NOOB V3 116500LN announced! Whats new?

[Nikz19]

I have over 40 reps and 9 of which are Daytona's - 2 ARFs and 7 4130s. Of the 7 Noobs I have variations in
all the dials. I've never asked for QC pics because I select them from my dealer in Beijing (I travel there frequently).
i appreciate the hobby and never bust on the factories - Except when they seem to go backward - it's more of a frustration because you know they are capable of more. We also need to realize that although a Rolex Daytona rep may be our particular passion - they have literally hundreds of models that get produced and the guys who spec and QC them have varying levels of expertness in all those models. To me the Noob is worth it mainly for the movement - everything else that they get right is just gravy. Btw - the most accurate watch I have - out of the 40 reps and 4 genuine Rolex's is a Noob 4130
that stays within 3 seconds per week. The movement truley is amazing.

The other thing I wanted to mention is that you may have missed my point about the whole exercise. You seem to think that you have to blow it up to full screen size to notice a difference- and I was saying it was just the opposite! You can easily detect the 4% difference in size in the photos above and also on the wrist. I did the exercise because there was a poster a couple of pages back who expressed difficulty in seeing the difference in sizes and wondered if there was in fact any difference at all. I think most members here can easily see the difference as has been expressed in endless posts but for that guy and others who think that we are all seeing what is not there - I measured it and verified the difference in size. I for one wish I didn't see the difference because it would make life a lot easier not having to mod the dials or franken the watches - but the fact is that for most of us - the size is readily aparantly as is the shinniness issue on the black dials and its one of those things you decide to live with or obsess over franken fixing! For me It's the obsession that makes this hobby so addicting!

Nope. I don’t simply think it’s not noticeable, I can tell by experience. Check my 116500 QC: looks like 6 o’ clock marker is crooked.
Having it in my hands now, I can assure it is IMPOSSIBLE to notice without a loupe. So yeah, most of it is just what you called, obsession.

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[ssouthall6]

The thing is most of you are comparing against gen photos in certain lighting conditions. When you actually see a gen in the flesh the difference is barely noticeable. What is noticeable is there is a change in texture of the outer ring of the subdial, like a high gloss groove. It is there on both noob and arf but isn't as noticeable. It completely skews the analysis because the difference then becomes a moving target. On the white dial it is very difficult to detect - the black on the other hand is clearly wrong.

What I will say is the ARF dial looks more like a gen dial, regardless of the subdial thickness the indices are better contrasted against the dial and the lettering is slightly better than the noob. These are the things I notice far more when I legit check dials. Dial is almost always the first thing I change on my rollie reps...now I don't bother as ARF ones are so good.



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[itsmemario]

Hi guys,

some feedback to the watch from my side (bought it a few weeks ago) which I believe to be of value for most here:

To the looks: Case, dial, hands, lume and everything looks as you would expect, and most details are really on point. No complaints there, it's acutally rather impressive how the small stuff is there.
Same goes for the movement, lookswise it's on point as most of us will have seen in the watchfinder youtube video.

The most obvious problems lookswise this watch has are for one the bracelet (which does not neatly fit). As soon as you see it you will notice, it's not too bad though. Secondly, something that feels off are the crown and pushers, which feel too fiddly compared to gen. Again something that's not too bad.

Now to the ugly: The movement. It's really a problem. After having found one of the screws from the rotor broken (Edit: which I had of course fixed), which is already something that really suprised me, the movement by far can't hold the time. The current problem I have is that the watch randomly stops and only after having it shaken into I guess some kind of position it starts running again. You can literally hear how the beat is off or stops in those situations, and demangetizing the watch did not help in case you might wonder. When it's running it's fine (not perfect, but fine. Rotor noise is still quite higher than original). Edit: QC pics did not show any sign of this problem btw.

Bottom line: If you want it to look like the real deal, this comes close except for minor things discussed in this thread. If you want it to run like the real deal? Well I guess my experience is that it won't even be close. And a watch that's off by 30min after 10hours of wearing it? That's not the real deal. Be careful when buying this, as that amount of money in my opinion should give you a watch that not only looks nice but also can tell the time.

 

[Tobel]

Hi guys,

some feedback to the watch from my side (bought it a few weeks ago) which I believe to be of value for most here:

To the looks: Case, dial, hands, lume and everything looks as you would expect, and most details are really on point. No complaints there, it's acutally rather impressive how the small stuff is there.
Same goes for the movement, lookswise it's on point as most of us will have seen in the watchfinder youtube video.

The most obvious problems lookswise this watch has are for one the bracelet (which does not neatly fit). As soon as you see it you will notice, it's not too bad though. Secondly, something that feels off are the crown and pushers, which feel too fiddly compared to gen. Again something that's not too bad.

Now to the ugly: The movement. It's really a problem. After having found one of the screws from the rotor broken (Edit: which I had of course fixed), which is already something that really suprised me, the movement by far can't hold the time. The current problem I have is that the watch randomly stops and only after having it shaken into I guess some kind of position it starts running again. You can literally hear how the beat is off or stops in those situations, and demangetizing the watch did not help in case you might wonder. When it's running it's fine (not perfect, but fine. Rotor noise is still quite higher than original). Edit: QC pics did not show any sign of this problem btw.

Bottom line: If you want it to look like the real deal, this comes close except for minor things discussed in this thread. If you want it to run like the real deal? Well I guess my experience is that it won't even be close. And a watch that's off by 30min after 10hours of wearing it? That's not the real deal. Be careful when buying this, as that amount of money in my opinion should give you a watch that not only looks nice but also can tell the time.

I'm sorry to hear about your issues with the movement. It's indeed very frustrating when it happens

However that does not mean that your situation is what everyone will face. It is part of this game and others have been unlucky as well. But it seems that most people get a solid a4130 that runs very well, and that can run close to a gen movement in particular if it is serviced. I for example have been lucky and this is so far the best rep movement that I've had.

 

[Nikz19]

Hi guys,

some feedback to the watch from my side (bought it a few weeks ago) which I believe to be of value for most here:

To the looks: Case, dial, hands, lume and everything looks as you would expect, and most details are really on point. No complaints there, it's acutally rather impressive how the small stuff is there.
Same goes for the movement, lookswise it's on point as most of us will have seen in the watchfinder youtube video.

The most obvious problems lookswise this watch has are for one the bracelet (which does not neatly fit). As soon as you see it you will notice, it's not too bad though. Secondly, something that feels off are the crown and pushers, which feel too fiddly compared to gen. Again something that's not too bad.

Now to the ugly: The movement. It's really a problem. After having found one of the screws from the rotor broken (Edit: which I had of course fixed), which is already something that really suprised me, the movement by far can't hold the time. The current problem I have is that the watch randomly stops and only after having it shaken into I guess some kind of position it starts running again. You can literally hear how the beat is off or stops in those situations, and demangetizing the watch did not help in case you might wonder. When it's running it's fine (not perfect, but fine. Rotor noise is still quite higher than original). Edit: QC pics did not show any sign of this problem btw.

Bottom line: If you want it to look like the real deal, this comes close except for minor things discussed in this thread. If you want it to run like the real deal? Well I guess my experience is that it won't even be close. And a watch that's off by 30min after 10hours of wearing it? That's not the real deal. Be careful when buying this, as that amount of money in my opinion should give you a watch that not only looks nice but also can tell the time.

Movement wise is a “hit or miss”, like every rep. Shit can happen when the watch get shipped! I, for one, can tell mine keeps great time at ~+2 spd.
I also had it checked with a timegraph, and it shown much better results than the one I saw on QC pics. It was probably not fully wound when they tested it.

The only “issue” i found is that when I start the chrono, sometimes it doesn’t reset perfectly at 0. Anyway all I have to do is to start it and stop it again, and it goes back to the dead center.


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[itsmemario]

I'm sorry to hear about your issues with the movement. It's indeed very frustrating when it happens

However that does not mean that your situation is what everyone will face. It is part of this game and others have been unlucky as well. But it seems that most people get a solid a4130 that runs very well, and that can run close to a gen movement in particular if it is serviced. I for example have been lucky and this is so far the best rep movement that I've had.

Indeed, and I hope my formulation shows that I am aware that not everybody will necessarily face those issues. Still I believe it's of value to know about something like this, especially since every normal QC from a TD should find broken screws on a rotor (the most obvious of all places). If you have suggestions that can help please let me know, watch smiths are hard to find that are knowledable and repfriendly (looking especially UK and Switzerland, ado213 sadly seems to be under heavly load as I couldn't get ahold of him for the past weeks after initial contact)

 

[Tobel]

Indeed, and I hope my formulation shows that I am aware that not everybody will necessarily face those issues. Still I believe it's of value to know about something like this, especially since every normal QC from a TD should find broken screws on a rotor (the most obvious of all places). If you have suggestions that can help please let me know, watch smiths are hard to find that are knowledable and repfriendly (looking especially UK and Switzerland, ado213 sadly seems to be under heavly load as I couldn't get ahold of him for the past weeks after initial contact)

That's right, I'm not questioning the value of your feedback, merely highlighting that it is indeed one bad experience.

Look at the watchsmith and horologists section of this forum to identify a recommended one in your geo. I can indeed imagine that it's not easy to find someone with the will and skillset to fix a rep 4130.

Good luck

 

[M Scott]

I for one wish I didn't see the difference because it would make life a lot easier not having to mod the dials or franken the watches -

I believe this is the key for this whole dial quality and sub-dial issue in the case of the White Dial Noob Panda.
- Most Noob Daytona owners will never see an ARF Daytona in person to compare and may never see a Gen Daytona to compare. In this case the Noob really looks great and they contribute posts saying that the Noob Daytona is good enough out of the box. Most Noob Panda owners seem to be very happy with the appearance of these watches.
- If you get the right Panda dial from Noob, the thickness is now very close to Gen. The White ARF Panda used to have sub-dials that were thinner than Gen, but they have quietly updated their dial so it is also now very close to Gen.

- it's more of a frustration because you know they are capable of more.

This seems to be the problem that many members have with the Noob Daytonas. We all know, or should know, that a Replica Daytona will never be as good as Genuine.
- The problem is the members who compare an ARF Daytona to a Noob Daytona in person, and realize that Replica production is capable of better quality.

I think most members here can easily see the difference as has been expressed in endless posts but for that guy and others who think that we are all seeing what is not there - I measured it and verified the difference in size.

Members who know that there are differences between ARF and Noob Daytonas and differences between versions post comments and pictures trying to illustrate those differences. I believe that many members appreciate these comparisons, but some think that they are taken too far. These tend to be Noob owners who believe that the Noob Daytona is good enough.
- The comparisons that I have done are meant to illustrate the differences and the improvements that both ARF and Noob have made since these watches were originally introduced.
- I try not to say that one is better than the other overall because both have their strong and weak points. I do however disagree when people say just buy the Noob Daytona because it is good enough.

- but the fact is that for most of us - the size is readily aparantly as is the shinniness issue on the black dials and its one of those things you decide to live with or obsess over

The whole sub-dial issue continues to be a problem for the Black Dials from both ARF and Noob.
- The V1-V2 fat, shinny Noob sub-dials are really fat and easy to spot in pictures or in person.
- Even the thinner Black dial sub-dials from both ARF and Noob are still slightly thicker than Gen.
- Noob's Black dial sub-dials continue to be way to shinny, with ARF's being better, but still not the matte finish of a Gen.

 

[RepHoro]

Now to the ugly: The movement. It's really a problem. After having found one of the screws from the rotor broken (Edit: which I had of course fixed), which is already something that really suprised me, the movement by far can't hold the time. The current problem I have is that the watch randomly stops and only after having it shaken into I guess some kind of position it starts running again. You can literally hear how the beat is off or stops in those situations, and demangetizing the watch did not help in case you might wonder. When it's running it's fine (not perfect, but fine. Rotor noise is still quite higher than original). Edit: QC pics did not show any sign of this problem btw.
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Mario - So sorry you had issues with the movement. I will say that of the seven 4130s I've personally owned in used (various versions over past 2 years) - all of them have kept amazing time (once regulated). I did have one problem - and that was the stop watch start pusher stopped functioning. The rest of the watch performs fine. It will probably be an easy fix when I get around to it. I think the movement has been a real achievement - they keep great time no matter the orientation - it's super quiet - and the crown winding is very smooth- the power reserve is a solid 50+ hours - which is far superior to any rep I've had. I think it's worth anyone's time to learn the basics of how to regulate the movement. Out of the box they can be off up to 10 seconds per day or so. But regulation is very easy to do - (just don't bump the lever too much) as long as you have a time grapher. I usually shoot for +1-2 seconds per day and that puts me in the ball park. All of them have consistently kept within 3 seconds per day accuracy. Anyway have faith in Noob - I do know that the factory will exchange any bad movement - so press the issue with your TD.

 

[RonP]

Hi guys,

some feedback to the watch from my side (bought it a few weeks ago) which I believe to be of value for most here:

To the looks: Case, dial, hands, lume and everything looks as you would expect, and most details are really on point. No complaints there, it's acutally rather impressive how the small stuff is there.
Same goes for the movement, lookswise it's on point as most of us will have seen in the watchfinder youtube video.

The most obvious problems lookswise this watch has are for one the bracelet (which does not neatly fit). As soon as you see it you will notice, it's not too bad though. Secondly, something that feels off are the crown and pushers, which feel too fiddly compared to gen. Again something that's not too bad.

Now to the ugly: The movement. It's really a problem. After having found one of the screws from the rotor broken (Edit: which I had of course fixed), which is already something that really suprised me, the movement by far can't hold the time. The current problem I have is that the watch randomly stops and only after having it shaken into I guess some kind of position it starts running again. You can literally hear how the beat is off or stops in those situations, and demangetizing the watch did not help in case you might wonder. When it's running it's fine (not perfect, but fine. Rotor noise is still quite higher than original). Edit: QC pics did not show any sign of this problem btw.

Bottom line: If you want it to look like the real deal, this comes close except for minor things discussed in this thread. If you want it to run like the real deal? Well I guess my experience is that it won't even be close. And a watch that's off by 30min after 10hours of wearing it? That's not the real deal. Be careful when buying this, as that amount of money in my opinion should give you a watch that not only looks nice but also can tell the time.

Mine is keeping great time but I'm not impressed with the dial details. I've got a slightly crooked Rolex logo, some crooked hour markers and hour markers that do not align perfectly with the printed indexes. The longer I've had it the less I obsess over these details. I'm still trying to find a watchmaker in the UK who can correct these details as I spent quite a lot of money on this watch with the clean factory bezel.

Even if I had money to burn I wouldn't buy this watch in gen. It's simply too small for a chronograph even for someone like me who has skinny wrists.

 

[Flinnt]

I love the size of the Daytona. It’s perfect.
There’s a million big watches to choose from but very few smaller men’s watches especially with chronos.
Those of us who don’t need a watch to club seals with need some options.

 

[RepHoro]

The whole sub-dial issue continues to be a problem for the Black Dials from both ARF and Noob.
- The V1-V2 fat, shinny Noob sub-dials are really fat and easy to spot in pictures or in person.
- Even the thinner Black dial sub-dials from both ARF and Noob are still slightly thicker than Gen.
- Noob's Black dial sub-dials continue to be way to shinny, with ARF's being better, but still not the matte finish of a Gen.

You're exactly right. Here's a pic of a few of my black dials - two Noobs and two ARFs. The shininess issue is does not really come through so much on these pics. But I will say that the overall quality of the ARF dial - the quality of the printing overall but especially the numbers in the subdials - the quality of the paint inside the tips of the hour and minute hand etc - it all adds up to certain "je ne c'est quoi" that the eye detects when you are holding the watch in your hand. Because of this many will be tempted to franken an ARF dial into the Noob - and overall I think it is worth the effort. The ARF is sub dials are still slightly thicker than gen but the reduced shininess (compared to the Noob) really brings it into line with the quality and feel of the gen and takes away at least one obvious "tell". Just be aware of one important detail. All of the ARF dials use a printing format from earlier pre ceramic gen dials. The "ROLEX OYSTER PERPETUAL...." print is more relaxed and spread out on the older dials. The easiest way to see this is that in the older dials the left edge of the "T" in 'oysTer' falls directly beneath the left edge of the "R" in 'R'olex where as with the newer dials the printing of "oyster pertetual" is more scrunched in such that left edge of the "T" is more beneath the center right of the "R". I'll post a couple of closer pics in posts below. Again - any genuine ceramic Daytona will use the new scrunched in style printing and any ARF dial you put in, while looking better and higher quality, will be incorrect to the newer ceramic years.

The other "tell" between the Noob and Gen is the brightness of the dial - the gen has platinum paint which reflects light better indoors - the ARF is brighter because it uses white paint and is not beveled so deeply. I like the deep cuts but a Noob bezel is woefully inadequate indoors and is IMO an obvious tell. The most cost effective frankens are probably a ARF dial (if you can live with the older style printing) and a Clean Factory bezel which supposedly uses platinum paint.



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[RepHoro]

ARF Dial - Older pre ceramic style printing - note T of oysTer under R of rolex. Also note the high quality of print in the subdials and the more defined multiple concentric grooves of SD.


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[RepHoro]

This is the Noob dial - note the more "scrunched in" printing (yet more accurate to ceramic model dials) - T in oysTer is beneath right of the middle of the R in rolex. Also note the slightly fatter and shinier subdials and how the slightly lower quality printing of the numbers in the subdials. Also note that the concentric groves is the sub dials are less distinct and gen like. Again these are all nit picky and hard to quantify with out a loop - but do all add up to a certain lack of "pop" when held in the hand compared to an ARF and especially a gen. Since I have multiple examples of ARFs and Noobs I hold them in my hand every day and to me it's wrist level obvious every time.



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[M Scott]

ARF Dial - Older pre ceramic style printing - note T of oysTer under R of rolex. Also note the high quality of print in the subdials and the more defined multiple concentric grooves of SD.

Your ARF, pictured on the left here, appears to be an older version as all of the current ones use the correct ROLEX font as shown on the right. Your Bezel also appears to be an older version.

Maybe you should check out a new ARF on your next shopping trip?
.

 

[Mark1937]

Your ARF, pictured on the left here, appears to be an older version as all of the current ones use the correct ROLEX font as shown on the right. Your Bezel also appears to be an older version.

Maybe you should check out a new ARF on your next shopping trip?
.

On the left is JF version!

 

[Bobi01]

On the left is JF version!

Yeah not arf bezel

 

[Wogi82]

On the left is JF version!

bezel looks very off, major giveaway.

 

[xxBlack]

Hi guys where can I find Gen Gasket for my daytona? On ebay i dont find anything. Any tips?

 

[vcappp]

Just Quick Question:

In general consensus as of today Dec 2019, Noob V3 Ceramic Bezel is just good enough out of the box? or Should it be changed to CF bezel?

Thanks.