Rolex Daytona 116520 SS DIAL GUIDE / period variation study

[Warfighter2020]

Thank you for this guide! Appreciate all of your efforts.

 

[Spatiumtemporis]

Eagerly looking forward to your case shaping guidelines. I have read so much about this topic on this form but no concrete guiadance has been provided to what exactly needs to be modded. I am hoping your diagrams will be very helpful.

BTW, this thread is very helpful, should be a sticky.

Thanks guys,
Really appreciate your kind words!

Regarding the case shaping , i could explain it better in a video, but i'll try to summerize what's wrong with noob :
- sides are not "fat" enaugh
- lug top surface needs to be angled towards the sides ( bottom )
- tips should be equal in width
and few more things i find very hard to describe without showing them on the case itself.

Here is a pic of my modified case for reference :

It's not perfect of course but it's a step in the right direction.
What you always need to have in mind is that rlx will always keep surfaces flat and round only the edges slightly.
I've seen many modified cases that look overbuffed.

In order to make noob as close as possible one would have to weld the sides and add some material, then reshape the case .
Depending on QC cgs may need to be modified as well .

In order to understand what needs to be done you first need to try and understand the shape of the genuine case .
If you look at it for long enaugh you'll be able to tell what the differences are . Try understanding it in 3d and not by drawing lines on angled pics .

Eventually you're goona be able to tell the GEN from any other case in an instant. It's like having twin friends. After a while you'll be able to tell them apart easily.
After a couple of years they'll seem so different it would be impossible to mix them up .

 

[RobyGofman]

yes very informative)

 

[ssouthall6]

Thanks guys,
Really appreciate your kind words!

Regarding the case shaping , i could explain it better in a video, but i'll try to summerize what's wrong with noob :
- sides are not "fat" enaugh
- lug top surface needs to be angled towards the sides ( bottom )
- tips should be equal in width
and few more things i find very hard to describe without showing them on the case itself.

Here is a pic of my modified case for reference :

It's not perfect of course but it's a step in the right direction.
What you always need to have in mind is that rlx will always keep surfaces flat and round only the edges slightly.
I've seen many modified cases that look overbuffed.

In order to make noob as close as possible one would have to weld the sides and add some material, then reshape the case .
Depending on QC cgs may need to be modified as well .

In order to understand what needs to be done you first need to try and understand the shape of the genuine case .
If you look at it for long enaugh you'll be able to tell what the differences are . Try understanding it in 3d and not by drawing lines on angled pics .

Eventually you're goona be able to tell the GEN from any other case in an instant. It's like having twin friends. After a while you'll be able to tell them apart easily.
After a couple of years they'll seem so different it would be impossible to mix them up .

Unfortunately this is completely true. The geometry of the daytona case is something that bothered me so much I refinished one by hand during lockdown when my tools were all in storage. I'm still not happy with one of the lugs either, and that was after 3 days of sanding, brushing and polishing.

The main issues are the first two listed, and the second in particular. The curvature of the lugs is very sharp when you examine the gen in comparison. Aside from the straight curve down from the top, it also needs a fair bit taken from the bottom in order that the lug points down and is chamfered at the edges. There should be a subtle rounding - the noob cases look more like GMT.

Fortunately you can thin the fat one out a little and the put the difference down to over polishing. But as Spatiumtemporis says, you can't work on the watch unless you understand it, and you can't understand it without scrutinising a number of gens.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Spatiumtemporis]

Unfortunately this is completely true. The geometry of the daytona case is something that bothered me so much I refinished one by hand during lockdown when my tools were all in storage. I'm still not happy with one of the lugs either, and that was after 3 days of sanding, brushing and polishing.

The main issues are the first two listed, and the second in particular. The curvature of the lugs is very sharp when you examine the gen in comparison. Aside from the straight curve down from the top, it also needs a fair bit taken from the bottom in order that the lug points down and is chamfered at the edges. There should be a subtle rounding - the noob cases look more like GMT.

Fortunately you can thin the fat one out a little and the put the difference down to over polishing. But as Spatiumtemporis says, you can't work on the watch unless you understand it, and you can't understand it without scrutinising a number of gens.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Here is another modified case.
I think this one came out better . Let me upload some pics real quick :

 

[ssouthall6]

Here is another modified case.
I think this one came out better . Let me upload some pics real quick :

Well done my friend, such a big improvement!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Spatiumtemporis]

Here is a quick comparison . TT is a gen 2011-2014 case.

 

[gekkehenkie]

Here is another modified case.
I think this one came out better . Let me upload some pics real quick :

Did you drill out the pusher holes to make the gen pushers fit?

 

[Spatiumtemporis]

Did you drill out the pusher holes to make the gen pushers fit?

no. these are noob pushers on a noob case. i don't think it's required to re-tap the noob case to install gen pusher tubes.

 

[clockwork]

Wonderful comparison pics. I had my daytona case reshaped but still not getting into that level....

Another questions that comes to me (and I apologize if it has been touched but I did not find info abut it): what about bezel comparisons related to which period? Which is the correct year period for a thin/narrow numbers on the bezel?

 

[Spatiumtemporis]

Wonderful comparison pics. I had my daytona case reshaped but still not getting into that level....

Another questions that comes to me (and I apologize if it has been touched but I did not find info abut it): what about bezel comparisons related to which period? Which is the correct year period for a thin/narrow numbers on the bezel?

I didn't make a study about this yet.
​​​​​​

 

[clockwork]

I didn't make a study about this yet.
​​​​​​

I will be digging some info and I will share it in here in the forum if I find enough material then.

 

[Voodoojar]

I've been doing some case reshaping Here is the last ones I've done. I have three more I'm going to start. I find the most difficult part is replacing the machine marks on the bottom of the case after shaping. I've also been refilling the bezel with a powder coat matte black which seems to work really well but extremely difficult to apply. I ordered some Cerakote I'm going to try on the next build in see if it's easier.

 

[big_polarbear]

I will be digging some info and I will share it in here in the forum if I find enough material then.

https://forum.replica-watch.info/fo...-coevity-summary-stilla-gathering-information

 

[clockwork]

https://forum.replica-watch.info/fo...-coevity-summary-stilla-gathering-information

thanks for sharing!

 

[SuperLory]

Have you guys seen variation in the width of the subdials in arf black 116520 dials ? Asking cos mine are a tad thick to my eyes so i wonder if i should start searching for something skinnier

 

[italym21]

hello! what do you think about this not original dial?
the subdial in my arf v2 is pretty clear

 

[italym21]

Hi guys,
for you, this is a gen dial?
​​​i've doubt on script font type and alignment.. thank you

 

[Vietkidd05]

Thanks man.It's not sticky. My heart is broken

I have found some other subtle diff between some dials. I will post those when I have some time.

116520 is not that hot anymore. I should do the same for the new ceramic Daytona dails and inserts (if that hasn't been done already) . That would be much more helpful.

great info on the 116520 @Spatiumtemporis ... what are your thoughts on the 116500 ? are there different variations to this model as well?

 

[aHero]

With so many dial variations, I find it hard to fault Clean's attempts at any 116520.