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

Gen Daytona vs Noob V1-V2 and V2.2 Daytona vs ARF V2 Daytona

M Scott

Renowned Member
22/9/18
805
1,027
93
March 2019
This is a comparison of the popular Stainless Steel Case and Bracelet Rolex Daytonas produced from 2000 to the Present.
( Regular members already know most of this, but I would like to try to combine it all in one place for newer members. )

- Genuine Daytona -

Key features that make each of these watches different...

- The 116520 was produced from 2000 to 2015 and has a Stainless Steel Bezel.
- The 116500 replaced the 116520 in 2016 and is produced with a Ceramic Bezel.

- The Rolex Logo and the Wording under it changed from the 116520 dial to the replacement 116500.
- The Rolex Font is different leaving more space around the letters on the newer 116500 dials.
- The Rolex name is about the same width, but the spacing of the wording under it is narrower.
- If you compare the location of T in Oyster in relation to the R in Rolex, the difference is easy to see.
.


- The Size and Thickness of the Sub-dials appears to be the same for all of the dials, with the exception of the White 116500.
- The Sub-dials on the White 116500 Panda are slightly thicker than the other dials as shown in the picture below.
- On the Black dials, the Silver Sub-dials are a less shinny, matte finish on the newer 116500 Ceramic Bezel watch.

Right click and open image in a new tab to see this picture larger...



These Gen features will all factor in when comparing to the Reps below...

- 116500 White Daytona Panda -

- This seems to be the most popular of all these Daytonas.

Older Noob V1-V2 White 116500 -

- Released as V1 about July of 2018 with a 316L Stainless Steel case.
- Upgraded to V2 with a 904L case in August 2018 and the price increased by $100. Also some quality improvements to the dial.
- The first Daytona Rep with a complete Chinese clone of the Rolex 4130 chronograph movement.

- Sub-dials were too thick as show in the picture below. However, the placement and outer diameter were correct.
- The Font and Scale of the Bezel "Units Per Hour" is wrong. The "R"s have an incorrect serif that is easy to see.

ARF V2 White 116500 -

- Released as V2 in August of 2018.
- Uses a Chinese 7750 movement. The Sub-dials at 3 and 9 are non-functional.
- The Rolex logo is better than the Noob.
- Higher quality dial, but the Sub-dials do appear slightly thinner than Gen as shown in the picture below.
- High quality bezel that is very close to Gen.

- Some have combined the Dial and Bezel from this ARF with a Noob to achieve a better looking end result.

Right click and open image in a new tab to see this picture larger...


New Noob V2.2 White 116500 -

- The 904L V2 case was released in August 2018 and this Updated "V2.2" dial was released in February of 2019.
- Noob is still the only Daytona Rep with a complete Chinese clone of the Rolex 4130 chronograph movement.

- The Thickness of the Sub-dials now appears to be almost the same as Gen, as shown in the picture below.
- Quality of the Dial and Bezel is said to be improved, But the Font and Scale of the Bezel "Units Per Hour" is still wrong.

ARF V2 White 116500 -

- Released as V2 in August of 2018.
- Uses a Chinese 7750 movement. The Sub-dials at 3 and 9 are non-functional.
- High quality dial, but the Sub-dials do appear slightly thinner than Gen as show in the picture below.
- Higher quality bezel that is very close to Gen.

Right click and open image in a new tab to see this picture larger...


[FONT=verdana, geneva, sans-serif]116500 Ceramic Bezel Differences -[/FONT]

- Detail of the Ceramic Differences show in the picture below.

Right click and open image in a new tab to see this picture larger...



- 116520 White Daytona -

Noob V1-V2 White 116520 -

- Released as V1 about July of 2018 with a 316L Stainless Steel case.
- Upgraded to V2 with a 904L case in August 2018 and the price increased by $100. Also some quality improvements to the dial.
- The first Daytona Rep with a complete clone of the Rolex 4130 chronograph movement.

- There is no new V2.2 version of this watch, yet.
- Sub-dials appear the same as Gen as show in the picture below.
- The Rolex logo and all of the Wording below it is incorrect as it is from the newer 116500 dial.

ARF V2 White 116520 -

- Released as V2 in August of 2018.
- Uses a Chinese 7750 movement. The Sub-dials at 3 and 9 are non-functional.
- Sub-dials appear to be slightly larger than Gen and Noob, as show in the picture below.

Right click and open image in a new tab to see this picture larger...


- Disclaimer -
- This is a comparison of 14 different watches. 4 Gens, 4 old and 2 new Noobs, and 4 ARFs.
- This comparison is based on a large collection of hi-resolution pictures that I have saved while studying these Daytona watches for the last 10 months.
- All of the pictures have been carefully leveled, sized, and aligned. I also added red guide lines to help compare the Sub-dial sizes.
​​​​​​​- Any opinions that I have added are just my opinions. I am not trying to tell you what to buy or how to think.
- My intention is to provide clear, accurate pictures that you can compare, study, and use to make your own decisions.

- Yes, this comparison is nit-picking small details that most people will never see on the wrist, and some larger details that only some will ever be able to see.
​​​​​​​- All of these sharp, magnified pictures are just making it more interesting for some to see just how close these Replicas are getting to Genuine watches.


Black Dial Daytonas coming in the next post -
 

M Scott

Renowned Member
22/9/18
805
1,027
93
Vbiyd8.jpg


- 116500 Black Daytona -

- My favorite Daytona.

Older Noob V1-V2 Black 116500 -

- Released as V1 about July of 2018 with a 316L Stainless Steel case.
- Upgraded to V2 with a 904L case in August 2018 and the price increased by $100. Also some quality improvements to the dial.
- The first Daytona Rep with a complete Chinese clone of the Rolex 4130 chronograph movement.

- Sub-dials were way too thick as show in the picture below. The placement and outer diameter were however correct.
- The Silver Sub-dials were too shinny and should have more of a matte finish on the newer 116500 dial.
- The Font and Scale of the Bezel "Units Per Hour" is wrong. The "R"s have an incorrect serif that is easy to see.

ARF V2 Black 116500 -

- Released as V2 in August of 2018.
- Uses a Chinese 7750 movement. The Sub-dials at 3 and 9 are non-functional.
- Rolex logo is better than the Noob.
- Higher quality dial, but the Sub-dials appear to be slightly larger than Gen, as shown in the picture below.
- High quality bezel that is very close to Gen.

Right click and open image in a new tab to see this picture larger...
Vb1ibp.jpg


New Noob V2.2 Black 116500 -

- The 904L V2 case was released in August 2018 and this Updated "V2.2" dial was released in February of 2019.
- Noob is still the only Daytona Rep with a complete clone of the Rolex 4130 chronograph movement.

- The Thickness of the Sub-dials now appears to be the same as Gen, as shown in the picture below.
- Quality of the Dial and Bezel is said to be improved, But the Font and Scale of the Bezel "Units Per Hour" is still wrong.

ARF V2 Black 116500 -

- Released as V2 in August of 2018.
- Uses a Chinese 7750 movement. The Sub-dials at 3 and 9 are non-functional.
- High quality dial, but the Sub-dials appear to be slightly larger than Gen, as show in the pictures below.
- Higher quality bezel that is very close to Gen.

Right click and open image in a new tab to see this picture larger...
VbIuvZ.jpg


More Black 116500 Detail Pictures -

- New Updated Noob V.V2 dial compared to Gen...

Right click and open image in a new tab to see this picture larger...
VbeJR8.jpg


- New Updated Noob V.V2 dial compared to ARF V2.
- The ARF Sub-dials appear to be slightly larger than Noob and Gen.

Right click and open image in a new tab to see this picture larger...
VbeOdF.jpg



- 116520 Black Daytona -

Noob V1-V2 Black 116520 -

- Released as V1 about July of 2018 with a 316L Stainless Steel case.
- Upgraded to V2 with a 904L case in August 2018 and the price increased by $100. Also some quality improvements to the dial.
- The first Daytona Rep with a complete clone of the Rolex 4130 chronograph movement.

- There is no new V2.2 version of this watch, yet.
- Noob just used the same Black dial from the old 116500 for this watch which is incorrect.
- Sub-dials are way too thick as show in the picture below. The placement and outer diameter were however correct.
- The Rolex logo and all of the Wording below it is incorrect as it is from the newer 116500 dial.

ARF V2 Black 116520 -

- Released as V2 in August of 2018.
- Uses a Chinese 7750 movement. The Sub-dials at 3 and 9 are non-functional.
- Sub-dials appear to be slightly larger than Gen and Noob, as show in the picture below.

Right click and open image in a new tab to see this picture larger...
VbJnOZ.jpg
 

M Scott

Renowned Member
22/9/18
805
1,027
93
- Daytona Sub-dials by Factory -

Gen Daytonas -

- The Silver Sub-dials on three of the watches appear to be all the same size.
- The Sub-dials on the White 116500 Panda are slightly thicker than all the other dials as shown in the picture below.

Right click and open image in a new tab to see this picture larger...
VbyQgy.jpg


Noob Daytonas -

- Newest of each style is shown.
- The Sub-dials on the new V2.2 White and Black 116500s and the older White 116520 are very close to Gen in size.
- The older Black 116520 Noob is still just a box of fail.

Right click and open image in a new tab to see this picture larger...
Vbi5lL.jpg



ARF Daytonas -

- All of the ARF Sub-dials appear to be the same size, as shown in the picture below.
- The Silver Sub-dials on three of the watches are just slightly larger than Gen, and the White, Panda Sub-dials are slightly smaller than Gen.

Right click and open image in a new tab to see this picture larger...
VbiJn3.jpg
 
Last edited:

Fontaine

Known Member
Gold Patron
13/10/18
168
97
28
These are the type of posts that make me love this forum so much - I'm a geek at heart and really appreciate the effort involved to create this reference. As far as I'm concerned, this should be stickied as it answers all the questions members might have about the current state of most popular Daytona reps. I'm now going to buy an ARF bezel to retrofit (alongside my ARF dial) on my Noob SA4130 whiteface and call it a day.




Many, many thanks M Scott, this is very much appreciated!
 

tamomota

You're Saying I Can Sell?
9/12/14
60
12
8
Wow, nice post. This is what makes this forum a real source of knowledge.
 

dapoppa

You're Saying I Can Sell?
28/9/16
43
5
8
Great work, thanks for investigations!


Gesendet von iPhone mit RWI
 

TYL88

I'm Pretty Popular
26/7/17
1,804
1,080
113
Too bad the 116520 bezel is better on V1 than the V2. And its not sourceable at the moment :-(

great comparisons bro! Thank you for this!
 

Alexccmeister

Active Member
8/11/18
446
108
43
Thanks for the write up. Amazing work. I compared my Noob V2.2 with that of a gen that I took a picture of in Tokyo and the texts on the bezel definitely look thicker than the Noob. And of course the R which has a slight curve at the end of the R. Looks like it should be straight down and not curve forward.
 

mumum

Renowned Member
18/1/07
552
101
43
A very useful post...definitely the go to for deciding on which Daytona to buy. I think this should answer all questions concerning the visual accuracy. Personally I don’t think any need to go Franken on the dial and bezel based on this review...I had a hard enough time analysing the macro pictures. ARF is the way with noob base watch.
 

shanexx

Horology Curious
9/3/19
5
0
0
Thanks for doing this awesome post. If noob would update their thin letters and stupid fat subdails on the black 116520, id definitely get it
 

kk169

Known Member
7/1/19
152
90
28
MScott thanks mate for sharing! Excellent comparison and I have been researching the 116500/116520 for a while and can see how much work you had put into this post.

I checked the TD sites and they are just listing the Noob 116500 as V2. Do they all now comes with the “v2.2 dial”? The photos on the V2 listings doesn’t reflect the newer/leaner sub dial.

Also, now that you have done your homework, assuming no frankening, which would be your preference(s)? Personally I’m leaning towards ARF, either the 116520 white, or 116500 black....
 
  • Like
Reactions: Humblus7

Rtrott01

You're Saying I Can Sell?
30/3/18
40
5
8
Excellent thread. Clearly a result of significant time and effort. Thank you.