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rep Rolex Sub 126610 - Is it worth the extra?

Kinty

You're Saying I Can Sell?
12/3/19
61
44
18
UK
Hi all,

I have had my eye on a couple of rolex watches for a few years now and never actually took the plunge. I decided to buy a couple of 'homage' watches of the ones I like, the root beer and the starbucks. By far my favourite of the 2 is the starbucks so I am now wanting to get the rep 126610lv, but my question is this;

I have been set on buying from Puretime and each of the watches tends to be around £450 - £500, however after reading the trusted AD section on here I had a look at some others and found The One Watches, and they have a range, from the £450 mark, then some at the £300 mark and even one at around £120. Is there a huge difference from the top end to the bottom end prices, so much so that it would be instantly noticeable for me on my wrist if I go at the lower end? If the difference is minimal I think I'm happy to save the extra £300 - £400 and get the lower end.

My other thought is if the mid range one is really close to the top end one I might push to the mid range.

Sorry for the convoluted question but any help would be appreciated!
 

RepPossessed

The UK dealer
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Yes there is a big difference.

But £500 is a lot of money for some and they are happy to accept flaws and go lower tier knowing it’s not perfect but wearable.

If you want to go for a cheaper watch, choose one that has a simpler design which is easier replicated, cheapo Rolex reps tend to use the wrong datewheel fonts and have really bad magnification and alignment to be the most obvious thing you notice from the off and coloured dials are usually bad, jubilee bracelets junk.
That said there are some great looking cheap gems, but not so much with Rolex’s
 
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McDuck888

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It's personal choice I guess. I've been on the forum for a while so I can see all the 'flaws' that aren't like Rolex design in those less expensive watches and would appreciate the much more pricey ones. The difference for me is huge personally. But it's all personal choice. Straight off the bat though, you mention about what you might notice on your wrist .. I'm sure that cheap miyota movement won't have the same sweeping seconds-hand the more expensive ones will. I think it'll have a slower beat rate so when you look at your rollie, the seconds tick rather than sweep.
 
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Ah0rsey

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feel as though you are new on here a good consulting answer....it depends ;) ....

it depends on whether you've had a genuine rolex and YOU can notice the small differences for how the rep feels on the wrist against how a gen feels - if its just for you rather than showing around to people or posting photo's on here of your new watch then as long as you feel ok with it, go with either the £150 to £500 whatever your pocket feels comfortable with. So if its to compare the feel of owning a gen then really you need to go high end ( or genuine ) as the low end just won't scratch that itch.

it depends
if you can live with the flaws at the lower end/cheaper ones they will have pretty obvious tells to most people who know what the genuine watch looks like etc ie the high beat v low beat movement, wrong colour dials, cheap bracelet etc etc and I'm, not even going to get into Franken watches here. So don't buy a cheap one and go flashing that around mates or in a Rolex AD and not expect to get found out.

it depends
whether you ( and I don't mean to be in any way disparaging here ok this is what everyone has to deal with no matter what they earn )... if you buy a rep Starbucks you are looking at a watch that retails on the grey market here in UK for £15k upwards, if you work in a job where this is obviously not within your means then regardless of how good a rep you got people will call you out. So be realistic and don't expose yourself to people giving you a hard time .... at the end of the day its a damn watch.

But... the world of rep's is great fun so if its your first purchase and you get the itch I can guarantee you will be adding more to your collection. Also, read up on M2M sales ( you can buy from really honest knowledgable people on RWI and RWG ) you may find you get a bargain cheaper than TD. And take advantage of the "Search" function and research the hell out of various versions of the watches you like - then YOU can call people out ;)(y)
 
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Relos_Indios

Known Member
10/3/23
151
138
43
Asia
You can ask Steve which one he thinks is the better Starbucks (and why), and he'll probably say the £500 one, aka the VSF (imho, the best Starbucks rep right now).

It looks so close to gen that you will need a side-by-side comparison AND a magnifying glass to tell the difference. There are photos and reviews here in RWI or elsewhere online; you can see for yourself.

Note as well that some movements are more reliable than others, and what the top shelf rep has is pretty darn good.

Is the price worth it? Considering the above, definitely. Just pray that it is in stock.
 
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Kinty

You're Saying I Can Sell?
12/3/19
61
44
18
UK
I appreciate everyone’s input, thank you all. I think I’ll just save up that bit longer and go for the more expensive VSF or similar. I already have the Pagani Design homage which is most likely very much the same as the lower end replica stuff. I’m happy with it but I definitely want to feel that difference. The watch will be for me to appreciate but I wouldn’t want to be conscious wearing it in public as it’s so obviously a fake. Hopefully the more expensive options will tick all the boxes. Thanks again!
 

Kinty

You're Saying I Can Sell?
12/3/19
61
44
18
UK
I have been doing some more reading of the forums and seeing a lot about needing to get the bank to authorise the payments for the watches. I get I need to call the bank, but what exactly do you say to them to authorise the payment? Can they deny that authorisation?
 

Wishbone007

Horology Curious
5/5/16
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If it were me I would just say yes I am making a purchase for that amount. and yes too that country in my experience this is all they need to hear.
 
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Kinty

You're Saying I Can Sell?
12/3/19
61
44
18
UK
You can ask Steve which one he thinks is the better Starbucks (and why), and he'll probably say the £500 one, aka the VSF (imho, the best Starbucks rep right now).

It looks so close to gen that you will need a side-by-side comparison AND a magnifying glass to tell the difference. There are photos and reviews here in RWI or elsewhere online; you can see for yourself.

Note as well that some movements are more reliable than others, and what the top shelf rep has is pretty darn good.

Is the price worth it? Considering the above, definitely. Just pray that it is in stock.
So I spent some time at the weekend watching some YouTube videos (not a huge amount of time btw) and came across a video from CTime that was comparing the Gen to a Clean and VSF version of the 126610LV. I'm sure a lot of you have probably already seen it, but from watching that in almost all aspects the video stated that the Clean version was closer to the Gen. I'm curious as to why you think the VSF is the best version if you don't mind? £500 is a lot of money for me to spend on a watch at the moment, having a wife and 3 young children, who my wife is sure to say that £500 could be better spent elsewhere, but you have to treat yourself sometimes don't you! I just want to make sure I get the best version possible so any help would be appreciated. Thanks again everyone!
 

Kinty

You're Saying I Can Sell?
12/3/19
61
44
18
UK
You can ask Steve which one he thinks is the better Starbucks (and why), and he'll probably say the £500 one, aka the VSF (imho, the best Starbucks rep right now).

It looks so close to gen that you will need a side-by-side comparison AND a magnifying glass to tell the difference. There are photos and reviews here in RWI or elsewhere online; you can see for yourself.

Note as well that some movements are more reliable than others, and what the top shelf rep has is pretty darn good.

Is the price worth it? Considering the above, definitely. Just pray that it is in stock.
So I spent some time at the weekend watching some YouTube videos (not a huge amount of time btw) and came across a video from CTime that was comparing the Gen to a Clean and VSF version of the 126610LV. I'm sure a lot of you have probably already seen it, but from watching that in almost all aspects the video stated that the Clean version was closer to the Gen. I'm curious as to why you think the VSF is the best version if you don't mind? £500 is a lot of money for me to spend on a watch at the moment, having a wife and 3 young children, who my wife is sure to say that £500 could be better spent elsewhere, but you have to treat yourself sometimes don't you! I just want to make sure I get the best version possible so any help would be appreciated. Thanks again everyone!
 

Relos_Indios

Known Member
10/3/23
151
138
43
Asia
So I spent some time at the weekend watching some YouTube videos (not a huge amount of time btw) and came across a video from CTime that was comparing the Gen to a Clean and VSF version of the 126610LV. I'm sure a lot of you have probably already seen it, but from watching that in almost all aspects the video stated that the Clean version was closer to the Gen. I'm curious as to why you think the VSF is the best version if you don't mind? £500 is a lot of money for me to spend on a watch at the moment, having a wife and 3 young children, who my wife is sure to say that £500 could be better spent elsewhere, but you have to treat yourself sometimes don't you! I just want to make sure I get the best version possible so any help would be appreciated. Thanks again everyone!
What I've also noticed is that CTime typically prefers Clean Factory to VSF in most of his reviews. There are quite a few who as well who do prefer CF to VSF. In Asia, CF actually commands a higher price than VSF and as demand is higher. On Reddit and RWI, however, it seems VSF is the current preferred factory for subs.

Both factories are on a sort of arms race to see who can make the better reps and I can tell you that each iteration is an improvement over the previous release (which is great for us rep fans).

There are pros and cons to each one so I would suggest you read as much as you can on this forum on comparisons between both factories and draw your own conclusions. I myself am waiting on a VSF order after about a couple of week's worth of reading posts, comments, watching videos, and bugging TD's.

Happy hunting!
 
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TheBigJS

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What I've also noticed is that CTime typically prefers Clean Factory to VSF in most of his reviews. There are quite a few who as well who do prefer CF to VSF. In Asia, CF actually commands a higher price than VSF and as demand is higher. On Reddit and RWI, however, it seems VSF is the current preferred factory for subs.

Both factories are on a sort of arms race to see who can make the better reps and I can tell you that each iteration is an improvement over the previous release (which is great for us rep fans).

There are pros and cons to each one so I would suggest you read as much as you can on this forum on comparisons between both factories and draw your own conclusions. I myself am waiting on a VSF order after about a couple of week's worth of reading posts, comments, watching videos, and bugging TD's.

Happy hunting!
Seems to me the VSF has one main problem (poor rehaut polish) and a couple of small issues (bezel colour, date text maybe too tidy and slim!).
The CF has no actual blatant tell issues, but maybe the dial and hands are not to VSF standard.
The old tells (poor cyclops, misaligned rehaut, rubbish date wheel, poor general quality, things just wrong/missing) are all fixed, they're both capable of fooling anyone.

But the VSF does have the VS3235 movement and it is apparently next level compared to anything else out of China. Real 70hr power reserve, getting close to Rolex finish levels and can be regulated to inside Rolex standards.

I love my VSF 126610LV, it's 95+% of a Rolex for <5% of the price. My boss has a real one (a 16610, ie a normal black date Sub, 40mm pre rehaut engrave and pre maxi case, but bizarrely it does have a glidelock clasp), he had it serviced recently. £3000, that is not a typo, three thousand pounds! Fine for him, but do you fancy a £3k to run your watch? That's 6 good reps. 8 or 9 if you buy M2M!
I can actually afford a real Rolex, I just don't want to run one!
 
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Kinty

You're Saying I Can Sell?
12/3/19
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Seems to me the VSF has one main problem (poor rehaut polish) and a couple of small issues (bezel colour, date text maybe too tidy and slim!).
The CF has no actual blatant tell issues, but maybe the dial and hands are not to VSF standard.
The old tells (poor cyclops, misaligned rehaut, rubbish date wheel, poor general quality, things just wrong/missing) are all fixed, they're both capable of fooling anyone.

But the VSF does have the VS3235 movement and it is apparently next level compared to anything else out of China. Real 70hr power reserve, getting close to Rolex finish levels and can be regulated to inside Rolex standards.

I love my VSF 126610LV, it's 95+% of a Rolex for <5% of the price. My boss has a real one (a 16610, ie a normal black date Sub, 40mm pre rehaut engrave and pre maxi case, but bizarrely it does have a glidelock clasp), he had it serviced recently. £3000, that is not a typo, three thousand pounds! Fine for him, but do you fancy a £3k to run your watch? That's 6 good reps. 8 or 9 if you buy M2M!
I can actually afford a real Rolex, I just don't want to run one!
I think you are right, I suppose if the VSF is to be side to side against the gen as it is in the videos you can make out the slight differences, but what is the chance of ever being side to side with someone and making the comparisons, I would guess nil.
Having a reliab
 

Kinty

You're Saying I Can Sell?
12/3/19
61
44
18
UK
I think you are right, I suppose if the VSF is to be side to side against the gen as it is in the videos you can make out the slight differences, but what is the chance of ever being side to side with someone and making the comparisons, I would guess nil.
Having a reliab
Apologies - pressed send way too early!
Having a reliable movement is huge, I have a couple of Pagani Design homage watches, and even just the difference between the watches with the pearl movement compared to the Seiko movement is such a difference, so I can certainly appreciate having a good quality movement.
I could afford a Rolex, but it would take a huge chunk of my savings, and saying that you can't get hold of a Starbucks from Rolex directly anyway, you have to go to the grey market and then you're paying £13 - £15k! £500 sounds much better ! ;) The service costs just sound unreasonable - my wife doesn't appreciate watches in the same way I do, so she may agree to me getting the watch initially, but I can imagine her face when I tell her I need £3k every 5 years just to maintain it!
 

sudo mysql

Horology Curious
18/3/23
17
14
3
conus
he had it serviced recently. £3000, that is not a typo, three thousand pounds! Fine for him, but do you fancy a £3k to run your watch? That's 6 good reps. 8 or 9 if you buy M2M!
I can actually afford a real Rolex, I just don't want to run one!

Did he get a new movement out of warranty?! Damn.
 

Hilltop

You're Saying I Can Sell?
15/9/20
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An interesting read for all contributors. Many thanks and good luck it’s your purchase, which i look forward to seeing alongside your experience of the purchase.
 
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