Daytona 
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Daytona
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Posted By: Ricky Lee McBroom
<dodge_boyz@yahoo.com>
Date: Saturday, 24 May 2008, at 4:30 p.m.
Yeah, got a new one on the way.
A rerun from yesterday's B30! thread;
--On Thursday, 27 March 2008, at 3:11 a.m. TakesALickin'
} The fit and finish is amazing
} for a sub $150 watch.
I've found that to be the case with all three of my Alphas.
Only difference is mine are all sub $100 watches. 
} My first one (pictured below)
} ran a minute slow per
day, so
} I sold it.
You know, now that you mention it, I recall your 
report on that. Indeed, it has been your fabulous photos and your erudite
pontification on the that finally swayed me on this one. Ya 
you! 
} But I knew from other forumners'
} accounts that it
was possible to
} score a good runner, so I took
} another swing.
Never say die!
In my case, a Daytona homage has been on my wish list for some time. Ever since I got my son this one as a B'day present..
..loved it, at a distance. Up close, I didn't like the silly
triple-date movement masquerading as a . That really bugs
me, for some reason. In fact, it's the one and only thing that I don't
like about the Sea-Master. In that case, it very nearly ruins an otherwise
fantastic watch for me.. I struggled mightily before ing it, and was
prepared to flip it. But, to my surprise, I found it easy to live with. Still,
if it were and actual 
it'd certainly be a
better timepiece for it, IMHO!
} The new one runs much closer
} to the chronometer
specs
} claimed on the dial.
Glad you were able to a good 'un! 
} It's a long term keeper for me
} (as most of my
collection seems
} to be now).
for keepers!
} I like the bezel on that one!
Yeah, the Daytona is my favorite 
design, with
the..
..Explorer a close second. Actually, those are the only
designs I like. Datejusts and
Submariners and Presidents, etc., just don't do a thing for me. But I like the
Daytona and Explorer a lot. I dunno.. something about their design
just feels right in a way that's difficult to describe...
So I really shouldn't blame you - 'twas my tight-a$$ Scots nature just
couldn't resist a $118 homage!
Ennyway, a most pleasant surprise (that this model even
existed, I mean). Dunno how it got in under me radar. Do you have any idea how
long they've been offering it? Last time I checked the Paul Newman was the only
they offered. The Daytonas homages used to carry only that durned
triple-date movement...
-Ricky
Update - 24 May, 2008
The bracelet was too short as provided and, while I had extra links, I initially slapped it on a rubber Oyster from Modena Watches
Poor Man's' Watch Forum
Daytona 
report. Aka My Modest Attempt At Analytical Horology.
Posted By: Ricky Lee McBroom
Date: Friday, 11 July 2008, at 2:47 p.m.
I wound and set 'er on Wednesday morning @ precisely 06:02 and, somehat to my surprise, 'tis still chugging along 53 hours and 36 minutes later!
Means I can confidently wind this one only every other day. Good feature, that!
Gratuitous ...
And the movement (Mr. Pink Pink's 
)...
But why analytical, you say? Easy! I intend to repeat the test with the running continuously, to see how that effects .
Stay tuned! It has to be close to the end of Test One.
-Ricky
Messages In This Thread
Daytona report. Aka My Modest Attempt At Analytical Horology. (views: 139) mode affects 
(views: 11) Is it a 
or 
caliber? (views: 12)
-made . (views: 17) The end result is 53 hours 44 minutes 20 seconds (views: 19) (views: 21)
! Have you tried winding every OTHER day? Curious if that affects accuracy... (views: 6)Poor Man's' Watch Forum
Daytona Aka My Modest Attempt At Analytical Horology [Update]
Posted By: Ricky Lee McBroom
Date: Tuesday, 15 July 2008, at 2:26 p.m.
If you'll recall my original post, the Daytona went 53 hours and 36 minutes on a full wind, with the function not used.
I wound and set the watch on Monday morn (at 06:02 again ). I engaged the Chrono function, and it's been running continuously since then. Errr.. 27 hours 15 minutes so far.
Again, I consider this level of ( > 48 hours, IOW ) to be very useful, as it means the watch need only be wound every other day. Would save plenty of wear & tear on the (screwdown, remember) crown.
Anyone care to guess how long she'll go with the running? I'll but a small wager on > 36 hours...
-Ricky
Messages In This Thread
Daytona Aka My Modest Attempt At Analytical Horology [Update] 
(views: 148) Daytona Aka My Modest Attempt At Analytical Horology [RESULTS] (views: 89)To my utter astonishment, it went 53 hours 21 minutes with the running continously. This is soo close you might as well say it makes no difference! 
but !!
T'anks for readin'...
-Ricky
(views: 4) (views: 31)when some mainsprings were made well, others from inferior alloys, the consumer would wind a watch to judge whether the mainspring had some "ginger".
Winding the alpha chrono is a unique experience among my collection. The spring is super long. Well there is one watch that is similar, the Hamilton 992b pocket watch. I measure the run time on that one but don't recall exactly. I believe it was in the range of 48 hrs.
Have not done the chronometer endurance test ... but the watch does about 53 hrs.
(views: 10) (views: 5) So the caliber is perfectly adjusted (views: 7)
(views: 10) (views: 8)
Adam. Hmmm. Say 11 to 14% less on the Valjoux with chrono running... >>> (views: 16)..if that ratio holds true with the , then I'm looking at a minimum of 46 hours.. and potentially 48 hours.
I could live with that!
-Ricky
pretty amazing actually. -Twotone
is the daytona crown screwdown too? (views: 15)
, no? So not much of an issue... (views: 11) when did rolex make it a auto? (views: 9)until Rolex developed their own automatic chronograph caliber 3000 IIRC. As far as I know there were never any handwind Daytonas, maybe before the El Primero times.
Best regards -Reto
(views: 13) 's screwdown crown? Inquiring minds want to know! (views: 11)Seriously.. am curious if Rolex would place their vaunted Reputation For Quality on a crown that they knew would go through 1,800+ cycles 'tween Recommended Service Intervals.
I s'pect so. Heck, I think the can handle it, personally.
-Ricky
(views: 13) R O T F L M A O ! Score one for Kelly! (views: 8) (views: 21)movement I disassembled was a Valjoux 72. And I did not even half the tools one should have to do so. After 3 hours of disassembly with good notes (circled the parts of each step on a large sheet of paper and numbered them) it took me 12 hours to put it back together. What a fun task.
Many years later, I got a mail from a watchmaker in Germany who had seen the picture below. He said that he needed a Valjoux 72 very urgently. I warned him explicitly again that I had disassembled the movement. But he was not scared away and offered a decent price for the movement.
Best regards
Reto
PS it speaks for the design of the 72 that it survives these kind of WIS attacks. In comparison, the 7750 looks a lot more fragile.
, but had forgotten which 'twas. Great work! (views: 6)Poor Man's' Watch Forum
Re: ..just keep it out of water. >>
Posted By: Ricky Lee McBroom
Date: Friday, 27 June 2008, at 8:35 p.m.
In Response To: I have one and think its actually pretty nice.. (chickenlips)
Chances are it'd be fine. My Explorer 
has been dunked many times with nary a problem. Indeed, none of my Alphas are strangers to water.
I don't quite understand why everyone assumes Alphas totally lack water resistance. If anything, rates them conservatively, seems to me.
Contents May Settle Shipping. Close Cover Before Striking. Your Mileage May Vary.
-Ricky
Messages In This Thread
Took the plunge...ordered an Alpha (views: 238) (views: 34)..long drone on the interstate, light traffic today.
Anyway, AFAIK 3 ATM is the highest rating that
gives any of their watches. But I'm betting that they're actually
designed to a much higher standard. At least 5 ATM, and quite possibly
10.
However, I'll also bet that they do have quality control issues, with a significant number of units failing the higher WR standard. But rather than scrap these units, or address the root cause(s) of the failures, they've simply lowered the rating to 3 ATM, at which point most all units pass.
I've
worked in the manufacturing sector for, lo, 3+ decades and I've seen
this scenario more times than you'd believe. Few companies will admit
to such shenanigans, mind. But it happens. Trust me.
-Ricky
>>> (views: 58)
And yes, I said web sites, as in plural. In addition to the main one I see posted here, and which Google serves up, there are a couple of others.
If you search for 'Unidesign Workshop' (Alpha's parent company, apparently) you'll find this one.
And if you drill down even deeper, this one pops up. I don't quite know what to make of that last one. It seems redundant...
-Ricky
>>> (views: 35)Sorta like finding a Citizen dealer that calls themselves "Citizen Store", or whatever.
The last site does have some watches I haven't seen from them before, like the all-black Planet Ocean homage....which I really wanted.
I don't think so. Note the lack of pricing info and Shopping Cart. As noted above.
I can't quite ken the raisin d' eater of the latter, but I'd say that the first site linked is definitely Mr. Pink Pink's main biz site.
-Ricky
Ohh, bad idea -- that usually only strengthens the desire for the real thing. I started with a homage too once... > (views: 118)
Bjorn Keizers -- Friday, 27 June 2008, at 7:05 p.m.
On the contrary, I think owning an homage will make me glad I didn't spend $1800 on the real thing...I get bored with watches in about 6 months (often less).
I've got 3 Alpha homages. Rather than make me lust for the 'real deal', they make the 
price of the originals seem ludicrous. And, mind you, 2 of the 3 have
been with me for 2+ years, so it's not a "flash in the pan"...
-Ricky
owner who used to own an homage. (views: 25)