I have tried to understand this "noobfactory" business also when I read great reviews of this watch in various versions. After much work I have concluded that Fakemaster's assumptions and logic are about as accurate as we are going to get at this point in time. The case number can still be found, you can see photos of it on some dealer sites but, of course, who knows if it really is the same case. They can easily just keep stamping the same number on any case they produce and they must be doing this as Fakemaster can personally attest to since he has measured the cases. It seems you can judge a "noobmariner" by certain characteristics of the dial and rehaut. But, you cannot do that until after you have received a watch you ordered. Also, Fakemaster is absolutely correct that these allegedly "great points" offered by the "perfect" noobfactory dial, cannot even be seen by the naked eye at normal viewing distance (I have tried) so this becomes all "much ado about nothing." Some dealers claim they can "get" the genuine "noobfactory" watch of certain reproductions (such as the SS sub, the TT sub, the Explorer II, and the GTM - at least those are the claims I have heard personally). But are they really made in the same "famous factory" and is there even one "noob" factory at all? When I ask dealers for the name and location of this factory they all tell me it is a "business secret" and they deal with a factory "representative." You, or at least I, just cannot get any closer to the truth. The wall is up and we can never get through it if the dealers will not talk. I suspect the factory, if there is one, is located in Guangzhau because I specifically ordered advertized "noobmariners" sent to me by EMS so I could check where they were dropshipped and both times they were mailed from Guangzhau. I then tried connecting with a seemingly very honest dealer living in Guangzhau who don't claim to carry "noobfactory" watches in the hopes he new about this factory would talk. But he only said: "Sorry, I cannot tell you, it is a business secret." So I finally just gave up. If By-Tor's nicely photographed reviews are accurate, there are some great reproductions out there; but there is no way you are I are going to be able to be sure we have ordered, or are receiving, the same watch as reviewed by By-Tor. A dealer needs to link to reviews posted here and guarantee he is providing the same watch. I guess all one can do is to compare what you received with the review to see it it matches. Finally, lets not abandon our common sense. If there was some great factory out there in China, it would have a name like Guangzhau Watch Factory Number Five (I understand that is a real name of a real factory) or Lotus Blossom or Flying Pig, etc. It would NEVER EVER be called the "Noobfactory." That name must have been invented by dealers to note a factory where they can get low cost watches that would appeal to first time buyers (noobies). The answer is in the name after all. It was a marketing handle invented by dealers, not a real factory name. Until the industry standardizes or until some dealer guarantees he will provide the same watch as reviewed here [link to the review], we are just going to have to use many factors in our evaluation of a watch and get off the "noobfactory" fixation. I have a number of "noobfactory" watches in which the dials do match the photos of the "perfect noob dial" I see posted here and in other forums. I also have Fakemaster watches. I can personally attest my Fakemaster watches are heads and shoulders above my "noobmariners" in fit and finish. So I am no longer searching for noobmariners and ordering lots of Fakemaster mariners. I hope my experience is of some assistance to others.
