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Got my V3 Noob 116500LN Today. Mixed Feelings.

Yellobird

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So today I finally got my Noob 116500.

I wanted to test the asian 4130 clone Daytona since the day it was released as I am a huge Daytona fan (had numerous of these over the years, including a Franken 16520, Genuine 116520 and an older Noob 2824 based Franken, not to count many vintage pieces from DW). The problem with the first 4130 noob ones was how crappy they all seemed after the release. But slowly the progress was made and now with the v3 on the market, I figured it was the time to jump on it.

To be able to buy a cloned 4130 is an amazing thing, who would have thought the producers would ever take it this serious and this far after all the years with fat cased 7750 pieces.

Back to the V3.

As of now the timekeeping seems spot on, chrono works well, the winding is smooth and it sounds and feels like winding a real 4130, truly fine experience.

The v3 ceramic bezel is great, deep and well cut numbers, no serifs, nice plat colored paint.

SEL is very nice.

Pusher length and angle - superb.

BUT.

The feel of the bracelet and clasp is terrible. The sounds it produces, the way it feels, all so flimsy and cheap. Wow. My 2015 a2824 based noob franken has a bracelet that is MILES better than this.

Also the crystal gasket. Milky, cloudy edge that makes it look as if the rehaut was too tall when shallow rehaut is a very very important thing in a Daytona overall look and feel.

The dial has improved, subdials are correct width but the print could be better.

All in all - mixed feelings. Glad to have a 4130 to play with, to have a working chrono, but the overall cheap feeling is a bit dissapointing.

May try to obtain an ARF dial and crystal/gasket to improve the looks but not much can be done about the cheap feel of the bracelet (arf does not fit the noob case as well as it should from what I read).

Do you guys share the feelings or am I too anal?

Anyway, some eyecandy below, with one showing it next to the older franken sibling:
 

NLYCCMH

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Hey I have the same watch, and I was wondering if you could address two issues I've had with mine. Firstly, the ceramic bezel is slightly rotated to the right. It's very slight, but it's noticeable, and it does bother me. Additionally, the chronograph doesn't zero properly all the time. Sometimes it's right on, but usually it's a little bit to the right of center. Have you experienced any of these issues, and do you know how I would go about fixing them, if they can be fixed at all? Thanks!
 

Yellobird

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Reseting the bezel should be a fairly easy thing to do, reseting the chrono hand is a bit more difficult and requires opening the watch up and fiddling with a small watch hand. Both issues should be fixable fairly easily by any qualified watchsmith, do not worry.
 

philwongnz

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I agree with the dial and the crystal as I'm a gen 16520 owner (back tho). For me I upgraded mine with a CF bezel of which I think it should be better than a stock V3 bezel (although I haven't worn one with a V3 bezel). The bracelet, the clasp feels shit when I first started using it, but I'm 3 weeks in with the watch and the clasp enclosure is super smooth to use now.

All in all, is a nice watch but if noob can make a better dial or I managed to source an ARF dial, whack on some gen hands, put on a gen crystal and gasket, reshape the case, I think we are pretty much there without going all out crazy with movement mods etc.

I can see why people would spend money on gen parts as the actual gen is getting ridiculous for its price (I personally would pay up to around £12-14K for it) but at £24-26K, there are more priorities in life than a watch - well at least for me unless gen prices for Panerai goes up and I can liquidate.. Haha



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Tobel

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The flimsiness of the bracelet has been discussed many times and it's a common rep issue outside of ARF. Just give it a proper baby oil bath and it will feel much better
 

2841

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I agree with you on the bracelet, it’s simple not good on a noob. That was my first impression when I got my v.2.2

Ive ordered a ARF bracelet, a couple of months ago, hopefully it’ll be a good fit, I hear you got a 50/50 shot ????

I changed my bezel with the CF, that made a huge difference, and next to a gen, there is no difference imo.
 
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mpowergmt

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get arf or cf bezel,arf bracelet gen hands gen crystal (arf is fine tho) a case rework only if you want it perfect

and that it
 

Dizzy

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Just swap the clasp for an ARF. Easy fix. When I get mine I’ll be doing that as well as a prof crystal and Rolex gasket. A couple easy mods to start with.
 

Interesting

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I have one of these too. Love it. You will always have a "but" with a rep. The "but" is simply because its not gen. As long as its not gen, you will never ever be satisfied. :). So enjoy the 98-99% gen like quality, Stuff the rest. Its much cheaper. Or get rid of the bracelet. Use a nato or a a quality oysterflex. Then again, its still a rep.
 

Cheeps

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You can swap the entire ARF bracelet onto the noob endlinks if you have the right tools. Tomrep did it for me and the result is spectacular.
 
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Yellobird

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Thanks for your opinion guys.

After another day with it I cannot stop thinking how deep the rehaut seems to me, do you think this is only due to the milky effect of the gasket or maybe yhe noob rehaut is taller than it should be?

 

Yellobird

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So hard to capture this in a pic but even looking straight on the face it seems as if the 116500 dial was much deeper in the case than in the 116520.
 

Nikz19

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But we gotta agree here that’s just being picky. This is a great rep OOTB. We’re talking about something like 98% close to the real deal for 1/20 of the list price.


Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk
 

ssouthall6

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I was chatting to red1 the other day about this.

I've changed the bezel for CF, crystal, gasket and crown for gen, dial for ARF on my 116500 and you don't wanna know on all the others!

But still I'm not happy.

I worked out the problem - the case profile. No matter how many pictures people put up comparing the thickness....I can't explain it, it just doesn't sit like the gen does.

Kinda sucks as I have 4 noobs, 3 arfs and 3 bps :D


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wapvi

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I was chatting to red1 the other day about this.

I've changed the bezel for CF, crystal, gasket and crown for gen, dial for ARF on my 116500 and you don't wanna know on all the others!

But still I'm not happy.

I worked out the problem - the case profile. No matter how many pictures people put up comparing the thickness....I can't explain it, it just doesn't sit like the gen does.

Kinda sucks as I have 4 noobs, 3 arfs and 3 bps :D


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Buy gen then. You are wasting money chasing something you will never have with a rep. Either save up and get the real deal or just enjoy what you have which is not very far from gen ;)

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topgunlb

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Yeah i like the mine in general but the bracelet was too loose and light even after a baby oil bath. I switched it out for a white rubberB and its really comfortable.

 

Yellobird

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ssouthall6

Very well put. It is hard to describe but something about it seems very off, to the point of it feeling like a toy watch on the wrist. I keep looking at it next to my non-working chrono 2824 powered franken 116520 and it seems to be the same in thickness but it wears so different somehow, noob 116500 seems to be taller.

Today I am back to wearing my old 116520.

Luckily my GF does not seem to care about all the 116500 flaws so I sized the bracelet down a bit and now she is wearing it :)
 
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M Scott

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I was chatting to red1 the other day about this.

I've changed the bezel for CF, crystal, gasket and crown for gen, dial for ARF on my 116500 and you don't wanna know on all the others!

But still I'm not happy.

I worked out the problem - the case profile. No matter how many pictures people put up comparing the thickness....I can't explain it, it just doesn't sit like the gen does.

I have seen comparison pictures and an older video showing the caseback of a Noob Daytona appearing slightly thicker looking than a Gen. Could this be true?

Have you, red1 , Micasol , or anyone else ever checked to see if the Noob and Genuine Daytona casebacks are exactly the same thickness?
 

Digital.

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You can swap the entire ARF bracelet onto the noob endlinks if you have the right tools. Tomrep did it for me and the result is spectacular.

Do you have any pictures of this? It is extremely difficult to swap the manufactured endlinks without causing any damage. The link is a very simple construction but machine made and pressed together and this is irreversible. So very difficult to do if you want to avoid any damage, would love to see the work in process.