It's finally here and its somewhat better than what i expected, especially the date wheel. I will be going over the pro's and con's of the looks of this watch in comparison to the gen.
Finally managed to take some pictures and have time to upload them here for you all to see, if this doesn't sway you to purchase this watch then i don't know what will!
I am waiting eagerly for the Jubilee bracelet as that is what this watch is missing, the Oyster is great but this watch was made for that Jubilee bracelet.
Pros:
- Overall fit and finish is brilliant
- The brushing on the bracelet is super smooth, fine and soft.
- The indices have a gen look and finish with the chamfered edges to match.
- 904L feels solid and the weight is perfectly balanced on the wrist.
- The dial has the gen like finish with the dial turning either into a royal blue or a sunburst teal blue depending on lighting.
- The SEL is arguably the best i've seen on a rep, it's solid and flush against the casing.(maybe subject to QC)
- Gen like date wheel flip, instantly changes at midnight which is great.
- Rehaut engravings are clear and deep enough to notice.
- Clasp opens and closes smoothly and the 5mm adjustment link works like a charm.
- The fluted bezel reflects light like a shimmering disco ball just like the gen.
- Crown screws in and out great and the winding feels sturdy with resistance, not too tough or easy to wind, just balanced well.
Cons:
- The lume is not so bright, it's okay but not the best. It always appears brighter in photos but in person it is average, the REF version has better lume brightness.
- The cyclopsl magnification seems to slightly over magnify the date window and wheel making the edge of the window slightly warped. Magnification not quite gen like.
- The Laser Etched Coronet is there but it is extremely difficult to make out with the naked eye, even difficult with a camera in a macro shot.
- The dial text is not as bold nor thick as the gen. The gen has a much thicker font on the dial especially where it says ROLEX at the top.
- Date wheel text is slightly larger that what it should be, if it was a bit smaller it would have been perfect, changing the crystal could help with this as the cyclops magnification is slightly off.
