Pick Your Poison : Submariner TT vs Daytona TT

Credit : Stephanie Lavine

After my post on the Daytona TT @ https://andywristwatches.blogspot.my/2018/04/safe-queen-rolex-cosmograph-daytona.html, I received an e-mail query from a reader whom wanted to add a TT sports model into his collection. He was ready to stretch his budget to RM80k, but was unsure if he should go for the Submariner TT or Daytona TT.

Since ADs were now quite rigid on the pricing of the sports models, TT models included, let's take a look at the retail prices of these respective pieces :

1) Submariner TT : USD13,400
2) Daytona TT : USD16,900
3) Daytona TT with diamonds : USD18,850

Therefore, with his budget, it would be possible for him to go with any of the above; which would meant that he had 4 watches for his choice as per the following :

This really depended on the reader's personal preferences. For me, I would go with Bluesy if it was  for the Submariner, or pay the premium of USD1,950 to upgrade from the normal Daytona towards the dial with diamonds.

Well, short of inviting the reader to view both models at my place, the best way to help him make up his mind would be to show him pictures of both watches in the real world; and for him to make the necessary mental comparison to gauge which piece tugs his heartstrings more.

Here were pictures of the Submariner Bluesy :

And here were pictures of the Daytona with diamonds :

Add to the fact that lady celebrities were embracing the Daytona genre, so it was fast-becoming a unisex watch that could be rather versatile.

So what's your pick, dear reader?

Bluesy : Sunburst Blues

I received an e-mail from a reader whom was interested to get the 116613LB aka Bluesy, but he was unsure if he would like the shade of blue that it came in. He had ventured to some ADs in Klang Valley, but there was no ready stock for him to view. Therefore, he asked if it was possible to take some close-up pictures of the Bluesy to help him make up his mind prior to placing a deposit for the said watch.

Well, ask and you shall receive; so hope you enjoy these below pictures. The Bluesy was definitely worth a spot in one's Rolex collection- just looked at how rich that blue dial was. Was this worth the RRP : RM52k? I would opine so.

Safe Queen : Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 116523

Since the advert on the Daytona Ceramic was put up @ https://andywristwatches.blogspot.my/2018/04/wts-rolex-daytona-ceramic-116500ln.html, there had been many e-mails with regards to the Daytona, with many parties asking for a discount for an immediate purchase. The thing was, the Daytona Ceramic hype was at its peak at the interim period and many ADs were selling what limited stocks that they had at a huge premium. That was the reason that you could see those Daytona Ceramic being marked up to RM80k and above by many owners and resellers.

If you have circa RM80k to spare and would like to get into the modern Daytona game, another piece that you could do well with was the 116523 two-tone with diamonds. To get into more details, I would have to get this piece out from the safe and have some pictures taken up.

This Daytona that I had in hand, was a safe queen and she's been sitting pretty in the safety of her castle, for a long while. Well, like any good fairy tale, it's time to have her venture out from her safe haven and go adventuring in the real world. So here she was, with her fellow royal sidekick from Omega, also bearing 8 diamonds on the dial.

Out in the wild, this Daytona was quite a striking sports watch. While we may be used to seeing diamonds in dress watches such as Datejust and Day-Date, seeing diamonds on a tool or sports watch could be a different matter altogether.

On my Submariner, I would prefer the normal lume as that was supposed to be a diver's watch and those lume were for more than just eye-candy. On a Daytona, which was marketed more as a luxurious driving watch, I found that the 8 blingy diamonds did enhance the overall standing of the watch's status. The gold bezel looked the part and I find the wordings and chrono in gold, worked seamlessly to provide towards a handsome design there.

Granted, the polished gold links on the bracelet could be scratch magnet and/or attract too much attention at times. Therefore, going the same route like that of my 116610LV, 116613LB, and 116622, I matched a pair of RubberB strap on the watch and I must admit that it complemented the look of the watch nicely. For this, I had my handy Bergeon 7825 tool to assist me with the change from bracelet to rubber strap. Easy-peasy!

Now I have a Daytona that could be a daily-beater, and yet looked presentable during formal or non-formal events. I could pair it up with a pair of tux, or just as easily have it with a pair of tee and jeans. How many chronos out there could be this versatile, and yet still sporting a brand that one could be proud to wear? Not many, I would think.

So there you have it, dear readers. If you do not wish to pay a king's ransom on a stainless steel Daytona, a better option would be to go towards the precious metal Daytona; which at the end of the day, was truly worth the monies given its gold and diamonds' composition.

Awaiting CK2998 Limited Edition

Readers would know that I have had 3 variants of Speedmaster in my collection, and the only one that had continuously remained steadfast un-flipped todate was the Speedy Panda Yemen. There's just something about the Panda compared to the normal Moonwatch that make collectors go crazy over these pieces, and the consistent appreciation in prices of the Panda pieces over the years were testament to the Panda's attractions.

Fast forward to Baselworld 2018, and the new Speedy Panda CK2998 LE definitely was a very handsome masterpiece amongst all the other watches launched at that platform. So much so that I quickly marched to an AD and put my name down for a piece. Last I checked, I was 5th in line for this piece and it should start coming to Malaysia in June or July 2018.

Note that this piece came with the Pulsometer bezel in ceramic, compared to the Tachymeter that was the norm for Speedy pieces; as could be seen in my Yemen.

What an absolutely stunning piece this Speedy Panda CK2998 LE was!