Definitive 116500 ARF vs. Noob White Dial Comparison: In Search for the Best Daytona

[M Scott]

I thought the noob V3 had no serif R on the bezel?

Correct, the Noob V3 bezel has no serifs on the Rs.

The first Noob bezel in this review is a "V2.2" that was replaced with a Clean Factory Bezel.

But this review is mainly for the White Noob dial which did not change from "V2.2" to V3.

 

[d3xophen]

There are 2 new Full GOld Noob Daytona out there and their subdial numbers is better than current noob 116500 v3. also 5 line print.
Hoep they up their dial 116500 in v4. LOL

 

[old_man]

I just bought both and had a franken-rep made with the best parts of both.

For the money, I felt like that was the best way to do it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Indeed it is - I presume you have the same build, and it looks beautiful. I came across another thread talking about a vietmese dial, and with amazing gen-like dial print that oozes quality. Unfortunately the coronet was horrible. For now I still think the ARF dial is the best available aside from gen.

 

[old_man]

An excellent thread with an amazing amount of detail and effort.


This will still be a debate for many, as realistically you would be roughly doubling the cost of a stock Noob Daytona to duplicate these results.

- For many, the stock Noob looks really good just the way it is and it is not worth the extra cost and effort to make it just that much better.
- Most people who have never compared a Noob and an ARF side by side, and in person are, and will be very happy with their Noobs.

- A much smaller number of Members who have compared a Noob and an ARF dial side by side, and in person, have decided that the extra expense and effort is well worth it.

This thread provides excellent and accurate documentation of the differences for others who may be considering this type of project, and if it is worth the additional investment.

Thanks! You are right, for most members who have not seen the two dials side by side in the metal, it is definitely a debate whether to fork up the money. Once they see the difference, though, the difference perceived by the eye is obvious, but how much $$$ that is worth is to each his/her own.

My noob dial has been put onto the ARF now, so i have a spare complete watch. Will probably sell it for a low price to offset the cost, or give it away to friends/family to put a smile on someone.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[old_man]

I thought the noob V3 had no serif R on the bezel?

Great review my man. Most of this is the reason why our brain tells us this is better but we dont know why.
ARF dial and clasp in a noob with CF bezel for the win. Looks fantastic. Any pics of the clasp and your observation? Reps getting so good you can now make a frankinrep! Good days!

You got it exactly right. When I bought my first gen Rolex, that "gen aura" really made me wonder why. Then I understood it's the craftsmanship and details that makes a visible difference only under macro. We perceive quality in the details that we don't consciously know.

The ARF clasp is better because of the rounded corners that looks closer to gen. Noob clasps has straight line and sharp corners all the way. I’ll take a picture soon.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[old_man]

Correct, the Noob V3 bezel has no serifs on the Rs.

The first Noob bezel in this review is a "V2.2" that was replaced with a Clean Factory Bezel.

But this review is mainly for the White Noob dial which did not change from "V2.2" to V3.

Thanks for clarifying - one small correction I actually had the ARF bezel on. The ARF and Clean are ridiculously similar in quality and finishing, the CF is a bit better because
1) the paint on CF is slightly more silvery than the ARF;
2) the ARF bezel engraving is too deep, which made them hard to see. CF bezel has better depth and the numbers are more apparent.
3) the subtle rounded corners along the edge of the engraved numbers on the CF made them a tiny bit higher quality; my gen has them too and those rounded edges reflect light differently which makes the number glow; the ARF bezel has those corners too but just not very apparent;

 

[ssouthall6]

Thank you sir =D Most of the forum member's efforts are focused on the dimensions and distance-betweens and fonts. While those are undoubtedly very important (and perhaps what's driving the factories to become more "accurate"), I'd take it that you've been around long enough to know that "gen feel" is beyond measurements and camera photos. I tried my best to capture that here, it's hard.

You would be correct

I have mentioned the same thing just not quite as articulately elsewhere, the ARF 'feels' gen.

I have ARF, noob, two gen daytona dials, a gen yachtmaster dial, gen datejust dial and countless rep dials over the years. I would like to think I can accurately assess the quality of a dial outside of a webpage by now


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[old_man]

There are 2 new Full GOld Noob Daytona out there and their subdial numbers is better than current noob 116500 v3. also 5 line print.
Hoep they up their dial 116500 in v4. LOL

I saw a really low res video of it - don't get your hopes up. If you know Noob as long as I knew them (from Sub v3 years), you know their dial print has always been "ghostly white" instead of nice solid white like the ARF sub/daytona. I highly doubt they'll switch supplying factories. This is conjecture though, I wish they can surprise us again like they did with the 4130.

 

[6S3NC3]

Correct, the Noob V3 bezel has no serifs on the Rs.

The first Noob bezel in this review is a "V2.2" that was replaced with a Clean Factory Bezel.

But this review is mainly for the White Noob dial which did not change from "V2.2" to V3.

Greatly appreciated the info! Thanks for the reply.

 

[LaraA]

Thanks for the great review
Learned a lot from this

 

[Sharki06]

I'm totally agree ARF dial is far better than the noob when we are both side by side.

The only problem when we mod the noob and fit the ARF dial is a sligthy lume mismatch between index and hands (not in full dark only on some daylight) , not a big issue but it's here.

 

[old_man]

I'm totally agree ARF dial is far better than the noob when we are both side by side.

The only problem when we mod the noob and fit the ARF dial is a sligthy lume mismatch between index and hands (not in full dark only on some daylight) , not a big issue but it's here.

That's interesting, i never paid attention to the lume, but when I saw your comment and went to look at the lume right away. I really can't tell much given the small amount of lume applied on the dial compared to the sub/gmt dial. I guess there is a difference, is the noob greener?

 

[Mark1937]

That's interesting, i never paid attention to the lume, but when I saw your comment and went to look at the lume right away. I really can't tell much given the small amount of lume applied on the dial compared to the sub/gmt dial. I guess there is a difference, is the noob greener?

do you think that ARF has the finest counters compared to gen? I have an ARF V2 and they seem too thin ...

 

[Rayquaza]

The appearance of the arf is way better, but concerning the movement, Noob factory indubitably wins.

 

[Edgematic]

Great review, another thing I'd add is the color difference vs gen and the SEL's.

Gen is more pure white while the ARF dial has a very slight eggshell color to it.​

Next to eachother (gen vs noob case) the SEL's are close but not good enough imo. ​

The above remarks are only visible side by side though. ​

 

[ssouthall6]

do you think that ARF has the finest counters compared to gen? I have an ARF V2 and they seem too thin ...

In the flesh they are the most gen like.

The problem is you mostly see gen dials very well lit. This produces a halo effect around the subdial which is othewise matt. The inference is that the subdial is thicker, in reality arf is spot on


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[srhoque]

I thought the noob V3 had no serif R on the bezel?

Great review my man. Most of this is the reason why our brain tells us this is better but we dont know why.
ARF dial and clasp in a noob with CF bezel for the win. Looks fantastic. Any pics of the clasp and your observation? Reps getting so good you can now make a frankinrep! Good days!

A quick comment on clasp. Until now, I used to get ARF clasps for all my Noob bracelets. However recently (last month), I got a Noob GMT 116710 and YM 116622 (the 904L version). The clasp has improved in terms of how it “clicks” close, feels just like the ARF now. The Rolex logo is also more polished looking now. I don’t know if the Noob v3 Daytona has the same new clasp (I think it would). If that is the case, i am not sure if you still need an ARF clasp.

 

[old_man]

do you think that ARF has the finest counters compared to gen? I have an ARF V2 and they seem too thin ...

What's a counter?

 

[old_man]

The appearance of the arf is way better, but concerning the movement, Noob factory indubitably wins.

Yes the 4130 from noob is unbeatable. The original goal of this post wasn't trying to determine which watch in its whole wins, it was to investigate into the reason why the ARF dial, just by looking at it, gave off that "gen" aura to at least the eyes of some members on the forum.

 

[old_man]

Great review, another thing I'd add is the color difference vs gen and the SEL's.

Gen is more pure white while the ARF dial has a very slight eggshell color to it.​

Next to eachother (gen vs noob case) the SEL's are close but not good enough imo. ​

The above remarks are only visible side by side though. ​

Thanks for adding on, i thought i had mentioned that in the original post. The white on the ARF is definitely a warmer tone.