- 27/5/22
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“Deep” crystals for Rolex - a pictorial
- Thread starter alvinado
- Start date
- 13/1/23
- 165
- 229
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Is that a V1 or a V3 dial on the panda?I dont know where people spout this from.
It is obvious that BTF does not use Deep. It only has 1xAR not 2xAR.
The ghost is BTF. The Panda is Deep on Clean.
- 27/5/22
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Absolutely agree with this.
It must be said, however, that the latest Cleans have greatly improved in terms of transparency, from direct experience I'm talking about Daytona and Sub 41...not Sub 40 and strangely GMT (Sprite, therefore not very old production), which actually have the effect "foggy"/"cloudy".
In fact, I'm thinking of refitting the "original" Clean xtals on two Daytona that currently have Deep fitted.
The BTF xtal in my opinion are simply beautiful and also have a Gen like beveled edge which really makes a difference at a general glance of the watch... something that Deep or Clean absolutely do not have, they have more rounded edges and it's very noticeable.
I recently had a franken Datejust put together with a gen crystal among other bits.
I'm really impressed by the clarity of the gen crystal, compared to the VSF crystal on my 126610LN Submariner.
Are the Deep crystals higher quality than VSF? Would fitting a Deep crystal improve the Sub?
I'm really impressed by the clarity of the gen crystal, compared to the VSF crystal on my 126610LN Submariner.
Are the Deep crystals higher quality than VSF? Would fitting a Deep crystal improve the Sub?
The way I think, they are simply different, not better or worse quality.
On a VSF Sub 124060 I only found a very slight reflection distortion in the central part of the crystal, a "defect" that can only be noticed by looking for it, decidedly insignificant, otherwise it's a crystal that I would never change for a Deep.
I saw that this thread is already full of pics about it, but if needed I can try to take some explanatory photos... before any watches go away, there are a couple of them leaving.
@p7ast1k if you have the chance to get a Gen crystal for your Sub, you'll remove all doubts
- 9/11/23
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I just had my vsf replaced with a deep. Unless there’s a something wrong with the vsf crystal or the watch I’d recommend leaving it alone. My deep crystal isn’t as thick as the vsf crystal and I don’t notice any improvement. Just my $0.02
- 25/9/22
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Maybe they are a little thinner, although it may be gasket related, I measured the only non-installed Deep I have, for a lefty GMT which should be equivalent to your Sub, it measures 1.77mm, how thick is your VSF xtal ?
@p7ast1k I took some pics for you and @Mercatino who asked me for info privately.
I used this photo from Xing as a reference, which may be valid for older CFs, a little less for new ones:
So I tried to compare Clean, VSF, Deep and BTF crystals with the same light pointed above:
CF Bluesy 41 and VSF Sub 41:
Cf Bluesy:
VSF Sub 41:
Thickness and edge difference:
CF Bluesy 41 and VSF Sub 40 ((All almost very similar to the crystal of the model 41):
CF Daytona with Deep installed and VSF Sub 41:
CF Daytona with Deep installed and CF Bluesy 41:
CF Daytona with Deep installed and BTF Daytona:
Thickness and edge difference:
@Mercatino here I tried to superimpose the "original" CF xtal on the Deep mounted on the Daytona (which, as I told you, will be removed):
In conclusion, in my very personal opinion, for the Sub 41 VSF or CF there is absolutely no need to install a Deep, except if you want to highlight a particular dial.
For the Sub 40, the xtal VSF is much sharper than the CF (I had to fix one for a friend of mine and it was definitely foggy on the crystal).
For the Daytona, the CF crystal is really acceptable, the BTF is the one I prefer for the more "classic" models, the Deep I will use on more particular projects...let's not forget that the Deep disappears in sunlight, an effect that can be very pleasing, but it distances itself from the Gen feeling:
I used this photo from Xing as a reference, which may be valid for older CFs, a little less for new ones:
So I tried to compare Clean, VSF, Deep and BTF crystals with the same light pointed above:
CF Bluesy 41 and VSF Sub 41:
Cf Bluesy:
VSF Sub 41:
Thickness and edge difference:
CF Bluesy 41 and VSF Sub 40 ((All almost very similar to the crystal of the model 41):
CF Daytona with Deep installed and VSF Sub 41:
CF Daytona with Deep installed and CF Bluesy 41:
CF Daytona with Deep installed and BTF Daytona:
Thickness and edge difference:
@Mercatino here I tried to superimpose the "original" CF xtal on the Deep mounted on the Daytona (which, as I told you, will be removed):
In conclusion, in my very personal opinion, for the Sub 41 VSF or CF there is absolutely no need to install a Deep, except if you want to highlight a particular dial.
For the Sub 40, the xtal VSF is much sharper than the CF (I had to fix one for a friend of mine and it was definitely foggy on the crystal).
For the Daytona, the CF crystal is really acceptable, the BTF is the one I prefer for the more "classic" models, the Deep I will use on more particular projects...let's not forget that the Deep disappears in sunlight, an effect that can be very pleasing, but it distances itself from the Gen feeling: