ARF GMT 116710 SH3186 photo review

[dc2_bb6_cu2]

I'm hoping they correct it on the next batch. I've got the ARF 116613 LB and the date font looks good to me. I've been told it's too thin but I cant tell.

I dont understand how they can produce one like this then go back to the extra bold font...

I've attached a photo of the date for reference.

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Is this the 3135 or 2824? My 2824 is pretty good but the 3135s tend to run thick.

 

[freediver]

double digits suffer more i think, could you show maybe 28 ?

 

[Princewilliam]

Its as I say, combined with them not really giving a shit.

They are also never wrong, ever


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[pickler]

I got my ARF two tone and the quality is fantastic out of the box. no complaints. I would get the GMT if it had ICHS with a reliable powerhouse. had terrible experiences with SH/SA ARF movements (which are not made by ARF themselves btw).

 

[muiramas]

They are also never wrong, ever


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Yep, you always told them to do it like that, and you are not professional and a liar when they screw it up.

 

[Hazing]

I know a lot of people think the datwheel font is an easy fix but it's not as easy as everyone thinks. At least not in any reasonable, cost effective way. There is a lot that goes into it and the only real solution would be for arf or noob to convert to making the dwo themselves, in house. And that would be possible (but a LOT of work that probably wouldn't be worth it) but not cost effective.

After going to an in house dwo, they could then work on the date, the font, and the overlay. As it is now, the movements are made by a different factory and they're shipped steril. They have no 'Rolex' branding on them so when they're made, they're not made with the intention of copying Rolex font. If they did it take it in house - let's say they decided to take on the work and added the people and equipment to make the overlay, they'd then have to set up to start swapping the overlays.

And even if they did start making and swapping them, there are still a number of variables that would cause variations in the thickness of the font, like the ink they use and the material of the overlay and the printer they use. The humidity in the air (and do you really think they could develop a room with the same humidity levels every day?) The slightest variation in any one of those things will cause more or less bleed which cause the font to print too thin/thick. And causes batches to vary from one to the other. Those will still happen to some extent.

A real and decent dwo would cost real thought, real work, real planning, consistency and most importantly... REAL MONEY.

Lets say they make all these changes and add the people and equipment and add the R&D costs to making a consistent dateweel and there is a slight variation that is anything but perfect and you'd have people complaining like crazy that the watch price went up but the results aren't worth it. They'd still need consistency and considering the settling that's unlikely to happen.

So the question is, should they sell what they have to stay competitive. They're selling. It's something we have to deal with.

If you want perfect, go for a gen. Or at least a gen datewheel.

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[RiffRalf]

I know a lot of people think the datwheel font is an easy fix but it's not as easy as everyone thinks......

A real and decent dwo would cost real thought, real work, real planning, consistency and most importantly... REAL MONEY.

Lets say... you'd have people complaining like crazy that the watch price went up but the results aren't worth it. They'd still need consistency and considering the settling that's unlikely to happen.

So the question is, should they sell what they have to stay competitive. They're selling. It's something we have to deal with.......

Noob are charging $700 for a BLRO with a broken movement and a brown "pepsi" bezel Iinsert and peeps are happily forking over $$$.

If ARF or anyone else were come out with a proper Barman with a good DW, a decent bezel insert and a crystal with a non-AR cyclops wouldn't we all happily part with $1000?

 

[Hazing]

Noob are charging $700 for a BLRO with a broken movement and a brown "pepsi" bezel Iinsert and peeps are happily forking over $$$.

If ARF or anyone else were come out with a proper Barman with a good DW, a decent bezel insert and a crystal with a non-AR cyclops wouldn't we all happily part with $1000?

No. Maybe people on this board but that's a small portion of whats sold. To 99.9999% of the people who buy one of these, the datwheel is fine.


Look at the noob. When it was first released everyone on rwi complained about the price and only a few people complained about the dark red insert color. So the question is "is it worth it?" and they deem that it's not.

And also. Regardless of what they do, I doubt they'd be able to get consistency so the question is "will what they (potentially) do be any better then what they have now?" and there's a real possibility that it won't. It will/may just be different.

For those who want a perfect date wheel, a solution can be had for a reasonable amount of money. Seems like a no brainer to me. Considering the actual economics of ot.

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[RiffRalf]

No. Maybe people on this board but that's a small portion of whats sold. To 99.9999% of the people who buy one of these, the datwheel is fine.


Look at the noob. When it was first released everyone on rwi complained about the price and only a few people complained about the dark red insert color. So the question is "is it worth it?" and they deem that it's not.

And also. Regardless of what they do, I doubt they'd be able to get consistency so the question is "will what they (potentially) do be any better then what they have now?" and there's a real possibility that it won't. It will/may just be different.

For those who want a perfect date wheel, a solution can be had for a reasonable amount of money. Seems like a no brainer to me. Considering the actual economics of ot.

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I fully realize that we ,high end rep buyers are probably a small part of the market and that the bulk of reps are sold at low prices street sellers in developing countries and tourist hot spots but then again we are here and sellers are going through the effort of making QC pics and putting up with people rejecting items for no reason. So there must be something in this market. Why else would they make the effort to clone a Daytona or Omega double barrel coaxial escapement movement or now a GMT clone?

I think they could make money by doing the stuff that people pay modders to do

 

[m5smg2]

No. Maybe people on this board but that's a small portion of whats sold. To 99.9999% of the people who buy one of these, the datwheel is fine.


Look at the noob. When it was first released everyone on rwi complained about the price and only a few people complained about the dark red insert color. So the question is "is it worth it?" and they deem that it's not.

And also. Regardless of what they do, I doubt they'd be able to get consistency so the question is "will what they (potentially) do be any better then what they have now?" and there's a real possibility that it won't. It will/may just be different.

For those who want a perfect date wheel, a solution can be had for a reasonable amount of money. Seems like a no brainer to me. Considering the actual economics of ot.

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I wholeheartedly agree. It’s just that they have the date fonts pretty gen close—not 100%—but close enough on the 2824 so you’d think the font font specs could be carried over to the 3135. Maybe they just have a boat load of these to exhaust. Either way it is head-scratching curious ????

 

[Hinclimincli]

I'd rather have them go back to 316L steel and charge 2016 prices ($350 for a sub). So no, I would never under any circumstances pay $1,000 for a rep even if the datewheel has been handmade by fairies.

 

[NoNations]

I just got my ARF GMT today and the movement is fucked. Got to get it serviced. Got it to wind in one position, date change at 4am once then date stuck...

 

[shortlegs]

I know a lot of people think the datwheel font is an easy fix but it's not as easy as everyone thinks. At least not in any reasonable, cost effective way. There is a lot that goes into it and the only real solution would be for arf or noob to convert to making the dwo themselves, in house. And that would be possible (but a LOT of work that probably wouldn't be worth it) but not cost effective.

This would be true, except that they already had a source with the correct DW font that they used in their previous reps. Even if that source somehow is no longer available, other factories are still getting datewheels with decent fonts too, so obviously there is more than 1 source of datewheels available to factories.

I find it hard to believe that a big factory like ARF would be unable to source for a good DW for their reps, if they tried. So the only logical conclusion is, they don't give a rat's arse about it to bother.

 

[Princewilliam]

Cancelled my ARF GMT and I think this will be the last time I hand over any money for anything made by ARF. I’m well and truly off Puretime’s ARF hype train


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[Vvvlllooo]

I just got my ARF GMT today and the movement is fucked. Got to get it serviced. Got it to wind in one position, date change at 4am once then date stuck...

Picts..this sucks

 

[Vvvlllooo]

This would be true, except that they already had a source with the correct DW font that they used in their previous reps. Even if that source somehow is no longer available, other factories are still getting datewheels with decent fonts too, so obviously there is more than 1 source of datewheels available to factories.

I find it hard to believe that a big factory like ARF would be unable to source for a good DW for their reps, if they tried. So the only logical conclusion is, they don't give a rat's arse about it to bother.

ARF, noob, they don’t care. Majority of the rep look good already, their goal is not to replicate it 100%, then implicate they fixed it in their next version, while downgrading other parts.

 

[wristonfire123]

I wholeheartedly agree. It’s just that they have the date fonts pretty gen close—not 100%—but close enough on the 2824 so you’d think the font font specs could be carried over to the 3135. Maybe they just have a boat load of these to exhaust. Either way it is head-scratching curious ????

My 116613 LB is a 3135 and they've nailed the date font. Even in double digits.

How have they gone from this. (See attached photo) to what's being used in the first batch of the GMT?

They had bold fonts before the 116613 LB release this time last year. They seem to have corrected the error and produced date wheels like the one in the photo.

Then gone back to bold. - This makes me think they've had another batch of bold font datewheels, it cant still be the same ones as last year.

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[wristonfire123]

I just got my ARF GMT today and the movement is fucked. Got to get it serviced. Got it to wind in one position, date change at 4am once then date stuck...

Try setting the time to 0730 and changing the date.

My 3135 some times wont let me change the date until I set the time from 0730-1300. Apprently it's due to a weakness in the spring that makes the date flip. (I think that's why, it was explained to me a few months ago so I cant properly remember)

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[Mike Page]

I'd rather have them go back to 316L steel and charge 2016 prices ($350 for a sub). So no, I would never under any circumstances pay $1,000 for a rep even if the datewheel has been handmade by fairies.

Would have to agree with you budd

 

[NoNations]

Try setting the time to 0730 and changing the date.

My 3135 some times wont let me change the date until I set the time from 0730-1300. Apprently it's due to a weakness in the spring that makes the date flip. (I think that's why, it was explained to me a few months ago so I cant properly remember)

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Only the third position even turns the hands, can't change just the hour hand as it is clunky, doesn't go into first position to wind.