Join my picture ride along many exotic Daytona dial/strap combo's ! (Finished!)

[GreatCircle]

The 116519 Whitegold Daytona on leather strap is an exceptional versatile Rolex. And still, people prefer the featherweight and maybe even boring stainless steel versions. Beats me.....
(hint : the whitegold 116519's is even cheaper then it's steel sibling now)

A relative large selection of dials is available for the 116519 reference and combined with a gazillion colours and types of straps endless combinations can be made. Things can really go crazy with this watch if you think a little outside the box (and your watchmaker does as well! )
The last few years I have tried quit a few exotic or call it "illegal" configurations. If you fancy the Daytona and it's gorgeous dial options, please ride along with the creations made by me and my friendly (quit flexible…..) watchmaker! And I will show you were the journey ended !!


The 116519 I had initially was sold after some simple experimenting with Panda and Slate dials. Still have these dials, look how cool and sporty they are when photographed outside it's case:

Panda , officially called white/black arab in the dial catalogue


Slate arab:




Due to circumstances this first 116519 was sold.

Not much later a second one was bought with the Pink Mother of Pearl dial installed, immediately the dial was removed so I do not have any pictures of it installed in the watch, just the dial itself.
99% of the photographed MOP dialed Rolex watches online kind of suck, you almost never are able to see how the light plays with these terrific luxurious dials ! Here is a try:




First experiment was to create some kind of modern Daytona beach MKII version. Don't remember why we choose the white strap, looking back I should have tried Tobacco as well with this dial but the itch for Daytona Beach MKIII was already too big, more about that later.

So we started with the blue dial, according to Rolex only allowed in the full whitegold version , reference 116509. Usually online way too dark. Only with some bright daylight it will reveal it's true magic and sunburst effects to differentiate it more clearly from the black Daytona dials (available for both steel and whitegold, the latter also with diamond index)



With a white OEM strap, yes yes, these do exist !





Like mentioned I should have tried brown as well , but once the watchmaker texted he had a platinium dial lying around for some fun it was too late...

Initially a lighter brown OEM strap was attached to the 116519, resulting in the self invented "reference" 116519ICE. Many people think this thing is an absolute insult to the 116506 Platona owners but on the other hand a platinum Daydate with an iceblue dial NEVER needed a brown baked bezel to look good right?

First attempt for Daytona Beach MKIII:

Tadaaaaa!:


The thing absolute adored sunlight!



Hmmm, the colour of the strap does not exactly match the brown subdials. Better?:


Still not happy. A true Daytona beach obviously needs a matching colour strap. Rolex does not offer an OEM solution except for the lizard original beach straps. But these were not what we were looking for . A customized strap was created to match the dial. Later me and the watchmaker were in doubt if we should have selected tobacco stitching. This was the final result of the real Daytona Beach MKIII:




But how do you swim with this thing then? ehhhh, well....ehhhhhh

I AM TRULY SORRY :


Summer was over. Now what?
what crazy thing can we do with this watch?
The recently released 116519LN inspired us, pretty cool watch ! But in doubt about the black overcooked bezel. Yes it's scratchproof, it adds contrast and works just absolutely perfect with the black OysterFlex strap. Hmmmm, makes you think. The steel dial does fit in the older style 116519 and Rolex does have OEM black leather straps for it obviously. Would it work? It does, but in all honesty after wearing it for a few months it does not quit work so well. The newer version with black bezel is simply better, period! Nice try though !



So after all these experiments i had decided to put it back to an all original OEM 116519 Rolex approved certified superlative legal and simply STUNNING combo, light brown alligator contrasting stitching with the GREEN lume Panda dial. Yes, the green one ! Why !? these are better ! The "easter-egg-effect "supercool blue-ish hue in the arabic numbers usually only visible on overcast days is much much stronger with the older green lume dials compared to the chromalight versions. Don't know why, but believe me it is, I've had them all ! ;) If you buy a Panda-dial, make sure it's the green lume one ! (same goes for the slate ones , easter-egg visual effect in the arabics is then purple instead of blue and again much stronger with the older green lume versions)

Thanks for joining me and which one did you like the most?

Final Destination:

[Tangier11]

Love them!!

[abelxo]

Ok. This is amazing. Wow!!!


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[mray2686]

Wow. Quite a journey. I’ve where you ended up. Stunning!

[Dougiebaby]

Originally Posted by GreatCircle

The 116519 Whitegold Daytona on leather strap is an exceptional versatile Rolex. And still, people prefer the featherweight and maybe even boring stainless steel versions. Beats me.....
(hint : the whitegold 116519's is even cheaper then it's steel sibling now)

A relative large selection of dials is available for the 116519 reference and combined with a gazillion colours and types of straps endless combinations can be made. Things can really go crazy with this watch if you think a little outside the box (and your watchmaker does as well! )
The last few years I have tried quit a few exotic or call it "illegal" configurations. If you fancy the Daytona and it's gorgeous dial options, please ride along with the creations made by me and my friendly (quit flexible…..) watchmaker! And I will show you were the journey ended !!


The 116519 I had initially was sold after some simple experimenting with Panda and Slate dials. Still have these dials, look how cool and sporty they are when photographed outside it's case:

Panda , officially called white/black arab in the dial catalogue


Slate arab:




Due to circumstances this first 116519 was sold.

Not much later a second one was bought with the Pink Mother of Pearl dial installed, immediately the dial was removed so I do not have any pictures of it installed in the watch, just the dial itself.
99% of the photographed MOP dialed Rolex watches online kind of suck, you almost never are able to see how the light plays with these terrific luxurious dials ! Here is a try:




First experiment was to create some kind of modern Daytona beach MKII version. Don't remember why we choose the white strap, looking back I should have tried Tobacco as well with this dial but the itch for Daytona Beach MKIII was already too big, more about that later.

So we started with the blue dial, according to Rolex only allowed in the full whitegold version , reference 116509. Usually online way too dark. Only with some bright daylight it will reveal it's true magic and sunburst effects to differentiate it more clearly from the black Daytona dials (available for both steel and whitegold, the latter also with diamond index)



With a white OEM strap, yes yes, these do exist !





Like mentioned I should have tried brown as well , but once the watchmaker texted he had a platinium dial lying around for some fun it was too late...

Initially a lighter brown OEM strap was attached to the 116519, resulting in the self invented "reference" 116519ICE. Many people think this thing is an absolute insult to the 116506 Platona owners but on the other hand a platinum Daydate with an iceblue dial NEVER needed a brown baked bezel to look good right?

First attempt for Daytona Beach MKIII:

Tadaaaaa!:


The thing absolute adored sunlight!



Hmmm, the colour of the strap does not exactly match the brown subdials. Better?:


Still not happy. A true Daytona beach obviously needs a matching colour strap. Rolex does not offer an OEM solution except for the lizard original beach straps. But these were not what we were looking for . A customized strap was created to match the dial. Later me and the watchmaker were in doubt if we should have selected tobacco stitching. This was the final result of the real Daytona Beach MKIII:




But how do you swim with this thing then? ehhhh, well....ehhhhhh

I AM TRULY SORRY :


Summer was over. Now what?
what crazy thing can we do with this watch?
The recently released 116519LN inspired us, pretty cool watch ! But in doubt about the black overcooked bezel. Yes it's scratchproof, it adds contrast and works just absolutely perfect with the black OysterFlex strap. Hmmmm, makes you think. The steel dial does fit in the older style 116519 and Rolex does have OEM black leather straps for it obviously. Would it work? It does, but in all honesty after wearing it for a few months it does not quit work so well. The newer version with black bezel is simply better, period! Nice try though !



So after all these experiments i had decided to put it back to an all original OEM 116519 Rolex approved certified superlative legal and simply STUNNING combo, light brown alligator contrasting stitching with the GREEN lume Panda dial. Yes, the green one ! Why !? these are better ! The "easter-egg-effect "supercool blue-ish hue in the arabic numbers usually only visible on overcast days is much much stronger with the older green lume dials compared to the chromalight versions. Don't know why, but believe me it is, I've had them all ! ;) If you buy a Panda-dial, make sure it's the green lume one ! (same goes for the slate ones , easter-egg visual effect in the arabics is then purple instead of blue and again much stronger with the older green lume versions)

Thanks for joining me and which one did you like the most?

Final Destination:

Amazing & beautiful ... every one! If forced to choose, I probably would take the white Arabic.


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[schoolboy]

The Daytona on blue nato is my favorite

[DJTOSUB]

I admire your creativity to think outside the box. Great pictures.

But in my opinion nothing beats the white gold with blue dial. Stunning combination.

[stylinleems]

Love the white strap and blue combo!! Sent you a PM hoping to get the reference # for the white croco strap. Thanks!!

[Northlove]

Great post! Loved the ICE.


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[1665fan]

Ever thought about the chocolate Arabic dial, with the brown croc strap it might look super cool... nice pics!

[RJRJRJ]

Very cool. I like the two panda dials. Funny thing is that I don't like natos and have never owned one, but I think that blue/orange one looks great in that combo.

[Jabbo84]

Really like the last version. Brown strap with arabic Numbers

[kieselguhr]

Wow! Love the look of the wg Daytona on white leather

[Gary Busey]

Holy hell wow

[wach16]

Great shots...the glacier blue dial is something else

[AJM914]

Great pics!

[fskywalker]

Some people here consider even a dial swap as something forbidden, a "franken watch"

But not me, am mod friendly: Great work!






My favorite is the last one as love that Panda dial!!!!

[brigadoonb]

Great thread. Thanks for sharing. Only wish I had the funds and skill to make all these experiments out myself.

[ilovethiscity]

This is heaven on earth. My favourite is also the last! One day I hope to join you..

[Adirondoc]

What a dramatic life you've given that watch. It could write its own biography at this point! I've just picked up a TT white panda Arabic and wouldn't have thought about all the combos you tried. I think the silver-dialed panda with black strap is an amazing monochrome combo while the last photo on brown strap is also great. Thanks for posting your photo journey!

Cheers

[10klakes]

You must have a great watchmaker that is local? Do you scour classifieds or eBay to source the dials? Is it an expensive mod to have them do a dial swap?

Awesome pics- thanks for sharing.

[GreatCircle]

Thanks for all the positive feedback guys! Hopefully the clear images can help people selecting the right dial !

Originally Posted by 1665fan

Ever thought about the chocolate Arabic dial, with the brown croc strap it might look super cool... nice pics!

Actually we thought about that one but didn't do it since all the indexes are Everose and this would create some kind of funky two-tone variant with different case colour on one hand and dial index on the other hand.

Originally Posted by 10klakes

You must have a great watchmaker that is local? Do you scour classifieds or eBay to source the dials? Is it an expensive mod to have them do a dial swap?

Awesome pics- thanks for sharing.

No , it's not very expensive, I was lucky enough to know an official watchmaker personally and he helped me out with all the dials and straps. Just needed to promise him not to start trading these things. He loved the experiments just as much as I did and luckily put things in the right perspective, in the end it's just nothing more then some stupid watch with some stupid dial not "intended" for a specific model.

[Fleegle]

Thread of the year. Love it.

[Rolex Essex]

Stunning! I love that Gulf nato strap.

[tie219]

Fun thread to read - so many great combos for this amazing watch

[dougshagam]

Wow - just wow. Absolutely stunning!

[BNA/LION]

Nice! There are so many great Daytona dials to choose from!

[akordz]

They're so amazing.

[ratty]

I like the blue and ice blue dials.

[bradyb]

Thanks for sharing! All your images are really stunning.