I never noticed how different the dials are, there's no way this way is/was at one point NWBIG
It's virtually indistinguishable in real life/10" away to be honest. I have the V5 and access to a gen, and upon close inspection for sure the dial has a finer grain and isn't as deep. But I think the camera's noise reduction hasn't done that picture any favors. The rounded markers are only noticeable very close up with 20/20 but again from 10" away it's very hard to notice.
My XF markers aren't perfectly aligned, but they're not perfectly aligned on the gen either. For the money it's more than close enough imo. The bezel was a bit of a let-down for me. The white lume (uncharged) isn't as pure as the dial, or as the gen, and looks ever so slightly yellowed in certain lights. Again though, it's very good for a rep and only something you spot if you know it's there. It was also just a bit too loose. Not so loose that it would rotate by itself or anything, but definitely not firm enough, and had some play between clicks.
I made the bezel a lot stiffer and reduced the play by elongating the ratchet springs under the bezel and adding small washers (I actually used very small thick flat rubber gaskets) down into the holes in which the ratchet springs are seated. Firmed things up really well. Definitely a must do mod for these. The nylon bezel retainer is brutal/very effective though. I can imagine people quite easily bending the bezel trying to pry it off. Tread carefully.
I also swapped in a few ETA parts and serviced mine because it arrived with a broken winding pinion, so it made sense to do a few things at once. I serviced the movement, which was missing lubrication in some spots, and was rather crunchy. I swapped out the keyless works with ETA parts, with a matching stem (original was a tiny bit too long), replaced the gaskets all around, and oiled the rotor. It's pretty silky now. The dial is held on with double sides sticky pads from the factory though, which is kind of a bit lazy.
Overall I would say they're pretty good for the money.
