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Movements found in replicas - a quick FAQ

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Tony P

Thank you for this amazing information , just saved the thread so i can ask more questions when purchasing . 

 

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Horace Derwent
On 24/12/2021 at 08:07, GenTLe said:

It depends.

 

Finally also the new Rolex clones aren't bad.

They arre not bad but in several threads i saw that their PR is way less than the 72 hrs.

 

Anyway, this is not a real problem as long as the movement is solid, and these new clones seems to be.

 

All my reps have Miyota 9015 or 7750 or 23J, and , apart for a PP Calatrava from ZF (with micro rotor) which suddenly stopped working after 2 weeks i never, ever had a single problems with Reps movement  even after YEARS of use.

 

 

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SFRADS

Hi Everyone, 

I've been searching the forum for a movement. But I can't find it anywhere. 

It's an omega A8938. It's for the seamaster aqua terra and the watch is from a TD ( https://www.theonewatches.io/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=10463&search=VSF&description=true&page=6)

Can some one with more expertise rate this movement for me? Or at the very least tell me about the rating for the factory which is VSF.  I have two options either this or N1F which I also don't know alot about ( I dont think this is the "new" noob, is it? ) 

 Any help would be appreciated.  

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GenTLe
4 hours ago, SFRADS said:

Hi Everyone, 

I've been searching the forum for a movement. But I can't find it anywhere. 

It's an omega A8938. It's for the seamaster aqua terra and the watch is from a TD ( https://www.theonewatches.io/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=10463&search=VSF&description=true&page=6)

Can some one with more expertise rate this movement for me? Or at the very least tell me about the rating for the factory which is VSF.  I have two options either this or N1F which I also don't know alot about ( I dont think this is the "new" noob, is it? ) 

 Any help would be appreciated.  

It's a superclone with 2 real mainspring barrels, so not something widely used. Probably based on parts of other movements plus modifications. Not enough around to do a proper statistic.

But it's not a complex movement, so if treated well and eventually serviced when needed, it shouldn't be problematic.
This one uses a more common Hangzhou 6460 (aka the GMT version of the 2836) with fake plates decorated on top, so I can tell that it's surely more common, used and easy to be replaced in case of troubles: https://trustytimewatch88.io/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=35_66&products_id=24172 same as this: https://trustytimewatch88.io/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=35_66&products_id=24941

Edited by GenTLe

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SFRADS
2 hours ago, GenTLe said:

It's a superclone with 2 real mainspring barrels, so not something widely used. Probably based on parts of other movements plus modifications. Not enough around to do a proper statistic.

But it's not a complex movement, so if treated well and eventually serviced when needed, it shouldn't be problematic.
This one uses a more common Hangzhou 6460 (aka the GMT version of the 2836) with fake plates decorated on top, so I can tell that it's surely more common, used and easy to be replaced in case of troubles: https://trustytimewatch88.io/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=35_66&products_id=24172 same as this: https://trustytimewatch88.io/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=35_66&products_id=24941

OMG, thank you so much. I really appreciate your super fast response. Hopefully one day I can be as knowledgeable and pass this on .  Till then, I'm grateful. 

Given the choices, would you prefer one movement over another? From what I gather, the ones you mentioned are more common, hence probably easier to repair. Given that, then when purchasing this does the factory take precedence? If so, how would you rank VSF, vs. the two you mentioned (K6F and N1F)?  

Thank you again. 

Edited by SFRADS

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GenTLe
10 hours ago, SFRADS said:

OMG, thank you so much. I really appreciate your super fast response. Hopefully one day I can be as knowledgeable and pass this on .  Till then, I'm grateful. 

Given the choices, would you prefer one movement over another? From what I gather, the ones you mentioned are more common, hence probably easier to repair. Given that, then when purchasing this does the factory take precedence? If so, how would you rank VSF, vs. the two you mentioned (K6F and N1F)?  

Thank you again. 

Hard to answer. I already have a similar movement in a normal aquaterra (non GMT) and it's ok. A bit noisy at rotor level but not bad.

You have to consider the watch all together: the dial, the dimensions of the case, etc. Personally if 2 watches are totally identical I'd go for the one with the better movement, where "better" can vary between watches... For example for a submariner I'd go for a 2836 movement but for a rolex GMT 2 I'd go for the rolex clone, due to the fact that the 2836 GMT has the hands in the wrong order.

For a thin watch, if possible I'd go for a Miyota 9015 instead of custom movements, unless these last ones are around enough to be proven good.

If the 2 watches have different finishing at case level, then I'd go for the one with better dial and case, avoiding known bad movements but apart from that going for the movement it has.

Also I am able to service and fix my own watches, so it's not a big deal in case one goes bad. But in general I tend to stay on movements that have replacement parts available or that can be purchased as whole movement alone.

In your case, I'd go for VSF probably.

Edited by GenTLe
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SFRADS

Thank you again. All of this is really invaluable. I think there is alot for me to learn and I do have my work cut out for me, but this points me quite a way in the right direction. Very grateful for your time and insight. 

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GenTLe
6 hours ago, SFRADS said:

Thank you again. All of this is really invaluable. I think there is alot for me to learn and I do have my work cut out for me, but this points me quite a way in the right direction. Very grateful for your time and insight. 

Yeah, it takes a lot of time to learn these things, and you'd never be able to fully go into movement details unless you'll start working on them :) Just think about all the variants of the 7750s that are around. Some very good, some ok, some really crappy... And it takes time and experience and a lot of reading to get to know the right ones :)

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Gunner33

Great thread...thanks..

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TWT999

This is an exceptional thread thank you.....

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marcu33

Great info for newcomers, thanks for the insight

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G F1

Hi, 

I'm a newbie on the forum but long time replica owner. A buddy of mine recently picked up a cheap rep of a 4 hand Rolex GMT Pepsi Jubilee in Turkey but the movement is duff, it won't keep running for more than a couple of seconds. I did suspect that it was magnetized but after demagnification, it is still not running. 

I've changed movements in other reps I've owned so offered to change it for him. I've pulled the movement but I'm having a job identifying it. I think it could possibly be a Hangzhou but I'm not sure. I've looked all over ali-express and ebay trying match it visually but with no luck. There are no identifying markings on the movement.

Any ideas or suggestions of what it could be would be much appreciated. Cheers, Graham 

https://clickpix.org/image/20221209-142235.zFhamY

https://clickpix.org/image/20221209-142250.zFhqeo
https://clickpix.org/image/20221209-142258.zFhiPD
https://clickpix.org/image/20221209-142305.zFhmSk

 

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G F1

Bump - anyone out there that can help? Thanks

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sherbert79

Evening all

After a long hiatus of buying reps I’m about to dip my toe back in the water, however I would like to ask for some help on the movement if someone could help please? Im interested in getting a Rolex Yach Master in black 226659 from BP factory however I’m not familiar with the movement and I can’t really find much on Gregs list on this thread, it’s a VR3235, what’s the thoughts on this movement? Any good? Reliable? Servicible?

TIA


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tribefan
52 minutes ago, sherbert79 said:

Evening all

After a long hiatus of buying reps I’m about to dip my toe back in the water, however I would like to ask for some help on the movement if someone could help please? Im interested in getting a Rolex Yach Master in black 226659 from BP factory however I’m not familiar with the movement and I can’t really find much on Gregs list on this thread, it’s a VR3235, what’s the thoughts on this movement? Any good? Reliable? Servicible?

TIA


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Yeah VR is solid. There is a tech section at RWI that gets into this at a watchmakers level. Good and serviceable for sure, reliable is as good as whoever was putting it together that day, same as any other clone movement.

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sherbert79
Yeah VR is solid. There is a tech section at RWI that gets into this at a watchmakers level. Good and serviceable for sure, reliable is as good as whoever was putting it together that day, same as any other clone movement.

Thanks tribe, still searching for some more info to make sure I’m getting the best rep possible, not on here much but still do a bit of lurking so I’m out of the loop when it comes to reps! Thanks again


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tribefan
27 minutes ago, sherbert79 said:


Thanks tribe, still searching for some more info to make sure I’m getting the best rep possible, not on here much but still do a bit of lurking so I’m out of the loop when it comes to reps! Thanks again


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VSF is generally going to be top of the line in Rolex subs and Omegas. Clean is a close second in Rolex, that is the old ZZF factory pre-raids. BP is generally a more affordable factory. If you want the best available, then I would go VSF 1 and Clean 2, but you are going to pay for those too.

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sherbert79
VSF is generally going to be top of the line in Rolex subs and Omegas. Clean is a close second in Rolex, that is the old ZZF factory pre-raids. BP is generally a more affordable factory. If you want the best available, then I would go VSF 1 and Clean 2, but you are going to pay for those too.

I don’t go top of the line in my reps, this one is setting me back £400 so I just want to make sure it’s reliable as a rep can possibly be, I have used Toro for all of my reps so he is trustworthy, I’m just not up to speed with who’s the best out there (I know to do my own research) so I appreciate all the help buddy


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tribefan

Wait... you found Toro?

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HHRanch

Thank you so much for this information. It makes shopping all the more fun.

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