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Today we tested all the popular SUBs for 904L steel

kokemut

Active Member
9/1/17
245
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What a ride. Thanks to all involved.

What I’ve learnt so far:

-every government on earth has joined forces to run a conspiracy where they throw their economies down the toilet and lose copious amounts of votes so they can give you a vaccine...which they could’ve given you anyway without destroying themselves.

-every hospital worldwide is murdering people, some at industrial scale and using the military to cart the bodies away, because every individual that works there just loves their government so much and will do their bidding even to the point of mass murder and suicide.

-No business ever has had an exclusive contract. Oh and given this I’m starting a time share purchase of a F-22 Raptor. PM me for your share.

-There’s going to be a sword fight over who can be pissed on by Tucker. Can I watch?...the sword fight, not the pissing. Chinese swords are best...something to do with the steel I hear. People say Japanese steel is supreme but you can tell it’s inferior...all their swords are bent!

-Angus offering to send all watches to some RWI member to verify the results isn’t independent enough as he might swap the stickers on the watches...therefore RWI members can’t actually tell any difference between the watches and yet want to know which is the best sub.

And if I don’t contribute I should be banned so here’s my revolutionary contribution:

I live next to the ocean and every stainless steel appliance and hardware in my house that was made in China has rusted, except my rep watches. None of the hardware made of Aussie stainless steel has rusted. So Chinese rep watches are made from Aussie steel. How’s that for factories misleading you...mic drop.

Why is it I always come here when I’ve been drinking?

I have to re-read all with an Aussie accent to see if I fully agree ????


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mnkoshka

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28/12/09
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I think the quality of steels purchased by rep factories varies in batches. In working with duplex stainless steels for most of my career and specialise in machining and welding most kinds of stainless including 904L. We only test as we need independently test results and acquire material certificates for specific regulatory certification, these accurate tests can be costly in some cases.

Even though there are very expensive more accurate devices available these days We tend not to use hand held or portable spectroscopes, XRF or spark test in a non inert environment to accurately test grades of steels. Some of These devices are for rapid results, they can be qualitative and accuracy is highly dependent on the user/operator.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying these methods don’t work at all but they are not as accurate as some methods of lab testing.

In saying this I would assume that the 904 steel used by some factories would be borderline so the variance maybe be hard to detect by equipment that operates in a larger spectrum . Just my two cents and I’ve said this before.... Ive had ARF’s and other factories subs claiming 904L that had magnetic bracelets, crowns and bezels. And then I’ve had some that arnt....904L should not magnetise even through cold working like 316 sometimes can. I think depending on where they get their steel results would vary through batches and there’s probably not really a high level Of consistency with materials the rep industry. Most of the stainless we have purchased from China has unfortunately varied massively and to point in some cases where it was not useable


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Muskandar

Active Member
9/8/17
465
125
43
CONUS
No one answered my question earlier about whether the bracelets from other models are the same (as in part 904 part 316)
GMTs, Daytona’s etc?
 

crunchycarrot00

Active Member
14/6/18
450
104
43
Well, no one replied to my comment before, my question was:

If there are watches that mount 904l cases and bracelets, but 316l clasps, how is it that no one EVER noticed the difference in color between different parts of the same watch?

because you cant tell the difference by naked eye

And if anything, apparently 904L is inherently more yellow but because it takes on a "better" polish the effect is a bit of a wash.

It's all BS though because as soon as you get your skin's oils and whatever on it and it gets even a little dirty, you can't tell the difference anymore because all of THOSE factors matter far far far more
 

crunchycarrot00

Active Member
14/6/18
450
104
43
I think the quality of steels purchased by rep factories varies in batches. In working with duplex stainless steels for most of my career and specialise in machining and welding most kinds of stainless including 904L. We only test as we need independently test results and acquire material certificates for specific regulatory certification, these accurate tests can be costly in some cases.

Even though there are very expensive more accurate devices available these days We tend not to use hand held or portable spectroscopes, XRF or spark test in a non inert environment to accurately test grades of steels. Some of These devices are for rapid results, they can be qualitative and accuracy is highly dependent on the user/operator.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying these methods don’t work at all but they are not as accurate as some methods of lab testing.

In saying this I would assume that the 904 steel used by some factories would be borderline so the variance maybe be hard to detect by equipment that operates in a larger spectrum . Just my two cents and I’ve said this before.... Ive had ARF’s and other factories subs claiming 904L that had magnetic bracelets, crowns and bezels. And then I’ve had some that arnt....904L should not magnetise even through cold working like 316 sometimes can. I think depending on where they get their steel results would vary through batches and there’s probably not really a high level Of consistency with materials the rep industry. Most of the stainless we have purchased from China has unfortunately varied massively and to point in some cases where it was not useable


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The problem is 904L and 316L composition is vastly different. We're not talking small changes in alloying metal percentages. It's about having or not having copper, >10% absolute difference in nickel, having or not having phosphorous. So the "we got a bad batch" excuse is a bit of a cop out.

Personally I don't think 904L is "worth" any premium over 316L in both rep and gen form. If patek is fine with 316L, it's fine with me.
 
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mari115

Respected Member
9/6/18
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Nearer than you think
because you cant tell the difference by naked eye

And if anything, apparently 904L is inherently more yellow but because it takes on a "better" polish the effect is a bit of a wash.

It's all BS though because as soon as you get your skin's oils and whatever on it and it gets even a little dirty, you can't tell the difference anymore because all of THOSE factors matter far far far more

I asked that because there are people claiming that it's easy to spot the color of the steel (even if it seems BS to me).

And to prove that, if it's really true that there are some bracelet made of 904l with 316l clasps, no one ever realized it.

Under the same light someone should be able to spot the difference of color between the clasp and the rest of the bracelet if they are closely pay attention to it if that's the case.

Welp.

For sure it's scummy that the factories sold us something for something else,

I hope that they lower their price after we realized that lmao.
 

Repworld

Mythical Poster
27/12/16
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ZZF finish this game in my opinion hulk black and no date, idont interest in any another maker next order no date I hope no V3S .


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Repworld

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27/12/16
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giphy.gif

316L ZZF


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Kalev007

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25/6/19
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ZZF v3, that 316l steel looks amazingly good lmao, even if i dislike how they lied to us


That's not V3 its V2 has the old clasp (maybe the V2S 2836 as some called that V3 already months ago).
 

Principium

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15/3/20
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You never stop learning, thanks for telling me then! is there a proper video out? i just noticed the wrong clasp code

there is no V3 out, and no video at the moment...


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Yogibear

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Well personallyI've not had any of the watches in question.but other people that have had these so called 904 watches that have a 316 clasp most people won't notice the difference.most cant see the difference anyway .I can personally and made a comparison pic thread showing the 904 of one of my gen subs vs the 316 of one of my gen black bays .the last rep sub c I brought was the zzf v1 and it was full 904 ,I've ordered a vsf and that is fully 904. and I've got a zzf v3 coming soon and that is the 316 culprit apparently so I'm looking to compare it to my gens and review it with vsf and gen

Are you testing the steels composition via XRF?
 

Fab87pz

Active Member
2/8/18
464
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But now my question is... Will zzf be willing to still make deals with Angus after this? :confused: