Will I regret the Daytona if I love to chorono?

[milgauss2232]

The white face Daytona (panda-or not, whichever you call it) has always been a grail watch for me, and now that's its more achievable than ever - I've got some equity lined up to sell and some savings to spend - I'm beginning to doubt myself if its all I thought it would be.
You see, I've always loved to use the chrono in my daily life - I like to time stuff - be it a certain task, or the time it takes to cook something, and my speedy pro has always been my tool of choice for that. Professionally, I work in a wet biochemistry lab so I also use it to time reactions and incubations etc.
Now when I get the Daytona, I will probably want to use it for timing stuff as much as the speedy, but the problem I foresee is that the Daytona has those screw down pushers which make starting and resetting the chrono that little bit more troublesome.
So i'd like to ask those who have the Daytona, and also use the chronograph function rather frequently - do you find it a hassle? Will I end up hating the Daytona because of the extra efforts I would need to activate the chrono?
Or do you guys just leave the screw-down open? Does that look weird?

[Cru Jones]

Sounds like a bit of a case of cold feet. Personally, if I had the money and always thought of the watch as a grail, I’d buy it and try. Worst case scenario, with a watch like the Daytona, any loss (if any) would be really small when flipping.



Shorter version: go for it! :-)

[Lever Escapement]

Wear the watch you like.
If you are using a Chronograph that often for work, get yourself an electronic/digital bench timer for less than $50 and save the wear and tear on your pushers.

[joli160]

If you really want to buy a chrono and use it as such go for the accurate ones which lets you read the elapsed time in 0.1 seconds.
That will be the Grand Seiko Tentagraph or the Zenith El Primero.

I like the new Daytona but as an actual chrono it’s not worth much. Screw down pushers and than the marks to read on the sub dials are laughable to say the least.
Only accurate to ⅛ of a second ? Not much use for that. The cost of not using a high beat movement.

Buying a Daytona and expecting to actually use it for anything other than boiling eggs will result in buyers remorse.
A Daytona is for its looks and doing quite well in that department

[roystrex]

If you are going to use it only as a timer, it might not be a very good option. But I find the bezel very handy if I want to measure heart pulsations, a telemetre and so on. Because it is easy to divide the scales.
Additionally, you do not need to wind it every day. Plus you get 100m water r.

[mpkRolex]

Originally Posted by milgauss2232

The white face Daytona (panda-or not, whichever you call it) has always been a grail watch for me, and now that's its more achievable than ever - I've got some equity lined up to sell and some savings to spend - I'm beginning to doubt myself if its all I thought it would be.
You see, I've always loved to use the chrono in my daily life - I like to time stuff - be it a certain task, or the time it takes to cook something, and my speedy pro has always been my tool of choice for that. Professionally, I work in a wet biochemistry lab so I also use it to time reactions and incubations etc.
Now when I get the Daytona, I will probably want to use it for timing stuff as much as the speedy, but the problem I foresee is that the Daytona has those screw down pushers which make starting and resetting the chrono that little bit more troublesome.
So i'd like to ask those who have the Daytona, and also use the chronograph function rather frequently - do you find it a hassle? Will I end up hating the Daytona because of the extra efforts I would need to activate the chrono?
Or do you guys just leave the screw-down open? Does that look weird?

Go for the Panda Daytona for its pure shiny asthetics and good looks. You will smile everyday when you look at it especially in a broad daylight. For that reason alone it is money well spent. For anything else such as timing things (screwed down pushers) or reading time (lol it’s poor legibility) it’s not useful


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[mpkRolex]

Originally Posted by mpkRolex

Go for the Panda Daytona for its pure shiny asthetics and good looks. You will smile everyday when you look at it especially in a broad daylight. For that reason alone it is money well spent. For anything else such as timing things (screwed down pushers) or reading time (lol it’s poor legibility) it’s not useful




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[77T]

Yes, I think you'll regret it because you're already having doubts.

This is classic pre-buyers remorse - feelings of doubt or regret before making a significant purchase. When you start to question whether you are making the right decision, it leads to feelings of unease before the transaction.

External opinions from us might only undermine confidence in your ultimate decision, leading to second-guessing.

IMHO...
You would be in the 1% of Daytona owners who actually time something if you do what you described. So I would approach ownership of a Daytona as "love" versus a functional purpose. That to me is a more healthy approach to the decision.

Do you love the Daytona already?


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[77T]

Originally Posted by mpkRolex;[emoji[emoji638

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You said it better - we were typing at the same time.


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[10splaya]

If its the watch you want…and you can afford it…go for it…like what one op said…if you dont like it you can flip it and get close to what you paid if you got it on the grey market.

If youre using it solely as a timer…use your iphone or get a $10 timer on amazon or something….

You cant go wrong with the Daytona unless you need to have teh date function lol

[brandrea]

Im with Cru on this one … try it out.

At worst you sell it for a small loss

[worldofoyster]

Buy a G shock for work/cooking and save the Daytona for special occasions

[Stevec14]

I’d get a white speedy pro to go with your black. Best of both worlds, and a lot less coin to boot


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[garyk]

Originally Posted by milgauss2232

The white face Daytona (panda-or not, whichever you call it)
Now when I get the Daytona, I will probably want to use it for timing stuff as much as the speedy, but the problem I foresee is that the Daytona has those screw down pushers which make starting and resetting the chrono that little bit more troublesome.
So i'd like to ask those who have the Daytona, and also use the chronograph function rather frequently - do you find it a hassle? Will I end up hating the Daytona because of the extra efforts I would need to activate the chrono?
Or do you guys just leave the screw-down open? Does that look weird?

First off, thank you for doubting the Panda name. I’ve had Panda dial watches for over 40 years and my 116500 Daytona ain’t one of them but these days, people like to refer to them that way. Secondly, when I’ve talked about my usage of my Daytonas for timing things like when I was in edit suites as the client in television and radio commercial production, I would get direct messages doubting my story. I have always collected chronograph watches and like you, I’ve enjoyed timing stuff. The screw down aspect of my Daytonas never got in the way of timing. Unscrew for operations, screw back down for wearing. Good luck to you!

[travisb]

Originally Posted by Cru Jones

Sounds like a bit of a case of cold feet. Personally, if I had the money and always thought of the watch as a grail, I’d buy it and try. Worst case scenario, with a watch like the Daytona, any loss (if any) would be really small when flipping.



Shorter version: go for it! :-)

Sound advice here.

[1William]

Like a lot of things, when in doubt, don't. I like the Daytona watches and have owned them all in every metal over the years but currently don't have one. The right tool for the right task and the Daytona may not be it for wet lab work. Could you make it work, sure, but I would have something else to do that job. Time will lead you where you want to go, just give it some before such a big purchase and just see. Good luck and let us know what you decide.

[watchwatcher]

Well, you nailed it with the screw down pushers...they are a pain.

For everyday "tool" use, TBH, I would look for something that doesn't use screw downs. They're out there. For instance, I got a FXD cycling edition this summer and it's so much more user friendly.

But, the bottom line is, get the watch you really want. If it's a Daytona, then I wouldn't let that get in the way.

[ratty]

As has been said above, if you are going to use the chronograph a lot you will have to leave the screw down collars unscrewed. I don't like doing this.

I like Daytona's and I've worn various versions for about 15 years, but if I wanted to seriously time things regularly, I much prefer using my 30 + year old TAG chrono 2000 (or is it 200, I can't remember!) or a Speedmaster if I have to use a mechanical watch. If I had to time things regularly for a job, I'd want to use a digital watch!

I really like Daytonas, but as a serious timing tool I think there are lots of things which work much better.

[milgauss2232]

Thank you everyone for sharing your opinions, perspectives and experiences. I feel encouraged to try - Its true it has been on my mind for so long I should totally try it and if it doesnt work out at most i take a small hit the world's not gonna end and its gonna be one of life's lessons.

[Wobbly]

Originally Posted by Stevec14

I’d get a white speedy pro to go with your black. Best of both worlds, and a lot less coin to boot


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I was thinking the same.

[envuks]

I time things all the time in my daily life with the Daytona. Similarly to how you mentioned in your original post.

I’ve had a 116500 as my daily since late 2018

I don’t find the screw down pushers a hassle at all.

You can leave them unscrewed if you like. The watch is even waterproof with them unscrewed. The intent of the screw down pushers is to present accidental pushing of the button while underwater as that would be a problem.

My $.02 is that your fear is unfounded. Get it and enjoy. It’s the best


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[Wingman244]

YES, YES, YES! It is very annoying.

I love to use my chrono, my dive bezel even my GMT bezel to time things.

I time everything. I time my steaks, I time any wait in line - I time how long it takes for each person at the front of the line to get serviced and then estimate my wait time. I time my time in the TSA line at the airport. I time my wife (very dangerous activity - not recommended).

The screw down pushers are annoying and get more annoying over time. One key reason I flipped my Daytona (among others) - I have a Speedmaster Racing and it is superior as a chrono watch. I started to park my Daytona chrono at 7 seconds so that it would give me enough time to unscrew the pusher and activate it.

Always post a picture... As an aside - I really love the combined hour and minute hand chrono counter combo - makes reading the chrono at a glance more efficient. I love the look of the 3 register chronos but love the human factor and ease of use design of the 2 register chrono. The funny thing is - this watch addressed every short coming that bothered me about the Daytona - I call it The Anti-Daytona.

[Easy E]

The Daytona tends to be hard to read in a lot of lighting conditions. I often found the subdials to be a small step above useless. It’s a very pretty watch though.

If the chrono complication is something you will use, I’m +1 on the white Speedy. It’s also a nice looking piece and about a 1/4 price (street).

[gerry100]

Originally Posted by Lever Escapement

Wear the watch you like.
If you are using a Chronograph that often for work, get yourself an electronic/digital bench timer for less than $50 and save the wear and tear on your pushers.

good idea

[Calatrava r]

If you intend to use the chronograph, I would get an Omega or a Zenith. On some Daytona dials the hash marks on the sub dials are virtually invisible.

[rockysw]

Originally Posted by milgauss2232

Thank you everyone for sharing your opinions, perspectives and experiences. I feel encouraged to try - Its true it has been on my mind for so long I should totally try it and if it doesnt work out at most i take a small hit the world's not gonna end and its gonna be one of life's lessons.

That's the right way to think about it. Also keep in mind that doesn't matter what it is, once we achieve our goals they lose its value somewhat that doesn't mean it wouldnt be a great watch. Bit of human nature.

[Stan Cooper]

If you use the chronograph complication frequently, you could save a bundle with a Seiko solar powered SSC813. Quartz accuracy and no batteries to replace.

[0nly5iv3Digits]

I was once in your shoes, OP. The Daytona (save for the 16520) just isn't for me. I'm much happier with the speedy pro - and I own a white dial 116520.

As others have mentioned - try it on. If you love it, you love it. Hell of a lot of dough to dole out on something you may have unconsciously idealized though. Keep that in mind. Good luck

[Zach69SS]

Daytona is a special piece, any Daytona, you can use as a chronograph but it’s kinda expensive for that use only.

Buy it to wear it and enjoy it, especially if it is your grail piece.

Life is short.

Cheers,