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JLC Reserve De Marche GF

big_T

Horology Curious
1/11/20
6
0
0
did you receive the watch? i am have been looking at the same model....
 

Chemicalz

Renowned Member
27/2/15
890
129
43
I did. Watch is stunning and blue shade is gen like. Strap is crap but rep straps are usually trash. Cant take more pics because the watch is back in the box again.
https://ibb.co/qgDTqQp
 

big_T

Horology Curious
1/11/20
6
0
0
Very nice looking watch, did you go for the ZF or GF version... do you know what this difference between the two is?
 

henchr

You're Saying I Can Sell?
29/1/19
35
28
18
Norway
I don't mean to hijack the thread, but was simply wondering whether anyone sits on any information of the differences between GF, ZF, and AZ? Personally I just bought a AZ from GeekTime, though I feel like I should have gone with the ZF instead.
 

melandri

Known Member
12/12/18
107
62
28
The below is all regarding the blue dial:

I'm trying to figure out the same. From what I can tell the AZF is a little cheaper and it lists the height at 10mm, whereas the ZF lists 12mm. Gen is 10mm. However, two of the TDs list the ZF as 12mm and one *does* list it at 10mm, but the one that lists it at 10mm also says its 39mm (gen) instead of 38mm (all the reps) so I'm not sure if that TD is just listing the gen dimensions or if they actually have some different version of the ZF that has the gen dimensions.

The ZF watch seems to come with both blue and black straps for the blue dial, which while nice, I have heard only bad things about rep straps and it's probably worth replacing anyway.

The ZF is listed as having AR coating while the AZF doesn't.

The thing I will say that seems true of both, though it's hard to tell because maybe it's just the angle of the photo, is that the date dial doesn't seem to align with the date numbers very well, to the point that you might struggle to tell which of the two neighboring days it may be pointing at.

There seems to be a problem with the GF in that pressing the case button doesn't advance the date - it appears you have to do it by turning the hands with the crown. You can see this in the trusty video here: https://trustytime.io/index.php?main...ducts_id=21923 - it could possibly just be a QC issue on that particular watch since it seems like it wants to move but isn't. It could also be that on the gen watch you're not supposed to use the quick date set between 8:30PM and 2:30AM which he's clearly trying to do in the video - maybe that's just the issue and it persists on the non-gen movement they're using. I hope they didn't send that watch to someone after trying to jam down the pusher like that at midnight :)

Also hard to tell from lighting but the GF strap might be a super blue color - much more so than gen. It looks almost neon blue in some photos but not as bad in other photos.

The engraving on the ZF movement is a million times better than the GF. I'm not sure what the OP means by the GF having a "decorated" movement. They both seem to have the same engravings on the case back and movement and rotor.

The finishing on the ZF movement seems to be a bit better than the GF - fewer rough edges, the swirling and striping pattern seems a little better.

ZF seems like the clear winner compared to GF.

Between the ZF and AZF - the engraving on the movement still looks a little better on the ZF, though the AZF I think better captures the color of the gen engraving (it's sort of yellow/gold on the gen). It's hard to get clear, detailed photos of the gen rotor so it's hard to tell which of these two replicas is closer to gen, but neither are bad. The color of the rotor between the ZF and AZF also appears slightly different. Again I'm not sure which is closer to gen.

The biggest mystery to me between the ZF and AZF is the slightly darker color of the indented parts around the datewheel and power reserve indicator (PRI). On some photos and videos of the gen watch, it is barely darker than the rest of the dial. In a couple instances for a gen the indented color was actually *lighter* than the rest of the dial. It's hard to tell if there were actually variations on the gen dials or if it's just a matter of lighting - this is probably a really difficult dial to photograph consistently. In either case, these indented areas are MUCH lighter on the ZF and much darker on the AZF.

I would say the biggest problem in general for the AZF is that for the dark ring around the dial wheel that contains the day numbers, the printing is really out of line with the dark circle. On the gen these numbers all fit very neatly within the circle. On the AZF they're consistently peaking outside the edges of the circle on several numbers. I think it's bad enough that can you probably tell when on your wrist and looking closely without any sort of magnification. Because the datewheel ring on the ZF is so much lighter colored, if the same thing is happening there you really can't tell.

My money is on the ZF as the best option, due to the roughness of the GF and the darker coloring on the AZF making the datewheel numbering appear very misaligned. You also get the blue leather strap with the ZF, which in my opinion is nicer looker, in addition to the bonus black one - though this is a small consideration if you're going to swap to an aftermarket non-crappy strap anyway.

I would wonder if my biggest gripe, the datewheel dial being misaligned with the numbers, could be fixed by popping it off and back on.

I'm tempted to get the ZF myself but I'll probably sleep on it a few days first. If I do I'll post photos.
 
Last edited:

melandri

Known Member
12/12/18
107
62
28
As an update, I found another post on reddit's reptime of a fellowing saying he bought both the GF and the ZF and found the ZF to be a lot better. Apparently the dial on the GF (according to him) had a sunburst effect that was not at all gen-like. And apparently sometimes the frosting on the dials can be on the wrong side, so be sure to look out for that. He also claimed the dial effect was better on the ZF than the AZF but also didn't have an AZF to compare in person.

As an side, these watches are in fact 12.6mm thick (gen is 10mm) which is a bummer, since the slimness is a big appeal. I guess if I like my rep enough (just ordered the ZF) and wear it consistently for a good while I'll consider getting a used gen one, it looks like you can get them for somewhere between $6k and $7k.
 

LightFalconz

Horology Curious
9/8/20
8
1
0
I might be placing an order for the ZF version... Just wonder if the movement are easily serviced locally without sending it back to the dealer....
 

pyr097

You're Saying I Can Sell?
MULTI ACCOUNT
30/1/20
32
21
8
i am waiting for my zf to arrive, ordered a week before the raid... date seems a bit missaligned but it was the second try on the watch already and i took it. will report when i have it