heard from a VERY SERIOUS COLLECTOR that the earlier versions have better finishing... these would be dated in the very early blue dials... why? Once MB saw the popularity (let's face it--they never had a hit on their hands) they increased the production and (by necessity) decreased the finishing quality... got to make more watches with the watchmakers available... so I was told... your call my friends. But I would go with the early blue dials or the earlier gold cased chronos ( especially the gold cased as this was when MB was really trying to tell the world their finishing was ultimate, when 'no one' was buying, these gold cased are the ones, then the blue dials). This is all based on a conversation with a serious collector. Do what you will and I have no proof of anything. Finally, I DO NOT own either a blue dial or gold cased dial. Just sharing with you, fellow collectors.