The "Who makes the best Rolex" compilation thread

[itanalot]

Based on the number of people looking for easily accessible information on Rolex reps I've decided to compile a bunch of comparisons that try to answer the question "which is the best."

Please note that some of these reviews come from TDs here or the other forums. So I'll leave it up to you to determine whether there is a conflict of interest. As usual, caveat emptor.

Please also keep in mind that these are just opinions, if you doubt anything you should go look at the attached pictures in the links for yourself. Further, these refer to watches out of the box. Frankening is not covered here.

Credit goes to the original authors.


DATEJUST
VSF, Clean, ARF too close to call

BLUE DJ41 (126334) Steve @ The One Watches. RWI 06/2022

Gen, VSF, Clean, GM and AR, 41mm blue datejust detailed comparison

Hello everyone, this is unknown Steve. Today we bring you a full comparison of the GEN Blue datejust 126334 with several major manufacturers! Let's get right to it! front view There is unavoidable about the color difference in the blue dial, the GEN is a dark blue, the AR factory deviates...

forum.replica-watch.info

BLUE DJ41 (126334) vanzhulik. RWI 10/2020

Rolex DJ 41 ARF V2 126334 Blue Jubilee VS GEN - Full Side-to-side comparison

Hello everyone! I was finally able to buy my first gen rolex recently, and luckily i had same ARF rep for 2 years. I thought it would be useful to make side-to-side comparison, so people can learn a bit more about this particular rep. First of all, i want to say that ARF rep is close, nice...

forum.replica-watch.info

BLUE DJ41 (126334) kenngconspiracy. RWI 05/2022

Rolex 126334 Gen vs Rep Dial Photo Review (WARNING: FACIAL FULL OF PHOTOS INCLUDED)

Good day everyone! I got the opportunity to do some Frankens and now have the good fortune to share closeup photos of two sets of VSF and gen dial comparisons, so that they may be added to the gorgeous repository of knowledge that is RWI. This will be another intuitive visual aid, rather than...

forum.replica-watch.info

DAYTONA
Clean makes the best

BLACK (116500) Steve @ The One Watches. RWI 05/2022

Black Daytona 116500 GEN VS NOOB, Clean V2, BT V2, Full comparison

Hello everyone, this is unknow Steve. A few days ago we have post an article of 2021 Gen Daytona and made a compare with Noob, clean and BT factory with all details. Here is the link...

forum.replica-watch.info

PANDA (116500) Steve @ The One Watches. RWI 07/2022, 05/2022

A comprehensive comparison of the Panda Daytona 116500 GEN with WF, EW and AL

Hello everyone, this is unknown Steve. Some days ago we posted a comprehensive comparison of the 116500 White and Black GEN with the three factory versions of the 4130 (NOOB, CLEAN, BTF)! Here are the links for the details: Link 1...

forum.replica-watch.info

Panda Daytona 116500 GEN VS NOOB, Clean V2, BT V2, Full comparison

Hello everyone, this is unknow Steve. We have already post some articles about comparison between Clean V1&V2, BTF V1&V2. Here are the links: https://forum.replica-watch.info/for...led-comparison https://forum.replica-watch.info/for...led-comparison Now we bought a 2021 Gen Daytona and made...

forum.replica-watch.info

SEA-DWELLER
ARF makes the best if noob factory is not available

D-BLUE (1166610) RWI.

Help me decide which Rolex Sea Dweller (DBlue) to get?

I did some research and couldn't come to a decision which would be best for the money and reliability. -SEA-DWELLER DEEPSEA 116660 "D-BLUE" ARF 1:1 BEST EDITION 904L SS CASE AND BRACELET SH3135 -Sea-Dweller DEEPSEA 116660 "D-BLUE" V7 1:1 Noob Best Edition SA3135 -Sea-Dweller DEEPSEA 116660...

forum.replica-watch.info

D-BLUE (126660) Warrcraft, RWI 12/2019.

Some Pictures & Thoughts Rolex Gen 126660 D-Blue vs BP 126660

Hi, I just received my gen Rolex 126660 DEEPSEA James Cameron D-Blue. first, I love it! The dial and workmanship of the gen, is, of course, amazing! What I'm kind of aggravated about is my two BP Maker 126660 are close in many ways! This makes me feel more confident when I eventually let one go...

forum.replica-watch.info

SEA-DWELLER (126600) RWI.

Sea Dweller Decision

Hi all, just looking for some opinions as I choose between 2 versions of Sea Dweller to purchase.. I keep going back and forth on which one to buy, and just looking for any opinions or comments on which one you would choose.. Also any discussion on pro's & cons, I know each version has pros and...

forum.replica-watch.info

SUBMARINER
ARF, VSF, Clean usually makes the best

NO DATE (Clean Factory) teh_ham. RWI 10/2021.

Clean Factory No-Date Submariner Review w/ Macro Shots

I'll keep this review brief. Fortunately, the no-date submariners' best feature is indeed the no-date, with the lack of one, means for rep purposes, there is less to get wrong and less to scrutinize - the date wheel and cyclops are easy tells IMO. Although, what drew me to it was the clean...

forum.replica-watch.info

NO DATE. HG 2000, RWI 04/2021.

VSF vs. CF No Date Sub - An amateurs review

I wanted to write this review to try and give a small piece back to the community that I have learned so much from in the past year. With so much hype around VSF and subs as of late, I figured even if this helps one future noob like myself, then it was worth writing. I have been waiting for the...

forum.replica-watch.info

BLUSEY DATE (116613LB) Steve @ The One Watches. RWI 12/2022.

Submariner 116613LB GEN, VS, Clean, GM, KING comprehensive comparison!

Hi, I'm Steve. Let’s quit the crap, today we will bring you the comprehensive comparison of Submariner 116613LB GEN, VS, Clean, GM, KING. Dial front view Cell phone photos What the guys care about most is the dial color. According to the comparison of real objects, the blue radiating...

forum.replica-watch.info

STARBUCKS DATE (126610LV) Steve @ The One Watches. RWI 07/2022.

Full comparison of 126610LV GEN, VS, CLEAN, GM, JOKER

Hi everyone, I'm Steve, here I am again. This time I bring you a full comparison between the 126610LV GEN and several replicas! As far as style is concerned, the first generation of the submariner in the classic color scheme of black dial and green bezel is also my personal favorite! Without...

forum.replica-watch.info

BLACK DATE (122610LN) derjenigewelcher. RWI 11/2021.

Comparison VSF 126610LN vs. GEN

Welcome dear forum community to a comparison between VSF 126610LN versus GEN 126610LN. I was coerced by P..DR..D to write this review;) Right at the beginning I would like to state that I wrote this whole text in German and then translated it with google translate, so forgive me any grammar...

forum.replica-watch.info

HULK (116610LV) Angus @ Puretime. Reddit.
[Pt 1] https://www.reddit.com/r/RepTime/comments/kdiybm [Pt 2] https://www.reddit.com/r/RepTime/comments/kdj2ay
YACHT MASTER
Clean makes the best

GREY YM (126622-0001) Steve @ The One Watches. RWI 11/2022.

Grey Yacht-Master 126622-0001 Gen, Clean, VR, GM, CS Comprehensive Comparison

Hello everyone, I'm Steve and I'm back! Before, we made a comprehensive comparison of Blue Yacht 126622-0002 GEN, clean, VR, GM, CS. Guys who are interested in that please click below link to check...

forum.replica-watch.info

BLUE YM (126622-0001) Steve @ The One Watches. RWI 10/2022.

All-round comparison: Blue Yacht-Master 126622-0002 Gen, Clean, VR, GM, CS

Hello everyone, this is Steve and I'm back! As the title says, let's get started! Front view Indoor and outdoor mobile phone pictures By repeated comparison with the object, clean dial colour is closest to GEN! VR, GM seems darker and in poor light VR looks like purple. The CS is too...

forum.replica-watch.info

BLACK YM (226659) Steve @ The One Watches. Reddit.
https://www.reddit.com/r/RepTime/comments/zyt8gd

FURTHER INFORMATION IF YOUR WATCH IS NOT FOUND HERE (REDDIT REPTIME):
https://www.reddit.com/r/RepTime/comments/mervzl
Please, only respond to this thread if you have more links to photos/comparisons!

 

[subara]

nice work man ,thx alot

 

[oceaon]

I think this might be useful for incredibly lazy noobs who don't want to read or search and be spoon-fed information. Even with a post like this - which lays everything out for them, we will still have folks asking, "what is the best Rolex" within their first seven posts, literally one day after you posted this help, lol.

There should be a note at the top that states all reps have their flaws. This is what noobs really want to know. Despite what you might have heard or read, there is no such thing as an AAAAAA+ rep or a super clone. Each individual has tolerances that make a piece acceptable to them, the buyer. Some might argue that the dial color is off, the crystal is grey-ish, the coronet is too wide, the case is flat, the sels are trash, the plating is the wrong color, the rehault is thin, or the cost is too much, etc.

Each person has things that are important to them. Most acknowledge that reps do a great job of getting close to Gen, but it takes time to read, learn and understand what makes a difference to you, the buyer. I would say in 2023, a LOT of Reps are considered 95% close to Gen, but that other 5% is really the difference between handmade craftmanship and machine-made inconsistencies. After all, Humans and chimps share 98.8% of the same DNA, yet that 1.2% is vastly far away, lol. Not to mention, remember when looking at 50X photos on the forum to find flaws that YOU, the watch wearer, are the ULTIMATE TELL, as most people don't get more than 3-5ft from you and won't see that wide coronet that is .15mm wide. A confident wearer far exceeds the flaws of the piece. You probably aren't fooling anyone if you have a $180K iced-out RG Rolex rainbow and drive a Toyota Rav4. Furthermore, we in the forum will always judge things more harshly than most owners of Gens, who walk into a boutique and buy pieces without knowing much about a piece to that granular level.

In the rep world, the factories always take two steps forward and one step back - otherwise, how are they supposed to get you to buy version 2, version 3, and so on? Think iPhone. Each year they give you a tiny bit more.

Then there is the road of frankens (combining Gen parts to a rep) to make them even closer to a Gen. More cost, but getting MUCH closer to Gen spec depending on what you want to achieve. If people new to the forum don't read and learn, they would have no idea that this will significantly impact which factory they go with. Example: Choosing a Noob YM with a 3135 over a YM A2824 makes a BIG difference, especially if you want to add gen parts to the movement.

Still, I wish you had not thrown your two-cents into the mix and left the post unbiased. Your opinion above, "Clean makes the best Daytona." This is subjective at best. Sure, it might be the best OOTB Daytona, but I would choose a v3 BTF all day, every day because it has a better crystal, better case, better sels, and smoother movement, and I know I can enhance this by adding a Clean dial or gen dial, and it will be a rockstar. Again, it takes reading and understanding what is important to you.

Also, posts like this are only as good as time itself. Because factories are trying to 1-up each other, BTF V2 was better than Clean V1. Clean v2 was better than BTF v2. BTF v3 was better than that, and the latest Clean V3 dial is better than BTF v3. And that all happened within four months - so depending on when these types of posts are added makes a more considerable difference.

Furthermore, it would have been more helpful to leave out convoluted posts with contradictory info. The last Reddit post has stuff going back 2-3 years. Putting articles together from 2020 and articles from 2022 will be vastly different in detail. Considering the scarcity of Noob pieces today compared to 2020 is close to nil. Noobs were incredible for their time, just like TC was back in the day. But new factories are constantly popping up with next-level pieces. I would NEVER choose a Noob now over a more modern, well-executed Clean/BTF.

And one last piece of advice, do your homework. Six months ago, Andrew at Trusty told me VSF had just got caught and closed down, and he raised his prices by $250 on many of those pieces. I reached out to Li at Jtime, and he laughed and said he didn't know why Andrew would say that because VSF was fine. Lies go around the world quicker than truth. Li ordered me the 3 VSF pieces I was looking for at the time with no issue. As a matter of fact, I just ordered another VSF from Li just yesterday (Feb 12th, 23).

I think some of the things I have listed here are just as important, if not more important.

 

[1breitling]

I took a hiatus for a few months and I see that VSF isn't in production again, according to this list, what happened?

 

[itanalot]

I took a hiatus for a few months and I see that VSF isn't in production again, according to this list, what happened?

Honestly I can't even keep track of who is open and who is closed anymore. I was under the impression that they are still open since the last time they were down

 

[oceaon]

Honestly I can't even keep track of who is open and who is closed anymore. I was under the impression that they are still open since the last time they were down

They are still open

 

[Paulie-D]

Some much info, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. But this is a great overview! Thanks for the hard work. We blessed with so many beautiful choices.

 

[daytonadude]

This should be pinned 4danoooobs

 

[TESLA760]

This should be pinned 4danoooobs

Or pinned on their foreheads

 

[Subrosa01]

As a complete noon I have searched quite a lot and I'm still not clear on who makes the best 12660LN clean or vsf, something about the movement in the vsf is better but the case on the clean is better than vsf is what I can garner but nothing more than that. The vsf is the only one listed here so this list isn't comprehensive, I'm probably going to get completely burned for saying this, but I've searched a fair amount.

 

[TESLA760]

As a complete noon I have searched quite a lot and I'm still not clear on who makes the best 12660LN clean or vsf, something about the movement in the vsf is better but the case on the clean is better than vsf is what I can garner but nothing more than that. The vsf is the only one listed here so this list isn't comprehensive, I'm probably going to get completely burned for saying this, but I've searched a fair amount.

What do you think from the pictures members have shared ?

 

[Rockfly]

How about for the GMT Master?

 

[Akapeloso]

How about DayDates? ( GMF, ARF, QF ). And submariner I think VSF still the best.