I got my BP 316L version with the A2824 last week and the bracelet wasn't very flexible at some joints and squeaked in some others. Gave it a baby oil bath for a few hours and got rid of the residual oil between the surfaces with some relatively soft solvent. No, cleaning it off with solvent until it's perfectly dry isn't going to reduce the effect of the oil bath because the oils should have sunk into the pins and holes pretty thoroughly if you bathe it for hours and move it around while it's in the oil bath. Result was amazing! Did it for some other watches including expensive gens with similar squeaks and tightness. Honestly had no idea baby oil bath was so effective. Instantly transformed the BP's bracelet into something that feels as good as well worn gens.
The watch itself has some disappointing flaws. Dial came misaligned ever so slightly which I couldn't tell in the QC pics. I adjusted it myself and now it's perfect but rehaut isn't aligned perfectly although that's only off by 0.5 degrees or less. Crown stem and crown are not straight and endlinks aren't that good either but commensurate with most BPF explorer 1 photos I've seen around. Lume is quite accurate against gen, not super blue but the BP could be brighter with the indexes. The hands stay slightly brighter for a bit longer but the lume is pretty satisfactory. Crystal is about as good as it can get.
Overall it's a real looker now the dial misalignment is fixed and feels much nicer than even a Sinn 556. Super iconic design and one for the ages. The Explorer 1 is definitely worth buying in gen as well as rep/s
Really just the perfect watch.
Sorry no pics handy at the moment, may update with some pics of watch and movement. Movement seems to be a PT5000 which I noticed is also being used by other factories in other watch models and "brands". PT5000 as A2824 seems to be what the factories are now using. Easy to regulate yourself and honestly prefer the utilitarian finish with no decoration when caseback is solid.
