VSF vs. CF No Date Sub - An amateurs review

[HG 2000]

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 VSF no date to be my first sub purchase (feels like forever.) I ended up getting impatient after waiting for 5 months and ordered the CF. A week later, the VSF was announced. So I just said screw it and ordered that one too.

I definitely learned a few things along this process:

• We are all crazy. I can barely tell the difference when holding them both in my hands. The differences are so incredibly small. The nuances between the two take real effort to find.
• I almost feel let down because they are both so good.
• I have been obsessing over these small details for months, while never holding a real sub. They are small watches. Much smaller than I anticipated.
• Taking pictures of watches is HARD. I spent 2 days, 5 different rooms, and every time of day to get lighting right and they still suck.

I am still a complete novice, so most of my comparisons will be opinion based, but I tried to capture what I see for each step, in pictures.

One thing to note, I am a machinist. I work with tolerances that have multiple zeros in front of the first digit. So, some of my opinions may be slightly biased given the background. I also say this because some of the things I “felt” may not be even noticed to others. Take it all with a grain of salt.

I fully understand that these are just two examples of each brand. I wouldn't assume that the things I point out should be indicative of every batch or watch.

Here is my brief pros/cons of each:

VSF-
Manual winding is the smoothest I have felt of any of my reps
Crystal is insanely clear
Bezel movement is smooth with each click being felt
Hour markers/pearl are one shade “off-white” compared to the CF
Machining marks on the bezel cuts are rougher than the CF
Crown Guards are shaped much better than CF
Rehaut seems a bit light
Crown itself is machined cleaner

CF-
Manual winding feels much rougher than the VSF , noticeably different
Crystal is also insanely clear
Bezel movement is smooth, but seems to bind in certain spots. Clicks not as defined
Hour markers/pearl are more pure white and the polished edges seem slightly brighter (I prefer the CF)
Crown guards are weird. Tough to explain but they almost look like a perfect slope that goes from top of Y axis to furthest right of X axis
Rehaut is much bolder, also looks more crisp

Both watches:
Bracelets both aren’t that great. I was expecting more from the CF given the thought that it was from ARF. Hard to explain, but I say they both sound “tingy” like you can hear the cheap metal sound.
The glide lock and clasp on both are amazing. Very crisp.
The bezel on both are perfect. I believe they both use CF so it makes sense.
The dials, fonts, crystals are all great on both.
I thought the CF would have better hands, but they both look great, (Might just be my noob status coming into play again)

My Choice:
I’m sticking with the VSF. While I personally like the dial better on the CF, the feel of the movement when winding and the bezel have made up my mind, on top of the crown guards.

On to the pics (Please let me know if you have any requests for specific angles):

Both watches:
CF is on the left in all

Dial:

CF

VSF

Rehaut: (Bottom right hand side of pic is clearest spot)

CF

VSF

Hands:

CF

VSF:

Bezel cuts

CF

VSF

Crown Gaurds

CF:

VSF

 

[Tobel]

Thanks mate for the review, great job!

 

[Rehaut19]

Thanks for your review!

All bracelet have to do an oil bath, for every rep.

About hands, do you notice lume differences between hands and hour markers, under sunlight? Both for vsf and for Clean

 

[GottaHave]

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 VSF no date to be my first sub purchase (feels like forever.) I ended up getting impatient after waiting for 5 months and ordered the CF. A week later, the VSF was announced. So I just said screw it and ordered that one too.

I definitely learned a few things along this process:

• We are all crazy. I can barely tell the difference when holding them both in my hands. The differences are so incredibly small. The nuances between the two take real effort to find.
• I almost feel let down because they are both so good.
• I have been obsessing over these small details for months, while never holding a real sub. They are small watches. Much smaller than I anticipated.
• Taking pictures of watches is HARD. I spent 2 days, 5 different rooms, and every time of day to get lighting right and they still suck.

I am still a complete novice, so most of my comparisons will be opinion based, but I tried to capture what I see for each step, in pictures.

One thing to note, I am a machinist. I work with tolerances that have multiple zeros in front of the first digit. So, some of my opinions may be slightly biased given the background. I also say this because some of the things I “felt” may not be even noticed to others. Take it all with a grain of salt.

I fully understand that these are just two examples of each brand. I wouldn't assume that the things I point out should be indicative of every batch or watch.

Here is my brief pros/cons of each:

VSF-
Manual winding is the smoothest I have felt of any of my reps
Crystal is insanely clear
Bezel movement is smooth with each click being felt
Hour markers/pearl are one shade “off-white” compared to the CF
Machining marks on the bezel cuts are rougher than the CF
Crown Guards are shaped much better than CF
Rehaut seems a bit light
Crown itself is machined cleaner

CF-
Manual winding feels much rougher than the VSF , noticeably different
Crystal is also insanely clear
Bezel movement is smooth, but seems to bind in certain spots. Clicks not as defined
Hour markers/pearl are more pure white and the polished edges seem slightly brighter (I prefer the CF)
Crown guards are weird. Tough to explain but they almost look like a perfect slope that goes from top of Y axis to furthest right of X axis
Rehaut is much bolder, also looks more crisp

Both watches:
Bracelets both aren’t that great. I was expecting more from the CF given the thought that it was from ARF. Hard to explain, but I say they both sound “tingy” like you can hear the cheap metal sound.
The glide lock and clasp on both are amazing. Very crisp.
The bezel on both are perfect. I believe they both use CF so it makes sense.
The dials, fonts, crystals are all great on both.
I thought the CF would have better hands, but they both look great, (Might just be my noob status coming into play again)

My Choice:
I’m sticking with the VSF. While I personally like the dial better on the CF, the feel of the movement when winding and the bezel have made up my mind, on top of the crown guards.

A fantastic comparison & thanks for all your effort to share this with us. :drinks_cheers:

 

[wildhunter84]

Awesome review bro, thank you for the time and effort

 

[P..DR..D]

Well done Sir & fair play for such a detailed write up

It's sure to be a thread that members will reference going forward when deciding between the two.

What I took from it mostly, aside from the incredidle amount of detail, was this point :-

"We are all crazy. I can barely tell the difference when holding them both in my hands. The differences are so incredibly small. The nuances between the two take real effort to find.

Thanks again & stay safe.

 

[kiwon618]

VSF looks better for me too. Thank you for this comparison review

 

[MAX11]

thank you for this, my 2nd rep is going to be VSF ND

 

[pclaussen]

Great review!!


Enviado desde mi iPhone utilizando RWI

 

[HomeRye]

Many thanks - I’ve been waiting for more of these side by side reviews before I pull the trigger on the No Date Sub myself.

 

[Nassim]

Well done thank you

 

[derjenigewelcher]

"We are all crazy. I can barely tell the difference when holding them both in my hands. The differences are so incredibly small. The nuances between the two take real effort to find.

Word!

All bracelet have to do an oil bath, for every rep.

I never did this before, but always heared about it.
What oil do you take for that?
And how exactly is the process?

 

[Rehaut19]

Word!



I never did this before, but always heared about it.
What oil do you take for that?
And how exactly is the process?

I just use a baby oil. Remove the bracelet from case and leave it overnight in oil. Then clean with hand soap.

 

[derjenigewelcher]

Thanks mate!

 

[diamonds]

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 VSF no date to be my first sub purchase (feels like forever.) I ended up getting impatient after waiting for 5 months and ordered the CF. A week later, the VSF was announced. So I just said screw it and ordered that one too.

I definitely learned a few things along this process:

• We are all crazy. I can barely tell the difference when holding them both in my hands. The differences are so incredibly small. The nuances between the two take real effort to find.
• I almost feel let down because they are both so good.
• I have been obsessing over these small details for months, while never holding a real sub. They are small watches. Much smaller than I anticipated.
• Taking pictures of watches is HARD. I spent 2 days, 5 different rooms, and every time of day to get lighting right and they still suck.

I am still a complete novice, so most of my comparisons will be opinion based, but I tried to capture what I see for each step, in pictures.

Great review!
I have been wondering and waiting to see a side by side of VSF vs Clean "No Date" and your review was well written and the photos were excellent. Thanks for the great comparison review and it helped me make up my mind: VSF.

 

[SS72]

Thanks for this. Great review and pics. CGs are definitely the only obvious flaw/tell. The absence of a cyclops and date wheel certainly makes things easier.

​​​​

 

[ZMCoupe]

Nice review! I’ve been debating between these two No Dates and your side by side was helpful.

Enjoy your watches!

 

[sukwonee]

Nice review / comparison pics!

​​​​​​CF is very nice but their CG flaw is very unfortunate.

Have you noticed any differences in the lugs area from the side view?

 

[Fiddo]

Good stuff! Thanks for taking the time to put it together!

 

[rwacc]

You're so right about watches being surprisingly small. I'm new to all of this, and I've been ordering a few parts here and there trying to improve a cheapie. When they arrive, I realize all my agonizing about certain details makes a lot less sense IRL rather than through a macro lens. Lol.