Comparing an inexpensive black ceramic sub with an expensive sub.

[BustedFlush]

I recently purchased 2 black ceramic subs. One from Mary cost $245, and one from Timeshops for $80.

How do they stack up? Here's some raw numbers and then some observations:

Weight:
Expensive: 5.4 ounces
Cheap: 5.3 ounces

Thickness, deepest part case:
Expensive: 6.1mm
cheap: 5.6mm

Bezel, edge to edge:
Expensive: 40.2mm
Cheap: 40.1mm

Crystal width:
Expensive: 30.1mm
Cheap: 30.1mm

Dial
Expensive: to me, overall seems closer to a gen.
The spots are bigger, whiter.
The text looks nearly identical, even under magnification
Bezel pearl bright white.

However, lume is a weird mess. The dots and hands are green, the straight bars and 12 triangle are blue. WTF?

Cheap: Looks pretty good to my eyes. SWISS MADE fits between the hashes on this one. (Does not on the expensive one). Lume is all blue, hands, markers and pearl.

Rehaut:
Expensive: Much more beveled, wok edged.
Cheap: Much steeper.
I'm really not sure which is closer to gen. I'm going to try to pay more attention the next time I go by an AD.

Bezel: Both are very shiny, and the printing looks identical to me. I can't tell a difference except for the pearl. The cheaper one twists easier.

Band: Both have glidelock clasp, neither has polished center links. Both feel identical. On the extension bars, the expensive one looks almost sandblasted where the Rolex logo is. The coronet at the clasp has come loose and swivels on the expensive one.

"Feel". The expensive one feels heavier, and feels more 'substantial' when winding. The cheaper one feels cheap.

Movement: The expensive one is REALLY smooth. I love it. The cheaper one isn't bad, but the higher heartbeat is noticeable. Both keep good enough time, and I don't pay much attention to the power reserve.

Neither came with a green hologram sticker.

The date on the expensive one has stopped changing over. You can manually adjust it just fine, but it won't change automatically.

That's about all I can think of. Overall, the value of the $80 is damned impressive. The only "bad" thing I can say about it is that it isn't as smooth as the ETA and it is a little light.

I'm really disappointed with the date wheel issue on the $245, and the lume is whack, but I get a lot of compliments on it.

 

[slimslim]

wow the 21j is holding up better than an ETA? i would not have expected that....

 

[TESLA760]

Interesting post. Good info. I'm still learning a lot myself. I know the obvious things to look at , but the more defined stuff is all new to me.

 

[Wiz]

Nice, but .....

 

[CarbonRob]

I'm with Wiz, nice write-up but we neeeeeeeeeed pics!

 

[BustedFlush]

I took some, but I don't have a Photobucket account. Is that the only way to post pictures here?

 

[achyx]

imageshack.us!

 

[BustedFlush]

Anything I don't have to sign up for? I'm taking the family out to dinner. If I can find somewhere to host them I'll try to get some pictures up tonight.

I'm no pro photographer though, and I'm embarrassed to say that I forgot to clean the watches, and fingerprints suck when magnified.

 

[Bonesey]

Yuck, don't recommend imageshack, what a heap of garbage. Havn't people learned by now???

use www.imgur.com

Upload the photos you need, then copy/paste the link they give you with the

tags around it. Tada, all done.

 

[d4m.test]

...taking notes. Very creative & ambitious. Something I believe we all can do to evaluate our watches. Good job!

dave

 

[BustedFlush]

Here they are side by side. Cheaper one on the left. You can really see the differences in the rehaut angle here.

Another shot, different angle. Glare is a bitch.

Face of the expensive one. Note the larger, whiter markers, bright white pearl. I'm really sorry I didn't think to clean them first.

And the cheaper one:

This is the clasp bar of the cheaper one. Notice it lacks the blasted look of the expensive one, but the coronet is solid.

Same shot of the expensive one, with the loose coronet. It's sort of sticky, doesn't rotate quite freely. I can probably fix it with some JB Weld or something if I'm careful, I just haven't done it. See the Rolex logo is much more prominent.

And close ups of the face.

Expensive one:

cheaper one:

I again apologize for the dust and fingerprints.

 

[Bonesey]

I actually think the dial of the cheaper one looks more gen!

 

[BustedFlush]

I actually think the dial of the cheaper one looks more gen!

If you don't mind me asking, in what way, exactly?

I don't have the best eye for detail under the best of circumstances. In those threads where people play games trying to guess the gen out of a series of photos, I never have any idea.

I'm pretty sure the larger white spots on the expensive one are closer to the gen 'maxi dial' used on the ceramics, but now that I have 2 examples that I can compare close up, I really want to take a peek in the window of my local AD.

Despite the pictures, both have a really clean, jet black look to them. Cyclops magnification looks identical too.

 

[Bonesey]

Well this is the gen ceramic sub 116610.

For me, noticeable differences include;

Wokky rehaut - looks like a pie pan!
Off centre pearl - it's actually properly centred on the cheaper one and I think actually looks a little better. It's not perfect though.
I think the lume has been filled too deep on the more expensive version. There should be a noticable silver lining (white gold in the original) around them.
Dial text is crisper on the more expensive one, but the 'swiss made' on the cheaper is correct (might be variations I'm not aware of)

 

[Kb9sxk]

I actually think the dial of the cheaper one looks more gen!

Yep, held my gen next to the computer...The dial on the cheap one wins.

 

[Bonesey]

Well then your only choice is to create a rep-franken. Rip the heart out of the $245 rep and change it with the 21j rep

 

[BustedFlush]

Well this is the gen ceramic sub 116610.

For me, noticeable differences include;

Wokky rehaut - looks like a pie pan!
Off centre pearl - it's actually properly centred on the cheaper one and I think actually looks a little better. It's not perfect though.
I think the lume has been filled too deep on the more expensive version. There should be a noticable silver lining (white gold in the original) around them.
Dial text is crisper on the more expensive one, but the 'swiss made' on the cheaper is correct (might be variations I'm not aware of)

That's a great shot of the gen, thanks for that. I was looking for one just like it. I completely agree with you on the rehaut - "Pie pan" is exactly the right term I to describe it. And of course the "SWISS MADE" is not inside the hashes as it should be. I disagree though on the hour markers. To me, holding both up while looking at this picture, the larger hour markers look much more like the gen. I see what you're saying about the lume, but I will say this - there is enough silver lining to catch the light when you look at it at any angle, and it just didn't photograph well.

 

[Bonesey]

Yeah, could just have been a photographic trick. Neither of them look too bad. But i'd rather wear the cheaper one But yourself a decent high beat ETA online and get a watchsmith to change it out for the cheap 21j and you have a good watch.

 

[BustedFlush]

I had the same thought, but according to this thread, it's not quite that simple.

http://forum.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php/best-movement-swapi-69018?t=69018

Edit: Hey, I just re-read that thread and YOU were the one that made it sound difficult, lol! Small world.....

 

[Bonesey]

Heh, well If you want to keep the current hands then yeah, bit of a pain. But a set of Tudor replacement hands will fit the ETA movements no problem. All you need is a watch maker to replace the movement, grind off the dial legs, stick it on with dial spots, and reset the hands.