- 6/7/17
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There's been quite some content posted on the 116500LN white dial, but not so much about the black dial, so I thought that a little review could be beneficial.
The Daytona 116500 had been on my radar for quite a while. But being OCD and specifically about SELs it was a no go for me with the Noob V1/V2, and since I wanted the functioning chrono, ARF was not an option either (and their SELs' quality had gone down anyway...).
So when Noob released their V3 with improved SELs, I could not resist anymore. Everyday that I was looking at the reflections on my gen 116610's ceramic insert, I thought that I needed another ceramic bezeled Rolex. As a friend of mine is looking to buy the gen white dialed, I went for the black, which has the added benefit to attract a little (but just a little) less attention.
I ordered through Li at Jtime, along with the CF bezel that he mounted for me. Amazing guy and transaction, real fast and a pleasure to deal with. I highly recommend him.
3 days after being shipped the postman rang the doorbell and here it was. Shipping was twice faster than expected so it was a nice surprise and I got to enjoy the watch over the weekend. So here it is! Please note that the below are only my own modest observations and opinions.
In short, this watch is not perfect but it is definitely an amazing rep. As I mentioned in another thread, I brought it to a little watchsmith to get the bracelet resized and while the guy also services gen Rolex's - and happened to have a gen 116520 in his shop -, he was not sure whether it was a gen or a rep, and once I told him that it was a rep he kept telling me how good it is, and showing it to his wife who was there in the shop
Quick reminder, the below pictures are with the CF bezel.
Pros
-Overall the finish is great, looks premium and very gen like
-Very nice dial (except the shiny subdials as per below)
-Thin subdials as per gen
-Movement so far works very well, super silent and winding is very smooth, almost as gen
-Lume has perfect color and is quite strong, even though it does not last as long as gen (compared to gen 116610)
Cons
Fixable
-the strap feels flimsy and the clasp is not as tight as an ARF clasp (at least the one from the ARF sub that I have). This should be fixable with an oil bath and I think a new spring bar in the clasp
-Crystal sits a little too high and has a white border - height should be fixable by shaving the crystal gasket. Not quite clear yet if I need to change the crystal or just the gasket to get rid of the white effect but it's doable
Non fixable
-Shiny subdials noticeable only in some lighting conditions, see below
-Super tiny SEL gaps but thet are not visible with the naked eye. So not really a con
-Rehaut engraving is not well aligned with minute markers, which was disappointing to me as I always thought that Noob was great at that. Now the rehaut on the Daytona is smaller than on the Sub, so it's less visible
Since pictures are worth a thousand words, let's get to it. You will also see some pictures of a gen that I had the chance to see at an AD (but it was not for sale, that was very frustrating)
Gen:
Here you can see the crystal height and the white border,
compared to gen:
In the pic below, I tried to capture how shiny the subdials are. Unfortunately in real life it's more visible than on the pic, but again it's only under certain lighting conditions. Next to it is the gen, whose subdials remain mat and satiny even under harsh artificial lights
Here is the clasp. As you can see the main part can move maybe half a millimeter sideways, giving that impression of flimsiness. I suspect that the springbar with the red arrow is at fault, which could be fixed - I suspect - with a higher diameter springbar. Pic 1 is well aligned Clasp, and pic 2 is when you move it sideways
Here is a picture of the lume, and a side by side with my gen 16610
There you go, I hope that this is useful. I can only recommend this watch if you're a Daytona fan. It is great out of the box and a couple of mods will make it even better.
The Daytona 116500 had been on my radar for quite a while. But being OCD and specifically about SELs it was a no go for me with the Noob V1/V2, and since I wanted the functioning chrono, ARF was not an option either (and their SELs' quality had gone down anyway...).
So when Noob released their V3 with improved SELs, I could not resist anymore. Everyday that I was looking at the reflections on my gen 116610's ceramic insert, I thought that I needed another ceramic bezeled Rolex. As a friend of mine is looking to buy the gen white dialed, I went for the black, which has the added benefit to attract a little (but just a little) less attention.
I ordered through Li at Jtime, along with the CF bezel that he mounted for me. Amazing guy and transaction, real fast and a pleasure to deal with. I highly recommend him.
3 days after being shipped the postman rang the doorbell and here it was. Shipping was twice faster than expected so it was a nice surprise and I got to enjoy the watch over the weekend. So here it is! Please note that the below are only my own modest observations and opinions.
In short, this watch is not perfect but it is definitely an amazing rep. As I mentioned in another thread, I brought it to a little watchsmith to get the bracelet resized and while the guy also services gen Rolex's - and happened to have a gen 116520 in his shop -, he was not sure whether it was a gen or a rep, and once I told him that it was a rep he kept telling me how good it is, and showing it to his wife who was there in the shop
Quick reminder, the below pictures are with the CF bezel.
Pros
-Overall the finish is great, looks premium and very gen like
-Very nice dial (except the shiny subdials as per below)
-Thin subdials as per gen
-Movement so far works very well, super silent and winding is very smooth, almost as gen
-Lume has perfect color and is quite strong, even though it does not last as long as gen (compared to gen 116610)
Cons
Fixable
-the strap feels flimsy and the clasp is not as tight as an ARF clasp (at least the one from the ARF sub that I have). This should be fixable with an oil bath and I think a new spring bar in the clasp
-Crystal sits a little too high and has a white border - height should be fixable by shaving the crystal gasket. Not quite clear yet if I need to change the crystal or just the gasket to get rid of the white effect but it's doable
Non fixable
-Shiny subdials noticeable only in some lighting conditions, see below
-Super tiny SEL gaps but thet are not visible with the naked eye. So not really a con
-Rehaut engraving is not well aligned with minute markers, which was disappointing to me as I always thought that Noob was great at that. Now the rehaut on the Daytona is smaller than on the Sub, so it's less visible
Since pictures are worth a thousand words, let's get to it. You will also see some pictures of a gen that I had the chance to see at an AD (but it was not for sale, that was very frustrating)
Gen:
Here you can see the crystal height and the white border,
compared to gen:
In the pic below, I tried to capture how shiny the subdials are. Unfortunately in real life it's more visible than on the pic, but again it's only under certain lighting conditions. Next to it is the gen, whose subdials remain mat and satiny even under harsh artificial lights
Here is the clasp. As you can see the main part can move maybe half a millimeter sideways, giving that impression of flimsiness. I suspect that the springbar with the red arrow is at fault, which could be fixed - I suspect - with a higher diameter springbar. Pic 1 is well aligned Clasp, and pic 2 is when you move it sideways
Here is a picture of the lume, and a side by side with my gen 16610
There you go, I hope that this is useful. I can only recommend this watch if you're a Daytona fan. It is great out of the box and a couple of mods will make it even better.
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