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Noob Daytona 4130 arrived

timnic54

Put Some Respect On My Name
16/2/16
3,409
1,245
113
Thailand
Big thank you to Andrew at Trusty for his great service as always

I have been waiting some time for this. In the waiting process I have seen quite a few photos and heard much criticism.

Many of the photos are of the Gold case model and therefore not representative as the cases are completely different.
I believe also many of the photos have been of very early production and pre production models. I think during the months that these have been trickling out to the TDs there have been some improvements along the way
I say this because on the one I have just received , I see little validation for much of the criticism I have been reading.

Firstly in principal the watch is revolutionary. It is a seriously complicated column wheel , vertical clutch chronograph. It is faithfully replicated and functions in exactly the same way as the gen movement. I received the watch yesterday and took it straight to my watch smith. He took the movement out and inspected it. He knows the 4130 well.

He was truly amazed to see this movement and said that the level of finish was not very far behind the original movement. Different but not seriously inferior. He maintains without measurement to verify, that the majority of parts will be interchangeable. Yes the balance is different, but then why put a free sprung balance in a watch which doesn't need it. They are only more accurate if they are set up perfectly by a very experienced watchmaker or as I suspect in the case of Rolex, by a machine. So no benefit in that.

What is so valuable about producing the clone 4130 in this way is that a column wheel vertical clutch chronograph doesn't work like a modular chrono nor a cam operated lateral clutch chrono. Therefore any rep without this movement will not feel the same at all.
Also by this replication we not only have a Dayton rep which functions and feels like the gen, we have correct thickness and a power reserve of over 70 hours

To say this is a breakthrough in the rep world would be a major understatement.

I believe it is reasonable to say that the rep world, being the highly free market competitive world that it is, will from here on up its game to the bar which Noob have massively lifted.

To the watch.

No it isn't perfect. It is a rep and reps never are, especially when we assault them with pro lighting and super Hi def 36 MP full frame cameras and present cropped photos showing the watch at up to 5 times its actual size.

The dial is great but not perfect. The case IMHO is as good as it gets If you are SEL obsessed they are good If you are not they are perfect.

The main thing is that the watch doesn't feel significantly different from a gen. I have owned 6 or 7 Gen 4130 Daytonas as well as a couple of Zenith driven Daytonas.
Wearing and operating this Noob, does not feel significantly different.

Here are some quick photos They can speak for the watch. I will take more over time and bore you all with them be assured.

Frankly Hat off to Noob . A great job and a fantastic advancement in the art.

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Edit; Correct view of case profile

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Last edited:

mbrute

You're Saying I Can Sell?
9/7/18
63
37
0
Thanks for the review and your thoughts regarding the movement. The pictures are excellent. This may sway me to purchase one. I was on the fence due to the choice of steel Noob decided to use on their first production of the new Daytona. I reckon Noob will most likely release a 904L version once they exhaust their stock of 316L watches and parts, in order to profit (or break even) on the development costs. The question is now a matter of opportunity... is it worth waiting an indefinite length of time for a 904L version or get the 316L and be satisfied. Is the difference between 904L and 316L that much? I'm not sure as I'm still waiting for a Noob v9 116610LN. I'll have a better idea once I get the the watch in my hands and compare it to my other watches.
 

Hedrea

Horology Curious
13/7/18
9
0
0
London, UK
Hi bud, looks absolutely amazing from photos, is it Swiss movement?? Please tell me where did you order from? I want exact same thing, good taste ????????
 

ssouthall6

Put Some Respect On My Name
10/10/13
3,539
1,562
113
This looks like v2 batch. The dial looks much better to me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It looks like the same dial to me, just timnic is a good photographer.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

HKWL99

Horology Curious
7/6/18
10
6
0
Thanks for sharing. I am also trying to decide on this version with the working Chrono or the ARF version with the (supposed) better case and dial, but fake Chrono. How do you find the bezel, in particular the numbers cut into the bezel, because it seems like Noob doesn’t cut the numbers as deep and ARF does a better job in that respect? Is it a major tell that it’s a replica?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

blehbleh215

Active Member
2/2/17
200
47
0
How is the pump pusher. Does it have the click feeling as the gen that you own?
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Stormer

You're Saying I Can Sell?
14/3/18
30
1
8
Thanks for the review!
Did your watch smith have any comments concerning cleaning or lubrication of the movement ?
 

KJ2020

Time Traveler
Supporter
12/3/18
32,399
56,907
113
Frankly Hat off to Noob . A great job and a fantastic advancement in the art.

29509583138_11537fba9c_b.jpg

timnic54 First, thanks very much for your well delivered comments and outstanding photos. I wish I had a watchsmith like yours to take these reps to. Like many here I am trying to choose between the new Noob and the ARF, and it's great to see a positive outcome with a Noob purchase.

Maybe this other experience was a one-off, but in fairness I think readers should take a look so they can weigh the bad with the good. This was also a recent purchase.

https://www.repgeek.com/rolex/294835-rg-exclusive-closer-look-noob-4130-movemmet.html

Congrats on yours bro, I would pay extra for one like that!
 

guru

Advisor
Advisor
30/9/06
11,640
1,221
113
Great review, thanks.
I agree, these noob Daytonas are really good and I can recommend to get the noob and not the ARF. I have 2 and they are running great. The movement was checked from Domi and they are clean. I sold all my ARF‘s and ordered another noob.

Here is one of mine with gen dial

And here is the funny part, the bezel was misaligned when it arrived. After the gen dial was installed, the misalignment was gone. The ceramic bezel was not touched.

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Sent from iX
 

rolexwatchfan

Put Some Respect On My Name
17/8/13
4,224
799
0
Yes I have noticed that too. It is a bit odd :confused:

Not many people have received their Noob Daytonas yet. For the few lucky ones their watches went to get the "facelifts" with GEN parts (dials/hands, bezels etc) so they are still in the works. guru here is a prime example to why we decided on Noob SA4130 vs ARF - Frankens babe! Just wait till our modders will send our watches back, there will be tons of information and pictures from happy customers.
 
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catalzzy

You're Saying I Can Sell?
1/5/17
69
7
8
timnic54

I am planning to get this in the future. How does the clone 4130 holds up and of course it is in the early days of release.

Thanks