APSF and ZF Royal Oak 15500 w 4302 clone caliber

[Dienekes]

Suspect the weight of the rotor is insufficient, along with poor lubrication/too much friction. Got mine, love the watch but yes the rotor always looks stuck. Compared to other watches whose rotor just wants to whiz round and round!

Both my watches behave differently in this regard, so I hope the weight itself is not the culprit (although, as it's not made of gold like gen, it might be). I saw this video on YT the other day where an AP diver needed to be properly serviced in order to make the rotor spin freely (as it should). I needed to do it anyway with my white dial one, so at least we will know it the problem persist due to the rotor itself

 

[vodamerc]

Yep, unfortunately... I own two ZF's 15500 v3s. Will have to get both serviced. One doesn't work properly OOTB (sports few issues like loose cannon pinion, poor power reserve, sticky rotor, un-pushable crown after hand wind), the second one does (tells time), but the rotor is loud and doesn't do much in terms of winding up the watch to the level of keeping the same performance on a daily basis.

Tad out of topic, but sort of a PSA: One needs to check case back in ZF's 15500 right after receiving one. I bought two and in both watches case back wasn't screwed all the way down (up ) to the point I could see, looking from the side, screws and light on the other side of the watch. Terrible QC at the factory, rep or not. Easy fix, but still.

I did another test over the weekend. 65 hours power reserve but the automatic winding doesn't work at all, a good shake starts it for a minute or so. Rotor spins freely but is very loud. Sounds your second watch and mine have the same issues.

 

[vodamerc]

My case back was also very loose.

 

[grillbrill]

I did another test over the weekend. 65 hours power reserve but the automatic winding doesn't work at all, a good shake starts it for a minute or so. Rotor spins freely but is very loud. Sounds your second watch and mine have the same issues.

If the movement is an unidirectional automatic winding caliber then the rotor usually spins freely in the non winding direction and it reluctantly rotates in the winding direction. In cases of some (all?) calibers the more power the watch has the harder the rotor (especially the light weight one) moves in the winding direction. Based on my experiences imho good rep (and gen) automatic watches should keep the power at least on an appropriately set winder, regardless the rotor material.

Unfortunately I don't own this watch or the movement so I cannot check them out.

 

[vodamerc]

Looks like I need some parts to fix my brand new movement, the reverse wheels are shot.

Anyone know if it’s possible to obtain parts for this movement? My dealer says not.

 

[flogtwo]

Yeah, I just got the ZF 15500 last month and my rotor is sticky (or not heavy enough) and my power reserve gets maybe 35 hours tops

 

[Replover6]

My ZF 15500 V3 was delivered 2 days ago. Although I was very excited to receive it initially, the bracelet has very rough edges on the inside and is not comfortable to wear compared to my gen submariner. I have attached a picture of the edges I am referring to for the community to take a look at.

Is the lack of polishing/rounding of the inside edges normal and seen on gen? Is the gen bracelet also not comfortable?

 

[pam63C]

My ZF 15500 V3 was delivered 2 days ago. Although I was very excited to receive it initially, the bracelet has very rough edges on the inside and is not comfortable to wear compared to my gen submariner. I have attached a picture of the edges I am referring to for the community to take a look at.

Is the lack of polishing/rounding of the inside edges normal and seen on gen? Is the gen bracelet also not comfortable?

Indeed, the underside of the ZF bracelet is not beveled. That's one of the reason I choose an APSF which has beveled bracelet on all sides among many other factors.

 

[Guiltycat]

My ZF 15500 V3 was delivered 2 days ago. Although I was very excited to receive it initially, the bracelet has very rough edges on the inside and is not comfortable to wear compared to my gen submariner. I have attached a picture of the edges I am referring to for the community to take a look at.

Is the lack of polishing/rounding of the inside edges normal and seen on gen? Is the gen bracelet also not comfortable?

Kind of strange comparing it to a gen watch bracelet that isn’t even remotely similar

 

[CaliberDisaster]

After 4 months of ownership:


-rotor never moved freely since day 1.

-watch back came loose OOTB literally none of the screws were tightened, def not water proof

-movement screw became loose and fell between backglass and movement, see pocture below.

overall pretty disappointed for a watch that was "QC" approved by a TD from here.

Would not recommend unless you are planning on doing work to it.

 

[UkBionic]

After 4 months of ownership:


-rotor never moved freely since day 1.

-watch back came loose OOTB literally none of the screws were tightened, def not water proof

-movement screw became loose and fell between backglass and movement, see pocture below.

overall pretty disappointed for a watch that was "QC" approved by a TD from here.

Would not recommend unless you are planning on doing work to it.

interesting, might open it up again to make sure screws are tightened. Not sure why people were raving about this watch

 

[legend]

interesting, might open it up again to make sure screws are tightened. Not sure why people were raving about this watch

The design of the clone movement is a step forward and actually rather impressive. The execution of the assembly and QC procss, maybe not always from what I see. You may wish to send it for service and maintenance and get all these minor but annoying issues sorted out. so that you can enjoy the watch more fully.

 

[Dienekes]

Our, numerous issues with ZF's watches only prove the wise word of the Legend himself - Bought a rep? Get it serviced. If it works, give it a 6 months, but in our cases, do it ASAP.

ZF's quality control is a joke. Same goes for VSF. From my experience, they intentionally push out faulty watches (stains on a dial around Omega logo and scuffed lume markers for example). I know, I know. We are talking about 500 dollars replicas, right? Thing is, I've seen hundreds of perfectly fine reps, so messed up ones should not be a standard which we are forced to accept with "It's a rep bro, whaddaya expect bro" mantra.

 

[UkBionic]

Our, numerous issues with ZF's watches only prove the wise word of the Legend himself - Bought a rep? Get it serviced. If it works, give it a 6 months, but in our cases, do it ASAP.

ZF's quality control is a joke. Same goes for VSF. From my experience, they intentionally push out faulty watches (stains on a dial around Omega logo and scuffed lume markers for example). I know, I know. We are talking about 500 dollars replicas, right? Thing is, I've seen hundreds of perfectly fine reps, so messed up ones should not be a standard which we are forced to accept with "It's a rep bro, whaddaya expect bro" mantra.

Yes that's right, i have had lots of reps in the same price ballpark but varying degrees of quality. The movement does look nice but i'll definitely be getting it serviced. Just need to compare prices of a service within the UK. I would like to keep it for a long time - if it lasts 5 years ill consider it money well spent as the white dial (despite not being gen like?) is really lovely. And the crystal is great too.

 

[Dienekes]

Yes that's right, i have had lots of reps in the same price ballpark but varying degrees of quality. The movement does look nice but i'll definitely be getting it serviced. Just need to compare prices of a service within the UK. I would like to keep it for a long time - if it lasts 5 years ill consider it money well spent as the white dial (despite not being gen like?) is really lovely. And the crystal is great too.

I do too reckon it's well worth it. I own black and silver/white 15500 from ZF and they look and feel amazing. With proper service, they should run for years, like any other automatics would. Those high end gens do fail sometimes too, so...

 

[CaliberDisaster]

The design of the clone movement is a step forward and actually rather impressive. The execution of the assembly and QC procss, maybe not always from what I see. You may wish to send it for service and maintenance and get all these minor but annoying issues sorted out. so that you can enjoy the watch more fully.

Who do you recommend for full service?

 

[legend]

Who do you recommend for full service?

Try any of the watchsmiths or modders in the trusted modders section and choose someone close to you or someone you’re comfortable with.

 

[locvs]

I’ve had no problems whatsoever with my ZF 15500.
only thing I did was tighten all the screws as some of them were quite loose.

but this is a know issue with ZF - QC is lacking to non existent. Some watches are perfect OOTB, others have glaring issues.

VSF is a bit better but even with them I had loose screws in the movement. Luckily fixable with a screwdriver and no bigger issues so far.

 

[raytron]

I am too very disappointed with my ZF v3. As a matter affect it just stopped again while being on my wrist. Terrible quality.

And I have to say that one can expect good quality especially for a 600USD replica. You should get a working product. If there are Michael Kora watches for 400 USD that are more reliable then a rep should be too.

So I guess if these rep factories want to prosper in the future they must QC their products. If that’s not possible at the price point then just make it 100$ more expensive…

 

[legend]

I am too very disappointed with my ZF v3. As a matter affect it just stopped again while being on my wrist. Terrible quality.

And I have to say that one can expect good quality especially for a 600USD replica. You should get a working product. If there are Michael Kora watches for 400 USD that are more reliable then a rep should be too.

So I guess if these rep factories want to prosper in the future they must QC their products. If that’s not possible at the price point then just make it 100$ more expensive…

The Chinese clone movements are not perfect in terms of reliability and cleanliness but they can be cleaned, serviced and regulated properly. We should be thankful they are making these, providing a base to improve upon, upgraded and frankened. You’ve obviously made your choice between the Michael kors watch and this and being a replica AP and a fashion watch there is simply no comparison.
You have the choice of a gen AP Royal Oak, a replica one and of course the Michael Kors you mentioned. Reps shouldn’t be compared with gens or fashion watches as they are in a league all of their own. Given time and resources the watches can be made more reliable and definitely the stoppage and other movement issues can be resolved. Be patient and seek the right avenue to get these issues resolved by a modder or watchsmith here. The clone 4302 movement is a wonderful progress in the hobby from the rattly tin can of a miyota. Of course one shouldn’t expect it to work like the gen out of the box. This is one of the pitfalls of replica watches especially those with clone movements. Part and parcel of the game. Good thing is that it’s an issue which can be resolved fairly easily, don’t give up.