New ZF Tudor Black Bay 54

[nbeezy]

Recieved mine 5 days ago from HONT and im really happy with the overall quality. But i started to notice some issues and would like to hear your opinions.

First off it seems i got a crooked 6 hour marker, wich is my bad for GL
But i started noticing that the markers seem so be dirty (gave the cristal a good clean for these photos)



Is this accaptable? Or would this be reasonable cause for reclamation with HONT?

 

[bigtiddygothgf]

Recieved mine 5 days ago from HONT and im really happy with the overall quality. But i started to notice some issues and would like to hear your opinions.
First off it seems i got a crooked 6 hour marker, wich is my bad for GL
But i started noticing that the markers seem so be dirty (gave the cristal a good clean for these photos)
Is this accaptable? Or would this be reasonable cause for reclamation with HONT?

You gave it the GL so its on you unforntunately, TD really has nothing to do with it either though, ZFs quality control is just bad. Have had similar in my ZF BB58.

Really confused as to why no other factory has done BB58s and 54s yet. Some more niche models have like 4 or 5 factories producing them, bizarre to see a brand as big as Tudor only really getting repped by one.

 

[nbeezy]

You gave it the GL so its on you unforntunately, TD really has nothing to do with it either though, ZFs quality control is just bad. Have had similar in my ZF BB58.

Really confused as to why no other factory has done BB58s and 54s yet. Some more niche models have like 4 or 5 factories producing them, bizarre to see a brand as big as Tudor only really getting repped by one.

To be more specific. When i talk about cause for reclamation i mean the issues that couldnt have been spotted in qc, namely the dirty indices.
If that issue is something you should expect and have to live with when ordering a zf bb54 or wether i have a exceptionally bad dial that would warrant a reclamation.

 

[bigtiddygothgf]

This was my initial thought as well. A bit of a pain in the ass, but a competent watchmaker should be able to re-lume the hands without much issue. I doubt "color" - matching would be too tough.

Getting the daylight color matching wouldnt be hard but getting a pigment that matches the daylight color and glows the same color as Tudor lume might be a bit more challenging, although I've seen someone do a mercedes handset swap and relume with Noctilumina that seemed to match up perfectly, at least on video. The guy that runs the Noctilumina (Scott iirc?) has been very helpful in the past any time I've had any questions or inquiries, might be worth reaching out.

This is assuming the ZF lume is remotely similar to gen of course.

 

[bigtiddygothgf]

To be more specific. When i talk about cause for reclamation i mean the issues that couldnt have been spotted in qc, namely the dirty indices.
If that issue is something you should expect and have to live with when ordering a zf bb54 or wether i have a exceptionally bad dial that would warrant a reclamation.

If it wasnt visible in QC it very well could have simply been on the dial surface and gotten knocked loose/onto the indices during international transit, theres no reason to assume its any fault of Honts. Regardless, if its not provable deceit or something simliar (pretty sure all valid reasons are explicitly listed somewhere on the forum) its no cause for "reclamation" from a TD. You'd have to pay international shipping and hope it doesnt get lost in the void known as Chinese customs. Your best bet is buying a caseback ball and some rodico and simply cleaning it up yourself, or listing it for sale and rolling the dice on another one.

 

[nbeezy]

If it wasnt visible in QC it very well could have simply been on the dial surface and gotten knocked loose/onto the indices during international transit, theres no reason to assume its any fault of Honts. Regardless, if its not provable deceit or something simliar (pretty sure all valid reasons are explicitly listed somewhere on the forum) its no cause for "reclamation" from a TD. You'd have to pay international shipping and hope it doesnt get lost in the void known as Chinese customs. Your best bet is buying a caseback ball and some rodico and simply cleaning it up yourself, or listing it for sale and rolling the dice on another one.

I want to make it clear that i dont blame the td for any of this. It would be rediculous to expect the td to examine every watch that closely.
I dont want to be a rediculous customer with insane expectations. Thats why i wanted to check the consensus in this issue with RWI before bothering hont.

As a sidenote: i think its also helpful to discuss these flaws for future buyers to set their expectations before buying.

 

[BigBangDreamer07]

You gave it the GL so its on you unforntunately, TD really has nothing to do with it either though, ZFs quality control is just bad. Have had similar in my ZF BB58.

Really confused as to why no other factory has done BB58s and 54s yet. Some more niche models have like 4 or 5 factories producing them, bizarre to see a brand as big as Tudor only really getting repped by one.

Seriously - why isn't any other factory working on this?

 

[est4129]

Seriously - why isn't any other factory working on this?

I agree completely, the fact that ZF is bringing these out and they are selling is proof of that. I had high hopes that other factories were getting into the Tudor game when KRF made the BB36, unfortunately that appeared to be a one off.

Personally I would have zero issue paying $400-some dollars if ZF or another factory was able to get straight markers, the dial texture right and the other minor issues fixed. Even moreso if they got rid of the ghost date position like the KRF BB36 did. The ability is there, look at the Rolex reps that are coming out now, the Tudor is much simpler - no LEC, engraved rehaut, etc. Heck my old Tudor Ranger (forgot the factory) is 100% down to a decorated movement from the factory.

Dont even get me started on the situation with vintage cases and bracelets.....in this age of CNC machine tools it cant be that hard to shape a case or have the clasp blade markings actually match what the model is (Italian bracelets excepted, they are awesome).

 

[Legology]

Mine on jubilee from uncle Seiko.
What a dope 🥹🥹

When ordering from Uncle Seiko, did you order it with or without clasp? Ideally I'd like to throw the ZF clasp on it if it fits?

 

[mclarendude]

When ordering from Uncle Seiko, did you order it with or without clasp? Ideally I'd like to throw the ZF clasp on it if it fits?

It should fit. I have a half-link from him and it works fine with the ZF clasp

 

[aviditatis]

Recieved mine 5 days ago from HONT and im really happy with the overall quality. But i started to notice some issues and would like to hear your opinions.

First off it seems i got a crooked 6 hour marker, wich is my bad for GL
But i started noticing that the markers seem so be dirty (gave the cristal a good clean for these photos)



Is this accaptable? Or would this be reasonable cause for reclamation with HONT?

I had a similar issue. I didn't notice it initially, but the watch had some fibres on the dial.

I just opened the caseback, removed the crown and the three screws holding the movement to the case, and cleaned the dial with a dust blower.

I bought a generic case opener set (£11) and used the No3 (26.5mm) grooved chuck to open the case back.

 

[KenzoMoDE]

Fellas, about to pull the trigger with hont. I'm thinking it's a GL. Can you guys take a looks and give me your thoughts? Ty

A little on QC pics.

QC pics are to satisfy YOU that the watch is OK to YOUR standards, that there are no crooked indices, missing lume, offset chrono hands etc. QC pics are not for picking tells or things that are present in every example of a model such as spelling errors, happy feet, wrong lume colour etc. These...

forum.replica-watch.info

The purpose of QC pictures

At RWI, we're fortunate to have a few dealers who take the time to individually procure, inspect, and photograph watches for potential buyers. This has not always been the norm, and in fact, it's a recent development. Up until about two years ago, all of the dealers drop-shipped everything and...

forum.replica-watch.info

 

[Reaps]

I agree completely, the fact that ZF is bringing these out and they are selling is proof of that. I had high hopes that other factories were getting into the Tudor game when KRF made the BB36, unfortunately that appeared to be a one off.

Personally I would have zero issue paying $400-some dollars if ZF or another factory was able to get straight markers, the dial texture right and the other minor issues fixed. Even moreso if they got rid of the ghost date position like the KRF BB36 did. The ability is there, look at the Rolex reps that are coming out now, the Tudor is much simpler - no LEC, engraved rehaut, etc. Heck my old Tudor Ranger (forgot the factory) is 100% down to a decorated movement from the factory.

Dont even get me started on the situation with vintage cases and bracelets.....in this age of CNC machine tools it cant be that hard to shape a case or have the clasp blade markings actually match what the model is (Italian bracelets excepted, they are awesome).

Seriously - why isn't any other factory working on this?

It comes down to cost and business. Not a manufacturing issue.

ZF has dominated the market for Tudor Black Bay. They own the largest share and have the brand power.

Tudor is a high selling watch brand in the replica market but not insanely high like Rolex. There's only so much customers to buy Tudor replicas...

Anybody coming in to compete has to compete against ZF - while we have complaints about ZF, they are pretty good already and have the power of being first to market AND having strong brand presence

VAS is another factory that has recently released Black Bay 58 - and you know they haven't sold that many..... everyone still buys ZF Black Bay 58s...

 

[nbeezy]

I had a similar issue. I didn't notice it initially, but the watch had some fibres on the dial.

I just opened the caseback, removed the crown and the three screws holding the movement to the case, and cleaned the dial with a dust blower.

I bought a generic case opener set (£11) and used the No3 (26.5mm) grooved chuck to open the case back.

Any chance you took a measurement of the dial diameter? Would be curious whether the case might fit some vintage dials.

 

[mclarendude]

I should be getting tomorrow a Selitta SW200 no date to swap it in my BB54, will report back.

 

[mclarendude]

Easy swap with a Sellita SW200-1b. No more ghost date!

 

[SamusX]

any major flaws other than lume mismatch?
I wanted it so badly and now I'm trying to convince myself that maybe is better to wait pelagos 39 by ZF

 

[mclarendude]

any major flaws other than lume mismatch?
I wanted it so badly and now I'm trying to convince myself that maybe is better to wait pelagos 39 by ZF

There's 14 pages of discussion, time to catch up! I love mine.

 

[Fabian.]

Love mine as well.
The lume mismatch is barely noticeable in every day life.
The bracelet has some sharp edges - like on most other bracelets.

 

[Got20Mate]

Easy swap with a Sellita SW200-1b. No more ghost date!

Nice work man, I did wonder if that was actually possible without any modification