I agree with you, this helps to compare https://forum.replica-watch.info/th...to-v3-with-4302-all-in-one-movement.10917856/
I would put V3 ZF to First Class++, as you said dial is supreme and I would not directly care about the back. It's as good as it gets really.
I have a comparison on my profile of the ZF dial to gen. It can be hard to tell in pictures, but the gen dial is absolutely breathtaking in person and the differences are night and day. I personally think you’d need a gen dial and maybe a set of hands for the 15400 to be NWBIG. The APSF V3 hands look super promising, I might add them to my Franken once legend examines the v3 in person.IMO, from pictures of both recent ZF & APS 15500 dials they look a decent bit off from gen where I would notice if someone showed me the watch. I've only ever owned a 15400 gen, but from the 15500 I've tried on in store the sunburst/tapisseries would be really hard to replicate.
The ZF 15400 with clone movement w/ a black dial seems the closest to gen for me, but only because the black kinda limits the sunburst effect even on the gen. The ZF 15400 w/ a white dial probably has the best sunburst IMO from pictures, but side by side to a gen white dial its pretty different also. I have a chef friend who lives nearby that often wears her 15500 in white that is one of the most stunning watches I've seen someone wear. One day
I have unfortunately never seen a blue boutique AP dial in person, but I can speak on the black dial. The black is definitely closest to gen, and is harder to tell. In person, I feel like the tappisserie is just completely perfect on the gen, as well as the font. You can see minute imperfections on the ZF dial that gen does not have. Note I do not have as much experience with the black dial as with the white, the only comparison I had with my old ZF was a friend’s gen 15400. I would definitely go with the black dial if you don’t want to franken the watch. It seems blue AP dials are hard to replicate, as seen on other models like the 15202.
