I'm admittedly a Clean "fan boy" but is it really fair to say that when they've been consistently producing for the last 3 years? They care about the details that some factories don't give a shit about, maybe it's because they also bother to have CTime do gen vs clean comparisons, then we see how close it becomes.
Note this is all my opinion. At the end of the day the fight between the top factories are all about nuances at this point. So it's really 70-80% subjective.
GMT - lots of contention but I think it's fair to say that Clean set the bar and the rest of the factories are catching up. C+ and even ARF are still using Clean parts that were introduced by Clean or their suppliers, so is it really fair to "discredit" Clean on these things? ARF maybe makes the better aesthetic watch for the Bruce Wayne, but when their foundation is literally based on Clean's parts and suppliers, we have to give some credit to where it's due. Clean could do better on minor details, no doubt, but in terms of aesthetics they've pretty much nailed it.
Daytona - Clean was undoubtedly superior in almost every model until the last 6 months. Specifically let's look at the 116500 Panda, ZF, BTF (still has thick subdials but better color on dial), VSF are all basically "Clean" level for this replica now. But again, for 2 years, Clean built the foundation for these parts, specifically the bezel and platinum plating, which is often overlooked today. Even BTF was using Clean's bezel for basically their whole production run.
But let's take a look at the precious metal Daytonas - I mean almost every factory shits the bed when we talk about "dial" for the precious metal Daytonas, Clean was almost always superior. I always think of BTF vs Clean in the 116518 Pikachu space. I mean if you can't see it - good for you, but it's clear to see which one is Clean and which one is BTF simply based on dial alone.
Explorer 1 36mm - VS vs Clean, it's not even a contest. VS has the wrong case shape, 20mm lugs, etc. Not a contender against Clean. VS charging Clean level stuff for BP level replica of the 36mm.
Datejust 36mm/41mm - VSF is "better" built, crystal and movement are better, but the dial and case are worse than Clean's. 50/50 toss up, if it was 36mm I would take VSF since the skinny lug issue is not noticeable on 36mm, but if 41mm I would prefer Clean's. Special exception to the Wimbledon 36mm - VSF takes it since the 9oClock marker for VSF is correct, Clean didn't bother to fix it on theirs, which is a shame, because the Clean dial is better than VSF dial for wimbledon color.
Submariner 116x series - VSF takes it except for the Hulk line which Clean does better with a crystal swap.
Submariner 126x series - 50/50. I lean VSF for the movement and overall crystal quality but the case shape of the Clean is ever so slightly better than VS. But it's apples and oranges, minor nitpicks between the two. I would take a Clean Bluesy over a VSF bluesy, but a VSF black sub/kermit over a Clean sub/kermit.
