Questions regarding my first rep - Tudor BB ZF Red

[antman99]

Hi everyone,

Just bought my first ever rep yesterday, a Tudor BB Red ZF from a local dealer for around $255. This isn’t actually my first rep, I bought a secondhand IWC Da Vinci TW for around $160 (secondhand) but can’t stand the misaligned markers so I resold it.

Having owned a gen BB along with a couple of gen Speedmasters, Seamasters, Tags, and a vintage GMT, I am pretty pleased with the quality of this ZF. Yes, the quality isn’t up to the gen standards, but for 1/15 of the price? Worth. Every. Penny.

However, this ZF do have a couple of flaws that I can and can’t live with and would ask the community’s take on those.

1. Misaligned insert on 12th marker, probably 1mm to the left, but I can live with it! However, I found this insert on Ebay that might fix it. Question is, is it really genuine? https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-OEM-TU...868630?hash=item3dafc41656:g:0ccAAOSwRetfs81J
2. Sharp edges on lugs and clasp. I have a cape cod on the way to fix it. Will it do the trick?
3. Pale-white brushed finish on the inner clasp. It makes my ZF screams fake. Is it a good idea to polish it using cape cod?
4. Rattling bracelet, especially the link near SEl. Not a big deal. But if I submerge the bracelet on baby oil overnight, will it be gone (or at least reduced).
5. Rough edges on hands. I read that it can be polished/smoothen using cape cod. But since it is plated (I think) is it a wise thing to do so?
6. Movement. I don’t really like how the winding feels. Can I swap the movement to a gen ETA2824 or maybe a VS3130?
7. Also, the movement is quite noisy when I shake it (compared my gen Omegas/GMT). What should I do to silent it?
8. If I wanna take this rep to the next level. Where can I find gen tudor parts (dial, hands, etc.)?

All in all, I might have a couple of concerns but I’m still super pleased with the quality of this rep. At the moment I’m waiting for my local dealer to have 114060 VSF in stock and i’ll definitely expand my rep collection!

Thanks and every response will be much appreciated!




Cheers,
Antman99