Comprehensive Guide to Clone Movements Found in Rolex Reps

[dogwood]

Is there any difference in quality between the VS3135 AND VS3235 movement?
thanks

Both are excellent movements. But they aren’t really comparable since they go in different watches. The vs3135 goes in the 40mm submariner. And the vs3235 goes in the 41mm submariner and the 36 and 41mm datejust.

That said, I happen to think the vs3235 is one of the best clone movements I’ve ever worked on. It’s a joy to service.

 

[DVILL]

Both are excellent movements. But they aren’t really comparable since they go in different watches. The vs3135 goes in the 40mm submariner. And the vs3235 goes in the 41mm submariner and the 36 and 41mm datejust.

That said, I happen to think the vs3235 is one of the best clone movements I’ve ever worked on. It’s a joy to service.

thank you dogwood - appreciate the response.

 

[johnchpark]

Fantastic info.
Would love to see some updates on movement reliabilities, especially with the newer Daytona and GMT mvmnts.
An update on something like on r/RepTime would be helpful in the future.
https://www.reddit.com/r/RepTime/comments/x1pccz

 

[Bolduc Zogmar]

Very impressing work, thank you so much dogwood !

I just got a VSF114060 (M2M), with a VS3130, which is running real fast, like at least 30s+ a day. How can I regulate it ? I'm a complete noob with this kind of stuff. Should I push (vey lightly) the green arrow arm (regulator) towards the red arrow arm (beat adjustor) to lose time, or the contrary ?

Thank you for your help.

 

[dogwood]

Very impressing work, thank you so much dogwood !

I just got a VSF114060 (M2M), with a VS3130, which is running real fast, like at least 30s+ a day. How can I regulate it ? I'm a complete noob with this kind of stuff. Should I push (vey lightly) the green arrow arm (regulator) towards the red arrow arm (beat adjustor) to lose time, or the contrary ?

Thank you for your help.

It’s very hard to regulate a watch without a timegrapher to show you the real time results from the changes you make to the regulator arm (green arrow). A cheap time grapher isn’t very expensive, and there are time grapher USB microphones you can get for your computer (~$40 on AliExpress). I’ve found that smartphone timegrapher apps aren’t very good.

But yes… if you have steady hands and a time grapher, then you should be able to regulate the watch.

 

[Bolduc Zogmar]

Thank you for your answer. I'll see what I can do with a microphone and an app (if I can find one for Mac).
Just to be sure : to slow down the watch I must push the regulator towards the beat regulator, right ?

 

[dogwood]

Thank you for your answer. I'll see what I can do with a microphone and an app (if I can find one for Mac).
Just to be sure : to slow down the watch I must push the regulator towards the beat regulator, right ?

Yes, regulator towards beat adjustor will slow the rate. But it’s extremely sensitive.

 

[Bolduc Zogmar]

Thank you. I will proceed very lightly, but it's gaining at least 30" a day, maybe close to 1mn. I'll wear it for a while, then do precise measuring. We'll see.

 

[ExtraExtra]

Anyone know if the VR3135 is a straight replacement for SA3135 found in Noob 43mm Deepsea?

 

[KJ2020]

Anyone know if the VR3135 is a straight replacement for SA3135 found in Noob 43mm Deepsea?

Yes it will be a straight swap.

 

[NdBnkr]

I agree with everyone here, what a wonderful guide.

I would like just a little clarification on VS3235 vs VR3235 and VR3230

If I just wanted rock solid reliability and durability and didn’t care if it was more “Gen like” would the VR3235 or VR3230 be the better choice for a 12 series Sub?

 

[jacquy]

I saw also SA3235

 

[dogwood]

I agree with everyone here, what a wonderful guide.

I would like just a little clarification on VS3235 vs VR3235 and VR3230

If I just wanted rock solid reliability and durability and didn’t care if it was more “Gen like” would the VR3235 or VR3230 be the better choice for a 12 series Sub?

I’d suggest the vs3235 since it has a shock setting for the escape wheel whereas the vr3235 and vr3230 don’t have a shock setting for the escape wheel. The shock jewel setting will make the movement slightly more immune to damage from knocks.

 

[aHero]

I’ve been staring at this but just don’t have the trained eyes. Is this SH or VR? I think it’s VR?

 

[dogwood]

I’ve been staring at this but just don’t have the trained eyes. Is this SH or VR? I think it’s VR?

Yup it’s a VR v1… easy way to tell: Black dot on the beat adjustor, screw on the end of the beat adjustor (not the side). That’s a nice movement.

 

[aHero]

Yup it’s a VR v1… easy way to tell: Black dot on the beat adjustor, screw on the end of the beat adjustor (not the side). That’s a nice movement.

Slowly learning. Thanks for the confirmation!!

 

[Dano636]

Amazing guide... thank you so much!

 

[Buythedip]

Legendary post!
It’s interesting to see that some newer releases are more expensive but with worse movements on some TD websites.

I am sure there are adjustments to other areas of these new releases, but in many cases I suspect you are paying a premium for a new release, when in reality you are not necessarily getting a better, more reliable watch.

 

[raytron]

This post is amazing and super interesting to read. Thanks for the effort in summarizing all that.

 

[daytonadude]

I’ve been seeing some confusion around VR vs SH, as if these factories are actually one and the same? This is recently relevant to the new series of VR3131 listed as the movement on GMF v2 Milgauss watches or the new VR3255 for DayDates. Before, at least for a Milgauss with a clone movement, it was listed as an A3131, further adding to the confusion.

Ideally I would buy a VS3135, remove the date position, and swap it for one of these clones, but I’m not sure if the anti-magnetic second caseback might complicate that.