1. First impression / feel of it
- I am blown away by the level of quality at first glance. The AR crystal really pops and it looked like there wasn't a crystal installed
- The watch felt hefty like my TC superfranken and I already had trouble distinguishing quickly which watch is the TC superfranken because JF did a good job
- But the most obvious flaw was immediately seen on the JF and that is the date disc numbers - they are too bold
2. What I like about the watch
- The dial = it is printed without smudges and the fonts are really sharp. I don't have another M-series 16610 to compare with unfortunately (because the JF 16610 LN is based on the M-series Rolex), but the dial looks legit whether that is close upfront of from a distance. The dial indices with metal surrounds is polished very well and it sparkles just like gen. Dial lume glows brightly like gen as well.
- Improved rehaut = the rehaut doesn't appear to be as wokky as before (i.e. the JF 16610 LV). I noticed that people have mentioned before how the rehaut looks shallow may have something to do with a thin perpendicular second rehaut that lies beneath the slanted top rehaut - this gives an illusion (under the stock AR crystal and dial reflection) that the rehaut is narrow. I also noticed that the crystal height is different to genuine Rolex pics and my superfranken TC - perhaps this may be an indication that the rehaut height on the JF 16610 LN is different to gen, but I will need to swap out the crystal to a genuine one (with genuine gasket) in order to confirm this. I am not a rehaut engraving expert (as I mainly dwell with older Rolex) but they look fine under the naked eye
- The hands = the level of shine / 3D effect / proportions and dimensions / pointy-ness / length is just like the gen hands in my TC superfranken. These hands are better than all aftermarket sub hands out there - they are among the top with TC hands as well
- The movement = feels great for now with no reports of screwing up yet - in fact it winds smoother than my serviced Yuki 3135 and the date flips perfectly. But time will truly show whether this movement is reliable
- The bracelet's SEL is stronger now? = I tried using force to tear away the bracelet away from the SEL - but without success. Either I am weak af and could do with some more gym time, or JF has improved their bracelet's SEL link
- The bracelet has low-profile mid hump like gen, this compares well with my gen oyster bracelet. The older TC bracelets that appeared on the early TC V6 have SEL mid-humps which was irritating to me
- The little details = You know what, JF has bothered to do the little things and make them correct to gen, like making dimples on the clasp's micro-adjustment springbar (just like gen) and add loctite onto the removable bracelet screws. The springbar is also VERY VERY sturdy and looks like the gen ones - they have no play whatsoever when inserted in between the lugs
- The SEL doesn't wobble too much = the top SEL is tight and there is no play at all, while the bottom SEL has a very minor amount of play (which is acceptable because it corresponds to my gen 16570's SEL). There is a very very small SEL gap but I am very impressed nevertheless
- The lume = the lume strength is identical to my TC superfranken with gen dial and gen hands. The lume colour are both identical in colour and strength!
- The engravings between the lugs = the engravings are very detailed and sharp
- The bezel teeth = very sharp and well defined, sharper than my TC's bezel teeth (but bear in mind, TC sub is replicated after the older pre-rehaut engraving subs so some of the series had shallower rehaut teeth)
(Left is TC superfranken wiht gen dial and hands. Right is JF 16610 LN)
3. What I disliked about the watch
- The bracelet links are sharp = the links of the bracelet feel no way near like my genuine oyster bracelet or a TC bracelet (that i used to own). But i think this could be fixed by sanding and rebrushing with scour pads
- The bracelet's clasp = VERY VERY difficult to open and it feels low quality - feels nothing like a TC clasp or genuine Rolex clasp. The diver's extension link takes a lot of force to open
- The date disc font = the numbers on the date disc is too bold, but they are centered very well. This is the biggest tell in my opinion and JF must correct this eventually. I recommend a genuine date disc to fix this problem
- The bezel has some play and it can get hard to turn at certain positions = but maybe this problem will eventually vanish as the bezel will become smoother through use (over time)
4. Conclusion
- This watch still amazes me in every damn way. I don't think I will ever buy a gen 16610 when this watch looks and behaves in every way possible to a real one
- With some minor modding and franken-ing, this watch can definitely become a perfect TC alternative. Mods that I recommend (prioritized with number 1 as the most important):
1. DATE DISC must go away and needs to be replaced with a genuine one
2. The crystal can be replaced with a proper non-AR 25 295c
3. Bracelet can do with rebrushing and sanding to remove the sharp edges. The clasp can be tweaked with pliers to make it close/open more comfortably (to avoid the need of brute force to opening/closing it)
4. The notorious 3135 superclone movement may demand for servicing at some point, whether your movement arrives DOA or it screws up eventually
- This watch is so well built that I don't want to do any intrusive modding to it, like sanding the rehaut and drilling lug holes. I think this watch is a testimony to showing JF factory's capabilities. The replication detail is amazingly good. With watches like this, I question why do I bother with buying gen.
- If JF releases a 16710 GMT Master II and a proper Daytona that is built to this level of quality, then:
1. Rolex needs to start improving on their security features in their watches
2. I think I will never buy another Rolex again as I will be ultimately content
5. Other points worth mentioning
- The JF bracelet fits my TC case using the supplied spring bar, but the TC case was made to poorer lug width tolerance so it moved side-to-side. I will be doing this test again with a genuine 801 end-link Oyster bracelet on the JF case
- Sanding the rehaut engravings is probably ok for a M-series case. I have seen genuine M-series 16610 without rehaut engraving - but those cases begin with M0 serial
I will be uploading more pictures soon
