Rolex DSSD Ultimate (Correct 10) ETA 2836-2 Review by Skathewatch

[Ska 11]

DEALER: MARY (WATCHINTERNATIONAL)

MODEL: ROLEX DEEPSEA SEA-DWELLER

VARIANT: V5 BLACK CERAMIC BEZEL (CORRECT '10')

MOVEMENT: SWISS ETA 2836-2 AUTOMATIC

PRICE: $350 SHIPPED

BRACELET: ROLEX DEEPSEA GLIDELOCK BRUSHED

 

 

1. Overall Look/Feel

 

There is a caveat to this review, and so there must be a small initial disclaimer. This is by quite a hefty margin the most exquisite rep I own in just about every respect. (with the exception of my gold Navitimer obviously ) Therefore please forgive me if this review seems slightly skewed in the DSSD's favour - I will try to be as impartial as possible!

 

 

As is my usual want I had a jaunt into my local AD on Monday in anticipation of the DSSD's arrival. (A ritual designed more to numb the pain of waiting for it to arrive than anything else - but it also gives me the chance to make a proper comparison.) Here's a couple of gen shots for you:

 

 

 

Now obviously there are a couple of flaws compared to the gen for no other reason than this one wasn't built in Switzerland however this watch is SO well put together I found myself staring at it for a good 5 minutes after I'd unwrapped it just turning it over and over trying to work out how, even in China it was possible to manufacture something like this for the price I'd paid. (Let alone leaving the Mary with any kind of margin.)

 

 

Fuck this thing's heavy! Which makes it much more versatile because if the movement ever dies, in the time between when it stopped and the moment when you can eventually be bothered to send it away to Domi/equivalent you have in your possession a craftily disguised offensive weapon capable of incapacitating almost any living thing which weighs in at less than a metric ton. Seriously Rolex could start marketing these as wrist-mounted dumbbells or personal security devices to high society and enjoy worldwide success. (or - MORE worldwide success I should say!)

 

My conclusion with this one is that either we've reached a new height in Repdom or Mary has a secret crush on me. - However 2 things point to the former: a.) Everyone who gets one of these raves about it and b.) Luthier seems to have the latter covered!

 

 

2. The Dial and Hands

 

• Dial Accuracy: No surprises here, the maxi dials have been pretty awesome for a while, with the only real flaw being the wrongly bevelled date-window. The minute markers are crisp and bright.

 

 

• Font accuracy and quality of reproduction: Unlike the Ceramic Sub I reviewed recently which wasn't quite 100% the text on the DSSD's dial is the same brilliant white as the gen and perfectly sized. Even the "Swiss Made" at the bottom is the correct width and fits inside the the lowermost 5 minute markers.

 

• Date Window position and Accuracy: As stated above the beveling is too rounded, it would really benefit from the hard edges of the gen as there is no cyclops to disguise it. (Of course this is only a problem if you're in the habit of shoving your watch directly into peoples' faces every time they ask to see it.)

 

 

• Length/Shape of Hands: Like the Ceramic Sub, the new 'maxi' hands are reproduced very well, with smooth edges and neatly applied lume. I haven't checked the dimensions of the now wider hour hand but it looks pretty good to me.

 

 

• Quality of Lume application: In Mary's photos it appeared that there was an area on the hour marker at 6 which was missing a little lume, I'm happy to say this isn't the case, and that the lume is applied very neatly throughout.

 

 

3. The Crystal and AR coating

 

 

• Crystal material: Sapphire - flawless with engraved Rolex crown at 6.

 

 

• Height, positioning and installation: the Chinese appear to be getting rather good at installing the crystals on Rolex reps. (Perhaps they've been taking a lot of holidays in Geneva? - Or just kidnapped a few Swiss tourists from dark corners of the GZ markets) because its a lovely job, perfectly level and with no trace of the patchy, misty ring around the edge where it meets the rehaut that we got on watches like the old Noobmariners.

 

 

• AR Coating: Again no AR coat on this crystal, which produces some nice lighting effects whilst at the same time making it almost impossible to photograph the etched crown at 6. This one was even harder than the Sub. Its worth noting though that for fun I put the DSSD under the electron microscope at my Father In Law's workshop and found that the etching is multi-layer just like the gen. This is a much more expensive process than could be utilised to create roughly same effect when seen by the naked eye. Nice score on the attention to detail front for the rep factories!! .

 

 

4. Lume

 

• Colour: Blue as per gen

 

• Accuracy: In the words of Katsumoto from The Last Samurai "They are all Purrrfect!"

 

• Brightness: I always forget to put in a decent lume shot so I was determined to get one in this time. Of course I'm me so instead I forgot like a dick and so you get a shitty one from my iPhone. Still, gives you an idea - this is after a 30 sec charge under my desk lamp.

 

COMING SOON

 

5. Bracelet and Clasp

 

 

 

 

• SELs: Things of Beauty - So tight If I could have figured out a way, I'd have lubed up and made love to these - except there would have been no room obviously.

 

 

• Springbars/Pins: As usual the screw-in bars make resizing the bracelet a joy. These ones seem unusually well done, and nicely are all the same length meaning there aren't the usual odd few sunken ones like on all the other Rolex reps I've had. Its details like this which elevate this rep into a category all of its own.

 

 

• Fit and weight: The completely brushed bracelet looks the nuts and the solid mid-links give it a really substantial feel. There were no stiff sections and its finish is easily comparable overall to that of the gen. Nuff Said! The only flaw I can find is the 'Rolex' engraving on the deployant which is again a bit grubby and not engraved to the same standard as the BK bracelets I've seen. However having spied some photos of the gen I can only say that interestingly it looks about the same:

 

 

Gen:

 

 

Rep:

 

 

• The rest of the engraving (like the crown on the divers extension) is wonderful however and indistinguishable from the gen.

 

 

• Clasp Accuracy: Having played around with the gen a mere 4 days ago, the sheer brilliance of this clasp has to be seen to be believed. Not only does it function perfectly, and look great but its also finished to a standard befitting of a much larger price tag. I mean for anyone who doesn't truly appreciate it yet, the DSSD variant of the Glidelock (which is even more complicated than the version found on the Sub thanks to the fully articulated locking arm) is in itself a serious feat of engineering which has to be made to some hairy tolerances to function at all let alone smoothly.

 

 

 

 

 

• Build Quality and Effectiveness: As hinted at above the clasp works perfectly, both the glidelock mechanism and the diver's extension work as per the gen. and the sides of the outer clasp look nicer on the rep IMO, here's a few pictures to demonstrate.

 

Gen:

 

 

 

Rep:

 

 

 

 

6. Weight compared to gen

 

• The gen DSSD is a substantial 215g. Mine tips the scales at 212g.

 

7. Bezel and Case

 

 

 

• Fit and finish: Just like the ceramic Sub the bezel on the DSSD is stunning. The numerals on the V5 are much crisper, deeper and brighter than on previous versions. Of course this version also has the corrected '10' which might not be a big deal for some, but for picky wankers like me it was a must-have. The bezel itself is the correct shape and height and like the sub is a total arsehole to photograph!! The case looks great too and is near-as -dammit correct to the gen in form and finish.

 

 

 

• Case Back: Annoyingly this is one of the best bits of the watch - I say annoying because I have to take the bloody thing off to see it!! The engraved text around the screw-down case back is a real quality job, (mirroring most of the engraving throughout the watch) and the titanium inner cover looks brilliant. No silly green stickers here either.

 

 

 

• Bezel fit, and rotation: Despite having only a single spring contact point the bezel rotation feels solid and the bezel itself fits tightly and level.

 

 

• Pearl: The genuine article is a 2 layer affair with a luminescent base topped with sapphire glass. Obviously this would be overkill in a rep but the pearl on this one isn't too bulbous and is well centered. Good enough for me.

 

 

• Rehaut: The "Original Gas Escape Valve" and "Ring Lock System" text is deeply engraved and looks the business, the usual "RolexRolexRolex" engraving on the inner rehaut edge is also nicely accomplished however like in my Ceramic Sub the crown at 12 isn't quite central. Its all but impossible to see without the aid of a camera and a macro lens though. The rehaut itself appears to be pretty accurate in terms of height and angle, no wokkiness or huge distances between crystal and dial.

 

 

 

8. Crown

 

 

• Quality of machining/casting: This beefy crown looks great, and the CGs look pretty dead on - from the front at least, which is a nice change of pace from the Subs which can never seem to get the bloody things quite right.

 

 

• Tube/Stem thread: Like on the Sub, the DSSD's crown feels solid and smooth, a complete departure from the UPO which is a nightmare. Its comparable in feel to the Unitas found in Railmasters and Pams which is impressive because the stem machining is more complex as a result of the date function which usually makes a stem feel a little 'loose' as it has to be pulled further out from the tube.

 

 

9. Official Markings accuracy

 

 

• Position of markings: All the markings on this rep are present and correct. "Rolex" and "Steelinox" are nicely positioned on the deployant (if a bit grubby as mentioned earlier) and all the other markings are as they should be.

 

 

• Serial Numbers: The rehaut bears the serial: M646829, dunno if this is a noobfactory signifier or not so I open the floor up to the experts on that one.

 

 

10. Details peculiar to model.

 

• Crown guards: As mentioned briefly before, the CG's seem to be pretty good from the front and 'top' here are some photos to give you an idea.

 

Gen

 

 

Rep

 

 

• Bezel cutting: Lovely quality on the bezel edges, not quite the orgasmic precision of the gen but still great even close up. This shot should also give you an idea of the quality of the numerals on the ceramic bezel.

 

 

• Helium Release Valve: No idea as to the functionality of this particular feature - anyone care to shed light? Its beautifully recreated however in a purely cosmetic sense.

 

 

 

11. Movement

 

• Mary promised me a genuine Swiss 2836-2 and given that so far she's been as good as her word I've got no reason to think otherwise. As I said I haven't got the case back off yet but judging by the smoothness of the sweep its definitely either a gen or clone ETA.

 

12. Time Keeping Accuracy and Power Reserve

 

• The watch keeps accurate to within 3 seconds over a 24 hour period. The reserve from full wind is just over 30 hours to completely dead. About 8 hours off the Sub's benchmark but still reasonable.

 

 

Well I hope you enjoyed this review. Thanks for reading.

 

Ska.

[MikeMcNair 0]

absolutely amazing, both the timepiece and the write up. pix are flawless. excellent work!!!

[gB. 0]

Nice review and pics! I have this same watch from Mary and you are on the mark that this one is nothing less than phenomenal.

 

Excellent work ska! Definitely a GBOGH moment!

 

BTW, watch out GC, you have some serious photography competition...

[Luthier 1]

1. Your AD hates you already.

2. ROLEX will send black copters to your home for reps propaganda(You just stole at least 100 of potential gens buyers from them)

3. Mary was asked for best DSSD, she searched, brought 2, I chose the best, and #2 went to you. (J/K).

4 When you build guitars, mate?

[Ska 11]

Welcome home luth buddy!!

 

1. Yup - I go in there about once a week and never buy anything

2. That's the plan!

3. I'd expect no less - you did buy 200,000 watches off her this week!

4. Not this weekend - but usually whenever I'm not writing music or watch reviews (or 'looking after' Sam!)

[mulder 0]

Excellent review as usual. Lucky Im not on dial up internet.

Yes definitely a GBOGH moment.

David

[GC 5,338]

Excellent Review... Truly Superb Photog... and a Stunning Watch!!!

The DSSD is "TheRolex" nothing else compares!

 

Enjoy it often mate, very often!

[atmos 1]

WOW !!! Thank you for this excelent review.

The rep is realy amazing

[Brightlight 0]

As you know this is not my' favouritist' Rolex by a long way, but great review and wonderful pics mate!!

[Ska 11]

Thanks for the comments guys really appreciate it.

[greg_r 107]

Looks fantastic, mate!

[mbjoer 0]

WHAT A REVIEW!

 

Your text and the pictures are brilliant.

If only I had not bought an earlier version..........

 

Keep them coming, please.

[JaervyBarzenblatz 0]

As others have said, absolutely fantastic review. Great pics, and great descriptions and comparisons!

[AllergyDoc 42]

Your review makes me want to buy another DeepSea. Damn.

 

Well done.

[Ska 11]

Thanks for the comments! What I want to do next is see if Mary (or anyone) can get hold of the 1st generation DSSD so I can do a comparison.

 

Coming next though is my review of the Jaeger LeCoultre master tourbillon which arrived just in time for this friday's evening antics.

 

 

 

Thanks again!

[skintrade 0]

Awesome m8, both the watch and the content................ looking forward to your Jaeger review.

[ThinkBachs 1]

I'm ruined by the DSSD, which I've been wearing wince they came out with the V3. The size and weight of the DSSD makes my old favorite Submariner seem wimpy... almost girlish to wear any more. I recently ordered a SEA-DWELLER thinking it might be a nice in between watch- nope. It's wimpy/girlish also. So, that will go up for sale and my focus will be 100% on a new project.

 

The Inspiration:

 

 

My Project:

Shaved CGs; DLC bezel, crown and bracelet; AR'd crystal; bead blasted case; dial super lumed, bezel markers super lumed; pearl replaced to match gen and super lumed; gen date wheel; and a partridge in a pear tree.

 

Not sure about the hands and pearl being blue (matching the lume glow) but that part is growing on me.... maybe orange instead.

Edited August 22, 2010 by ThinkBachs

[Luthier 1]

Shaved CGs; DLC bezel, crown and bracelet; AR'd crystal; bead blasted case; dial super lumed, bezel markers super lumed; pearl replaced to match gen and super lumed; gen date wheel; and a partridge in a pear tree.

 

Not sure about the hands and pearl being blue (matching the lume glow) but that part is growing on me.... maybe orange instead.

CGs almost perfect on this watch, bracelet too, AR is "no-no" on Rolexes, and orabge glow????? What????? Is it shity U-Boat???

Mate, buy cheap DSSD with 21j for such a vandalization, then you'll see, what'd you do.

This new DSSD no need any modding, trust us.

[Americano 0]

Where can I find?

[GC 5,338]

Where can I find?

 

here you go mate: http://www.replica-watches-guide.com/forum...?showtopic=6490

[daniel8888 0]

awaiting my DSSD from Mary, ordered 1 week ago

[greg_r 107]

Thanks for the comments! What I want to do next is see if Mary (or anyone) can get hold of the 1st generation DSSD so I can do a comparison.

 

Missed this comment earlier, but the v1 comparison has already been done. Here you go:

 

http://www.replica-watches-guide.com/forum...?showtopic=6195

[Watchdog 0]

Is this watch from the "Noob" factory?

 

I see BK over on Repgeek is offering one stated to be coming out of the "Noob" factory. It looks identical.

 

He charges a little more b/c of a few tweaks, i.e. upgraded date wheel and pressed in crystal.

Edited September 1, 2010 by Watchdog

[greg_r 107]

Watchdog: ignore all this 'noobfactory' nonsense. It's all marketing speak anyhow.

 

The only real difference in BK's is the datewheel (which is better) and the fact that he does some QC. You pays yer money and you takes yer choice. I'd also check out PrestigeWatchCo's $249 version, which is just about identical to this one here, but with an Asian high-beat movement rather than Swiss.

[tick tock 0]

Wow! Your pictures alone have me seriously considering contacting Mary for one! Great review as well!