Rolex Daytona - changing dial/hands colour, should I?
Discussion
Hi chaps,
Just wanted to ask a question to the knowledgeable amongst you: I’m considering buying a white gold Daytona 116519, but I want a specific dial/hand colour combination.
What I want to ask is: would it detract from the future value or desirability of the watch if I changed the colour of the dial and hands, all done through Rolex as part of a service. Also, can you give me some idea of the cost of getting this done with a white gold Daytona?
How does a prospective buyer even know what the original colours of the dial/hands and strap are? The number for a white gold Daytona with leather strap is 116519, but they come with so many different options of dial colour etc... is this actually recorded within the serial number of the watch or by some other method?
Many thanks
Just wanted to ask a question to the knowledgeable amongst you: I’m considering buying a white gold Daytona 116519, but I want a specific dial/hand colour combination.
What I want to ask is: would it detract from the future value or desirability of the watch if I changed the colour of the dial and hands, all done through Rolex as part of a service. Also, can you give me some idea of the cost of getting this done with a white gold Daytona?
How does a prospective buyer even know what the original colours of the dial/hands and strap are? The number for a white gold Daytona with leather strap is 116519, but they come with so many different options of dial colour etc... is this actually recorded within the serial number of the watch or by some other method?
Many thanks
Yes you can do it, but I wouldn't
Yes all model variations are recorded
Yes you will lose out at resale,
even if older rolexes are serviced at Rolex and have a dial replaced like for like under that service, they lose a few £100 as not original
An original sports model in LNIB or unworn with protective stickers still in place, with full box & papers is where the money is
Yes all model variations are recorded
Yes you will lose out at resale,
even if older rolexes are serviced at Rolex and have a dial replaced like for like under that service, they lose a few £100 as not original
An original sports model in LNIB or unworn with protective stickers still in place, with full box & papers is where the money is
Thanks for the info chaps.
I'm planning on buying used, hence why I'd want to change the colours, if I was to buy new I'd order the colours I want. Looks like I can get one half price with used, so makes new not worth it as too much initial depreciation as you chaps have pointed out.
So if I keep orig parts it will only be worth a smidge less? Anyone know how much a new dial and chrono hands would be on a wg daytona?
I'm planning on buying used, hence why I'd want to change the colours, if I was to buy new I'd order the colours I want. Looks like I can get one half price with used, so makes new not worth it as too much initial depreciation as you chaps have pointed out.
So if I keep orig parts it will only be worth a smidge less? Anyone know how much a new dial and chrono hands would be on a wg daytona?
Yes you can do it no problem. Any competent watchsmith can do this for you. As you've pointed out there are so many dial and hands combinations for a Daytona that sometimes in order to get the one you want you can alter the appearance. What the person said above about depreciating the value of the watch is poppycock. This would only be true for older watches and you either upgrading to a new or modern dial that doesn't match the original.
The idea of buying a watche purely as an appreciating asset is for rare sports models and limited run dials. For a mass produced modern version you are going to hit a lower end of the re-sale value and it probably wont fluctuate much from that point for a very long time.
Rolex might keep a record of what the original dial/strap/hands combo was but as long as you are using genuine Rolex parts they will still continue to service the watch. Any aftermarket parts and they will refuse.
As far as prices are concerned, you would be looking at around £350-£500 for the dial (depending on condition and style) and possibly around £150-200 for the hand set. This is from the grey market parts and not from Rolex. You could contact Rolex directly but be prepared for a no on the option and also a very long wait while they perform the swap.
The idea of buying a watche purely as an appreciating asset is for rare sports models and limited run dials. For a mass produced modern version you are going to hit a lower end of the re-sale value and it probably wont fluctuate much from that point for a very long time.
Rolex might keep a record of what the original dial/strap/hands combo was but as long as you are using genuine Rolex parts they will still continue to service the watch. Any aftermarket parts and they will refuse.
As far as prices are concerned, you would be looking at around £350-£500 for the dial (depending on condition and style) and possibly around £150-200 for the hand set. This is from the grey market parts and not from Rolex. You could contact Rolex directly but be prepared for a no on the option and also a very long wait while they perform the swap.
i did this very thing
WG daytona with white face changed to the grey slate face and red hands as per link below
http://onswisstime.com/product.php?id_product=759
love it. rolex did the swap. didnt charge for a service as my watch was as new (even tho 3yrs old). got the old face back. think it was about 700 pounds but cant remember exactly.
some confusion about whether they would do it initially and how long it would take but in the end was about a month
WG daytona with white face changed to the grey slate face and red hands as per link below
http://onswisstime.com/product.php?id_product=759
love it. rolex did the swap. didnt charge for a service as my watch was as new (even tho 3yrs old). got the old face back. think it was about 700 pounds but cant remember exactly.
some confusion about whether they would do it initially and how long it would take but in the end was about a month
Half price for a white gold one is a pretty good deal....IIRC a friend was looking at one for that was £17k new and that was coming out at £11k last year. Having said that new prices may have gone up with the CHF.
You shouldn't be buying a watch like a white gold daytona worrying about resale....buy it and get the face changed if that's what you want! Keep the original parts. You could always get them put back in when you sell and flog the new face/hands if that works out better.
You shouldn't be buying a watch like a white gold daytona worrying about resale....buy it and get the face changed if that's what you want! Keep the original parts. You could always get them put back in when you sell and flog the new face/hands if that works out better.
andy355 said:
i did this very thing
WG daytona with white face changed to the grey slate face and red hands as per link below
http://onswisstime.com/product.php?id_product=759
love it. rolex did the swap. didnt charge for a service as my watch was as new (even tho 3yrs old). got the old face back. think it was about 700 pounds but cant remember exactly.
some confusion about whether they would do it initially and how long it would take but in the end was about a month
Thanks for the info, like the slate face also, enjoy mate.WG daytona with white face changed to the grey slate face and red hands as per link below
http://onswisstime.com/product.php?id_product=759
love it. rolex did the swap. didnt charge for a service as my watch was as new (even tho 3yrs old). got the old face back. think it was about 700 pounds but cant remember exactly.
some confusion about whether they would do it initially and how long it would take but in the end was about a month
Beardy10 said:
Half price for a white gold one is a pretty good deal....IIRC a friend was looking at one for that was £17k new and that was coming out at £11k last year. Having said that new prices may have gone up with the CHF.
You shouldn't be buying a watch like a white gold daytona worrying about resale....buy it and get the face changed if that's what you want! Keep the original parts. You could always get them put back in when you sell and flog the new face/hands if that works out better.
Hi, yes half price is a great deal for such a watch, brings it within my budget also.You shouldn't be buying a watch like a white gold daytona worrying about resale....buy it and get the face changed if that's what you want! Keep the original parts. You could always get them put back in when you sell and flog the new face/hands if that works out better.
I am concerned about keeping it original, and I want it to retain value. I do not plan on selling it, but I just like to know that the watch is still worth as much as I paid for it, if not more as the prices continue to rise. Sounds funny but I don't want to ruin it's desirability or value even though I will never sell it.
S1MMA said:
Hi, yes half price is a great deal for such a watch, brings it within my budget also.
I am concerned about keeping it original, and I want it to retain value. I do not plan on selling it, but I just like to know that the watch is still worth as much as I paid for it, if not more as the prices continue to rise. Sounds funny but I don't want to ruin it's desirability or value even though I will never sell it.
Well but a SS one then...no one will know it's SS excapt you anyway. They hold their value much better! Or go up quite a lot if you bought it in 1998 I am concerned about keeping it original, and I want it to retain value. I do not plan on selling it, but I just like to know that the watch is still worth as much as I paid for it, if not more as the prices continue to rise. Sounds funny but I don't want to ruin it's desirability or value even though I will never sell it.
Beardy10 said:
Well but a SS one then...no one will know it's SS excapt you anyway. They hold their value much better! Or go up quite a lot if you bought it in 1998
I actually want a leather strap daytona, hence only white gold as the option. To be honest, SS prices are still at or above list for used, so will it hold its money better than a WG daytona which is a year or 2 old and is purchased for nearly half price? Prob not, depends really - I would say they would both perform the same, if rolex prices go up in future for both SS and WG at the same rate, which is likely.So I don't think you lose either way. SS dial colour is also very limited, prefer the WG options.
I was in a situation where I wanted a Daytona around 18 months ago and ended up buying a 1 year old white gold model 116519 with the gold bracelet not leather strap for £9500 from a UK based poster on rolexforum.
It has the black face however my first choice would be the meteorite dial but to buy one new would cost me around £2500 last time I checked.Im going to wait until I can source a secondhand dial hopefully for under £1000 and then send my watch in for a service and let the RSC swap the dial for me.
It has the black face however my first choice would be the meteorite dial but to buy one new would cost me around £2500 last time I checked.Im going to wait until I can source a secondhand dial hopefully for under £1000 and then send my watch in for a service and let the RSC swap the dial for me.
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