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ZZF 116610LV SUBMARINER FULL REVIEW !!!!

Smoke

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18/3/13
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Ok guys now it's that time again we coming back with a heavy hitter that definitely deserves a review, unlike the arf v3 that has no upgrades or changes over the v2 I reviewed.same goes for the equally disappointing noob v10 that I decided not to review after spending a few days with them.anyway let's get into this sit back relax and get started shall we.

First thing I want to send a massive shout out to the main man li over there at jtime that made this review possible.top dude and great new td guys :)

So as soon as I saw pick of this watch I knew it was gonna be good ,well let's say better than what arf and noob were producing otb.and I was definitely right in that fact.the shipping from li aka jtime took around 3 days to london from china thats pretty impressive. Packaging all good no damage,didnt get any qc pics,but you guys will plus I did ask for the best examples possible for you guys to see and he done good on the hulk and the ln he sent for review .

So I when i opened the little rolex style coffin the watch came in(just like arf)I was smiling ha ha i could see the sel through the perspex and knew this was good.so I opened it and this is what I saw

Screenshot-20200105-111418-Gallery.jpg

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Just want to mention the bezel protector looks tottally gen even has the correct number n170 .but first impression I was greatly surprised ,the dial in the lighting I was currently in was looking really dark and the insert was looking deep forest green,yum yum lol

so as you guys can see it's a good start for the zzf hulk.lets take a closer look at this piece starting with the case and the bracelet because these are usually my main criticisms for reps

First I want to show the rehaut engraving it's not perfect by anymeans but you can live with it,just dont be taking really zoomed in macros of the engravings or should I say laser etching as thats what rolex use now.the font zzf used to the naked eye at a normal distance not zoomed in dont look that bad tbh.but when you zoom in you can see the font is not great.

20200105-112706.jpg

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The rehaut is not perfectly aligned with every dial minute marks but most gens are not anyway.and the only was to get that perfect alignment is to rotate the 3135 slightly in its case to move dial position relative to the rehaut. The gen rehaut engraving laser etched colour is lighter than the zzf the zzf rehaut lettering looks dark in low lighting. But in bright light looks white ,however the gen laser etching looks consistently white in small lighting and never see it as dark black lettering.

Onto the font and position the font is ok so looks fine on wrist or in pics at a glance .but look at the foot of the R looks kind of goofy.the rest of the letters look ok though not great but ok.ive communicated to the factory about improving this and how to go about it.we shall see

Here is another close up of the rehaut.tbf it's not that bad the finish needs to be more smoother and shiny though

20200105-113638.jpg

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And here is how the rehuat looks at a normal viewing distance

20200105-114001.jpg

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I love this wrist shot.the etching from this type of distance you cant tell any issues and the letters and font look like a new gen
this pic really shows the xtal the sharp case with nice curves and great sel .that 904l steel really pops aswell

So as we move onto the rest of the case we can check out the lugs the shape is very important to me and zzf did the lugs 95 percent to gen lugs. Better than noob v10 and arf square lugs .if you look at the wrist pic above you can see the tips of the lugs are angled about 45 degrees and the lugs do not touch the edges of the bracelet first links,just like gen. The only real criticism I have is the outer flanks that are polished need to be angled out more so you can see a bit of the case sides when looking straight at the watch.here is an example using a gen photo.


Screenshot-20200105-115106-Gallery.jpg

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I've circled the lug tip gaps as you can see they do not touch the links in the bracelet yhis is a detail most factory's never get right a d the lugs are touching the links or too close.also put arrows showing the side flank area that's visable from the front.the zzf need to be cut more at an angle to get the curves perfect.here is an image that demonstrates what I mean.

20200105-115519.jpg

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Here is the side flank diagram the zzf .the pink line shows how the zzf case side is angled,and the red line is how it should be angled to look tottally gen worh that curve and taper I always chat on about.shout to my bro the master watchmaker a Andrei from Romania

the cg look good on wrist definitely. But in blown up macros you can get to see that the shape is good but they are a tiny bit too large.compared to gen cg
here are a couple random shots of the watch,take a look at the cg.

20200105-120122.jpg

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Nice shape a bit too fat is my cg evaluation on wrist not noticable enough to really piss me off

20200105-120320.jpg

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Love this pic man.

20200105-120436.jpg

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One more cg shot this angle you can see that the angle is slightly off.but ypu dont go round looking at watches from this angle anyway.from the normal view look good just a bit oversized.

The crown is not great not gonna lie.the logo is way off the bottom part with the circle ,and the crown shape looks round compared to the sharp square gen 704.I prefer the noob crown
here is a gen 704 for reference

20200105-120826.jpg

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20200105-121112.jpg

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Here is another nice pic.check out that brushing pretty impressive.and very close to gen maybe the grain is a but more agressive and visible. The brushing on the top of the case lugs is meh ,not too bad but not as smooth as gen.gen brush on the lugs is very fine almost invisible. The zzf it's more agressive and the lines are much more visible to naked eye.the zzf sel is really good nicely recessed on all sides not too deep like arf.so in that regard I prefer the zzf recess.


The bracelet feeling is ok and feels close to gen.gen feels maybe a bit heavy but I had the gen bracelet in left hand and zzf in right and they feel like they weigh the same.i dont got my scales they died on me.i got an arf bracelet and it felt and looked the same excluding the clasp. But the arf brushing is way worse .super harsh agressive brushing,the clasps on the other hand there is no comparison the arf destroyed the zzf clasp in fit feel and finish.

The zzf clasp feels lightweight and doesn't feel substantial when you click it into place.feels like it could come undone.bith my examples were like this so I dont think it was a qc issue.here take a look at the clasp in more detail

20200105-122426.jpg

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The crown font is not too bad the waves are ok but the word rolex is too skinny and looks weird compared to gen.


20200105-122633.jpg


The crown logo on the flip lock looks pretty good and it's not been highly polished like that new flaw arf added to there once perfect clasp.not sure if you guys noticed the crown logo on a gen glidelock is not mirror polished. Its raw metal unfinished kind of look.not brushed and not polished. Arf decided to polish the crown. Jokers lol.

Screenshot-20200105-123102-Gallery.jpg


Here is a wrist shot of the clasp it looks gen on wrist.the brushing is consistent and clean,the logo on flip is crisp.the edges of the flip are rounded like gen and there is a nice gap around the edges at finger nail groove.so aesthetics are there just the poor feeling.

Anyway moving on we should look at the main event really the dial.there has been alot of confusion and controversy over this dial .now I'll share my thoughts on it.for me the dial is great the markers are just perfect it's like they used real gold plate on them or something because they look like the gen.the dial layout is perfectly spaced as a 2017/current day dial 2020.print colour is good the gen looks a bit bolder but I've seen gens with the slightly less bold white paint also.the dial does go very dark in specific lighting conditions and I love that it looks like a Kermit is low light.

I've seen other members here post pics of there zzf hulk dials displaying green and black together with a smooth blend and no agressive sun burst stripes, but I was not able to get it to have that look .maybe I was not in the perfect light conditions. I'm still trying to get that perfect dial shot of black and green .I've also noticed that the rolex x has a shape flaw that I'm seeing on both my and hulk and in all other people's. The factory knows about this and is on the case
another thing people are talking about is the dip in the dial at the handstack. the hulk i do not see a dip and my ln I see a slight dip only in certain lighting .definitely not easy to see.so this issue is worse on some than others.as you know gen has it to a small degree. The factory are aware and are working on the fix


Screenshot-20200105-124333-Gallery.jpg


https://i.ibb.co/vZdYPht/20191229-025245.jp .

Screenshot-20200105-124947-Gallery.jpg



Even with the flaw it's still a nice dial the markers make it for me

20200105-125125.jpg


Dam bro these markers are fire

a good mod would be the old bp dials or the new gmf vrf dials with the zzf markers.but saying that the x flaw in the dial is not too visible but when it's fixed that will be great.



now let's take a look at the ceramic insert and the bezel assembly another really hard for makers to get right.the green whilst not the same as Henin some light does look like gen .for instance when the gen is in low light the darker look is easy to replicate. So I went to the mall and they had a used gen hulk and I compared the zzf to the gen and I was amazed at the colour and how close it looked.maybe it was the perfect lighting from the ad that made the zzf insert look nearly the same.i was really pleasantly impressed. The number cut outs are nice possibly a tiny bit slimmer than gen.the pvd plat paint or coating they use is good.so close to gen I think they maybe using real plat.

From the back the insert has the gen like pin hole fixture for the pearl housing.this is a nice touch.the pearl itself is not the same as gen but not terrible either, but this has never been replicated to perfection,not sure it's even possible. Anyway you guys can be the judge on the insert .but I like it and ivd told the factory they need to make the green brighter and deeper almost metallic looking.instead of more milky look.


20200105-130314.jpg


Love this pic the pearl and insert looks beautiful here no real complaint the numbers looking sharp.you can see the rehaut looks pretty well lined up wonderfully dial triangle marker.and the bezel teeth although a bit too sharp look good

Here are a couple random pics of the insert in some different lighting

20200105-130714.jpg


20200105-130821.jpg


Look at the bezel scallops from the side very very nice.see the finish is like gen a d has the vertical tooling Mark's inbetween each tooth.from the front the teeth are too pointed though and thats a but disappointing.here is a pic and and you can see on wrist the issue is not apparent


20200105-131245.jpg



Next we can look at the date wheel and xtal this is really nice looks almost identical to gen


20200105-131533.jpg


Love it even the xtal has a nice look to it.the cyclops has that white ring around the perimeter. The gen has this but also has a rim of UV glue around it.so it pops even more.the ar on this zzf xtal is about half of gen. So no real black hole here.xtal height is flat like gen 0.5mm or so poking up about the insert.

Here take a look

20200105-132042.jpg


The lec on the xtal looks to be pretty much identical to the new gen xtals with the more visible lec.old gen lec was nearly impossible to view with naked eye


Screenshot-20191228-115647-Gallery.jpg


as the review draws near to the end we can take a quick look at the hand set ,I will say they are average at best.arf wins on the 3d looking hands

20200105-132604.jpg


I forgot to show the case back and underside of the watch so here is a pic the case back is nothing special just like any other rep case back
not sure itf the case has the 3135 movement cut out as I didn't open the watches but I dont think they will have.


20191228-114732.jpg



Now the 3135 in these are apparently the new vr3135. Winding feels rough compared to gen.i dint test the power reserves or the watch timing yet.setting the time a d date works well enough I guess .nit buttery smooth like gen.but that's to be expected.


Now I think I covered most if not all this watch has to offer if I've missed anything let me know

How would I rate this I give it 7.5 out of 10 it's the best submariner 6 didget rep you can currently buy.and it's great out of the box.

Ps excuse any typos and spelling and grammar issues I'm using only a phone dont have a laptop

A way hope you enjoyed and leave your feedback below Peace and have a happy new year guys
 
Last edited:

p0pperini

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Brilliant review sir, thanks for taking the considerable time it must have taken to put this together. It's easy to see why everyone cries "SMOKE" whenever opinions are sought on this or that 6 digit Sub.

Li, prepare for the onslaught of orders! :)
 

bill33

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smoke great review mate. The case does have the semi circle notch cutout for the movement screw like a gen case.
 
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thinker1

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Amazing review smoke ... you are hands down the ultimate Rolex authority on RWI.
 

thinwhiteduke

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smoke, I am sure a lot of members have been waiting for this very helpful review. In behalf of the silent majority, I thank you for your invaluable contribution to our community. Take a bow, buddy!
 
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Smoke

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Amazing review smoke ... you are hands down the ultimate Rolex authority on RWI.

Thank you brother not sure why you have such a low post count you know as much about these watches as me pretty much now
 

2001025

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Thanks smoke for the review!! This is promising and one of the best oftb hulk in the market.

I glad I ordered mine before this review lol. Just like bought a stock before something big is announced.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

gunsmoke16610

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Thank you Smoke after reading this my conclusion is reps have flaws and despite what some believe some Gens also have flaws. Therefore, the perfect sub is a myth. We can all relax now because the ZZF LV is the most correct as of today

I'm still waiting in my QC pictures from Li. ????
 
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jordanj08

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Great review here smoke

Got to give it to you bro you know your shit about hulks ha


Sent from my iPhone using RWI
 

Kayatsu1

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Thank you very much for this review smoke. Very informative and complete!


Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando RWI
 

Spatiumtemporis

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Very informative! Great review. The reps have come a long way. This zzf is almost perfect. I can't wait to see mine in person.
 
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TYL88

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smoke do u know if the arf bracelet would fit the zzf case and have nice SELs? The case looks really good!
 

Smoke

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smoke do u know if the arf bracelet would fit the zzf case and have nice SELs? The case looks really good!

Yeah it fits I tried it on both of mine .but didnt feel the need to use it as the zzf sel was perfect on both examples
 
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thewee2536

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Thank you Mr. SMOKE waiting for ur review.

Nice to hear that insert color close to gen in some light condition.
 

andrewmb

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Thanks for the review - looking forward for mine to arrive from Li!
 

Ecender

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Great review, short but concise :_o_:
Thank you for taking the time and provide priceless information to the forum.