Dear fellow members of RWI,
since I see many new threads by new members about the Daytona, I decided to write a guide on how to choose the suitable Daytona for you. Additionally, the current Daytona threads are close to 100 pages and I think gathering the current information available will benefit the whole community.
Please note that this guide is mainly referring to EU when it comes to modders and genuine piece prices. Also, I won’t do photo comparisons between models since they are available in other threads. I think it is safe to say that you can follow this guide since I’ve been reading all available information on Daytona, but if you want in-depth research with pictures please do your own research.
I will also include links to all the parts I’m mentioning. The links will take you to JTimes store. I am not affiliated or sponsored by him (lol) but he’s my go to TD, so I use his links. Generally, any TD can get you any watch, just FYI.
The agenda for this guide is as followed:
- Daytons worth buying on the market
- Decide what’s important for you and figure out your budget
- Different options for modding or frankening including current prices
- Conclusion
With that being sad, lets dive in.
1. Daytona’s worth buying on the market
There are currently two makers who build the best Daytonas. Those are either ARF or Noob, with both offering either the 116520 or 116500 version of this watch.
ARF is considered to be the best Daytona cosmetically for the 116520 version in regard to the Dial, Bezel, and bracelet/ clasp. However, ARF does not have a fully working chronograph and the sub dials at 6 and 9 are frozen. Additionally, ARF is thick.
For the 116500 version ARF is still ahead of noob when it comes to Dial, Bezel, and bracelet/ clasp, but with the release of the noob v3 the biggest problem about the watch (bezel) was fixed. The noob model offers a full working chronograph with a movement that works like the genuine one.
2. Decide what’s important for you and figure out your budget
116520
Do you only care about the looks? If yes, go for the ARF version. This version is priced at around 420€ (excl. shipping) and will offer you whatever you need looks-wise. If you want to go the extra mile you can remove the deco plate and add a gen or noob case back and a 7750 rotor and you will have gen thickness.
If you care about the functionality it gets more complex. Noob does offer the functionality but for the 116520 the dial and bezel are terrible. If you can live with that, go ahead and buy the noob (priced at around 580€). Be careful though, since the black dialed noob version has fat sub dials and looks terrible. The white dialed version has the wrong font on the dial printing. Additionally, there is no v3 for 116520 models, only for 116500 models, meaning the 116520 still has the old SEL and case.
116500
The ARF version still offers better specs when it comes to looks. Both, the black dialed ARF and the panda dialed ARF are ahead of noob when it comes to the dial only. If you want to go the extra mile you can remove the deco plate and add a gen or noob case back and a 7750 rotor and you will have gen thickness.
However, if you want to budget the 116500 Panda version from noob is good as is and will give you great value for money, being priced at around 620€. You can still improve that, but more on that later. In addition to that, fat sub dials also keep arising on the 116500 models from noob. Be sure to look out for that.
If your budget is around the 500€ mark, definitely buy the ARF and be happy with it. If its above, get the noob.
3. Different options for modding or frankening, including current prices
Here it gets interesting and you now have to figure out what you want to do. If you are already happy with what I described in chapter 2, go ahead and buy whatever watch fits your needs, if not, make sure to extend your budget.
Modding means that you add other replica parts to the original watch to improve the looks of it, frankening means that you add genuine Rolex parts, also to improve the looks.
Note: in my opinion it does not make any sense to mod or franken an ARF.
116520
First you have to figure out whether you want blue (Chromalight) lume or green (Superluminova) lume. Chromalight lume dates back to watches produced after 2008/9, whereas Superluminova is the old lume. Both models linked above have Chromalight lume.
Note: If you opt for the SL lume, prices for genuine parts will be slightly cheaper, but parts like the clasp will not match the build.
Modding
To mod a 116520 I’d suggest you buy the noob base and put on ARF parts like the dial, bezel, and the bracelet including the clasp. Yes, you can switch the full ARF bracelet to noob endlinks with the correct modder. Tomrep is able to do that for you if you are in the EU.
Prices for both watches combined are around 1.000€. You will then put the superior ARF parts on the noob version and put the inferior parts on the ARF version. You can then resell the ARF version for some bucks (200 – 300€) and have the best watch you can get when you mod. Make sure to include prices for the watchmaker who swaps and mods your parts in your calculation. In the end, the whole costs for that process would be somewhere around 1.000€ (already considering the sale of the ARF/noob mashup watch).
Your modder will have to adjust the ARF parts to fit the noob parts. The dial needs a shave and I would also suggest shaving the noob gasket by 0,3 mm or buying an Esslinger gasket:
https://www.esslinger.com/generic-ro...ystal-gaskets/ (295 c-1).
Frankening
First of all, there is no limit to Franken a watch. I will only focus on what I consider to be the most important genuine parts for Frankening the 116520. Please keep in mind that the prices stated below are from my personal experience. Side note: as of January 2020, pieces like a Dial are exchange only (before it was like that on most parts of the EU except Italy). Now the regulations hit Italy too and prices are rising while parts are getting more and more scarce.
Superluminova
Parts I would definitely suggest getting:
- Genuine Dial (700€ used – 1.000€ new)
- Genuine Hands (300€ used – 350€ new)
- Genuine Bezel: (500€ used – 800€ new)
Optional parts:
- Genuine clasp to match the correct SL period (around 500€ but hard to get)
- Genuine crown + tube (around 200€ – 250€)
- Genuine crystal + gasket (around 300€)
- Genuine chrono wheel (4130-820) to fit the chronograph seconds hand (around 120€)
- ARF bracelet without clasp (150€ for the bracelet – 50€ for reselling the clasp)
Optional services:
- Repolishing and rebrushing the bracelet by Tomrep makes the bracelet look extra nice
- Servicing the 4130 movement by either red1 or dmuit
As you can see, frankening can get very expensive. Even with the basic build and used parts you would spend around 2.000€, not considering the price for your watchmaker.
Chromalight
Parts I would definitely suggest getting:
- Genuine Dial (1.300€ used – 1.500€ new)
- Genuine Hands (350€ used – 450€ new) note: those hands are very hard to find right now
- Genuine Bezel: (500€ used – 800€ new)
Optional parts:
- Genuine crown + tube (around 200€ – 250€)
- Genuine crystal + gasket (around 300€)
- Genuine chrono wheel (4130-820) to fit the chronograph seconds hand (around 120€)
- ARF bracelet and clasp (150€)
Optional services:
- Repolishing and rebrushing the bracelet by Tomrep makes the bracelet look extra nice
- Servicing the 4130 movement by either red1 or dmuit
Same here, Chromalight prices are even higher as compared to Superluminova. But the genuine parts definitely make a huge difference in comparison to replica parts. If you want to spend that much is up to you.
116500
This version only has chromalight parts, so it gets easier on that end. However, finding genuine parts like the dial or the bezel is very hard or rather close to impossible. I only saw one sale of a 116500 bezel which went for 2.000€ used.
Modding Light
If you only want to improve one pain point of the watch, I suggest getting a CF bezel (
https://jtime.cc/us/rolex-116500-ln-...ic-insert.html) and call it a day. Noob v3 dial is already close enough if you are not that picky, bezel is also okay but can be improved by CF. Price for the CF bezel is around 120€. This goes for the panda version. Be careful though, since there are currently also fat sub dials arising for the panda version.
However, there is a problem with the black dialed version. The current noob sub dials are too fat and look bad. You would have to buy an ARF watch simply to get the ARF dial. Then swap the noob dial into the ARF base and call it a day. I am not sure for how much you could sell the ARF watch then. Probably around 350€. So, this would cost another 100€ just to get the better dial.
Depending on how important this is to you, I would probably wait for updated sub dials on the black dialed version.
Modding
If you want to go the extra mile you can add the following parts to your noob base:
- ARF Dial (50€ - 100€)
- CF Bezel (120€)
- ARF bracelet + clasp (optional, 150€)
As already mentioned above, I believe the noob v3 dial is already good enough, but the ARF dial is simply better. If you want to spend more for that is up to you. In my opinion also the ARF bracelet and clasp is better, but also up to you. I don’t think it’s necessary if you want to budget.
Modding/ Frankening
As already mentioned above, genuine 116500 parts like a dial and bezel are impossible to get and will not be considered. However, you can still improve your 116500 Noob with other parts and make it as good as it can get:
- ARF Dial (50€ - 100€) + Genuine Coronet from donor dial (~100€)
- CF Bezel (120€)
- Genuine Hands (350€ used – 450€ new) note: those hands are very hard to find right now
- ARF bracelet + clasp (150€), swapped to noob endlinks
- Genuine crown + tube (around 200€ – 250€)
- Genuine crystal + gasket (around 300€)
- Genuine chrono wheel (4130-820) to fit the chronograph seconds hand (around 120€)
Optional services:
- Repolishing and rebrushing the bracelet by Tomrep makes the bracelet look extra nice
- Servicing the 4130 movement by either red1 or dmuit
With this build the watch is as good as it gets without going for a full gen movement or even bracelet. Again, it depends on you how much you plan on spending. I went for this route with the full optional services since the Daytona is by far my grail watch.
4. Conclusion
It all depends on what you want from your rep. The general rule for the 116520 is: want looks? -> ARF, want functionality? -> Noob. Want both? -> Mod or Franken.
For the 116500 however I believe going the noob route (for Panda) is the best out of the box. If you want to go the extra mile add a CF bezel. If you even want to go further prepare your wallet.
If you want to reach out to any of the modders/ watchmakers I mentioned, their details are here:
- Domi (dmuit): I tend to use Domis services for all the frankening I do since he lives in driving distance to me and I don’t like shipping expensive stuff. Here is his RWI profile: https://forum.replica-watch.info/member/14529-dmuit
- Red1: He recently serviced my Daytona, highly recommended: https://forum.replica-watch.info/member/100224-red1
- Tomrep: He does not have an RWI account and prefers to be contacted via WhatsApp. Note: he is neither trusted nor untrusted on RWI and does not have his own section. His number: +49 1520 2031421 (he told me to post it here)
- Apart from that I want to emphasize that those are only the people that I specifically was in touch with. There are more watchmakers and modders in the EU who can perform the same services for you
With that being said, I joined RWI a year ago with the plan of getting a Daytona rep. During this time the threads were all not too long and it was somewhat easy to get an idea of what’s happening in the Daytona world.
Nowadays it is getting harder and harder to keep an overview with 5 different threads going on with all around 50 – 100 pages long. I summarized all the information I gathered in my head since the last year and I hope this guide summarizes all the findings without it being too long.
So long,
Cheeps
