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If you're buying an aquanaut today...

MrMoneyBags

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11/8/11
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I've been reading up in recent days while I try to narrow down which 5167 aquanaut I'll purchase. Obviously, accuracy is something we all strive for, but the reality is we must compromise. I have gathered that the KMF is likely the best Aquanaut (subjectively so) and I'm leaning this way. Do you think I would be making a mistake? Love the thinness of watches, and that to me is one of the best traits for a PP to have. I handled a gen nautilus once and I was extremely enamored by the thin nature of the watch.

I usually purchase from Ryan @ INTIME, however he doesn't have anything but ZF as it pertains to the 5167. Any recommendations are welcome. Cheers guys!
 

MrMoneyBags

You're Saying I Can Sell?
11/8/11
82
2
8
I like the ZF better because of the movement decoration- a plus if you take it off to show your friends.

Thanks for that information, it's good to know. However, if I am willing to compromise on movement deco, do you think KMF is better on-wrist? I prioritize thinness and dial/case shape accuracy most. After all, we can't have it all.
 

MrMoneyBags

You're Saying I Can Sell?
11/8/11
82
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8
Yes, KMF is the best for case/dial. The extended line past "5" hour marker in the ZF drives me nuts...

Yeah, it is such a simple thing to remedy which makes it even worse! Who would you recommend to pick the KMF up from? Ryan only stocks ZF.
 

timnic54

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16/2/16
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I bought an Aquanaut very recently (Not reveived it yet due to CNY) I bought the 3K because of the amazing Clone movement and correct thickness. I couldn't consider another while that one is around .
 
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MrMoneyBags

You're Saying I Can Sell?
11/8/11
82
2
8
I bought an Aquanaut very recently (Not reveived it yet due to CNY) I bought the 3K because of the amazing Clone movement and correct thickness. I couldn't consider another while that one is around .


How’s the dial and case shape accuracy on the 3K?
 

The Rod

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15/10/17
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As an owner of the ZF I can definitely recommend it as the quality is top notch. If you read the reviews you'll notice that the quality of KMF markers is garbage, which completely ruins the dial. ZF sure has the line extending at 5 but otherwise looks way better, is more gen-like on the wrist.

In terms of thinness they are comparable, we are talking about 0.3mm difference!

As for what concerns the 3K I would wait a bit to see how much that clone movement is reliable in reality. Also don't forget that currently 3K movement is printed, not engraved and as seen in some photos paint wears off.

OOTB for me the winner is ZF, potentially 3K if they engrave the movement but in any case we need a few proper reviews.
 

_DC_

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As an owner of the ZF I can definitely recommend it as the quality is top notch. If you read the reviews you'll notice that the quality of KMF markers is garbage, which completely ruins the dial. ZF sure has the line extending at 5 but otherwise looks way better, is more gen-like on the wrist.

In terms of thinness they are comparable, we are talking about 0.3mm difference!

As for what concerns the 3K I would wait a bit to see how much that clone movement is reliable in reality. Also don't forget that currently 3K movement is printed, not engraved and as seen in some photos paint wears off.

OOTB for me the winner is ZF, potentially 3K if they engrave the movement but in any case we need a few proper reviews.

I don’t think case engravings can be used against the 3K in a comparison with the ZF when the ZF has fake bridges to represent ALL of the movement (which is entirely replicated in the 3K). You can dislike the fact the movement is printed rather than engraved, but that wouldn’t make the ZF the logical conclusion as to which is best. I’ll take a cloned movement with no engravings over a decorated Miyota any day. A decorated Miyota is never fooling anyone, at least a cloned movement is real!!

DC
 

The Rod

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I don’t think case engravings can be used against the 3K in a comparison with the ZF when the ZF has fake bridges to represent ALL of the movement (which is entirely replicated in the 3K). You can dislike the fact the movement is printed rather than engraved, but that wouldn’t make the ZF the logical conclusion as to which is best. I’ll take a cloned movement with no engravings over a decorated Miyota any day. A decorated Miyota is never fooling anyone, at least a cloned movement is real!!

DC

You mean a clone movement with paint flaking off will fool anyone? Trust me, from personal experience, the decorated Miyota in the ZF, which is heavily modified compared to the base Miyota present in the KMF, will fool a lot of people!!

There was even a thread in an italian watch forum where someone tried to sell a PPF Nautilus with the same movement and a lot of so called experts fell for it in the beginning!! Just to show you that it's not always closeness to gen the most important thing, looking the part is!
 

The Rod

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I don’t think case engravings can be used against the 3K in a comparison with the ZF when the ZF has fake bridges to represent ALL of the movement (which is entirely replicated in the 3K). You can dislike the fact the movement is printed rather than engraved, but that wouldn’t make the ZF the logical conclusion as to which is best. I’ll take a cloned movement with no engravings over a decorated Miyota any day. A decorated Miyota is never fooling anyone, at least a cloned movement is real!!

DC

Also you seem to forget the fact that among the reasons why I would pick the modified Miyota over the 3K clone is the fact that we have no idea how reliable this clone is, as no one even received it yet!!!
 

timnic54

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You mean a clone movement with paint flaking off will fool anyone? Trust me, from personal experience, the decorated Miyota in the ZF, which is heavily modified compared to the base Miyota present in the KMF, will fool a lot of people!!

There was even a thread in an italian watch forum where someone tried to sell a PPF Nautilus with the same movement and a lot of so called experts fell for it in the beginning!! Just to show you that it's not always closeness to gen the most important thing, looking the part is!


Strong argument for buying the PPF or ZF However I personally don't buy a Rep to fool anyone, and I am in no way suggesting you do, I buy a rep to be as near as possible to the original. I therefore dislike fake back plates, and differing functionality.

Reliability is more of an issue with complications, it isn't rocket science to make a reliable, well finished three hander with date.

This is why for me, the 3K is a huge step forward towards actual emulation of the original, which for me is what this whole game is about.

I respectfully accept that this isn't the case for everyone .

On a side note I am rather pleased that the movement in the 3 K is not engraved. Most of the problems I have had with rep movements have been directly attributed to the post production engraving. engraving is done post production as the risk of handling a falsely engraved movement is risky compared to the very much lower risk of handling sterile movement.
If plates were engraved before assembly of the movements it would not be an issue.
 
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The Rod

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Strong argument for buying the PPF or ZF However I personally don't buy a Rep to fool anyone, and I am in no way suggesting you do, I buy a rep to be as near as possible to the original. I therefore dislike fake back plates, and differing functionality.

Reliability is more of an issue with complications, it isn't rocket science to make a reliable, well finished three hander with date.

This is why for me, the 3K is a huge step forward towards actual emulation of the original, which for me is what this whole game is about.

I respectfully accept that this isn't the case for everyone .

On a side note I am rather pleased that the movement in the 3 K is not engraved. Most of the problems I have had with rep movements have been directly attributed to the post production engraving. engraving is done post production as the risk of handling a falsely engraved movement is risky compared to the very much lower risk of handling sterile movement.
If plates were engraved before assembly of the movements it would not be an issue.

I agree that the 3K clone movement is a huge step forward, and eventually I'm sure I'll buy one as well.

But the question of the OP was "if you are buying an Aquanaut today". Not in 6 months. Not even in one month. No one has any direct experience with it, how can you recommend it??

As of now the 3K movement is an unknown commodity. Hell even 3K factory is completely unknown. Whereas both the ZF 5167 and ZF itself have been around for years. I can recommend only what I know and what I've experienced myself, doing otherwise would not be fair in my view.
 

The Rod

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Strong argument for buying the PPF or ZF However I personally don't buy a Rep to fool anyone, and I am in no way suggesting you do, I buy a rep to be as near as possible to the original. I therefore dislike fake back plates, and differing functionality.

Reliability is more of an issue with complications, it isn't rocket science to make a reliable, well finished three hander with date.

This is why for me, the 3K is a huge step forward towards actual emulation of the original, which for me is what this whole game is about.

I respectfully accept that this isn't the case for everyone .

On a side note I am rather pleased that the movement in the 3 K is not engraved. Most of the problems I have had with rep movements have been directly attributed to the post production engraving. engraving is done post production as the risk of handling a falsely engraved movement is risky compared to the very much lower risk of handling sterile movement.
If plates were engraved before assembly of the movements it would not be an issue.

And by the way we have already learned that the 3K movement is not a complete clone as for example the date transition is different from gen. So if you are saying you dislike differing functionalities, in a time with date movement that's a pretty big difference...
 

timnic54

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And by the way we have already learned that the 3K movement is not a complete clone as for example the date transition is different from gen. So if you are saying you dislike differing functionalities, in a time with date movement that's a pretty big difference...

AFAIK the date transition is gradual in a similar way to the Gen. The precise time of the change a simple matter of hand position and easy to move. The movement is a clone with some small differences. Looks like the main spring arbor is slightly different, one or two un jewelled pinions. But pretty much as close as it gets. Looking forward to getting a hands on examination when mine arrives.
 

timnic54

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I agree that the 3K clone movement is a huge step forward, and eventually I'm sure I'll buy one as well.

But the question of the OP was "if you are buying an Aquanaut today". Not in 6 months. Not even in one month. No one has any direct experience with it, how can you recommend it??

As of now the 3K movement is an unknown commodity. Hell even 3K factory is completely unknown. Whereas both the ZF 5167 and ZF itself have been around for years. I can recommend only what I know and what I've experienced myself, doing otherwise would not be fair in my view.

I think the question is "if you were buying today what would you buy?"
My answer is the 3 K. That is what I have bought and what i would buy today. I gave my reasons for this.
I can't honestly say that I would consider another aquanaut Rep, while the 3K is available.
I have already said that I feel there are strong arguments for preferring others, but those arguments don't convince me.
 
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jvevermind

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6/3/17
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I agree that the 3K clone movement is a huge step forward, and eventually I'm sure I'll buy one as well.

But the question of the OP was "if you are buying an Aquanaut today". Not in 6 months. Not even in one month. No one has any direct experience with it, how can you recommend it??

As of now the 3K movement is an unknown commodity. Hell even 3K factory is completely unknown. Whereas both the ZF 5167 and ZF itself have been around for years. I can recommend only what I know and what I've experienced myself, doing otherwise would not be fair in my view.
Im lucky enough to receive the 3K before CNY started and lets be honest here the clone movement beside the printed part is the most beautiful movement ive seen on a rep. Ive posted a short vid pf the video on the other theard but if anyone need for refrenece im happy to post it here also

Gửi từ SM-G960F của tôi bằng cách sử dụng Tapatalk
 
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The Rod

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Im lucky enough to receive the 3K before CNY started and lets be honest here the clone movement beside the printed part is the most beautiful movement ive seen on a rep. Ive posted a short vid pf the video on the other theard but if anyone need for refrenece im happy to post it here also

Gửi từ SM-G960F của tôi bằng cách sử dụng Tapatalk

Looking forward to your review then!