Quick review of Black Bay!

[k4jun]

Yep, HR dial looks good, I would prefer old ZF with HR dial+hands way more than new ZF with (updated, but flat and too wide) shield logo.
Out of the box they do offer dial and hands with a white lume, for extra fee they can do aging for the lume, iirc there are 4 grades of aging.
Here are some pics of my dial.

 

[k4jun]

@vibe, thanks for the pics, Gap and crown indeed looks poor, very glad I disregarded this case.
Nice gen nato btw.

@Hor-Fan , did you order Raffles case set?

 

[Hor-Fan]

@vibe, thanks for the pics, Gap and crown indeed looks poor, very glad I disregarded this case.
Nice gen nato btw.

@Hor-Fan , did you order Raffles case set?

Not yet, I don't need it at the moment, but I am curious about it. At the same time, seems like every time I order from RD I'm somewhat let down by the quality[emoji52].


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[LifeTrekker]

Lots of good information in this thread. Thanks to everyone for sharing.

I have a ZF Black Bay Blue Tudor Rose version watch incoming from Angus at PT, but will definitely upgrade the dial with the one from Helenrou. IMO, that will make the watch almost totally visually perfect.

Thanks again for all the great info everyone.

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[d4m.test]

Wow this thread is awesome! The HR dial look just sooo much better than the standard ZF dial with crooked rose. Taking a ZF V4 or V5 red and replacing it with the HR Dial makes it a NWBIG I guess.

 

[LifeTrekker]

Wow this thread is awesome! The HR dial look just sooo much better than the standard ZF dial with crooked rose. Taking a ZF V4 or V5 red and replacing it with the HR Dial makes it a NWBIG I guess.

I thought so too, but the HR dial also has a pretty big flaw; the candy bar indices at 3, 6, and 9 aren't curved to hug the dial like on the gen and the ZF. So you are basically trading one flaw for another.

This is the ZF dial.

And this is the HR dial.

Now, I suppose if you changed the indices from a ZF dial to a HR dial, you would be closer to perfect, but that is a lot of work that many are not comfortable doing.



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[mnkoshka]

I thought so too, but the HR dial also has a pretty big flaw; the candy bar indices at 3, 6, and 9 aren't curved to hug the dial like on the gen and the ZF. So you are basically trading one flaw for another.

This is the ZF dial.

And this is the HR dial.

Now, I suppose if you changed the indices from a ZF dial to a HR dial, you would be closer to perfect, but that is a lot of work that many are not comfortable doing.



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I tried to swap the indices and they don't fit. The mounting pins are way fatter on the zf dial and don't press in to the HR dial. And yes the dial lume is creamier that the hands lume. This sets the bezel pearl out of place

 

[Smpfan]

That’s the reason why I kept the ZF dial.


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[LifeTrekker]

I tried to swap the indices and they don't fit. The mounting pins are way fatter on the zf dial and don't press in to the HR dial. And yes the dial lume is creamier that the hands lume. This sets the bezel pearl out of place

Do you think the holes in the HR dial could be drilled out slightly so that the pins on the ZF indices would fit? Of course, an appropriately sized drill bit and a swivel head pin vice would be needed for this operation.

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[mnkoshka]

Do you think the holes in the HR dial could be drilled out slightly so that the pins on the ZF indices would fit? Of course, an appropriately sized drill bit and a swivel head pin vice would be needed for this operation.

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I suppose you could hand drill them if you can get the right size drill. I'll try post pics to compare with the gen, I can say now now that the HR dial has a nice grainy reflection to it but it's a lot blacker that the gen. after all the swapping I did I found that the ZF dial has a pretty similar colour and the rose gold on the indices is more gen like. So The HR dial is much blacker a little grainier and the lume is too white along with the handset. I removed the AR also. I'm not sure if regret these changes yet as it has actually taken away from the gen look a little bit but the dial print is nicer as in more 3D. One little trick I use is to remove the indices and lightly buff the stock dial with toothpaste... sounds funny but it actually gives some of the rep dials a grainier reflection like the gen. Just be careful not to damage the print.

 

[LifeTrekker]

I suppose you could hand drill them if you can get the right size drill. I'll try post pics to compare with the gen, I can say now now that the HR dial has a nice grainy reflection to it but it's a lot blacker that the gen. after all the swapping I did I found that the ZF dial has a pretty similar colour and the rose gold on the indices is more gen like. So The HR dial is much blacker a little grainier and the lume is too white along with the handset. I removed the AR also. I'm not sure if regret these changes yet as it has actually taken away from the gen look a little bit but the dial print is nicer as in more 3D. One little trick I use is to remove the indices and lightly buff the stock dial with toothpaste... sounds funny but it actually gives some of the rep dials a grainier reflection like the gen. Just be careful not to damage the print.

I have a ZF Black Bay Black with the Tudor Rose that just arrived, so I am debating if it is worth ordering an HR dial for it or not. The more I learn, the less and less and think the juice is worth the squeeze.

Your toothpaste dial polishing sounds interesting. Would you mind sharing more details of the exact products you use as well as your polishing procedure? Before and after pics would be interesting to see as well.

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[d4m.test]

Been following this convo. It seems as the HR dial is flawed, do you think it’s worth to buy Gen dial? Are there any other dials besides HR that’s available?


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[ShovelnTC]

A very interesting thread and great to see so many seeking perfection and prepared to take things to the highest level but I am still very much enjoying my dead stock V1 ZF bought from the first batch.

Great watches whatever version and if modded or not.

 

[mnkoshka]

I have a ZF Black Bay Black with the Tudor Rose that just arrived, so I am debating if it is worth ordering an HR dial for it or not. The more I learn, the less and less and think the juice is worth the squeeze.

Your toothpaste dial polishing sounds interesting. Would you mind sharing more details of the exact products you use as well as your polishing procedure? Before and after pics would be interesting to see as well.

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Personally I think the stock dial is closer to gen, The colour is closer and the rose gold is more gen like. Though The HR for me looks brighter and more crisp anda has that grainy texture when light reflects of it as certain angles.
I used a activated charcoal toothpaste 50/50 mix with normal toothpaste. With a fine cloth. I'm
Sure just a normal toothpaste coukd work as it has a very fine polish effect.just experiment with an unwanted matte dial if you have one and do it in stages to get the effect you desire. It doesn't take much just be careful and keep an eye on the print
I'm having trouble posting pics I'll try and get some up at some point

 

[mnkoshka]

I

Been following this convo. It seems as the HR dial is flawed, do you think it’s worth to buy Gen dial? Are there any other dials besides HR that’s available?


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If you find a Tudor dealer that will sell you a dial let me know. I've tried and they asked for the old dial in return and they wouldn't sell It to me unless they installed it

 

[Alex__adc]

I have a ZF Black Bay Black with the Tudor Rose that just arrived, so I am debating if it is worth ordering an HR dial for it or not. The more I learn, the less and less and think the juice is worth the squeeze.

Your toothpaste dial polishing sounds interesting. Would you mind sharing more details of the exact products you use as well as your polishing procedure? Before and after pics would be interesting to see as well.

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isn't the rose version no longer available? I tried to get one and only got the shield version

 

[LifeTrekker]

I was able to get the Tudor Rose version of this watch through PT, but I had to wait a little bit for it. I think the factory must stock the Tudor Shield version and not so much the Tudor Rose version any longer. My guess is they only make them when ordered.

 

[Alex__adc]

I was able to get the Tudor Rose version of this watch through PT, but I had to wait a little bit for it. I think the factory must stock the Tudor Shield version and not so much the Tudor Rose version any longer. My guess is they only make them when ordered.

What made you prefer the rose version?

 

[TTmod]

Can someone confirm the thickness of the rep BB case? I went with an HR because it is 12.7mm like the gen. I think the rep is 13.5mm. The HR case is far from perfect. The crown appears to be etched instead of engraved and all the paint came off mine. Since it is not engraved, it is hard to repaint it. Also there are no serial numbers, and finally there is a bezel gap which can be also seen in the photos on the HR website.

Hello ! Can someone show me the "bezel gap" on the Helenarou case ? I'm going to by one for a buid but i didn't see any gap on the pictures...