Blue Aquanaut(s)

[Route66]

Does it deteriorate quickly over time or do you just have to be gentle and it will stay fine?

It actually depends on the rep watch itself: some rep's (VSF Omega SMP's for instance) intrinsically suffer from threads stripping on crown/tube much more than other ones.
Unfortunately, I have no experience about how 3KF PP's behave.
Anyway, always be gentle and don't over-tighten.

 

[Seb75]

Received the KMF version yesterday ! Still need to take pictures in daylight and compare it with the 3KF. Size difference (40/42) seems really huge when you realize its only 2 mm we're talking about ! The KMF will end up on my wife's wrist, first rep for her too !

 

[Seb75]

Both are quite different, beyond the size, but no one is really wrong. Rep world !

 

[Route66]

Is lug width equal to 21 mm on the 40 mm rep and 22 mm on the 42 mm one?

 

[Seb75]

Exactly !
Rubber quality seems to be the same between 3KF and KMF. Clasp joins perfectly on both models, unlike some pictures I've seen here and there.

 

[Seb75]

So... after some use, I find little to say about the esthetics of the KMF or 3KF.
Regarding straps, I would say they are equivalent, cant really distinguish the texture/color. As for the clasp, kinda the same, not exactly alike but frankly very similar. My 3KF is closing perfectly, all is aligned and tight. Might be the way I cut the rubber (left quite some piece of it on the strap side when cutting chunks).
KMF reliability : still in the works (im not the one wearing the watch and its in a daily rotation...).
3KF reliability : my 324 super clone is probably a lemon, two occurences where it actually stop, right after a little noise (like something that got stuck). Had to reset the time with the crown and it runs ok then. We'll see how it goes and if it evolves/deteriorates.

Im thinking about getting a 5168 modded, wondering if I should base it on a 3KF or a ZF version....

 

[Route66]

Both watches look very nice, even size-wise, on the respective wrists!

two occurences where it actually stop

This has happened to me on a brand new watch, thus another kind of, as well.
Have you, by chance, wound the watch manually?
Mine had this behavior when manually overwound.

 

[Seb75]

Nope havent wound it manually at all, fearing to destroy its fragile heart !
I wonder if its related to any mechanical shock sensitivity, although I cant trace back any specific shock on the hand etc. Will try to correlate the next occurence.
How has your watch been since ?
Otherwise it seems to keep good time and I have seen power reserve of about 30-35 hours.
Im gonna use it daily for the next week or so and try to figure out patterns if any.
Im not used to reps so dont really know what to expect, reliability-wise. I know that I have never serviced any gen, simply because they just run perfectly.

Thanks for the compliments, the 42mm doesnt feel that big, its very nice and unconspicuous (I have very few watch-friends). I have a couple of JLC memovoxes that are quite thick because of the alarm, I always wish they'd be a bit thinner

 

[Route66]

How has your watch been since ?

Yes, fingers crossed!
I have performed some power reserve test on it, with the watch standing on a shelf for a couple of weeks.
I did start with 10 turns and check the PR, then each 3 days I did increase the turns by 5 and check the PR.
At the end of the test, I found out that 25 turns provides the max power reserve on that watch. Winding it with more turns is actually counter-productive.
Now, if it's out of PR and I'm going to wear it actively, I just wind it by 10 turns, no more.

I wonder if its related to any mechanical shock sensitivity, although I cant trace back any specific shock on the hand etc

Maybe it's still not the case, but I will tell you anyway: never manually change the date between 9 PM and 3 AM (circa), because date change wheels are already/still engaged on that time frame and you risk damaging them.

 

[Seb75]

I havent tried to change the date on the 324SC, I never do it since in a rotation its always off anyway.
Would it be problematic to change the time as well during that timeframe 21h-03h ?
Anyway, seems like the hours hand is a bit off (advancing a little bit) so I'll need to have the watch/movement serviced anyway.
Looking for someone to do that in France, seems like a struggle !

 

[Route66]

Would it be problematic to change the time as well during that timeframe 21h-03h ?

Absolutely not

 

[Seb75]

that's what I thought !

 

[Seb75]

For those asking, my wife wrist is 14,5 cm and her strap is sized at 15 cm. It does work well with the 5167 size albeit after cutting a lot of the strap away

 

[Seb75]

Out of curiosity I ordered from Buystrap a set of ZF Clasp & 22mm blue strap. To be honest, the look & feel is similar to the 3KF that came with the watch and that I am very satisfied of. I guess it was improved at some point compared to what people were saying, long ago, regarding the 3KF clasp quality compared to the ZF.

 

[Seb75]

I keep on with the thread... Been comparing pictures of 5168 3KF on the forum as well as gen 5168 out of websites, IG and so one, here are my "findings".

5168G-001, the blue one , released 2017
In 2017 it came with the 324 SC and an Aquanaut clasp (in WG) with the same shape already seen on the 5167.
In 2021, it was updated with the 26-330 SC (rotor with different curves), while its clasp was still the regular Aquanaut shape.
In 2022, the clasp was updated to be the same as the green 5168. That clasp shape is also seen on other Aquanauts on Patek's website.

5168G-010, the green one, released 2019
In 2019, it came with the 324 SC and a clasp (WG) with a different (new) shape.
In 2021, it was updated with the 26-330 SC (rotor with different curves).

Now, looking at the two pieces on the picture (3KF and KMF), we can see that the 3KF has indeed the right rotor shape & markings that of a 26-330, although that the gen movement is visually similar to the regular 324 SC.

I have ordered a 5168G blue from ZF, will see how it goes !
Cheers,
Seb

 

[Seb75]

Update : received QC pictures from JTime.
Damn those QC pictures are well done, better than Trusty or EU Stock.
First feedback : the ZF 5168G has the "old" clasp and the "old" rotor, which is on par with the original 5168 2017 release and subsequent ZF offering.
So far, the dial irregularities I found on my 3KF are not present on the ZF, there is however a generic difference on the dial between the gen (inc. 3KF) and the ZF, I will discuss it later on.
I'll keep updating this thread with my experience & comparisons, if you want more/less just let me know.
Cheers.

 

[Seb75]

Hello everyone (or is it just me in here :-D),
Just unpacked the ZF 5168G-001 from Jtime yesterday. First feedback : delivery was super fast, less than two weeks from GL to receive the parcel in Paris, France. Second feedback : the packaging was top. Last feedback : QC pictures were great (as per accuracy) and the watch delivered still had all its tags on, including ZF. From the three aquanauts I got delivered in the past month or so, this is def the best customer experience so far.
Gonna now to post some comparison pictures between the two 5168G-001 from 3KF and ZF and let you decide which is which (if you can).



After wearing the 3KF for a while, Im now gonna wear the ZF and see how the experience compares to (if at all).

 

[Route66]

Gonna now to post some comparison pictures between the two 5168G-001 from 3KF and ZF and let you decide which is which (if you can).

3KF on the right?

 

[Seb75]

3KF on the right?

Which picture ? There's a trick !

 

[trtr]

Following this very interesting thread as I'm keen on a blue 5168G (I know stainless steel is not the same as white gold) but for the look, I really like the blue.

Really liking the 3KF personally.

@Seb75 great thread and would love to hear your final thoughts.