A few pictures here to compare the differences between the APSF and the Gen dials.
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15400 Dial APSF vs Gen
- Thread starter WatchNoobs
- Start date
finally managed to get the dial and datewheel out. Im posting a few photos comparing both of them.
finally managed to get the dial and datewheel out. Im posting a few photos comparing both of them.
dashindark
Renowned Member
- 20/4/17
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Am I half blind or are the rep and gen dials look similar? I was told earlier that APS dials are nowhere close to gen ones.
Wacht
Renowned Member
- 6/7/20
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I believe it's quite close. But when the light hits the apsf dial it will show what will look like lighting artifacts. This because the slanted sides of the reliefs are jagged. The blue color is a bit too light, but not that it bothers more than aforementioned. The print is also pretty weak
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I think they are quite different. The gen one is darker, the prints are finer, sunburst is quite clear. You can see the quality difference. On the other hand, the apsf one goes bling bling under sunlight which is way too much, color is def on the lighter side. Its a bit hard to capture all these on photos but in person u can see the differences. For the trained eye its quite easy to tell.
- 31/3/14
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What a difference with the blue gen dial , also the text Swiss made is way more accurate. Also dial color is more rich on the gen blue dial
- 1/2/17
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Nonetheless, pretty sure it’s uncalloutable on the wrist. Like what legend always says, the differences to Gen are mostly academic at best.
Thanks so much for your comparisons, really love it. I’m getting the Blue Dial APSF now and probably not gonna mod it for the time being, gonna wear it OOTB. The dial is as good as it can get.
hahaha its all good! no scratchesthe gen dial sitting face down on fabric giving me anxiety
i think the difference is more obvious in person. Its hard to capture everything on photo. At least to me, when seeing them side by side there is big difference. The tone of the blue is different, its much lighter in the APSF and the sunburst is also very different. Obviously to the average person it will still look good but for someone who understands and knows i think its a very easy tell.
The color of the APSF dial isn't a tell. There are at least 3 different shades of the gen blue 15400 dial and the APSF replicates one of them well enough. You need to compare the correct shade of the gen blue dial vs the APSF one to understand the meaningful difference. What you have in hand is not THE gen blue 15400 dial but one of the variants.
Interesting! do you have a comparison of the different shades of blue? Given your comments I would assume, there is a lighter shade which could be the one from APSF, the darker one (the one i have) and maybe a one that has a stronger metallic effect? Cheers!
You can easily do a search online for the variations. Your gen dial is actually a transition one with the new logo but the older color, possibly from late 2016 to mid 2017. The latest 15400 blue dial comes with a much deeper blue which looks completely different from either of the dials you have shown. Your observations are valid though, but you do need to be aware you are comparing the APSF dial vs a single variant so to comment on color accuracy you need to know which variant the APSF dial is replicating. I know it is not the latest gen dial so that leaves 2 other possibilities.
One thing though: whichever gen dial it is, the APSF dial will not measure up in terms of the refined quality of the tapisseries and also the surface finish. I do maintain, that the differences in a real life "on the wrist" setting will be largely academic. When the dial is installed on a watch and is under a crystal about 3-5 ft away, it will not be possible to call it out as a rep for most.
Extract the dial and place them side by side, and the differences become obvious in a forum setting, for discussion purposes. The quality of a gen AP Royal Oak dial cannot be replicated well even today, but remains visually passable on the wrist in real life. Thank you for sharing, your observations remain valid for the variation of the gen dial you are using.
agree with you! thank you for sharing, I appreciate it. Learning something new everyday.
This is an example of the latest 15400 dial (circa 2018), which comes with a blue which is more vibrant and deeper in color.
The 2015 blue dial and 2016-2017 blue dial are both different, with logo and color variations as well.
The 2015 blue dial and 2016-2017 blue dial are both different, with logo and color variations as well.
None of us, not one, has perfect knowledge in this hobby and nobody should pretend to do so.
We are all here to learn and I really appreciate threads like yours too. It takes effort and time to post your observations with nice accompanying clear pictures.
A guy I will like to give a shout out to in this arena is @j21 that guy certainly knows how to build a very good 15400 franken. Of course like everyone else he is limited to the parts available in the market but the dude knows his ways around the gen parts variations like a pro.
you can also tell by the "swiss made" print, looks different from the previous versions.This is an example of the latest 15400 dial (circa 2018), which comes with a blue which is more vibrant and deeper in color.
The 2015 blue dial and 2016-2017 blue dial are both different, with logo and color variations as well.