- 18/3/13
- 14,093
- 2,220
- 113
Ok guys attempt 2 of the review lets jump straight in ,the sub comes in a small coffin and comes with an arf green seal
Let's take a look at the mid case and bracelet first.the crown guards have a good shape and are even in size,unlike most noob v9 subs.the issue with the cg on the v2 is they are a bit too fat and thick compared to gen.the lugs are unfortunately missing the 45 degree lug tip angle ,and also missing the curve so the case looks boxy,the lugs are too thick in width,and I also noticed the lugs are a little too short,because the mid sel comes down near the lug tips.so this is a shame.the rehaut engraving is terrible and looks like a child did it.arf really need to improve the font and get the alignment better
the original first batch noob v9 is the best case but not avalible no more but the new batches are not as good as they also have the squared off and boxy look like this new arf. So the arf case and current v9 cases are similar and comparable
the case finishing is ok nothing out of this world but it's about as good as any other reps brushing and polishing.the vertical brushing on the lugs are missing the gen angled reflection because the gen brushing is slighty angled.but it's not noticeable and not really an issue.
the winding crown looks just like a gen 704 with only a slight font difference and works well smooth to unscrew the thread crown pops out into position 1 winding and setting the time and using the quick set date change is super smooth on this sh3135 maybe they improved them.winding the movemnt feels like butter just like gen
moving to the bracelet this is where arf shines they are the king of bracelets and clasps feels great like gen and looks gen .the only small issue is the sel is a tiny bit too recessed.but that's better than flush sel ,the brushing on the bracelet is a little rough and course compared to the other arf braclet I've had in the past but even still the brushing is good enough I love the arf bracelet.the sel engravings are not that good but no1 sees that anyway
the sel is tight with no gaps
next the clasp ,it's amazing and looks and feels gen with the rounded edges.really nice click of the flip lock and excellent glide lock action.the only flaw is the perfrct crown on the fliplock is mirror polished where is should not be shiny.the older arf braclet did not have this flaw.the logo although polished looks amazing .the engraving on the inner blades is pretty good but a tiny bit thinner font compared to gen
I advice everyone with flush sel on there noobs to buy an arf bracelet it's a must have
the dial is pretty nice the marker surrounds look round unlike bp .but I still prefer the vrf /bp/gmf dials they are king
the colour of the green is really nice but in low light it doesn't get that super black look.it gets darker but not as dark as gen.the dial layout is good apart from the shape of the crown at 12.And this dial is kind of not period correct for a hulk with single lined rehaut.but that dont matter because rsc swap out dials daily and use what ever dial they have in stock.so being period correct is not a big issue in this case
The hands are totally amazing rounded and 3d .I got lucky as it seem some examples are coming with the wrong hands installed.hands from a sd43
the green ceramic insert is lovely but not as bright as gen.it seems impossible for factorys to replicate this ,the engravings have a plat colour finish maybe pvd coating with some white/grey material the font on the bezel is pretty good not too deeply cut and not to fat and wide.the bezel assembly teeth are pretty good but missing the shine from the tooling.but new gens have this style bezel assembly teeth
the bezel action is solid and firm with no play.but the bezel is stiffer than gen and sounds diffent to gen
the xtal height is good pretty flat like gen.with the laser etched crown at 6.there is no black hole as you would expect with rep xtals.so always add a gen c12 xtal for subs
as for the sh3135 movement I did not test the power reserve or the timing .but the movem felt smooth as silk ,nice and quiet
The date disc is also pretty good the font looks fine and my example was pretty well centred on all 31 days
overall the watch is ok and with a gen xtal and a vrf dial the watch would be nice summer watch
if I had to choose from the current noob v9 with the boxy case and the new arf v2 with boxy case I would prooblly choose the v9.for the better rehaut engraving and slimmer longer lugs.and use arf bracelet.
conclusion it's has some really good points and some bad points
Bracelet good/exellent
insert and bezel good
hands excellent
clasp excellent
dial ok
case not too great
crown good
Anyway that's about it guys hope it helps in your decision on what sub to buy
Let's take a look at the mid case and bracelet first.the crown guards have a good shape and are even in size,unlike most noob v9 subs.the issue with the cg on the v2 is they are a bit too fat and thick compared to gen.the lugs are unfortunately missing the 45 degree lug tip angle ,and also missing the curve so the case looks boxy,the lugs are too thick in width,and I also noticed the lugs are a little too short,because the mid sel comes down near the lug tips.so this is a shame.the rehaut engraving is terrible and looks like a child did it.arf really need to improve the font and get the alignment better
the original first batch noob v9 is the best case but not avalible no more but the new batches are not as good as they also have the squared off and boxy look like this new arf. So the arf case and current v9 cases are similar and comparable
the case finishing is ok nothing out of this world but it's about as good as any other reps brushing and polishing.the vertical brushing on the lugs are missing the gen angled reflection because the gen brushing is slighty angled.but it's not noticeable and not really an issue.
the winding crown looks just like a gen 704 with only a slight font difference and works well smooth to unscrew the thread crown pops out into position 1 winding and setting the time and using the quick set date change is super smooth on this sh3135 maybe they improved them.winding the movemnt feels like butter just like gen
moving to the bracelet this is where arf shines they are the king of bracelets and clasps feels great like gen and looks gen .the only small issue is the sel is a tiny bit too recessed.but that's better than flush sel ,the brushing on the bracelet is a little rough and course compared to the other arf braclet I've had in the past but even still the brushing is good enough I love the arf bracelet.the sel engravings are not that good but no1 sees that anyway
the sel is tight with no gaps
next the clasp ,it's amazing and looks and feels gen with the rounded edges.really nice click of the flip lock and excellent glide lock action.the only flaw is the perfrct crown on the fliplock is mirror polished where is should not be shiny.the older arf braclet did not have this flaw.the logo although polished looks amazing .the engraving on the inner blades is pretty good but a tiny bit thinner font compared to gen
I advice everyone with flush sel on there noobs to buy an arf bracelet it's a must have
the dial is pretty nice the marker surrounds look round unlike bp .but I still prefer the vrf /bp/gmf dials they are king
the colour of the green is really nice but in low light it doesn't get that super black look.it gets darker but not as dark as gen.the dial layout is good apart from the shape of the crown at 12.And this dial is kind of not period correct for a hulk with single lined rehaut.but that dont matter because rsc swap out dials daily and use what ever dial they have in stock.so being period correct is not a big issue in this case
The hands are totally amazing rounded and 3d .I got lucky as it seem some examples are coming with the wrong hands installed.hands from a sd43
the green ceramic insert is lovely but not as bright as gen.it seems impossible for factorys to replicate this ,the engravings have a plat colour finish maybe pvd coating with some white/grey material the font on the bezel is pretty good not too deeply cut and not to fat and wide.the bezel assembly teeth are pretty good but missing the shine from the tooling.but new gens have this style bezel assembly teeth
the bezel action is solid and firm with no play.but the bezel is stiffer than gen and sounds diffent to gen
the xtal height is good pretty flat like gen.with the laser etched crown at 6.there is no black hole as you would expect with rep xtals.so always add a gen c12 xtal for subs
as for the sh3135 movement I did not test the power reserve or the timing .but the movem felt smooth as silk ,nice and quiet
The date disc is also pretty good the font looks fine and my example was pretty well centred on all 31 days
overall the watch is ok and with a gen xtal and a vrf dial the watch would be nice summer watch
if I had to choose from the current noob v9 with the boxy case and the new arf v2 with boxy case I would prooblly choose the v9.for the better rehaut engraving and slimmer longer lugs.and use arf bracelet.
conclusion it's has some really good points and some bad points
Bracelet good/exellent
insert and bezel good
hands excellent
clasp excellent
dial ok
case not too great
crown good
Anyway that's about it guys hope it helps in your decision on what sub to buy
Last edited: