• Tired of adverts on RWI? - Subscribe by clicking HERE and PMing Trailboss for instructions and they will magically go away!

What AP Franken(s) do you have in the works?!

slaughterer62

Mythical Poster
DO NOT TRADE WITH ME
27/1/13
9,280
1,890
113
If someone has an “old” ROO Caseback I would take it also. Could only source an Diver Caseback.

Thanks
Thomas


Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk


Yes, these 3.4mm thick new casebacks from JF are not really that appropriate for Franken assembly. Luckily, they can be thinned to 2.3mm without cutting into the chamfer, but after that, no more. Left after, right before.

 

Jurgenk

I'm Pretty Popular
28/5/07
1,092
935
113
Yes, these 3.4mm thick new casebacks from JF are not really that appropriate for Franken assembly. Luckily, they can be thinned to 2.3mm without cutting into the chamfer, but after that, no more. Left after, right before.


That’s some good mitigation for a situation I thought was no-win. Would you agree that gen spec is closer to 1.8?

When I look at the whole JF lineup I think that someone from AP, or someone with a vicious sense of humor has infiltrated JF HQ and purposely screwed around with their CAD files for their milling machines to create situations like this for comic effect.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: SuperLory

SuperLory

Well-Known Repist
22/10/15
8,436
4,996
113
That’s some good mitigation for a situation I thought was no-win. Would you agree that gen spec is closer to 1.8?

When I look at the whole JF lineup I think that someone from AP, or someone with a vicious sense of humor has infiltrated JF HQ and purposely screwed around with their CAD files for their milling machines to create situations like this for comic effect.

yesterday I met with a guy here who has a couple of new JF Roos (one blue batons and one fc 44mm) : they are the thickest I've ever seen in my life. I bet 16mm if not more. It just adds injury to the already stupidly flawed line
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jurgenk

slaughterer62

Mythical Poster
DO NOT TRADE WITH ME
27/1/13
9,280
1,890
113
yesterday I met with a guy here who has a couple of new JF Roos (one blue batons and one fc 44mm) : they are the thickest I've ever seen in my life. I bet 16mm if not more. It just adds injury to the already stupidly flawed line

> 16mm rep ROOs are fairly normal right now from JF. This is not so good, as, for me anyhow, the "comfort zone" for an ROO build is, in general, around 14.5mm and below for SS cases and below 15mm for a FC and Ti build. The trend towards thicker ROOs is unfortunately a senseless step backward just as the desire for thinner replicas has spread to nearly all brand forums (not just AP, but also PP and Rolex replicas). When you look back at the evolution of AP ROO replicas, the older Noob "8520" casebacks were about 2.5/2.6mm thick, and then JF started making them a little thinner when they competed over AP market share from Noob in the AP space, with all of those nice LE ROO reps JF rolled out in a short span of about two years in the "peak JF AP years"--now mostly out of stock. A rep like the JF Montauk Highway, for instance, had a stock caseback near 2.3mm at one point, and the casebacks on other models were also fairly thin with variation in the serials numbers, not just 8520 like with Noob. Nowadays, in the post-peak, semi-cartel years of these JF ROOs (by which I mean there is no other factory really competing with JF for ROO sales, whereas finally competition is picking up in the RO space) ROO casebacks are 3.3/3.4mm thick to accommodate, I suppose, the decorative plates or simply it was a supply chain error where one of their suppliers got the measurements wrong and produced 1,000s of these 3.4mm casebacks for JF--I really do not know. In any case, correct me if I am wrong, but the trend towards thicker casebacks on ROOs seems to have started with the Sincere Edition LE that JF rolled out with the help of pure time. The fact that many people want to make their Franken Offshores the same thickness as the genuine model, or even thinner than the gen (by not using the 3mm gen crystal, using a thinner rotor, making the tachymeter gasket thinner, thinning the caseback to below 2mm thickness, etc.) means that these newer thicker casebacks are really not much suitable for ultra-thin Franken builds. Luckily, the guys who just want to slim down a 7750 rep to the previous normal rep thickness are still in luck and can do it. But at added cost and hassle.
 
Last edited:

slaughterer62

Mythical Poster
DO NOT TRADE WITH ME
27/1/13
9,280
1,890
113
Would you agree that gen spec is closer to 1.8?

The gen casebacks I have measured were mostly thicker than 1.8mm. The only guys wanting 1.8mm thick casebacks are the guys who want a thinner-than-gen profile on their Frankens I think, mostly.
 

flofas

Active Member
3/10/13
384
234
43
Europe
I suggest anyone with connections to JF factory tell them that the new casebacks are a disgrace and it is hurting their sales. I used to buy 3-4 new JFs per year, but the last one I got was a V2 with the thick caseback and I'm never buying anything new from them again. I was shocked by how different the watch felt with the added couple of mm thickness (& weight). Not just visually, it feels like the watch wants to fly away from your wrist when you do sudden movements. I know it sounds stupid, I was amazed at this too, but the new dimensions and weight add a lot of inertia to the watch.

Right now, in order to solve this problem I have with the V2, I have to keep changing casebacks between this and another ROO I wear often.
 

flying-tommy

I'm Pretty Popular
Patron
Certified
21/8/12
1,438
2,544
113
I suggest anyone with connections to JF factory tell them that the new casebacks are a disgrace and it is hurting their sales. I used to buy 3-4 new JFs per year, but the last one I got was a V2 with the thick caseback and I'm never buying anything new from them again. I was shocked by how different the watch felt with the added couple of mm thickness (& weight). Not just visually, it feels like the watch wants to fly away from your wrist when you do sudden movements. I know it sounds stupid, I was amazed at this too, but the new dimensions and weight add a lot of inertia to the watch.

Right now, in order to solve this problem I have with the V2, I have to keep changing casebacks between this and another ROO I wear often.



I don't think JF's gonna care much. We get the answer again and again that the buyers from the forum bring the smallest part of the turnover from the Reps.

Domi has a good contact in the Factory and they don’t care about of our criticisms.

There are a lot of things that JF could improve with little effort if they wanted to.





Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk
 
  • Like
Reactions: AP2003

CarlosFFF

Active Member
25/6/13
342
69
28
Somebody wanted me to re-tube gen Diver hands for fitting on the P80, so I did. Subtle finishing touches that take alot of skill/time/equipment seem to be highly desired by members here lately. Pre-final-clean-up close-up:

Wow, am I understanding correctly that you replaced the tube the hands mount onto the pinion with?
 
Last edited:

slaughterer62

Mythical Poster
DO NOT TRADE WITH ME
27/1/13
9,280
1,890
113
Wow, am I understanding correctly that you replaced the tube the hands mount onto the pinion with?

Yes, that is exactly what was done.
The gen AP hands have shorter tubes and their tubes are .1mm thinner in diameter, so they cannot be fitted onto the usual ETA models people often install to upgrade their replica Divers. There are other approaches to this modification of course, which I have done in the past as well.
Of course, the replacement tubes are .1mm wider in diameter and have a basic circular geometry which some might take issue with, but the owner was willing to accept that in exchange for gaining the better finish on the rest of the hand set.
BTW, I would just like to point out, the lume on these gen Diver hand sets is surprisingly weak, which is another step back from the replica quality.
As so often, modifications at this level of detail and complication are usually never a complete step forward.
Total work hours for me: 6 hours, but the sound of the tubes perfectly snapping into place on the gen hands once everything was prepared, was priceless, and something that perhaps only a person like me could take such satisfaction in.
 
Last edited:

Jovi75

Horology Curious
4/11/18
18
1
0
Fantastic tread
Nowi’ll build????????????????
O a Nautilus o Ap Royal oak chrono


Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk
 

slaughterer62

Mythical Poster
DO NOT TRADE WITH ME
27/1/13
9,280
1,890
113
Looks like we excited him but he is uncertain whether to build a Franken ROC or a Franken PP Nautilus
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jurgenk

slaughterer62

Mythical Poster
DO NOT TRADE WITH ME
27/1/13
9,280
1,890
113
Daytona 6263 big red is one of the most attractive of the four liners, but exorbitant in the current market. Good luck finding parts for it.
 

flofas

Active Member
3/10/13
384
234
43
Europe
flofas Two 6263s? Respect:

:_o_::_o_::_o_:

Maybe send @tosobosso a PM about them.

Nothing too fancy mate, one is a watchguyusa1 silver face big red based on cartel case with a few vietnam components and gen crystal, but the other one is a slay build "sultan of oman" green khanjar 6263 full of vietnam components and gen bracelet. This one is based on the cartel case as well but the case has been extensively reworked "to gen standards" using a gen 6263 as a "model".

I also have another gold plated 6263 with a 7750 inside that was sold to me as a David Wong project, but the seller was lying about that, so I don't know if it has any interesting components inside.