By-Tor

First three reps I purchased were TT Subs, back in early 2004 when I first came to the community. I have owned 2 "TW Best" models of this watch, and also one very old CN model from Joshua. Our family friend owns a genuine TT "Serti" Sub, which I have handled many times. So I guess I have some kind of insight to write about this replica. I never wrote a decent article of those old reps of mine, and this is the watch that LOTS of members have asked me to review over the years. TT Sub is kind of a "newbie magnet" in many ways.

This replica model is not new, but the factory has introduced one very dramatic change: Better (smaller) winding crown. This is much welcomed improvement, because the "Jumbo" crown used to ruin this rep competely.

Other than the crown, this watch is basically a Noobmariner with gold parts. By many (including me) the Noobmariner is considered be the best ever-out-of-the-box Submariner replica. 

The crown guards and pearl are very reasonable, and good enough as they are. And once again, only the "Noob" Rolexes have the correct, thick cylindrical "front rehaut". The other factories (including MBW and TW models) aren't quite as good in this regard. However, the actual rehaut depth is about one millimeter too low on the "Noob factory" Submariners.

In the "old days" the last link that connected the bracelet to the SEL used to be just layered with a thin surface of gold, and the side of this area was left "naked"... i.e stainless steel on the side was visible underneath the gold layer (on top). That was another serious flaw and "deal breaker" on this rep, which has been fixed for this particular model.

Just like the SS Noobmariner, the lugs are beautifully finished.

The usual question is: "How good is the blue"? 

Well, I can safely say it's pretty damn good. Older models used to bee too "purple", but this watch doesn't have the problem. Blue is deep and rich. 

Here's the rep and gen side-by-side. The following photo is courtesy by member "JNKAI" (thanks). This is the exact same replica model, but notice how awfully HUGE the winding crown was before the "update". Utterly ridiculous. 

Like I said, I'm glad it has been fixed. Oversized crown is very typical problem with most Rolex replicas, and frankly I don't understand why it is so difficult to get right.

This brings us to the best part of this watch, which is the dial. Just like on its stainless steel counterpart it's virtually perfect. This factory really knows to get the dials correct, and regarding the Rolex reps it's once again in the league of its own. Just for fun, you can check how my "Noob factory" GMT Master II dial compares with the genuine HERE.

The best dial photo of this watch is from John Holmbrook's Rolex Reference Page, which I used as a source once again. I tried to shoot my watch from the exact same angle and here's the result. (Genuine on the right). 

As you can see the only differences worth mentioning are the minute hand (gen has larger luminous area), and the datewheel (which fills the larger area of the cyclops). The gens come with two different bezel font colors (gold and plain yellow). Both are correct. You can't seriously except the rep dial to get better than this. I was also positively surprised that hands and hour markers have the same luminous abilities on this watch. Usually lume on the hands is much weaker.

My intial impression of the bracelet wasn't great, as it was in dire need of oiling. That's very typical for the replica Rolex Oyster bands. The links were stiff, made noise and didn't feel smooth at all. Oiling, as usual, changed the feel immediately.

After having the watch in my possession for a week, and after comparing it to countless of gen pics I began to appreciate the bracelet a lot more. The gold tone might be different from the 18K, but I doubt it could be detected easily. I was going to get a gen TT "Serti" Sub from my friend for the comparison for this article, but unfortunately his long business trip ruined this plan.  Experts say that the 14K gold tone isn't quite as rich as the gen 18K. The gen (supposedly) has more "creamy" color, while the rep tone is more yellow. 

Eurotimez posted a thread about the bracelet, and according to him the middle links are solid 14K gold. 

According to Eurotimez, the gold in this particular TT Sub comes in three different qualities:

Plated 18k (will fade and wear off quickly)
Cheaper gold with a thin 14k layer that will eventually get off, leaving ugly black spots where it wears.
Solid 14k gold (this particular watch in the review) = never wears off. 

As you can see the clasp has a gold layer all through its surface, and it's absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to keep scratch free.

Gold layering on the clasp area (around the coronet) isn't quite as smooth on the rep, which could be detectable. Same can be said about the crown, the layer isn't perfectly smooth. But it's good to keep in mind that we're talking about rep of a $8K watch here.

PS: What many people don't know is that all parts on the genuine 16613 aren't solid gold, either. The gen has plated crown and clasp area.

Based on my experience, treating the rep TT Oyster bracelet with car wax is the best option to make it feel more substantial. It makes a difference. One annoying thing about the TT Oyster band (rep and gen) is how easily it collects microscopic hairline scratches. You only have to breath into its direction to get it scratched. Merely photographing this watch was enough to get a few of them here and there. Not that it would bother me, but I hope the customer who will receive this watch isn't one of those "anal types".

Here's the traditional review wrist shot. This definitely is a pretty watch. 

Conclusion:

Without a doubt this is the best TT Sub replica I have ever seen. And that's exactly why I wanted to review it in the first place. Now that the crown has been fixed, I seriously doubt this can be repped much better. I'm impressed how detailed the finish on this watch is. The dial is utterly amazing, and the plated bezel and pearl are very good as well. It would be very interesting to compare this against the new MBK version, and hopefully I have a chance to do that in the near future.

Thanks again our new dealer, ***"Eurotimez"*** for borrowing this beauty. Good luck with your business ventures! Thanks all members for your continuous support, and I hope you enjoyed this another small pictorial of mine.