Ginault owner's comparison to reps?

[Manuel.b]

I would take a Selitta SW200 Elabore over the VS3235 in a heartbeat. Plus the Ginault cyclops is distortion free. VSF are nice to be sure but it's still a cheap Chinese fake rep. TC has years of refinement on them. Except for some occasional bad samples I've seen, Ginault is nearly as good as a gen Rolex IMO, many of which don't cost much more to make.

VSF cyclops edge distortion

My fun time with a VSF 126610

Post 16

https://forum.replica-watch.info/fo...t-the-vsf-3235-movement?p=9859568#post9859568

This is not a VSF bashing, I like mine fine, maybe a little more now since it made me learn how to service a 3235. And yes of course there can be one-off bad samples in any batches. But while I certainly appreciate it for what it is, I don't put it in the same league as a Ginault. If you get to handle a good one you won't soon forget how great it is.

I totally trust your opinion, I too have always been a fan of homage, the Ginault has always been on my mind.

 

[Kielxx]

If you still can get phase 1 of preorder :1039$ no date and 1199 for date it's very good price in my opinion

 

[GottaHave]

Just out of curiosity where is Ginault situated in the US?

I ask as the watch say it's "hand built in America" but all I can see is a Berlin address for Euro service but nothing for the US is listed, unless I missed it and it's right in front of me?

 

[WatchSmith.US]

Ginault OR2 is absolutely superb quality, fit and finish. It's as good as then gens I own. The Sellita movement runs perfectly. No room for improvement there. They have successfully taken a 5 digit sub and attached a modern ceramic bezel and Glidelock bracelet, which in itself is just amazing quality.

Keep in mind that Ginault's ceramic bezel engraving is platinum coated like Rolex, not filled with silver paint.

They're not for everyone. They are expensive, but they are truly exceptional watches.

 

[Carbon Summit]

Is it better than my ARF SD43? Close call. Both bracelets are awesome, the best I’ve had. Dials and bezels seem similar in quality, crystal on the ginault seems better, really tough to say. Movement feels better on the ginault.

This would leave the ORII a bit overpriced in my book. But I don’t care, nobody else makes a watch like a ginault.

I too have a ARF SD43 that I love but have reached out to a few of the watchmakers on here to see what it would cost to service mine versus replace the Asian movement with an ETA. When you wind it it just feels rough and tight. But other than that I love that watch.

I know a lot of people say you shouldn't wind a watch just shake it a few times and put it on and let it wind itself. But when you have gen Rolex and wind it, then set it down and wind a rep its terrible the difference there is.

that is my only complaint about the reps that I have, the biggest tell in my opinion, is the movement. I am hoping that the Ginault movement has a smoother feel.

 

[Carbon Summit]

And to be clear I'm not saying that a rep should be as smooth as a gen watch, obviously for the difference in cost that would be asking a lot.

I've never had a rep serviced, whatever I do with my sd43 will be the first one so I look forward to seeing the difference a service will make

 

[Carbon Summit]

I would take a Selitta SW200 Elabore over the VS3235 in a heartbeat.

KJ2020 I value your opinion on movements, you've always been well versed on them.

 

[Carbon Summit]

Quick post to bump my post count up one to 667!

 

[APjumbo]

Carbon, you will be pleasantly surprised how nice the ginault winds up. Feels about the same as my gen omegas. Pull out the crown to set the date, everything clicks into place firmly the way it should.

my ARF SD43 isn’t bad either, almost as good, some of my reps are real fickle beasts.
Get your V3 SD43 serviced. I’ll bet it makes a big difference. I notice a big difference between a serviced AP ROO and my unserviced ones.
Lately I’ve been in the habit of carefully winding 5 turns, then a quick shake. I worry over winding impatiently will strip a gear or break a stem or something.

 

[KJ2020]

KJ2020 I value your opinion on movements, you've always been well versed on them.

Appreciate it bro. Selitta used to make parts for ETA. When the patents ran out they just started making the whole movement themselves. They now make about twice as many movements as ETA and are the definition of "gen Swiss movement".

I have put Selitta's into several of my reps and highly recommend it for your SD43. It is money well spent, they do not need servicing OOTB and will give a rep that gen movement feeling because that's what it is.

 

[iang27]

So unless I’m missing something, the Ginault case and bezel are the 5 digit sub shape but it has a 6 digit bracelet and ceramic insert, is that correct or have I picked it up wrong.

If a Ginault was bought, a 5 digit Rolex dial, hands, crown, steel insert and bracelet would fit straight on basically making it a full 5 digit sub or would it still need a ceramic insert. Just looking at the options if I get one at some point.

Are all Ginaults the same case no matter what the model is. The first ones had steel inserts if I remember correctly.

 

[Manuel.b]

Ciao

So unless I’m missing something, the Ginault case and bezel are the 5 digit sub shape but it has a 6 digit bracelet and ceramic insert, is that correct or have I picked it up wrong.

If a Ginault was bought, a 5 digit Rolex dial, hands, crown, steel insert and bracelet would fit straight on basically making it a full 5 digit sub or would it still need a ceramic insert. Just looking at the options if I get one at some point.

Are all Ginaults the same case no matter what the model is. The first ones had steel inserts if I remember correctly.

iang27 imagined that a "five-figure" enthusiast like you would dive into this project.
However, if you read the whole discussion you can see that the great master KJ2020 has already done such a job.

 

[Duckber]

I would take a Selitta SW200 Elabore over the VS3235 in a heartbeat. Plus the Ginault cyclops on the one I worked on was distortion free. VSF are nice to be sure but it's still a cheap Chinese fake rep. TC has years of refinement on them. Except for some occasional bad samples I've seen, Ginault is nearly as good as a gen Rolex IMO, many of which don't cost much more to make.

VSF cyclops edge distortion




My fun time with a VSF 126610

Post 16


This is not a VSF bashing, I like mine fine, maybe a little more now since it made me learn how to service a 3235. And yes of course there can be one-off bad samples in any batches. But while I certainly appreciate it for what it is, I don't put it in the same league as a Ginault. If you get to handle a good one you won't soon forget how great it is.

I understand your sentiments regarding a Ginault and VSF movement. In fact my second post in this topic states that the movement Ginault has is superior to justify a higher price tag so I get it. I can just justifiably say that comparing a VSF 116610 and a Ginault OR2 (I have owned both, VSF stays) in person that the finishing was the same. Except I sent my Ginault back for a refund cause one lug was finished shorter than the other on one side and was told it would take 12 weeks to fix. Then the platinum on the triangle on the bezel by the pip started flaking. That was the end of that for me.

Even if those did not occur, movement aside, there is no reason to say the OR2 was finished nicer than the VSF 116610. No distortion on my cyclops. They are around the same and the VSF is 30% of the amount of money. If one feels that the gen movement is worth the 60% extra then fair enough. I couldn't care less about movement; this is reviewing what you see and feel regarding both reps. Funny I was told I'd get a Selitta SW-200 in mine but it was a just a gen ETA 2824 as well.

 

[Yogibear]

I understand your sentiments regarding a Ginault and VSF movement. In fact my second post in this topic states that the movement Ginault has is superior to justify a higher price tag so I get it. I can just justifiably say that comparing a VSF 116610 and a Ginault OR2 (I have owned both, VSF stays) in person that the finishing was the same. Except I sent my Ginault back for a refund cause one lug was finished shorter than the other on one side and was told it would take 12 weeks to fix. Then the platinum on the triangle on the bezel by the pip started flaking. That was the end of that for me.

Even if those did not occur, movement aside, there is no reason to say the OR2 was finished nicer than the VSF 116610. No distortion on my cyclops. They are around the same and the VSF is 30% of the amount of money. If one feels that the gen movement is worth the 60% extra then fair enough. I couldn't care less about movement; this is reviewing what you see and feel regarding both reps. Funny I was told I'd get a Selitta SW-200 in mine but it was a just a gen ETA 2824 as well.

VSF is 400 usd and does its part very well as a replica that you can pass off as gen... Ginault is 1500usd and you get to say "yea it looks like a Rolex but it's not" you might as well save 1450 and buy a cheap dhgate replica and say the same thing lol
No where is it stated that it's a superior movement. Any watchsmith will tell you it's a Asian eta clone with a Swiss mainspring. You can see the terrible finishing of the movement when you open the Caseback.

 

[KJ2020]

Funny I was told I'd get a Selitta SW-200 in mine but it was a just a gen ETA 2824 as well.

Bro a Selitta SW200 is a gen Swiss 2824 same as an ETA. To compare a Selitta to an ETA is a compliment to the Selitta. I think you are not prioritizing the importance of movement over finish properly, but that is sadly the reality of the rep game. Many rep movements are simply placeholders, a throwaway component.

I know Ginault would have corrected your issues to your satisfaction and 12 weeks is about half the the time of a China repair turnaround and a whole lot less risky.

Regarding VSF quality, have you ever tried pushing down on one side of your bezel? They really should have used a thicker hytrel ring. How's your insert marker fill in low light? I can show you that.

Two VSFs next to aftermarket inserts.

But again, I'm not here to bash VSF. As reps go they are great and we are all entitled to think and choose differently.

Here's a good Ginault review, and a quote from it that I agree with

https://www.themodestman.com/ginault...4x%20as%20much

"I can unequivocally say that the Ginault Ocean Rover is by far the most well-made Rolex Submariner homage I’ve ever handled, and I’ve handled most. It’s not even a close contest."

I still have it in mind to buy a good used one and swap in a rep dial, hands, crown, caseback and clasp. Now THAT is my idea of an ultimate rep. But it seems you already have yours, so congrats! And I mean that sincerely. Too many of us are never satisfied so we hunt endlessly and seldom feel fulfilled. There's a whole lot to be said for loving what you have.

Now when am I ever going to get a Noob Meteorite Daytona, dammit! Haha.

 

[Duckber]

Bro a Selitta SW200 is a gen Swiss 2824 same as an ETA. To compare a Selitta to an ETA is a compliment to the Selitta. I think you are not prioritizing the importance of movement over finish properly, but that is sadly the reality of the rep game. Many rep movements are simply placeholders, a throwaway component.

I know Ginault would have corrected your issues to your satisfaction and 12 weeks is about half the the time of a China repair turnaround.

Regarding VSF quality, have you ever tried pushing down on one side of your bezel? They really should have used a thicker hytrel ring. How's your insert marker fill in low light? I can show you that.

Two VSFs next to aftermarket inserts.




But again, I'm not here to bash VSF. As reps go they are great and we are all entitled to think and choose differently.

Here's a good Ginault review, and a quote from it that I agree with

https://www.themodestman.com/ginault...4x%20as%20much

"I can unequivocally say that the Ginault Ocean Rover is by far the most well-made Rolex Submariner homage I’ve ever handled, and I’ve handled most. It’s not even a close contest."

I still have it in mind to buy a good used one and swap in a rep dial, hands, crown, caseback and clasp. Now THAT is my idea of an ultimate rep. But it seems you already have yours, so congrats! And I mean that sincerely. Too many of us are never satisfied so we hunt endlessly and seldom feel fulfilled. There's a whole lot to be said for loving what you have.

Now when am I ever going to get a Noob Meteorite Daytona, dammit! Haha.

Ginault would have definitely fixed the issues and they seem to be very customer-service friendly. TC seems to be a really nice dude haha. I just didn't feel like waiting that long and was turned off by it.

Pushing down on my bezel seems fine? No issues that I can see and I just tried it. Feels solid. My insert markers in low light looks great. I'd also like to add that after market bezels tend to look very bright, brighter than gen, thus they'd look brighter than a VSF rep too. They just use low quality white paint which while looks cool in low settings it just isn't gen-like. I'd also like to say that I have compared both my 116 and 126 to my friends genuine 126 Rollie and they look the same in low light settings. So I'm 100% confident in that fact that they are alike in low light settings. I had an RXF I passed on cause it looked horrible in low light settings, the VSF is not that.

As far as prioritizing movements over finish... I don't think this is a rep game reality but a watch game reality. The vast majority of people care about looks and feel over movement. Maybe you don't, and I'll just speak for myself here, but I'd rather wear a Rolex with a Miyota 9015 than a Casio with a genuine 3135... extreme example, but my point is watches for me is like jewelry. I don't care about movement as long as it ticks at 8 beats per second for a nice sweep. The rest is trivial. The feel of a watch to me doesn't improve beyond that.

And just to reiterate, this is coming from someone who already stated that going genuine with no reps, the Ginault is the best watch money can buy in its price range. So I'm not down-playing the Ginault in any way. It is leaps and bounds better than anything 2000 and below until you get to Monta. So I am giving the Ginault the props it deserves. VSF is just that damn good.

 

[Manuel.b]

I had an RXF I passed on cause it looked horrible in low light settings, the VSF is not that.

I cannot understand how you can say that.
I've had VSF and RXF (I've even done a comparison), they are the same watch with different movement (I can say this because the serial number on the clasp, on the SEL are the same, same crystal, same case, same dial, SAME BEZEL) however you say VSF is brighter, in my opinion this is just your conjecture.

 

[Duckber]

I cannot understand how you can say that.
I've had VSF and RXF (I've even done a comparison), they are the same watch with different movement (I can say this because the serial number on the clasp, on the SEL are the same, same crystal, same case, same dial, SAME BEZEL) however you say VSF is brighter, in my opinion this is just your conjecture.

LOL what? Dude maybe the RXF updated their bezel insert once VSF dropped their subs but for a few months it's been common consensus that the RXF bezel is dim. I had them both side by side, NO conjecture, the VSF was leaps and bounds brighter than the RXF. It is 100% fact. Calling it conjecture is hilariously wrong.

 

[Manuel.b]

LOL what? Dude maybe the RXF updated their bezel insert once VSF dropped their subs but for a few months it's been common consensus that the RXF bezel is dim. I had them both side by side, NO conjecture, the VSF was leaps and bounds brighter than the RXF. It is 100% fact. Calling it conjecture is hilariously wrong.

Whether VSF updated the bezel in the batches after the one I bought I don't know, but the two watches I compared (scrupulously) were indeed identical.

 

[KJ2020]

I'd also like to add that after market bezels tend to look very bright, brighter than gen, thus they'd look brighter than a VSF rep too. They just use low quality white paint which while looks cool in low settings it just isn't gen-like. I'd also like to say that I have compared both my 116 and 126 to my friends genuine 126 Rollie and they look the same in low light settings. So I'm 100% confident in that fact that they are alike in low light settings.

These aftermarket inserts have silver paint, not white, and will look at lot more gen-like in low light conditions than the VSF will.

https://forum.replica-watch.info/fo...92-surprisingly-nice-aftermarket-smurf-insert

The VSF insert really needs a paint mod to compare favorably to gen, like the one I did to my RXF

But it seems your VSF can have no flaws in your eyes so I see no further need to debate it with you. I hope it continues to serve you this well.