the 6239 or 6241 with simple pushers and also these anti-magnetic pre-Daytona cosmographs
TECHNICAL APPROACH AND PHILOSOPHY
At 15 minutes walking from my home I have now 7 big watch collector shops. 3 shops are new, this watchmania is very trendy. And I can see every days lot of Rolex, Panerai, Patek etc. This is a good source of inspiration for me.
I care about global visual aspect, global specs and the reproduction of real fonctions but not at the point to squize the hack lever or to find and adapt a gen V72 movement. Also I know very well the A7750 and I am not really convicted by the "the winding like a gen feeling" argument. So, I only removed the rotor on all my chronos and switched for the thin case back which is more accurate. Works fine. I wind manually every days without any bad issue.
To resume, all my Daytona have cases with assymetrical pushers, correct engravings, thin case back and re-worked and higher plexies. They are all powered by A7750 21j movements with removed rotors.
The flaws :
The stop seconds, for me its an useful fonction. Nobody will notice, and who cares ? not me.
The vrong sub-dial spacing.... ???? 2 solutions to get the correct sub-dial spacing : Buy a bad inaccurate rep from dealers with the frozen sub-dial hand at 6. Or try to find a gen V72/727 and a gen dial which will be a fake. Those dials sold by Yuki or Jewlery and Watch are copies stamped "Singer".
So who cares about the "vrong" sub-dial spacing ? not me.
This being said, if I compare my Daytona reps with gens I can see in shop windows or books, my reps are close enough from the real things and wearable. A vendor told me "the first thing which will attract the eyes is the assymetrical pushers. Then, the dial, but for this you need to put both gen and rep on a table and look very well"
To finish, I will say I am not a photographer, I use a small camera, no light box, no polar filter and I am lazy to find out my tripod. The worse, pics are not very sharp and I cannot go closer for details. I just tryed to be a little creative with the pictures backgrounds
Now, follow the guide and remember cameras and smoking are no permitted inside the exhibition hall :lol: .
Enjoy the visit and dream, I hope you like
I bought got these 2 basic 6263, one with the black dial and the other with the champagne dial and black sud dials. This model is called the "Panda Eyes". These 2 models are excellent replicas with the right A7750 21j sec. at 9 a sharp dials and a good bracelet but the cases don't have assymetrical pushers. I swapped the cases for DIY stuff and now they are perfect wearable.
The black dial :
The champagne dial :
The next watch is a very rare rep and complete personalised according books
and documents :
I present the rare 6265 called "Big Eyes". First photo is from an Italian Rolex vintage catalog :
Following my 6265. This project started with a purchase from Precious Time 3 years ago. The case was also changed for an accurate case with assymetrical pushers. Probably Chinese makers, designing a dial with larger sub-dials, did not realise they made the famous "Big Eyes"... I added a gen Tudor jubilee 19mm bracelet and I switched the Tudor clasp for a Rolex one. Now, end links and bracelet ident numbers are vrong of course, but I don't care, I love my watch and according real stuff I have handled in collectionnor shops, I noticed lot of gens are sold without matching bracelets.
Look on picture from the gen and compare with mine the higher and more domed plexi effects.
A comparison between the classic Panda and the Big Eyes
Details from the inside, the good A7750 21j. A great workhorse, easy to regulate and with almost 50 hours of power reserve. As I told above, all these cosmographs have the thin case back.
Next 2 watches were built buying complete sets from David. I wanted 2 Paul Newman exotic dials, the classic blac and the cream.
I have seen this on a Sotheby's auction picture :
And I built this :
and this :
Both PN
My last aquisition was the 18K 6263. I am not a fan of full gold, but I put a black aligator strap, its more wearable for me and more discrete. Of course, mine is just gold plated. I wanted this watch as the dial is different and shows more literature like " SUPERLATIVE CHRONOMETER OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED". Also its the last 6263 produced before the new 16500 series powered by the famous Zenit "El Primero".
The Mont Blanc fountain pen is a gen. I collect Mont Blanc pen, and this Meisterstuck was bought in 1984.
Hope you enjoyed the tour and this will give you ideas to build / mod cosmographs
most of cases, movements and various parts come from David's shop on EBay http://shop.ebay.co.uk/dyrcsszw216/
Daytona Dream...
Rolex lover, but I love old Rolex watches, like I love old guns, old aircrafts and old sport cars. Thats just me. End of 2009 I have sold most of my modern Rolex reps and invested the bucks in parts to build myself vintage time pieces. Old projects were 1675 GMT but right now its just on the side, the time I will find accurate dials and cases at a reasonable price. Then, I will have a look and consider also Subs and SD... later this year, if I find enough time to play.
Vintage Rolex cosmographs are my new whim now. In fact its (imho) the only accurate reps actually and there are many sources to get cases, dials and various parts to build something looking good.
I have built only 6263 and 6265 models with screwed chrono pushers. Now, I will start with older models like the 6239 or 6241 with simple pushers and also these anti-magnetic pre-Daytona cosmographs
TECHNICAL APPROACH AND PHILOSOPHY
At 15 minutes walking from my home I have now 7 big watch collector shops. 3 shops are new, this watchmania is very trendy. And I can see every days lot of Rolex, Panerai, Patek etc. This is a good source of inspiration for me.
I care about global visual aspect, global specs and the reproduction of real fonctions but not at the point to squize the hack lever or to find and adapt a gen V72 movement. Also I know very well the A7750 and I am not really convicted by the "the winding like a gen feeling" argument. So, I only removed the rotor on all my chronos and switched for the thin case back which is more accurate. Works fine. I wind manually every days without any bad issue.
To resume, all my Daytona have cases with assymetrical pushers, correct engravings, thin case back and re-worked and higher plexies. They are all powered by A7750 21j movements with removed rotors.
The flaws :
The stop seconds, for me its an useful fonction. Nobody will notice, and who cares ? not me.
The vrong sub-dial spacing.... ???? 2 solutions to get the correct sub-dial spacing : Buy a bad inaccurate rep from dealers with the frozen sub-dial hand at 6. Or try to find a gen V72/727 and a gen dial which will be a fake. Those dials sold by Yuki or Jewlery and Watch are copies stamped "Singer".
So who cares about the "vrong" sub-dial spacing ? not me.
This being said, if I compare my Daytona reps with gens I can see in shop windows or books, my reps are close enough from the real things and wearable. A vendor told me "the first thing which will attract the eyes is the assymetrical pushers. Then, the dial, but for this you need to put both gen and rep on a table and look very well"
To finish, I will say I am not a photographer, I use a small camera, no light box, no polar filter and I am lazy to find out my tripod. The worse, pics are not very sharp and I cannot go closer for details. I just tryed to be a little creative with the pictures backgrounds
Now, follow the guide and remember cameras and smoking are no permitted inside the exhibition hall :lol: .
Enjoy the visit and dream, I hope you like
I bought got these 2 basic 6263, one with the black dial and the other with the champagne dial and black sud dials. This model is called the "Panda Eyes". These 2 models are excellent replicas with the right A7750 21j sec. at 9 a sharp dials and a good bracelet but the cases don't have assymetrical pushers. I swapped the cases for DIY stuff and now they are perfect wearable.
The black dial :
The champagne dial :
The next watch is a very rare rep and complete personalised according books
and documents :
I present the rare 6265 called "Big Eyes". First photo is from an Italian Rolex vintage catalog :
Following my 6265. This project started with a purchase from Precious Time 3 years ago. The case was also changed for an accurate case with assymetrical pushers. Probably Chinese makers, designing a dial with larger sub-dials, did not realise they made the famous "Big Eyes"... I added a gen Tudor jubilee 19mm bracelet and I switched the Tudor clasp for a Rolex one. Now, end links and bracelet ident numbers are vrong of course, but I don't care, I love my watch and according real stuff I have handled in collectionnor shops, I noticed lot of gens are sold without matching bracelets.
Look on picture from the gen and compare with mine the higher and more domed plexi effects.
A comparison between the classic Panda and the Big Eyes
Details from the inside, the good A7750 21j. A great workhorse, easy to regulate and with almost 50 hours of power reserve. As I told above, all these cosmographs have the thin case back.
Next 2 watches were built buying complete sets from David. I wanted 2 Paul Newman exotic dials, the classic blac and the cream.
I have seen this on a Sotheby's auction picture :
And I built this :
and this :
Both PN
My last aquisition was the 18K 6263. I am not a fan of full gold, but I put a black aligator strap, its more wearable for me and more discrete. Of course, mine is just gold plated. I wanted this watch as the dial is different and shows more literature like " SUPERLATIVE CHRONOMETER OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED". Also its the last 6263 produced before the new 16500 series powered by the famous Zenit "El Primero".
The Mont Blanc fountain pen is a gen. I collect Mont Blanc pen, and this Meisterstuck was bought in 1984.
Hope you enjoyed the tour and this will give you ideas to build / mod cosmographs
most of cases, movements and various parts come from David's shop on EBay http://shop.ebay.co.uk/dyrcsszw216/
