When a clone isn't a clone: making an SOSF franken

[jerkstore]

As reps go, the Breitling Superocean Steelfish is very nice. The gen is a classic, and so is the rep. I bought an H factory v2 "Asian ETA 2836-2" (more on this later) from Toro. Ordering was easy, and shipping was fast. I unboxed it six days after confirming QC pics.

As many of us have found, the H-factory gets a lot of little details right. And even the ones that are a little off--like the dial--are still high quality.

Rep left, gen dial right.

Sure the color is too bright, the markers and numerals are a little too big, and it doesn't reflect light quite as nicely. Still, it's a good attempt. For all those reasons, though, a gen dial is a great upgrade. It makes a nice rep a whole lot nicer.

Breitling parts are very hard to find. Although expensive, genuine Rolex dials are pretty easy to come by. In contrast, finding a genuine Breitling--let alone Steelfish--dial for a reasonable price is nearly impossible. I pulled the trigger on a blue dial, to see what all the fuss is about.

It's worth it.

I figured it would be an easy swap... Toro sold me what he called on his website an "Asian 2836-2". I wanted to drop in a Swiss movement, add the gen dial, and port the rep hands over. No such luck.

I was very surprised to learn that my 2826-2 clone is not a clone at all. It is instead a new high-beat version of the DG2813. It is also a piece of crap. The "ETA 2836-2" that Toro and other dealers (according to him) are selling in at least some of their watches is a clone of the 2836-2 in the same sense that a Yugo is a clone of a BMW. They are both cars, and these are both movements. And one of them is, well, $#@£.

On receiving the watch, I tried to operate the crown. I found that the stem was tight and didn't easily allow me to switch between positions. A keyless fix is pretty straightforward. But I couldn't find anything obviously out if place. It was just made badly and didn't work right. Beyond that, I didn't have any replacement parts--this being a new movement. I imagine that many of our watchmakers are running into the same problem.

When I brought the problems up with Toro a few weeks ago, he kindly offered a full refund. That's commendable. He also agreed to change the movement description on his website. Unfortunately, as of today, the high-beat 2813 movement is still called a "2836-2 clone" in his ad (see http://www.torobravos2014.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=656).

Read more about the problems of the new movement here:

http://www.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php?t=170876

In the past, I and others here have advised noobs to get the ETA clone version because it's cheaper, works well, and is nearly as reliable as the Swiss counterpart. But if dealers are calling this junk movement a "2836-2 clone", that advice no longer applies. I would say: get the basic 21j or the Swiss. Stay far away from this one. I would hope that out trusted dealers revise their product descriptions. We all know what an actual clone ETA is.

Back to the franken-making: the hands didn't transfer easily. The hour hand size on the junk "clone" was too large. Weighing my options, I picked up some genuine hands rather than take the chance that my modded rep hands would come loose and scratch the dial. I had a similar problem with the datewheel. A 2813 datewheel is completely different than a 2836-2. And Breitling fonts for the latter are hard to find. But I got lucky and saw a 2879 datewheel on the bay with the right font. Because that movement uses the same datewheel as the 2836-2, it worked out.

In any case, here is the finished product. I'm very happy with it:

[Big Dazza]

I need to find a gen dial! Looks great. I also got shafted with the 'clone eta' movement that was the crappy new 21J type

[Mike on a bike]

Ok taking a hammer to mine!

[By-Tor]

Nice.

 

But is that gen dial really blue, and not black?

 

Looks very dark, almost black. Or is it just the weird-o lighting you're using (or lack of it)?

 

Robbie's gen Fish pics are the best reference there is.

[jerkstore]

Thanks. It's a blue dial as interpreted by the iPhone under basement lighting.

[importr]

My franken says Hi!

Gen dial

gen bezel

swiss datewheel

rep Abyss bracelet

[samhouston]

wow , love it. 

[gamerich]

Great job!

The lume dots look much better on the gen dials.

[Pugwash]

Dammit, now I want a fish! Are they still as good as they were when they came out years ago or are there dodgy ones?

[spooky driver]

where did you pick up the dial and hands? 

i have a old type one that i stuck in a gen date wheel.

love it!

[genoint]

I am about to embark on the same project. Minus gen dial. Have gen hands for Swiss movement with rep dial. Gen dials are hard to come by as are the gen bezels and keeping my eye out. I too bought the wath from toro and it basically blew up in days. The movement is crap.

[aarvidsson]

As my recently arrived Steelfish seems to be of the same ... questionable quality, I'm getting more and more interested in doing this as well. That's what I get from not reading enough on the forums before buying stuff... A couple of questions, if I may:

 

is an actual clone of the 2836-2 or an actual Swiss ETA 2836-2 a straight drop-in?

Is the crown transferrable to the new stem, as I would imagine that the 2836-2 stem is different from the stem in there now?

Would the rep dial fit an actual 2836-2 (even though I would have to either get gen hands or modify the rep hands)?