Oyster Perpetual 114300 : the Rafflesdials option

[mrsullivan]

Hey everyone,

I just received a watch case set from Rafflesdials, and I thought it could be interesting to others to do a little review, from ordering to the overall quality of the watch.

The « DIY » concept was itching me for a while, so I decided to place my 1rst order with them.
On the side I also ordered an Explorer set from Bosshua, it will be interesting to compare both.
So there it goes, and before all let me point the great service from Raffles team. Not only the package arrived quickly (order October 18th > delivery in France October 30th), but email communication is perfect. Fast, polite, they advice on the needed parts, it could’nt be better.

I chose to order an Oyster Perpetual 114300 gray dial for 2824 set. It’s a fairly good rep in general and easy to build as there’s no date to align. Only being a part-time hobbyist, it’s safer that way I’d say.
It sells for 179 $ shipping included, about 153 €, and the set includes :

1. Full OP stainless steel case + caseback + crown (no stem)
2. Grey rhodium dial
3. Hands
4. Movement holder + screws + clamps
5. Crystal (mounted)
6. Stainless steel bracelet + clasp
7. 2x springbars


I stress the fact that I am not an OP expert, this review is more my general feeling about the watch than comparing it to gen on a microscopic scale. Here we go :

1. Case
The case is 38.8mm diameter, the thickness and lugs-to-lugs are pretty spot-on, so all the measurements are quite good. The polishing is mirror like, very even. The rehaut engravings are not perfect but good enough on the wrist for sure.
The good surprise comes from the threads : the caseback and the crown’s both screw on very smoothly, and the tightening is progressive. Very good job there.
The o-rings supplied with the case are good quality and the right thickness. Greased, the watch takes 5ATM without any worries now.
Conclusion : the case and its components are surprisingly good.



2. Dial
The rodhium/grey dial is very nice, with a gorgeous sunburst effect. The markers are well held in place and the coronet looks good to me, well polished.
4 feet are to be found on the backside, 1rst time I see that but I guess experienced members will enlight this.
All in all a very nice dial with a nice color and effects.



3. Hands
The hands look good to me. No rough edges, they seem nicely finished. Can’t wait to see the results once built.



4. Bracelet
The bracelet feels ok, although it may need a bit of oil to get rid of a light rattling.
The clasp engages very firmly, a bit too much to my taste but I guess it will gain some softness with time. The polishing is all right overall, but I must say it’s finishing is not so good around the Rolex coronet on the clasp.



So this is it for the « hardware » part. The Rafflesdials watch set offer starts as a very good surprise, the parts look solid and I can't wait to see the result. Regarding the movement, as I want to keep this build « budget », I chose to give a try to a Seagull ST2130 instead of a more expensive classic ETA or Sellita.
I received it this morning, so we’ll see how good it ends. Next episode in a few days when building the watch.
Cheers

 

[KJ2020]

It's always fun to build a watch yourself, I applaud your interest and efforts. I think Raffles casesets can be OK and dial finishes are usually good. His coronets are often a weak point unfortunately and this is no exception. I just ordered one of these last night. The UBF (left in the first pic below) is $288 with 2836. The ARF is $478 with SH3132 which I don't care for. I got the UBF.

Gen

 

[KJ2020]

Looks like the same bracelet from UBF, the clasp code is the same, 6MG

https://www.intime05.co/rollie/6048...t-edition-gray-dial-on-a2836-ss-bracelet.html

 

[pompompurin]

The dial comes with 4 feet which allows you to cut a pair off, depending on if you want to use the dial on an eta movement or a 21j 2813 movement. The dial feet location for an eta 2824-2 / 2836-2 movement is different to a 21j 2813 movement.

However, if your case is advertised to fit a 2824-2 movement, then stick with a 2824-2 movement.

The crown and dial's coronet has to be swapped, IMO

 

[KJ2020]

 

[mrsullivan]

Great inputs, the 4 feet thing does make sense. I put my bet on a ST2130 as a budget alternative to standard 2824, as the idea is to find out what these sets can offer at a basic entry cost.

Thanx for the comparison pics KJ2020 , the coronet could be better indeed (and the UBF looks quite good actually). I'll keep the stock one, here again with the goal to see what the overall "DIY set" offer is worth in a stock configuration.

Envoyé de mon ELE-L29 en utilisant Tapatalk

 

[owlet72]

I enjoyed the post. Are there other companies that sell the set like RafflesDials?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mrsullivan]

I enjoyed the post. Are there other companies that sell the set like RafflesDials?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Bosshua007 does, I'm actually waiting for a Explorer I set from him and will do a quick review too.

Envoyé de mon ELE-L29 en utilisant Tapatalk

 

[KJ2020]

Thank you for the post. I am looking forward to seeing the final outcome and the comparison pics. As well as comparisons to some TD reps of various qualities. I have been thinking of a project like this.
. I also like the UBF better except for the dial color. To me the ARF color was a little better. I have less experience at all this, so my question is. Why do some factories get parts that are more "gen like" than others. For example C'an't they all get their dials from the same place.

Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk

You would benefit from reading the post linked below. Factories get parts from different sources based on availability and cost. The source factories sometimes shut down, move around, etc so it's amazing these reps ever get made.

https://forum.replica-watch.info/fo...nics-within-the-replica-watch-industry-part-1

 

[Thrasher]

Great Thread , Thank You

 

[Stuvetjee]

Seems like you have the wrong clasp. Should be a etched crown in the top clasp, not a coronet on it:

 

[mrsullivan]

Seems like you have the wrong clasp. Should be a etched crown in the top clasp, not a coronet on it:

Well, that's odd, so it's be an error in the package sent?

Envoyé de mon ELE-L29 en utilisant Tapatalk

 

[KJ2020]

Well, that's odd, so it's be an error in the package sent?

Envoyé de mon ELE-L29 en utilisant Tapatalk

I doubt it was an error by Ken, his kit just had a clasp with a welded coronet rather than an engraved one.

 

[mrsullivan]

Watch built!

Everything went ok, until I realized I put the dial upside down on the movement LMAO, but second try was good.

The dial is very solid and fairly thick. The feet are pre-cut and break with a gentle push of a finger. The movement was delivered with it's spacer, wich fit perfectly with the dial. No worries with the hands, so the work to mount everything is reasonably easy, as soon as you have the right tools of course.


The movement holder fits nicely too with the ST2130. Only did I have to cut the stem, not knowing so clearly the right lenght but it ended up ok.

Once screwed on, the crown is not perfectly flush with the case though, the crown/tube threading being a bit rough.



I'm pleasantly surprised with the movement. The Seagull ST2130 engages nice and firm in the different setting positions, winding is firm too, it shows very good specs on the timegrapher and keeps good time so far. Good point.


So here it is, the OP Is built and on the wrist.
First, and this is apart of the Rafflesdials review, I find myself quite seduced by this Rolex model. I honestly always thought the OP was dull, and never had particular interest in it.
Once on the wrist I understand it is a perfectly balanced, well designed and very elegant watch. A bit more « under the radar » than a DJ fluted bezel for sure, but it has a solid presence, the 39mm gives it more « size » than I’d thought. Ok let’s confess it, I like it.



But as good as this Oyster Perpetual watch set can be, there are a few negative points with it.
1. The bracelet look ok but it feels like it’s been cut out of a tin can. I’ll give it a bath to get a better feeling with it. The clasp, well, the clasp is not the right one for the model as some pointed here, and it clips in a rough way. Could be better for sure.

2. Some lints or residue are to be found between crystal and bezel. Don’t know what this is, the waterproofing seem to be ok but I’ll keep an eye on it.


3. The lume. Are the hands supposed to be different color than dial ?



So, what about the watch set offer from Raffles then ?
The whole thing cost me a bit over 200’s € (153€ for the set + 60 € ST2130) + small shipping, wich is far below any replica offer at TD’s (of course I’m not including DH craps in the discussion, it would be irrelevant). So not only is it relatively cheap, but on top of that I had the fun to build the watch. There are a few negative points yes but it allows to have a nice watch, with proper bits for the bucks, on a mid-range quality scale rep.
Some parts are better than others, and need to be checked before you buy, but honestly it’s fun and ends up with a solid rep on the wrist. Liked it !

 

[KJ2020]

Nice bro, looks good! The lume should be all blue or all green. Most of these models had Superluminova (green) but I saw a gen recently with Chromalight (blue-green).

 

[Zulu44gmt]

My first DIY was a Yuki... So much fun ????... Looks great! I thought Ken had left the rep world...good to know he's still active. Every bracelet, doesn't matter if it's a gen or rep I have to file/chamfer the edges and give it an oil bath. Otherwise it's doesn't feel right... I do have a ETA2824 laying around....might have to chase down this...

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk

 

[Stuvetjee]

you did a great job there! Lume needs to be the same color as the dial, also it seems the hands are not correct for the 114300 as they are too short. Nonetheless nice little build mate

 

[mrsullivan]

you did a great job there! Lume needs to be the same color as the dial, also it seems the hands are not correct for the 114300 as they are too short. Nonetheless nice little build mate

Thank you.
All right, I'll send a quick mail to Rafflesdials to explain the hands are the wrong and see what can be done about it. Don't want to hassle them here of course, they're friendly, but just to make it right.

Envoyé de mon ELE-L29 en utilisant Tapatalk