ZF 15400 blue dial Vs Gen comparison

[Tobel]

Hi guys,

I finally received my blue ZF 15400 after the 1st one got seized by customs (thanks by the way to Li and Lana at Jtime who have been amazing as usual), and I have to admit that I am impressed. So I thought I would share a modest Rep Vs gen review to help all folks who are still wondering about this particular rep make up their mind

Disclaimer: one of the reasons I was not sure about the ZF blue dial was that on all pictures that I had seen, it seemed a little flat and plastic like, with a shade of blue that seemed off. In reality it's absolutely not and I now realize that it's likely because of how cameras capture its colours and sunburst effect. You will see that in some of my pictures it may look like it is but this is one of these dials that pictures don't do justice to.

Without further ado, here are the pictures. The gen is systematically on the left and the ZF on the right. Do note that even though they are side by side and under the same lights, their angle towards the camera is slightly different so it catches the light differently and so does the crystal, which creates slightly different reflections.

Strengths

In my modest opinion ZF has done a fantastic job at replicating the 15400 J series (with the cold blue dial). The watch feels solid, the dial is gorgeous and even side by side with a gen does not look bad at all. I haven't measured thickness but they look to be the same (that info is I'm sure in the main ZF thread), the clasp feels solid and the part with the logo that is known to giggle around seems ok at least on mine (moves a bit but just like gen).


Weaknesses

• The rotor is quite noisy so it definitely needs silencing. And for the purists around here, since the movement is a Miyota, let's not compare the design with the gen, nor the fact that it's a high beat movement whose date starts changing at 10.45pm
• The bracelet feels solid but as mentioned in the main thread, it deserves a spa treatment to become smoother and soften the edges a bit
• The screws on the bezel are quite good but they look to me as they have slightly rounded edges, which reflects light differently from the gens's, and also give the impression that there is some space around the screws within the hole in the bezel when there is actually none (at least that I can see without a loupe). Not a big deal IMO
• The clasp logo engraving look ever so slightly shallower, but it's really impossible to tell the difference in reality. Same thing for the AP logo on the crown. So not really a weakness

There you go guys. IMO with a silenced rotor and a bracelet treatment this is a superb rep. Thanks Al for your advice

Hope this is useful, let me know if you have questions!

 

[stufuse]

Great this, thanks. Maybe you could try photographing a watch at a time. Put them in the same spot somewhere maybe fix the camera in a position above and swap them in and out.


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[Tobel]

Great this, thanks. Maybe you could try photographing a watch at a time. Put them in the same spot somewhere maybe fix the camera in a position above and swap them in and out.


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I tried that but didn't work much better unfortunately + it would not allow for the variety of angles and lights (indoor, inside natural, artificial) that I tried to capture above

 

[legend]

Thank you T for your kind comparison. Learnt a little more from your review.


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[stufuse]

I tried that but didn't work much better unfortunately + it would not allow for the variety of angles and lights (indoor, inside natural, artificial) that I tried to capture above

No worries then. Nice comparison all the same


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[Tompa]

What is you opinion on the braclet? Is it more solid on the gen? More ”Flimsy”on rep or its the same feeling on both? Thx for a nice thread


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[Lawny]

Love these rep vs gen comparisons. Thanks for taking the time and effort to post! Great pictures.

 

[jasonbaylee]

Photographically speaking, It seems that the case of the gen is broader than ZF.

Can you kindly confirmed this?

Much appreciated.

 

[Lawny]

Photographically speaking, It seems that the case of the gen is broader than ZF.

Can you kindly confirmed this?

Much appreciated.

I think it’s just an optical illusion due to camera angles

 

[Tobel]

Thank you T for your kind comparison. Learnt a little more from your review.


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Thanks Al, I'm pretty sure you're being too kind here, but I'm glad you liked the review.

This will probably come your way soon, if you'll have it

 

[Tobel]

Photographically speaking, It seems that the case of the gen is broader than ZF.

Can you kindly confirmed this?

Much appreciated.

This is quite funny, I was wondering where this was coming from but after looking at the pic again, I see exactly what you mean

I don't have a caliper so can't prove it but yes these are optical illusions and the 2 cases have the same dimensions

 

[Tobel]

What is you opinion on the braclet? Is it more solid on the gen? More ”Flimsy”on rep or its the same feeling on both? Thx for a nice thread


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I think it is quite good, but it requires a spa treatment and softening the edges a little. Nothing dramatic and can absolutely be worn ootb with no issue, this is really for comfort and it doesn't feel cheap

 

[jasonbaylee]

Thank you sir

Wear both with pride!

 

[Replica01]

Thank you for the comparison!

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[srhoque]

Thanks T!! This was an informative review. The one thing that is pretty clear from you pics is the subtle and smooth sunburst on your gen, I don’t see that in any of the ZF pics. Wear in good health!!

 

[Tobel]

Thanks T!! This was an informative review. The one thing that is pretty clear from you pics is the subtle and smooth sunburst on your gen, I don’t see that in any of the ZF pics. Wear in good health!!

Thanks mate. Strangely enough the sunburst is quite present under artificial lights, as you can probably see on the pictures, but under natural lights you are mostly right. The sunburst is there but not quite as much as on the gen.

 

[jcguo0516]

Thanks mate. Strangely enough the sunburst is quite present under artificial lights, as you can probably see on the pictures, but under natural lights you are mostly right. The sunburst is there but not quite as much as on the gen.

i was about to say, under the artificial lights, ZF did an absolute amazing job, but under natural lights, thats where the gen outshine the reps by miles, but in honesty, probably 99.9% of the people wont be able to tell whether or not its a rep from a couple feet away on the wrist, i love my blue dial 15400, i always dress nice with it as well, it's all about the presentaion of yourself

 

[MasterWatch]

Photographically speaking, It seems that the case of the gen is broader than ZF.

Can you kindly confirmed this?

Much appreciated.

There are two reasons why the Gen Look broader/wider.

1. As you can see below the gap from the Bezel Edge to the Edge of the Case on the Y axis is larger. i.e. Rep case is a little longer in the Y axis.

2. The angle of the slanted egde (polished part) of the Bezel is different from that of the Rep. And that's also adding to the illusion of being broader.


OP a great Review. It's awesome to see them both side to side and under same lighting conditions. Often time we have to compare with gens with pics which were not taken in the same setting, which doesn't always tell the right story. So well done indeed.

 

[Tobel]

There are two reasons why the Gen Look broader/wider.

1. As you can see below the gap from the Bezel Edge to the Edge of the Case on the Y axis is larger. i.e. Rep case is a little longer in the Y axis.

2. The angle of the slanted egde (polished part) of the Bezel is different from that of the Rep. And that's also adding to the illusion of being broader.


OP a great Review. It's awesome to see them both side to side and under same lighting conditions. Often time we have to compare with gens with pics which were not taken in the same setting, which doesn't always tell the right story. So well done indeed.

Thanks mate, good catch. When not zoomed in like on these pictures, it's really hard to see the difference that you circled in red.

And when it comes to the angle of the bezel, I think it's the picture that gives this impression as the 2 watches are not sitting on the wrist at the exact same angle. Even side by side I really can't tell the difference, unlike my ppf nautilus which I see the bezel being different from the gen.

 

[SHB]

Oh so nice to see a review of the blue dial, zf did a crazy job, thanks for the review