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Daytona 126500 Panda Comprehensive Comparison(Gen,Clean,VSF,APS,QF)

steve_theonewatches

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Hello, everyone

This is steve,we will present the detailed comparison of 126500 Panda Daytona between the Clean, VS, APS and the Gen this time.

Front View
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Photos Under Lighting View
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Under the same indoor white lighting, the dials from Clean, VS, and QF have a slightly cool white tone, while APS leans toward a pure white. To the naked eye, the dial color of APS is the closest to the Gen.

Bezel & Crystal View
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The crystal heights from all four factories match the Gen. Clean has updated the crystal on the 1265xx Daytona and there is no obvious improvement after swapping to the Deep crystal.

The chamfer of the crystal edge of Clean is more rounded , which is slightly different from the Gen.

Bezel Engraving View
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Since the Gen has been in use for a while, the markers have slight yellowing and smudges. The ceramic bezels from Clean, VS, and QF appear to come from the same accessories factory,with similar numeral font and engraving depth.

However, the bezel from the APS is the most closest to the Gen, with more accurate numeral markers thickness and depth. The index scale below the numeral is also slimmer, and the triangular scale is sharper, which is clearly different from the other three factories.

Dial Crown and Markers
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The dials of Clean and VS come from the same accessories factory,which is the closest to the Gen. the dial markers from the QF is similar to the Clean and VS but with minor differences.

APS is no polished triangular scale for the stick markers, appears to more tough.

(dial markers from the QF is also good, but it seems to be from the other provider, you could make a comparison and choose one you prefer)

Hands and Lume Fill
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All four factories have lume fills with a slight pale green tint. Initially, I assumed this was just a characteristic of the lume, but after comparing all five watches under the same lighting,the Gen markers color remained unchanged and consistent with the dial color.

The watches from the other four factories showed the light green effect shown in the picture.

Dial Printing
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Clean and VS dials have slightly wider spacing between the three letters "TER" in "CHRONOMETER" below the crown than the Gen.

The APS has the correct spacing, but the overall font on the dial is thinner than the original. The red text "Daytona" under the hands is also lighter than the Gen.

The QF font printing looks like a bolder version of the APS.
 

steve_theonewatches

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Subdials View
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Gen has 9-10 black rings, while the APS and QF have the same quantity.

Clean and VS have only 7-8 black rings.

The sub-dial numbers printed in color and ink thickness on the APS and QF are closer to the Gen,but if you look closely, the continuity of the ink printing on the sub-dial is not as complete as the GEN.

Hands and the axles View
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there is no big difference between the four factories, all of them are seem to be good and welcome to discuss this together.

Chronograph Pushers View
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When unscrewing and screwing in the pushers, the length of the crown of each factory is not much different. the shape of the Clean crown guard is closest to Gen,while VS and QF are slightly thinner, and APS is thicker.

Lugs and Side View
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The steel bracelet of APS is slightly lower than the lugs, but it is flush with the lugs from QF, and Clean and VS are closer .

There are no obvious problems with the lug shape of each factory. VS seems to have fixed the lug problem on 126500.

The three dots on the crown representing the waterproof level are relatively thicker for VS, while those of other factories are consistent with the Gen.

Case Side & Case Back View
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Bracelet View
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Both VS and Clean use AR bracelets, Through the actual feel, the steel straps of APS and QF are slightly loose.

Clasp Engraving
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In terms of engraving, you can compare and see which one you like better.

Lume Effect View
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From direct observation, the lume color on all four factory models closely matches the Gen, with similar performance across the board.
 
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steve_theonewatches

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Rehaut View
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Movement View
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Since the Gen caseback cannot be opened, we left blank for the Gen movement picture.

VS uses the DD4131 movement, Clean and APS use the second generation of SH4131 (without fake shock absorbers), and QF uses the first generation of SH4131 (with decorative shock absorbers).

When shaking the watch, the rotors of VS and Clean make less noise, while the sound of APS and QF is relatively loud.

Although Clean and APS use the same movement, Clean has been additionally adjusted and optimized after getting from the factory, and the movement plate engraving is also different from APS.

Measurement Data
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Note: All watches are measured in a clamped state, and there may be errors due to the slight deviation of the position of the caliper.

Well, today's post is here, thank you guys for watching. If there are any mistakes, please correct me. If there is anything else I overlooked, you can put it up, and I will try my best to complete it. Welcome to comment and exchange!

I will continue to bring you more detailed comparisons between replica watches and GEN’s. And it is also for you to choose the favorite models conveniently.

Illustration: Some photos deviate from the real object due to the light source. For details, please refer to the content. The size of the comparison picture is relatively large, you can download it and enlarge it for comparison.

There is no perfect replica, only the one you prefer.

Thanks.

Steve

Feel free to contact us via the email or whatsapp.
email:[email protected]
whatsapp: +86 17081934955
 
Last edited:

ktan89

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Sorry don't know where is the edit button
 

Reaps

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So which is the the second best from RF? :sneaky:
No clear answer. All have strengths and weaknesses. Seems like once again the answer is you have to buy all of them and mix and match. Probably a Clean base with a APSF bezel if I'm looking at it, then a DD4131 from the VSF swapped in.

Regarding the dial, I didn't ever notice the subdial ring quantity, but honestly, I think the tradeoff of the QF and APSF (markers and poorer font printing) is not worth the subdial trade off.

And I'm sad there is no BTF, I would have liked to see the BTF bezel fight against all of these
 

KonKir

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Amazing comparison as always.

what I am always confused though that while noticing super small differences like number of rings people extremely rare
y comment on colour differences between dial details (WG vs SS). I asked before but to me it’s much more visible even without magnifying - but has always been curious if it’s only me…
 

KonKir

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Ah, and did Clean change crystal only on 126500 and not on 116500? There were recent pictures of 116500 with stock and deep crystal and difference was very visible.
 

Reaps

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Amazing comparison as always.

what I am always confused though that while noticing super small differences like number of rings people extremely rare
y comment on colour differences between dial details (WG vs SS). I asked before but to me it’s much more visible even without magnifying - but has always been curious if it’s only me…
No replica will use white gold hands or markers ever, it's too expensive, and to be quite frank with you, can you REALLY spot this in real life? In shifting lighting conditions on someone's wrist? If you do, I applaud you, you have eagle eyes, but this is not a detail that regular people can tell in day to day wearing conditions at all.
 

Fabulously

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What a great comparison!

Thank you so much @steve_theonewatches for the thorough work here ;)

I am with @Reaps : One would likely have to mix and match to get the best possible rep... Or just live with one of the (tiny) flaws :D
 
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Me10_UK

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Many thanks for the comprehensive and thorough analysis.
Looking through the findings I wanted an ASF, then Clean and then realised that there is no one superior rep.

Like others have said, spotting the differences outside of a loupe will be difficult.
 

chrisat

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When did CF swap the movement for the v2 with the shock absorber? I guess my watch from March will still have the decorative plate and not a real shock absorber, right?
 

KonKir

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No replica will use white gold hands or markers ever, it's too expensive, and to be quite frank with you, can you REALLY spot this in real life? In shifting lighting conditions on someone's wrist? If you do, I applaud you, you have eagle eyes, but this is not a detail that regular people can tell in day to day wearing conditions at all.
Yes, I know that no replica has gold hands / markers. My point was these comparisons / reviews mention infinite small differences but not this one.

And to be honest I typically can’t see lots of differences people notice (so not eagle eyed by any means) otherwise but this one I can see in daylight on the hand consistently (ie in good light conditions / typically outside). Equally maybe it’s something my eye got used to noticing…
 
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kikata1997

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Great post, thank you! Waiting for the black model comparison... Might try the vsf
 
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rdothroaway

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You're very appreciated, thanks for doing this.

I really disliked the bluish tone on some of the previous gen daytonas, seeing this lineup it's nice to see APS nailed the dial colour but that printing is rough.. Do we think this is something that could potentially be a batch issue?