bklm1234

I used to like watchmaterial pearl for its sapphire cover. But it hasn't improved on the yellow rim and lume paste. The lume paste esp is dirty very often. I give up using it. But their TT pearl is just awesome with clean lume paste. I just can't understand why the SS version can't be like that. bk

I'm quite late to this post. My upcoming 16610 offering to replace my wm9 16610 offering IS NOT a noobmariner. It's the same thing as what PT calls wm9 v1. I don't want to use the term "wm9 v1". I call it TW sub or TW 16610 sub or TW gen style sub. I sold about 20 of them with wm9 superlumed dials and hands. Sneed12 bought one of these 20. I have since stopped because the stock dial print quality isn't so hot. If you look close, you see pimples on the coronet for example. I decided to resolve the issue by making my own superlumed dials and hands. They are still WIP. I anticipate 1.5 to 2 months when I get the superlumed dial and hands and I can open the watch for ordering. Some members did buy my TW subs in its stock dials and hands. They just wanted to wear them now and get the superlumed dials and hands installed later. You can do the same My TW 16610 sub offering includes CG trim, clear coating the pearl with epoxy, and my own assembly which I can proudly say better than the factory's assembly job. Cheers, bk

thx Rambo73 I just posted a v5 and v6 comparison on RWI. Cross-posting here: Way back I sold a few noobfactory DSSD v3s and then stopped because I couldn't stand the small numbers, weak paint, and incorrect 10 on the bezel insert. The lack of bevel window didn't bother me. I waited and waited. The v5 came and I felt it's good enough so I started carrying it. I'm quite sure it's the v5 that started having bolder and white numbers on the bezel insert. Correct "10" might also be introduced at v5. In fact, my product offering post still shows a v5. Lazy me. The differences between the v5 and v6 are: - v6 has trimmer and correct CGs. You see more of the crown, there's less blocking of it by the CGs v5 CGs v6 CGs v5 CGs v6 CGs - v6 HEVs are mostly pressable while v5's are mostly not pressable, generally speaking. I think pressable HEV existed for a while. The factory sometimes mixes in the 2 types of HEVs on both versions. That's why I said generally speaking. I hardly run into a non-pressable HEV on a v6 now. Anyway, HEV isn't a definitive way to id v5/v6. CGs are really the better way. - v6's caseback seal and seal grove is on the titanium back, not on the case. You dont find a seal grove on the case anymore. This is another definitive way to id a v6 but you have to open the back to see it. This new placement of the seal and seal grove makes for less slipping and wrinkling of the gasket seal when you put back and tighten the caseback. I don't the physics behind it, the v6 gasket placement is just sweeter to deal with. v5 case and caseback v6 case and caseback As to id a noobfactory DSSD, just look at the serial number on the rehaut near 6 o'clock. It's either M646829 or V646829. I can tell without looking at the serial number because the pearl, the dial, the date, esp. the date, are easy giveaways. I mentioned all the dealers who carry the noobfactory DSSDs are subject to the same variances the factory has. Look at these 3 DSSDs' pearls I have on hand. Every one of them has a different position: In real life, they have different lume color, clear coat curvature too. Welcome to rep consistency or lack of it. But these are small variances. One dial can have better applied lume paste than the next, one glidelock, one bezel, one diver's extension etc can be tighter than the next. Lastly, the factory may change a small part, which may or may not be permanent. For example, the clasp print went from this bolder/darker print to this lighter/greyish print They both are on the v6. I wouldn't bump the version number from v6 to v7 because this change. The change is small and not likely to be permanent. I hope you get my point. I also hope this helps your buying. I'm not trying to push my watch here. I carry the same noobfactory DSSD as many dealers do. It comes in different movement options so the price goes from $88 (Asian 21j movt) to $388 (Swiss ETA) from different dealers. Mine is at $420 (Swiss ETA or Swiss Sellita) with mods. You can't go wrong with our forum trusted dealers. Trevor carries the noobfactory one as well as his other all-famous Trevor's DSSD which is also carried by some other dealers. You just need to know which version you want and who has the version you want. bk

Hi JKay, interesting. I'd love to look at the MBK v6. I welcome new and better versions of DSSD, sub-c, 16610 sub, etc. And I will try my best to source them and carry them. The noobfactory actually offers a21j as one of the movt options. The options are a21j, asian clone 2836-2, asian clone 2836-2 with 3135 dressup gear and bridge (aka a3135 movt), Swiss 2836-2, and Sellita SW 220.

@panerai153: Yes you can press the HEV and it goes in. Yes they existed before the v5. But on most v3 and v5, the HEVs are not pressable; on the v6, it's mostly pressable I doubt it's really a valve. On the v6, the HEV doesn't seem to be an issue. I sample tested many to 3 atm easily. When pressure testing yours, is the leak at the HEV? Just want to confirm. Bk

Waterproofing a rep can be tricky. On a noobfactory watch like dssd or sub-c, the weakest link is the crystal. You need to even it and press it in as far as possible. Straight from the factory, it can be uneven, and/or barely staying in the rehaut. A slight pop from behind the crystal just flies out. You can guess how wr it is. But pressing and even'ing the crystal pose an entirely different challenge. The gasket can hair out, meaning strains of fiber get squeezed out from the gasket under the crystal. They look like hair or tissue paper fiber. It's super annoying and time consuming to replace and redo. I just don't know why the measurements of the crystal, the gasket, and the rehaut are so tight that hairing happens. Is it how they achieve high wr? But the assembling workers don't fully press in and even the crystals! On the gen style subs and ym, waterproofing is a breeze. Grease the crown, tube and caseback seal and you are done. The crystal sealing is superb cause it's rolex's design. Occasionally the tube hole isn't sealed so well. You find that out during pressure testing. You just re-seal it with epoxy. Properly waterproofed gen style subs and ym's easily go to 200 meters. And waterproofing them is easy, nothing like on the noobfactory's watches, which can be so difficult and so much work. Bk

I've been selling the noofactory dssd v6 for a while. The differences between the v5 and v6 are: - v6 has trimmer and correct CGs. You see more of the crown, there's less blocking of it by the CGs - v6 has pressable HEV while v5's not pressable. But occasionally the factory mixes in a non pressable HEV on a v6. Leftover or whatever. CGs are really the definitive way to id a v6 - v6's caseback seal and seal grove is on the titanium back, not on the case. You dont find a seal grove on the case anymore. This is another definitive way to id a v6 but you have to open the back to see it. This new placement of the seal and seal grove makes for less slipping and wrinkling of the gasket seal. Jkay, do you have a link to the mbk v6? I'd like to see if it's really a different model, not just another noobfactory DSSD Thx Bk

Let me break it down for you guys regarding crystal thickness, height above the insert, challenges of this and gen style sub (wm9 v1, v2, v3, MBK/MBW/Euromariner). Facts: 1. Gen crystal thickness is ~1.8mm, at the least for the Z, M, V serials and possibly the many later serials 2. Gen crystal gasket is 2.7mm. 3. Rep/aftermarket crystal thickness is ~2.0mm (except Krysworks' which has ~1.8mm thickness but it's crap in almost all aspects of it). This includes wm9, TW sub, the old MBK/MBW/Euromariner, Clark crystal. 4. Gen crystal height above the insert is not supposed to be a lot. It's an misunderstanding/myth that crystal should be tall above the insert. The best, closest to gen look is really just a little. Here's a gen pic: Can you achieve the right look with 2.0mm crystal? Answer is yes. The height is relatively to the insert right? Let's look at the following combos: 1. 2.0mm crystal, gen insert: gen insert has a flatter cone. So against gen insert, the crystal naturally looks overly high. Best result is from using 2.5mm gasket. 2.5mm probably gets the crystal to sit the lowest. 2.3mm won't get it lower so just go with 2.5mm. If you use 2.7mm gasket, I guarantee your crystal looks too high above the gen insert 2. 2.0mm crystal, wm9 insert: wm9 insert has just a little more cone than gen so pretty much same as 1 3. 2.0mm crystal, JO insert: JO insert is quite similiar to gen in terms the cone so also pretty much same as 1 4. 2.0mm crystal, TW sub insert: here's an interesting combo and the ingenuity of the TW sub factory which I don't know if it's by design, LOL. The TW sub insert's cone has more slope than gen and other insert. So with its factory supplied 2.7mm, the crystal doesn't look too high above the insert. It turns out to be the best height I've seen on a rep, pretty perfect to gen. I'm not kidding and I'm not trying to twist a fact to sell anything. I'm truly truly happy with the combo. When I have time, I'll take closeup pics of the TW sub crystal. It practically looks identical to gen with its like-gen rounded edge and high cyclop mag. Even the etched crown is still conspicuous, I will use it instead of Clark. It's the best part of the TW sub. I'm serious. So "NO, swapping in C2 (2.7mm) gasket is not required". It's already there by default. Don't swap in a 2.9mm gasket to increase the crystal height. You can buy them even though Rolex's C2 is 2.7mm, not 2.9mm. Another bad thing about using overly tall gasket is you are sticking the crystal above the retaining ring which yields weaker water resistance. Lastly, reps are reps. Practically every bezel assembly is different. For example, you can't always press down the retaining ring to the case thinking it looks good with the bezel tight to the case. The bezel might not turn if you don't leave a small gap; often you need to shave the inner side of the back of the insert otherwise the insert either won't go in the bezel bay or it hinders the turning of the bezel. I have lot of stories and frustration to tell bk

takosan: pls take some pics of the dates. I wonder yours have the old v1 dw overlay. Mine has good dates much like my custom dw overlay's. thx bk

BTW, this is not a wm9. Not v1, not v2 nor v3. wm9 v1 was never offered in M serial. BUT v1 wasn't so much a pure wm9 effort. I believe George at that time was working together with this factory. It's the v2 when George had the passion to get rid of all the flaws wm9 sub became an exclusive watch to the wm9 factory. So the wm9 v1 components and molds are available to this other Taiwan factory. This sub has the same genes as the wm9 v1. The dial, the case, the bracelet, etc. are all from the v1 era. It's just not a wm9. George doesn't make this watch. Unlike wm9 subs, this watch is in production, being made as we speak. bk

Hmmm...this sub looks like the sub I just got. I'm having my watchsmith assemble my first batch of them at the moment. The first batch will have 20 of them installed with my leftover wm9 black dials and hands. These 20 are for returned customers, by invitation only. The rest is stock, except I will trim the CGs and apply a epoxy coat on the pearl. Here's what I think: Things better on this sub: - rehaut top edge is smooth. The v3's is rough. I always have to polish it - the bezel teeth are much better (longer) than v3's, about on par with the 2nd version of the v2's. - area where the case tube hole is drilled isn't recessed so deep as that of the v3, so much like the v2's - better SEL fit - perfect rehaut engraving alignment - better rehaut engraving font than v3's, about the same as v2's - diver's extension that doesn't pop out easily - excellent crystal. I'm most impressed about this. The top edge is rounded like gen's which is what I'm extremely happy about. And the cyclop has higher mag which I believe matches gen's. Even though the etched crown is still loud, I take this crystal even over Clark's. - correct date font and size like the last version of v3's dw overlay, better than earlier versions of v2's and v3's Things better on the wm9 v2 and v3: - no doubt it's the superlumed dial, hands, and pearl - higher/correct crown position on the v3. v2's about the same as this one's - correct CGs, no trimming required - correct hollow mid links on the bracelet (solid on this other sub) bk

I use Araldite from the UK. The resin is very white/clear, not yellowy like the one I bought from Walmart before. bk

The pearls on the noobfactory DSSDs and Sub-Cs often have the glossy/shinny acrylic covering the metal rim, like this: Here's the mod I have tried: - use the finest flat needle file you can find to file on the pearl, continue to file even you reach the metal rim to ensure there's no acrylic still attached to the rim. You now basically have a flattened, dull pearl, all the way to the rim. - mix a generous amount (which lets you have excess so you don't have to pick up a drop with bubbles) of epoxy with more hardener than the usual 1:1 proposition. This ensures faster hardening and a solid hard epoxy drop. If not enough hardener, the drop may never harden and/or isn't hard enough. Also more hardener gives a whiter/shinnier surface - use a fine pin and pick up a drop of epoxy, dip it to the center of the filed down pearl area. You really don't have to spread it. The epoxy drop will spread itself as you dip the drop in an up and down action. It knows to stop at the rim thanks to surface tension. - you may have too much epoxy. Just wipe the pin, and remove excess epoxy by dipping the pin at the center of the drop, wipe off the pin, repeat till you have just the right amount and curvature. - if you screw up, just wipe everything off before it all dries up and start over. It's very forgiving. Result: Have fun. -bk

regarding the crown sitting too close to the case: it's the picture. The camera was being too close to the watch. I use my custom tube on all my v3's to particularly give proper clearance between the crown and the bezel bk

2893-2 will fit in noob GMT IIC. Here's my experiment on Redwatch's loaner 2893-2 Left is a stock noob GMT IIC gut. Right is 2893-2. Notice the stem hole on the right is higher. If I fit the same dial spacer that comes with GMT IIC on the 2893, I'm sure the stem hole is about at the same distance from the dial. This takes care of the stem hole position. Now the GMT hand is a tougher one to solve. Where do you get a green GMT 2893 hand? I got a red one from WSO990. The sleeve of the cannon pin hole is so short that there's no way it can be used if there's a dial. I don't know how they designed it. The sleeve needs to be tall, just like that of the noob GMT hand. Too bad the noob GMT hand's pin hole is so big (needs to be 1.80mm). The only way is to custom make a 2893-2 GMT hand and that's exactly what I'm doing. If I'm successful, I'll offer a bk 2893-2 equipped noob GMT IIC. I can also sell my custom GMT hand to those who want to do the transplant themselves. -bk

C2 is the correct one for the sub. C1 is for the YM. Clark's C2 however can be 2.5mm, 2.7mm (gen uses this height), and 3mm (this is Clark's default C2 height I think. At least used to be). With Clark's crystal at ~2mm instead of the current gen's 1.86mm, it's best you use 2.5mm gasket for the sub so the overall crystal height is closest to modern gen's. You also get better water resistance because the crystal retaining ring can fully wrap around the crystal with the 2.5mm gasket. The other 2 gaskets can stick the crystal higher up, not allowing the retaining ring to fully wrap around it. So tell Gary Clark you want 295 crystal with 2.5mm gasket. -bk

the first assembly looks aftermarket, possibly from wholesaleoutlet990. very poor bezel teeth definition, just like wso990's. Not a good assembly. the second one looks very good, possbibly gen I'm not talking about the insert on either one. It's hard to tell without some clear closeups. -bk

@steed72: the upper link is a noobfactory version, the lower one is not. So yours is not a noobfactory one. Nothing's wrong with that. Noobfactory models generally have better overall quality than any other Mainland China mad ones. For example, the noob has a better bracelet, clasp, and better fit of the SELs at the lugs. Your version doesn't have the proper rehaut thickness but has very accurate date font. The noob has the proper rehaut thickness but inaccurate date font. Neither has properly lined up rehaut engraving. BTW are the mid links brushed on your bracelet? Gen has them brushed, not polished. I'm waiting for this correction on the noob too. -bk

I sell at the same price as wm9 except I charge for shipping to outside of US. But I include Clark crystal and gasket in the price and I polish the rehaut edges. -bk

my supplier told me the remaining Exp2's all have Asian clones. I don't want Asian clones so I got nothing. Very sad. I did get 14 GMT IIs (model 16710) in gen ETAs. -bk

SD is $695 -bk

The wm9 preorders were excellent deals esp. the 1st preorders. For example, the wm9 LV for $375 with torch-like glowing superlume, super accurate insert color and a superb insert pearl, not to mention gen style construction. With my mods ($25 Clark crystal and gasket and $20 polishing the rehaut top and inner edge), it's still less than $500. Of course you had to have faith. You preordered back in Jan 2009 with nothing but faith and you waited and waited. People like Ubi who's been a long-time wm9 customer know best. I was telling everybody to jump in myself. The regular price of the LV is now $625. Go figure. In the future, if wm9 runs preorders, jump in. I don't think they will be discounted as much nor you only put down 10%. -bk

wm9 told me the YM bezel assembly-smith (is there such a word?) retired. He's old school. For fear the new way how they make the bezel assembly would be inferior, I grabbed all 90 sets of wm9 YM components on wm9's hand. I just love the fact that the insert truly snaps in the bezel without any glue, absolutely no glue needed. wm9 won't be making YM bezel assemblies for 4 months or longer while they look for someone or some machine to make the bezel assemblies. I'd go in debt to grab these components. Similar thing for the TT components. I said before wm9 may not make the TT anymore. Even if they would, they wouldn't make it in wrapped gold. It'd be plated gold only. I reserved 200 sets and I got 90 sets (also 90) so far, still waiting for the dw overlays to start assembly. Also missing in the parts received are inserts. Notice TT isn't listed even on wm9's website. I just hope I will get the rest of the 200 I reserved. Not trying promote sales here. I just want to share useful info so you guys get good stuff, much like I told you guys to jump in the LV, TT, SD preorders. -bk

The one tell I see is the top face is curved rather than flat. Another tell is the top face's edge is not sharp enough. Look at Ubi's pic, you can easily observe the edge being very sharp/well defined. You can also see the flat top face and sharp edge/transition from this side view of a gen crown -bk

The dial itself looks to be gen. I think the 6, 9, 12 markers are refurbished. The round markers are in very good shape, probably original. -bk