Father passed down his old Daytona, can someone tell me more about it?

[deebSTR]

Forgot to mention I took this to a jewelers to a) get it resized for my wrist and b) see how much it would be to get it restored. They said they don't know about the dents but a polish of the stainless steel and the cover and a cleanup of the insides would be about $500 not including any needed parts. Does that sound about right?

[thewatchguy93]

This watch is a GEM!!!! I'm sure shes worth a fortune... Some of the vintage folk will be along shortly I should imagen!

[buckrogers0025]

Originally Posted by Dingoo93

This watch is a GEM!!!!

Holy cow! I know NOTHING about Daytonas... but, this looks special!

I can't wait to see/hear what the vintage experts have to say!

[Vomtaylor]

You should go to a Dealer, and have them send it back to Rolex to "tune it up"... It will cost you some $, but at least it will be done right.

[deebSTR]

Rolex takes back vintage watches? I definitely have much to learn.

I really want to fully restore it, but that dent near the 110-120 mark on the edge looks like it's fatal.

[rad87gn]

Don't do a thing to it until you hear from the vintage experts! You can loose a ton of value if you change something that should have been left alone! Great watch you have there BTW! It's extremely collectable and worth a lot of money.

[MoBe]

Looks like it`s worth a full restoration.

[mfer]

Five words...."Do NOT send to Rolex!"

Four words...."Send to Bob Ridley"

and to answer your other question, "yeah, it is worth it".

[dddrees]

Originally Posted by mfer

Five words...."Do NOT send to Rolex!"

Four words...."Send to Bob Ridley"

and to answer your other question, "yeah, it is worth it".

This is Bob Ridley's web site:

http://www.watchmakers.com/

If you call him he or his assistant can walk you thru what needs to be done to send the watch to him. When he gets the watch he'll take a look at it and make some recomendations in regards to what you may or may not want to do in regards to this watch.

There are definitely some things your are not going to want to do so that you don't destroy any of the value associated to this watch. Certain things are a no no with regards to vintage Rolex watches.

Bob Ridley isn't cheap, but by all appearances this watch will be worth his services.

[deebSTR]

Thanks for the heads up, I'll take a few more pictures and email him now.

[psv]

Originally Posted by mfer

Five words...."Do NOT send to Rolex!"

Four words...."Send to Bob Ridley"

and to answer your other question, "yeah, it is worth it".

Second that, only let Bob touch that watch!

[sailmed]

Originally Posted by psv

Second that, only let Bob touch that watch!

Send to BOB RIDLEY, period !!!!!!!

What a gem of a watch and even better that it is an heirloom piece.

It's a keeper for sure.

[azguy]

serious peice, very rare

[gslaskin]

Originally Posted by mfer

Five words...."Do NOT send to Rolex!"

Four words...."Send to Bob Ridley"

and to answer your other question, "yeah, it is worth it".

I second this advice. Mr. Ridley is the man. He will laser weld stainless steel into the dents and it will look like new.

[drockadam]

Wow! What a beautiful Daytona! Very valueable.

[Bruin Watch]

What, that is great! Congrats!

Assuming you are in So Cal, you might want to consider heading to Rolex in Beverly Hills (recently reopened for service I believe).

[deebSTR]

Thanks! And yes I'm in SoCal. I'll definitely be calling them up sometime soon (as long as the vintage experts approve).

btw, I just signed up for RolexForums, how can I get a moderator to move this to the vintage forums?

[masterserg]

From what little I understand ... DO NOT SEND IT TO ROLEX, nor give it to any dealer. As people said above, wait until the experts chime in to see what is the best course of action.

[MonBK]

Just wait, it will be moved.

[deebSTR]

Here's the original thread with the pictures: http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=213057

I'm new to Rolex Forums and just realized I should have posted it in the vintage discussion, but anyways can I get some advice on what to do with it? I want to restore it but where would I do that? How much would it cost? How much is it worth? (I don't plan on selling it as it has sentimental value).

[perpetualman88]

Again DO NOT SEND TO ROLEX

Bob is most certainly your man

[Rsvrider]

It must be def must be special bc it looks exactly (opposite colors on face aside) to the one on the cover for collecting vintage Rolex.
"The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday"

[Welshwatchman]

Originally Posted by Rsvrider

It must be def must be special bc it looks exactly (opposite colors on face aside) to the one on the cover for collecting vintage Rolex.
"The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday"

Similar but not the same.

The cover pic is of a 6241 with a "Newman" exotic dial and plain pushers.

It's 3+ times the price of a 6239 standard dial.

The 6239 is still a fantastic watch with the added emotional value, priceless.

[deebSTR]

So what I have is a 6239 and not a 6263?

[mdw3]

Originally Posted by deebSTR

So what I have is a 6239 and not a 6263?

Your watch is indeed a late 6263 Cosmograph "Daytona." The dent to the bezel is indeed irreparable, the bezel would need to be replaced to remedy that (figure on $2000-3000 for an authentic period replacement part). Otherwise, the watch looks excellent, and appears to be from c. late 1970s-early 1980s. I would be wary of anyone who wants to replace many parts or polish the case, but otherwise this watch shouldn't need much to be in optimal condition. My best advice would be to do as little as possible.

Regards

[Tools]

Nice watch.

Talk to Ridley.. It is likely that the bezel dent can be reshaped to minimize the damage.. although not as valuable as a Newman dial of the same era, it's still worth more than a new car......

[Tcaviglioli]

Originally Posted by mdw3

Your watch is indeed a late 6263 Cosmograph "Daytona." The dent to the bezel is indeed irreparable, the bezel would need to be replaced to remedy that (figure on $2000-3000 for an authentic period replacement part). Otherwise, the watch looks excellent, and appears to be from c. late 1970s-early 1980s. I would be wary of anyone who wants to replace many parts or polish the case, but otherwise this watch shouldn't need much to be in optimal condition. My best advice would be to do as little as possible.

Regards

Yes I agree if you could have the series number that would help but it looks like a late big red 6263 and the tropic and pushers could be original (earlier versions of crystal and pushers were different).

Other than having it cleaned, oiled and regulated and may be change the crystal, it should be a straightforward job for a qualified independent watchmaker and for sure Bob R. is highly recommended by everyone.

Cheers,

[Rsvrider]

Look for CashGap latest thread, it features your your watch in action! Red Line 7000 is the name of thread (movie).
"The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday"

[Jollyclub]

Please don't restore it or send it back to a Rolex Service Centre.

All it probably needs is a movement service and a pressure test to make sure it's waterproof.

Bob Ridley seems to top the league over there, for sympathetical treatment of watches.

Sending it to a RSC would be like sending your daughter to a Hells Angels Summercamp..

[dddrees]

Originally Posted by Jollyclub

Please don't restore it or send it back to a Rolex Service Centre.

All it probably needs is a movement service and a pressure test to make sure it's waterproof.

Bob Ridley seems to top the league over there, for sympathetical treatment of watches.

Sending it to a RSC would be like sending your daughter to a Hells Angels Summercamp..

Actually it is my understanding is that RSC provides great service, in fact excellent service in most cases.

The problem is that RSC's philosophy is to bring a watch back to new condition whenever in doubt. This means for example that they would want to replace a dial if the lume no longer works. However with a vintage watch such as this most of the value of the watch is with the dials originality. Rolex does not distinguish between new or vintage here in the States. This is why Bob Ridley is required here, he recognizes the importance and value of a vintage watch.