- 21/4/19
- 1,806
- 2,158
- 113
Hey everyone, glad to give a review of my very first submariner. This was obtained from Eric at GeekTime and took about 20 days from purchase to wrist.
Now mind you, although this is the first 116610LN I owned, I have handled numerous other models from a variety of factories. Though this does not make me a savant/expert, it does give me a general idea of what one wants to look for when seeking a fantastic subbie.
Because I do not currently have any other subbie on hand to compare it to, gen or rep, I will do my best to give a review based on knowledge and experience instead.
Without further ado, let's jump into my mini review!
First Impressions
First of all. Holy fookin jibbers krabst. This looked and felt as premium as the best of the best reps out there. I'm talking about the Noob 116500 V3, the VSF SMP 300m, the ZZF 116610LV V3 etc.
RXF also had a pamphlet included. This compared RXF to other brands, and showed off various aspects of the watch. I thought this was pretty neat considering I has never seen this before in a box. There was also a UV light based Rolex warranty card included. Damn cool!
So let's get to the visuals.
The crystal and insert
Let's be clear, this is the best OOTB crystal I have ever seen. After going through several franken/superfranken projects and swimming through gen crystal photos for weeks, I can boldly state that RXF knocked their crystal out of the park.
Especially in low light, the black hole effect is indistinguishable from gen. I would use an RXF crystal in a franken/superfranken project involving gen parts.
The insert may very well be the best out there currently. The numerals look full without fuss or spillage, and not paper white. They have a very dusty silver look to them, and appear bright and premium.
I don't bother too much with the rehaut, but the RXF looks to have it nicely engraved and relatively spot on. The RXF pamphlet or review by Andrew at TrustyTime is more comprehensive on that aspect.
The hour markers and hands
Another juicy sight. ZZF used to be the king on this aspect, but the indices on the RXF are thicker and more convincingly rounded, in all angles. An example of a watch that has indices which look rounded is the ARF 116710LN. At a tilt, the indices look sharp, but straight ahead, they look pretty rounded. The fact that RXF has juicy rounded indices on every angle is an absolute knockout.
The hands looked 3D and premium, with a correct height from the base of the dial. Is it the best? That's up for debate!
The Bezel, Scallops, SEL Fitment, Pip and Crown
The scallops are not as sharp as I thought they would be, nor are they as soft as gen. However they afford an excellent grip for turns. The best clicks are tight and feel premium. They are not too tight, not are they loose. Definitely worlds better than Noob, and on ZZF's level or better. I love turning this bezel.
The SEL's are indeed beautifully recessed and tight. There is zero play. Enough said
As for the Lume Lip, from all angles, it looks fantastically formed, with a beautiful glass and correct thickness. Definitely not at erect nipple.
The crown is an absolute pleasure to handle. Solid firm grip. Not too sharp, not too blunt. No wiggle in the stem. Trip-lock fits in beautifully, with no grinding, play or mess. Absolutely premium. The crown on the crown (haha) is 3D and spot on with gen. My favourite crown establishment in any rep, even my beloved ARF 116710LN!
Lume
To the left is my JF 216570 V3. To the right is my RXF 116610LN. What makes the RXF stand out is the evenness in the lume, as well as the brightness and fullness of glow. Although the 216570 has large lume indices, the RXF glowed like a torchlight. This reminded me of gen dials and gen lume. Definitely some of the best lume I have ever encountered!
Clasp
This is where factories like ARF would pull ahead. The clasp feels great, but in my case, the large part did not snap in like on my ARF 116710LN. The little crown tab snapped well though. There were no sharp edges on the clasp, and the brushing looked premium.
The engravings looked quite good, though not perfect. However I have seen similar forms with Noob's famous 116500's, so definitely not an outlier. Clasp code is 7GJ. No squeaking, no play. Absolutely solid.
Glidelock worked beautifully without any trouble, and as smooth as butter.
Bottom portion of SEL fitment looks clean and recessed as well
Movement
RXF used a A2824-2 movement. The case must have been modded to have the correct crown height as per gen. The movement was clean, and presented no problems when using. The winding was smooth as butter. As soon as the power reserve is full, the winding turns crunchy, but that is to be expected with any full reserve winding. You notice this as well with the Noob Daytonas, so not an isolated case.
Final thoughts
For being my first submariner, this was taking a dive in the deep end in terms of quality. Nearly every aspect of RXF is premium, and for far less than the previous leader on the board, ZZF. I suspect with the ZF and new ZZF coming up in late September/October we are seeing a subbie battle of epic proportions.
For now, I would give this a 10/10 for not only being the best bang for the buck, but also being extremely meticulous in design, care and class. What an amazing time to be alive.
Thank you for reading my mini review Please let me know what you think, so we can add to the conversation :cheers:
Sent from my RXF 116610LN using Tapatalk
Now mind you, although this is the first 116610LN I owned, I have handled numerous other models from a variety of factories. Though this does not make me a savant/expert, it does give me a general idea of what one wants to look for when seeking a fantastic subbie.
Because I do not currently have any other subbie on hand to compare it to, gen or rep, I will do my best to give a review based on knowledge and experience instead.
Without further ado, let's jump into my mini review!
First Impressions
First of all. Holy fookin jibbers krabst. This looked and felt as premium as the best of the best reps out there. I'm talking about the Noob 116500 V3, the VSF SMP 300m, the ZZF 116610LV V3 etc.
RXF also had a pamphlet included. This compared RXF to other brands, and showed off various aspects of the watch. I thought this was pretty neat considering I has never seen this before in a box. There was also a UV light based Rolex warranty card included. Damn cool!
So let's get to the visuals.
The crystal and insert
Especially in low light, the black hole effect is indistinguishable from gen. I would use an RXF crystal in a franken/superfranken project involving gen parts.
I don't bother too much with the rehaut, but the RXF looks to have it nicely engraved and relatively spot on. The RXF pamphlet or review by Andrew at TrustyTime is more comprehensive on that aspect.
The hour markers and hands
Another juicy sight. ZZF used to be the king on this aspect, but the indices on the RXF are thicker and more convincingly rounded, in all angles. An example of a watch that has indices which look rounded is the ARF 116710LN. At a tilt, the indices look sharp, but straight ahead, they look pretty rounded. The fact that RXF has juicy rounded indices on every angle is an absolute knockout.
The hands looked 3D and premium, with a correct height from the base of the dial. Is it the best? That's up for debate!
The Bezel, Scallops, SEL Fitment, Pip and Crown
The scallops are not as sharp as I thought they would be, nor are they as soft as gen. However they afford an excellent grip for turns. The best clicks are tight and feel premium. They are not too tight, not are they loose. Definitely worlds better than Noob, and on ZZF's level or better. I love turning this bezel.
The SEL's are indeed beautifully recessed and tight. There is zero play. Enough said
As for the Lume Lip, from all angles, it looks fantastically formed, with a beautiful glass and correct thickness. Definitely not at erect nipple.
The crown is an absolute pleasure to handle. Solid firm grip. Not too sharp, not too blunt. No wiggle in the stem. Trip-lock fits in beautifully, with no grinding, play or mess. Absolutely premium. The crown on the crown (haha) is 3D and spot on with gen. My favourite crown establishment in any rep, even my beloved ARF 116710LN!
Lume
To the left is my JF 216570 V3. To the right is my RXF 116610LN. What makes the RXF stand out is the evenness in the lume, as well as the brightness and fullness of glow. Although the 216570 has large lume indices, the RXF glowed like a torchlight. This reminded me of gen dials and gen lume. Definitely some of the best lume I have ever encountered!
Clasp
This is where factories like ARF would pull ahead. The clasp feels great, but in my case, the large part did not snap in like on my ARF 116710LN. The little crown tab snapped well though. There were no sharp edges on the clasp, and the brushing looked premium.
Glidelock worked beautifully without any trouble, and as smooth as butter.
Bottom portion of SEL fitment looks clean and recessed as well
Movement
RXF used a A2824-2 movement. The case must have been modded to have the correct crown height as per gen. The movement was clean, and presented no problems when using. The winding was smooth as butter. As soon as the power reserve is full, the winding turns crunchy, but that is to be expected with any full reserve winding. You notice this as well with the Noob Daytonas, so not an isolated case.
Final thoughts
For being my first submariner, this was taking a dive in the deep end in terms of quality. Nearly every aspect of RXF is premium, and for far less than the previous leader on the board, ZZF. I suspect with the ZF and new ZZF coming up in late September/October we are seeing a subbie battle of epic proportions.
For now, I would give this a 10/10 for not only being the best bang for the buck, but also being extremely meticulous in design, care and class. What an amazing time to be alive.
Thank you for reading my mini review
Please let me know what you think, so we can add to the conversation :cheers:
Sent from my RXF 116610LN using Tapatalk
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