no frills
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Damn, this thread moves fast.
It's been far too nice out lately to mess around with measuring-caliper-level watch nerdery, but here's a quick 'n' dirty (literally, as the SD still has evidence of yesterday's North Sea activities on it) comparison shot à la No Frills between the the 38.65 and the 40.5-ish millimetre cases:
The extra thickness isn't so evident here, but case-shape differences between pre- and post-ceramic designs and the glossy vs. satin dial characteristics are rather obvious in this head-on view. For me, they both have the right proportions for their respective genres of slim sporty chronograph and function-first diver's watch.
It'll be interesting to see how Rolex does the next iteration of the steel Daytona; keeping the new Sea-Dweller at the proper 40 mm-ish size and going smaller on the lugs compared to their first round of ceramic diver's watches was a very positive sign for future design direction.
Making a watch bigger for its own sake — instead of for a functional purpose such as increased pressure resistance in the case of your DSSD, even if it's about 8X the all-time depth record — is traditionally un-Rolex. Bloating the new Sea-Dweller up to 42 mm simply to appease the bigger-is-better crowd would have been a poor long-term decision.
By the way, I'm surprised you haven't picked up a black-dialed Daytona yet, considering your habit of kopping in pairs...
Fantastic pic and comparison of course.
As for sizing up and making the watch bigger for its own sake, what about the 42mm Explorer II......
He doesn't always do pairs of the same - I think the Daytona is paired with the Explorer under "other Rolex". Maybe a white dial ExII and BLNR would make a nice addition? Then a white gold Pimpepsi and a platinum Daytona? Guess we'll have to wait for next year's frillyvolity season to find out.
Edit: @Dillardiv , that looks great, congratulations! I know I said go for the Sub because I'm a conservative old fart, but having seen that in the flesh myself, it's a stunner. "Wear in good health", as the TWAT motto goes.
I cannot, for the life of me, find your original post where you showed us all up by proving your manliness and cracking your head open. I am glad you are doing okay now.
RE: White dial Daytona. I'm not sure what to pair with it. We shall see. Explorer I and vintage 1601 is the pair.
CONGRATS DILLARDIV! BLNR looks great, especially in the flesh.