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Before I get into this let me first thank our Bro. Lanikai for sacrificing so much of his time to run our RWG raffles and to Josh at Perfect Clones for graciously donating these neat goodies! Although I had paid to become a supporter before this raffle I think having shot at a prize like this alone is more than enough reason to become a paying member of this board - for me it was just "icing on the cake"!! I received this watch this morning after a long (seemingly) wait that was punctuated with numerous tracking "hangups" - I think the suspense was worse than waiting for my first rep! The first thing I noticed was the weight of the package, it had a good heft to it. The packaging was the usual cardboard box with foam inner box containing the watch wrapped in bubble-wrap. After unwrapping and getting all of (well most of) the protective film off all I could think was, "Wow, this thing is sure shiny!" Enough of my musings, on to the particulars... The watch feels substantial at 156 gm and overall fit and finish seem quite good. The brushing is uniform and the polishing is to a high luster. If I would fault anything in the finishing it would be some sharp corners on the "flip-lock" on the clasp but these will easily be smoothed with a fine file. The construction is first-rate, the solid endlinks mate flawlessly with the case, the band center links are perfectly polished, clasp operates smoothly, and the bezel rotates smoothly with a click detent at each hour for a total of 24. The crystal coronet doesn't jump out and slap you in the face like a lot of them do and is only visible under good lighting and proper angle at normal magnification. The only complaint I have about the case quality is the usual ROLEXROLEX... engraving on the rehaut does not line up properly at the 3:00 and 9:00 positions and the 12:00 coronet is also a hair off. As Lani has already observed about the new "Rolex clone" (decorated) movement it appears to be well finished. Manual winding is as smooth as silk, no ratcheting or any sounds of any kind. The GMT hand is set by rotating the crown opposite of date setting when in the 2d position and the date clicks over nicely at midnight. Enough yapping so on to the pics!

Super! Probably saved yourself enough to buy 2-3 real nice reps in the process!!

I think Demsey and Robert nailed it pretty good and that's why I decided (starting with last watch) to not post any more "review" type threads with macro photos unless there is some particular detail that is of interest. It's getting to the point where the obsession with perfection is causing people to not have any fun anymore and I think that's sad... On the other hand if something is advertised as 1:1, can't be distinguished from the gen, blah, blah, then crank up those macro-zoom lenses and destroy 'em! Oh, if you look closely at the gen pics I posted the link to you'll see that the"Ring Lock..." text does not align perfectly centered either...

I think straightening out the 6:00 marker would make a 100% difference in the dial. I think yours is about like mine, text that is slanted only perceptible in a macro photo but the marker is crooked as all hell! As far as the gas ring, I think it's more of a centering between the opposing marks than having a particular letter centered on the 12:00 or 6:00. The "bottom" text looks to be centered but the top is off a bit. You might be able to slightly adjust the ring to get a compromise that looks a bit less noticeable. As far as your He valve, I don't think any of the reps have one that operates correctly - if you want one that works as designed you need to get a Sea Dweller! Looking at the pics of gens I have your valve looks to be positioned correctly. Heres a good review by someone on TRF with tons of pics... http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=81374&highlight=dssd

Super looking watch. I've seen pictures of reps that resembled this but always thought it was a fantasy watch and ignored them! Excellent job...

Your dial looks pretty much like mine. One of these days when I get real brave I'm going to remove and reinstall the 6:00 marker ant that should be a very big improvement. Interesting about the lume, after charging mine about 20 seconds with an LED flashlight I can still see it in the morning 6-7 hours later. It's dim but I can still tell the time.

Excellent information! I'm looking forward with great interest to your "carbon" tests.

Fantastic post! I love reading about stuff like this!

Mercury, yeah it's a real monster, ain't it! I have a 6mm crown and tube to replace it with. I remember replying to a post where somebody wanted a big crown for some sort of project and now I can't remember the thread!

Not wanting to "thread hi-jack" (I like to think of it as "thread degradation") this is my "budget" model with no engraving. It might be a bit "woky" (I may be able to fix that in the lathe if I can get it located properly) and the crown is to big (to bad as I really like how easy a Sub-size crown is to operate) but I think I can make it presentable for not a whole lot of money. I hope...

By-Tor, thanks, the GMTII uses a 6mm and thankfully I have one 6mm twin-lock crown/tube set left! This weekend my "budget" EXPII will get the proper crown. Ronin, my rep has a trip-lock Sub style crown so I will need to change the tube as well.

Happy Birthday, Marty! Hmmm, that's about the same age as when parts of me quit working as good as they used to...

By-Tor, on your black-face EXPII what size is the crown, is it a 6mm or a "low profile" 7mm. Looking at mine about the only obvious differences I can see are the crown (mine is "sub-like") and my CG seem to be a bit more pointed. But maybe the whole CG thing is a bit overblown at times as I read there is some amount of inconsistency on gens with regards to some of the things we love to nit-pick!

You must remain strong...

Preacher! Remember, "Thou shalt not covet..."

It would be interesting if someone could "fill in the gaps" with pics of the dealer specific ones you don't have and a collaborative post be done. The same would go for the ones other dealers carry. Would make for an interesting history of this much hyped beast!

Nah, mine's about a month and a half old so it's at least 3 iterations behind!

Here is my ETZ V5:

Lani is correct, the title states "New DSSD Version ~ Perfect Clones" and not let's compare all the versions. Let's respect the intent of the reviewer. On the other hand, I think it would be really neat to have a post by someone that could pictorially present the evolution of the rep DSSD from V1-V5/Ultimate (or whatever) so we can all see how far things have came during it's lifetime. I personally have not been around the rep world long enough to remember the original versions of this watch and would find it very interesting.

Holy crap!

Outfu&kingstanding!

Quite a variation in crystal IDs. I ordered two Tropic 19 crystals - one from Clark and another from wholesaleoutlet990. Clarks ID - 27.77 mm wo990 - 27.9 mm I removed the crystal from the watch and the clarks fite nicely snug onto the watch but the ring was a loose fit. For grins I then put the wo990 crystal on and while it did not fit the watch as snugly as the Clarks the ring was quite tight and had to be pressed on so I have no doubt the crystal is secure! The profile of the Clarks looks better but the wo990 crystal is an improvement over what came on it. I will probably, eventually, machine a new bezel retaining ring with a slightly smaller ID and install the Clarks T19.

Let me dig around later on - fixin' to hit the sack - I may have a couple that will work from an old band I've been scavenging stuff from...

Tracking... tracking? It seems like any China originated tracking lately has been almost worthless...

I think it's a #55 but I'd have to measure it (or check my notes in the shop) to be 100% sure. Then the band has to be drilled for the correct spring bars and that's a #45 or #46 drill.