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Daytona 116500 Black dial Noob V4 Opinions asked

100flessen

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In this thread i will share my opinion on the noob v4 daytona black dial and possible modifications.
Pics i used in this thread are fromscott m which are very nice and perfect to compare different watches.

I am making this thread because this is my favourite watch,
I own a few gen vintage Breitling watches, but the black dial ceramic daytona caught my attention and since it's release i can't think about any other watches.
I have never bought any rep watchess, this watch will be the first rep i will ever buy and i want to make the right decisions without regrets afterwards.
The last 3 years i've been following the daytona rep scene, in the beginning i would go for the arf v2, but since noob came with the 904 steel and fully replicated movement i was sold to noob.

In my opinion the black noob v4 dial is pretty good, the only thing i can spot right away is the O in rolex which is not correct & the silver from the subdials is too shiny.
But other than that, there aren't really other things that bother me.
A possible modification would be to swap the noob v4 dial with an arf.
In comparison to the ARF V3 dial i think the crown on the noob V4 is better but the subdials and text is better on the ARF.

In my opinion i conclude that swapping the Noob V4 dial with the ARF dial is not worth it for me.
Why? Getting my hands on the ARF dial would be very hard and expensive & having someone to modify the dial to fit the noob v4 casing would be would be a big expense.

Another possible modification would be to swap the noob v4 ceramic bezel with the clean factory bezel.
This might be worth to do, the bezels are available as spare parts. The only thing holding me back, is the method to swap out the bezels as i can not find any detailed guides on how it's done.

So the bezel is something i might swap out, for that i'm asking your opinions or experiences with the clean factory bezel in comparison to the noob v4 one.

I based my opinion for the dial mostly on the comparisons from scott m. I modified his comparison of the noob v3 to the arf one and added the noob v4 (i know the allignment of the v4 picture isn't 100% correct.)


My opinion for the bezel i based on this pic also by scott m.




If i buy the watch from a recommended TD, the first thing i will do is getting a full service on the movement by my local watchmaker which is a good friend of mine.
He might also be able to replace the bezel (i'm not sure how it works with the gasket etc...? I think he will though) , but he is not familiar with rep watches.
That's why i prefer not to replace the dial as the shaving of the arf dial might be a too unfamiliar job for him.

Thanks for listening to my opinion, and now i'm curious about yours and your experiences!

Kind regards
 
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Storm.

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Once you see the difference in noob and arf dials side by side, you will swap your noob dial for an arf.

​​​​​​Arf dial is around 100$, shaving and installing it is around 120-150$ dollars additionally.
​​​​​​
 
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p0pperini

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Personally, if I was buying another one, I’d probably get the Noob and keep it completely stock (now they seem to have released a decent one). So my recommendation would be to get the watch, wear it, and after living with it for a time you’ll have a better sense of whether you really need to change anything at all. These reps are so good, and the difference from gen is so minuscule, that no one but you will ever know it’s a rep.

“How black is the bezel” is a non-issue - they’re all dense black ceramic and any difference is down to the lighting it’s photographed under.

The Clean bezel is the tiniest bit more accurate in certain respects, but it has a reputation for paint fade in the markers. This can be fixed of course.

It’s worth considering servicing the watch. Both my Noob Daytonas have been serviced - I bought one already serviced, the other stopped working after a couple of hours use and needed fixing. But if I hadn’t needed to get it done, I’d have worn it till something went wrong, because I’m not big on foresight.

BTW, if you did decide on an ARF dial, you can get the inside of the Noob case milled to take the dial. That’s what ado213 did with my Noob/ARF panda hybrid.
 
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mech500

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I also don’t like the mismatching lume (in daylight) between ARF dial and noob hands. It irritates me eyes unfortunately


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Accord11

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I also don’t like the mismatching lume (in daylight) between ARF dial and noob hands. It irritates me eyes unfortunately


Sent from my iPhone using RWI

That’s why you buy the ARF hands also
 

SuperLory

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I’d buy noob. Keep it stock. Call it a day. No need to mess around with CF bezel and ARf dial or whatever. IMo


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i came to this conclusion as well. And I have done both routes already
 

Accord11

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Everyone is criticizing the Noob v4 dial, and rightfully so, but it seems it’s all about issues with the black dial. Is the Noob white dial filled with issues also making the ARF white dial superior?
 

SuperLory

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Everyone is criticizing the Noob v4 dial, and rightfully so, but it seems it’s all about issues with the black dial. Is the Noob white dial filled with issues also making the ARF white dial superior?

i'm no ANALyst here but generally ARF has better detailing regardless of which version. The problem is, this is now such a minute difference one who is not so fixated can live happily with stock Noob generally speaking
 

Tony Clifton

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That’s why you buy the ARF hands also

As far as I know the ARF Hands (7750 movement) will not fit the Noob (SA4130) without extensive modding. To be honest I have had ARF and Noob Daytonas in the past and do not see much difference between the two handsets. Some other member has also stated some time ago that they come both from the same supplier. However not sure if this is true.
 

ssouthall6

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The donut O bothers me on these noob dials. The only one they got right has been the PN


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p0pperini

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That’s why you buy the ARF hands also

The ARF hands don't fit the Noob 4130 movement.

Here is a great tutorial how you change a (ceramic) bezel on a Daytona:

https://forum.replica-watch.info/fo...to-remove-and-replace-a-ceramic-daytona-bezel
That's a good link to post Tony, I also have it bookmarked and it's a useful guide for anyone who's planning a DIY bezel swap. Coincidentally I've got two Daytonas sat on my desk today - an ARF 116520 v1 and a Noob 116500 with a gen 116520 black dial, Prof crystal and CF ceramic bezel. I'm putting the SS bezel/crystal from the ARF onto the Noob to complete the 116520 look. The Prof crystal is lovely for showing off the gen dial, but I think I prefer the more gen-like reflective look of the ARF glass.
 
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SuperLory

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The ARF hands don't fit the Noob 4130 movement.


That's a good link to post Tony, I also have it bookmarked and it's a useful guide for anyone who's planning a DIY bezel swap. Coincidentally I've got two Daytonas sat on my desk today - an ARF 116520 v1 and a Noob 116500 with a gen 116520 black dial, Prof crystal and CF ceramic bezel. I'm putting the SS bezel/crystal from the ARF onto the Noob to complete the 116520 look. The Prof crystal is lovely for showing off the gen dial, but I think I prefer the more gen-like reflective look of the ARF glass.

pics or it's not happening !!!

Code:
eyecandies please
 

p0pperini

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pics or it's not happening !!!
Haha! Well inevitably (as it's the way all my projects go - no matter how quick and easy they ought to be), this one is still sitting on my desk waiting to happen.

ZnrjF2.jpg


I decided that before I do this I'll take some nice pics of the watches as they are now, so I can do a little before/during/after post. I've been planning to add a photo feature on my Daytona collection some time soon anyway, so this can be part of that.
 
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Tony Clifton

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Haha! Well inevitably (as it's the way all my projects go - no matter how quick and easy they ought to be), this one is still sitting on my desk waiting to happen.

ZnrjF2.jpg


I decided that before I do this I'll take some nice pics of the watches as they are now, so I can do a little before/during/after post. I've been planning to add a photo feature on my Daytona collection some time soon anyway, so this can be part of that.

Really looking forward to this.

I am also planning to swap my bezel, following the instructions by the great Red. At the moment I am just waiting for my bezel removal tool I ordered from Amazon (which has to travel from China to Germany) as I do not want to attack my Daytona with a knife ;) A Crystal press is also here with me to do the re-assembly.

However I am unsure in one point: When installing the bezel, do I press with the die on the crystal or on the bezel to get it flush with the case?

Would be very happy if anyone with experience can answer this question.
 
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p0pperini

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However I am unsure in one point: When installing the bezel, do I press with the die on the crystal or on the bezel to get it flush with the case?
The last time I did this I used a die that cleared the crystal, and applied pressure to the bezel.

It worked great for an SS bezel/crystal combo. However, when I did the same thing to a ceramic bezel that hadn’t been fully seated correctly (by someone else), I cracked the bezel. So you need to be very, very careful that a ceramic bezel is pressed down evenly.
 
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Tony Clifton

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Thank you very much! Will actually change a stainless steel bezel to another stainless steel one. So the Risk that I mess something up is not that big as if I would work on a ceramic one.
 
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823

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Hello,

thanks for this comparison....
Since Noob now is out of business, between Arf and Clean is better in black version?
Arf costs about 480$, Clean 300$ more, 780$

and which one has the best dial in your opinion?

I've just buyed the clean black version but now I see that it seems to have subdials too tick...what do you think?
It is strange because in Jtime photos also the ARF seems to have subdials tick....

clean
dsc_7687_4.jpg

arf

dsc_2559_1.jpg


clean

dsc_7573_6.jpg


arf
dsc_2378_1.jpg






thank you