gioarmani

Clever. Nice.

http://www.jpc8118.com/0000000000rlss01003...836-p-5940.html Looking much, much better than the previous black & SS fantasy models. And definitely closer to the gen's "robin egg" blue color with the improvements.

Come to America. No one has the money to buy them. Mayor's jewelry in Florida almost always has one.

I was being facetious about the "V4". I haven't seen a date-window like that on a V3. If it's 6 month old, you sure you didn't get shipped a V2? See what I mean? There are too many damn versions of each release to keep track of...

UPDATE: I forgot to add over the last weekend I had her down to about 80 feet off Longboat Key; sucks that I don't own a proper underwater camera. I so wish i could take this to 300 ft...just to see.

Excellent job! And excellent date window. Which dealers V4 is that?

I believe due to the depth of the gen bezel, the cerachrom insert would sit too low if it wasn't for the ring. (These are also glued in)

Cool.

Bad ass, my friend. Bad ASS!! Did you use the Krylon matte finishing spray or Krylon matte spray-paint?

Mod really makes the V4 pop!

I know this topic for may seem redundant to some, but it still seems to be a matter of great discourse. Hopefully, this might go a bit beyond repetition in order to illustrate some overlooked facts that I've seemed to notice between these models; quite often these differences tend to go unnoticed, or at the very least, unmentioned by most members in their questioning and reviews of the DSSDs. I should also give a thank you to 3 members in particular, rustyrussel, accutron67, and Jimbean (as I'm about to use some of their photographs ). I thought these were well shot and their threads were well done which is why I chose them for comparison. It seems the most often discussed aesthetic differences or discrepancies between the different releases of the DSSD, are the usual; date-window, lume color, bezel thickness, insert font, etc., but there were a few factors beyond these that I thought were of equal importance in deciding which model to buy, and what to do in order to mod it. For instance, the bezel is a bit better on the V2 than the V3, but the V2's HEV looks more like it belongs on a SSD rather than a DSSD, whereas the V3's HEV looks damn-near spot-on. Now, whether or not you choose to mod your piece is your choice--as some people accept them straight from the box. Below, I chose to point out these differences for observation & comparison sake only. I have no intention of thumbing my nose at one model over the other as they all have pros and cons, but rather to point out what were the deal-breakers for me as to which piece to buy for myself. And the only reason I choose to do this now is because I don't see these points talked about, and if they were important to one person, they might be important to others as to which way to swing their wallet. I'll skip the V1 of the DSSD, as everyone seems to agree it was a mickey mouse piece. To begin comparisons, I feel it's best to familiarize one's self with the genuine article, as the best way to list pros and cons between them is to play a game of "spot-the-difference". The gen: Let's start with the V2. Again, most know the obvious differences between the V2 & V3, but for posterity there's a modicum of difference in the thickness and the cut of the bezel between the V2 & V3, and the bezel insert's font being too thick on the V2 as opposed to a too-thin font on the V3. Too thick: Too thin: On the V4, the bezel font is thicker than the V3 (premodded) and a bit closer to the genuine article, but only a slight hair on the thick side (e.g. the "40" & "50") : But what you may not have noticed are other subtleties; such as the dial print. Just as on almost every single dealer/manufacturer's version of the Submariner, these can vary greatly in crispness & sharpness of the dial print's quality, to the actual thickness of the font itself. Mind you, as far as the crispness and quality of the dial print, these are all fantastic compared to what else if floating around out there, but you will notice the V2's dial print is thicker than what's on the V3. This is most noticeable on the prongs on the crown at 12 o'clock, and on the words DEEPSEA and ROLEX (specifically the horizontal, bottom portion of the "L" in ROLEX). You'll notice the V3's dial print (in thickness & size) is almost dead-on to the gen: Another feature that I don't see pointed out, but concerned me as far as my purchase, was the wording "ORIGINAL GAS ESCAPE VALVE" & "RING LOCK SYSTEM", on the inner ring beneath the crystal. On all the V4's and most of the V3's, this print seems to be engraved into the ring, then painted, as you can observe in the pics below, from the way the light reflects off the indentions left by the engraving: Now here's the gen again, which you can observe the indentions (if any) are nowhere near what's pressed into the metal rings above: However, there are variances--the latest version of the V3 being shipped out doesn't seem to have this; the words seemed printed/painted directly onto the ring, similar to the gen. Below is my V3 (originally from Andrew). The V2's were quite good in this regard as well: As to the more recent models (since the V2 is practically unavailable except by resell), the one change that is a bit disheartening about the V4 is the misshapen case; the V3 was closer to the gen, but you can see where the case on the V4--which seems a bit too wide--tends to stick out further on the sides compared to the gen or V3: Original V3: Recent V3: The crownguards also seem too rounded off on the V4. With respect, a good number of the V3's tend to have the proper CG shape, but are just a bit too long. I've recently had to sand down & repolish mine. All in all, as stated, these are subtle difference of course, but differences I seemed to notice and wondered if anyone else had as well. As far as the overall quality of the DSSDs go, these are uncannily good straight from the box, whichever version you may have or intend to get, and can be made even better with a bit of modding (then again, what can't). I hadn't seen a thread like this as of yet, so I decided to just throw it out there. Of course, nobody--including ourselves--sees a watch on our wrist with the naked eye the same way we see it in macro photographs (with every little nuance broken down to the lowest common denominator), but God knows we love to pour over them; almost religiously so. So here's a few more for you to obsess about.

A service is your best bet. Not only would it correct any and all problems, it would practically guarantee another 3 to 5 years of perfect functioning.

You might actually have better luck just selling them...

Very sweet!

Forgot to ask; got a lume shot on your model?

The diamond markers look just as fake as the diamond bezels. The band on that piece you linked is probably the worst part, no offense--and that price is a joke. EDIT: I also recommend comparing the rep you're interested in, to a gen on rolex.com or ebay.com. Only get her a rep of an actual watch, not a non-existent fantasy model. She'll be happy to be spared the embarrassment (and so will you) .

Smooth job on the sticker--very nice touch.

UPDATING WITH PICS & NEW LINKS BELOW: The original source I had been using for all Rolex bezel inserts was listed here: http://www.repgeek.com/showthread.php?t=10...highlight=bezel Too many people have been complaining about the service they've received from this store, so I must formally pull my support for them; for what that's worth. To their defense, if they happen to read this, it's certainly nothing personal; it's just poor business. I know they're only a mom & pop shop with two employees--and I know, due to their recent popularity, they've been absolutely inundated by a 4000% increase (literally) in orders for inserts. The other half of me understands that, but says at least hire new people to cover the increase, and move on. So, in light of the recent situation (which, hopefully for their sake improves), to be fair to all parties involved, I would like to recommend a new source. As of a few days ago, the best "fit" for the Sea Dweller bezel insert that I have found yet, is a seller also in Florida who goes by the screename of "raymondleejeweler" on eBay. Here is his store's link: http://stores.ebay.com/WEBUYBIGDIAMONDS Here is the item # for the exact insert I purchased: 230140806126 Of course, by the "best fit" I mean the insert--as usual--requires a bit of sanding to sit perfectly like the gen, but looks fantastic once it's in. Another brand of insert that I think is fantastic, is from another eBay seller by the name of "watchbandman50". His store can be found here: http://stores.ebay.com/WATCHBANDMAN50 From the looks of these inserts, they are flat and not wrongly rounded like watchmaterial.com , and the print is crisp & sharp, like it should be. I suspect that you will need a watchmaterial pearl to replace the stock pearl on my second recommendation as well, but with the best of both worlds you've got one hell of the best looking inserts I've ever seen. EDIT: Quick summary/update: Pearls for all modern Rolex inserts (except DSSD)-- Steel-- http://watchmaterial.com/viewitem.asp?idProduct=1800 Gold-- http://watchmaterial.com/viewitem.asp?idProduct=1801 Bezel inserts-- Black SS Subamriner: http://watchmaterial.com/viewitem.asp?idProduct=1800 Green LV SS Submariner: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...ME:B:EF:US:1123 Black, gold/two-tone Submariner: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...ME:B:EF:US:1123 Blue, gold/two-tone Submariner: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...ME:B:EF:US:1123 SeaDweller (non-ceramic): http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...ME:B:EF:US:1123 GMT II black SS (non-ceramic): http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...ME:B:EF:US:1123 GMT II black/red SS: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...ME:B:EF:US:1123 GMT II blue/red (Pepsi) SS: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...ME:B:EF:US:1123 Here's a few quick snapshots from the ones installed, listed above--these are the inserts with watchmaterial pearls: Lume is practically gen-strength too: So, hopefully these will work out for all those interested. Thank you for your time.

Any chance on getting bigger pics? These thumbnails don't expand...

Awesome!!

From the one's I've handled, the ladies Datejusts with the Oyster bracelets (non-Jubilee or Presidential bracelets) are probably the most believable ones. The two-tone models usually scream "fake", and the newer Masterpiece's case & bracelet construction isn't good enough to accurately pull off as gen. The edges aren't crisp & sharp enough. In my opinion, on the ladies models, the simpler the better. The dial print is one of the easiest giveaways, but it does look a lot better on a metal dial as opposed to a MOP dial. MOP: not so good-- minus the fact that fake diamonds have zero fire; dead giveaway: For what it's worth, here's the model my girl liked the best and was the only one who's authenticity was never questioned on her wrist. This was a custom job that Josh put together for me (dial from one watch, case from another, bracelet from another): This piece is also the one that got the most compliments for her, both on the street and on the forums. Just an idea.

It's very odd to see a rep with the gen-esque sticker near the HEV. I've never seen that. Who was the dealer, or is there a link to this piece?