My DSSD (first Rolex)

[childishthing]

I want to preface this review by saying that I do not own a proper camera. Despite the exhaustive amount of time I spent trying to get my camera to focus and take macro photos, I was left with an end result that I will call "good enough". The camera-phone I'm using is a Samsung Galaxy S5 in case you're curious. It takes great photos for most situations, but like all point & shoots, it struggles with low-light and macro. Here goes...

 

I ordered this watch from Josh w/ Perfect Clones. I placed my order May 1st and paid the same day. I received QC photos May 10 (the delay I'm told was caused by a Chinese holiday which caused nothing to get done for nearly a week), and was shipped the next business day. My friend (who recommended me to order from Josh) received his QC photos within 72 hours, and had his watch within 2 weeks of ordering it. All emails were answered within 24 hours, and although I would prefer faster communication, it was certainly reasonable. I am less patient than the average person, and am admittedly high-maintenance.

 

While waiting for my package, I ordered a couple of leather NATO straps... more on that later.

 

The watch arrived in a plastic sleeve wrapped in much more bubble wrap than was probably necessary. It was also placed within a Styrofoam box inside of a cardboard box. There is little to no chance of shipping damage happening as a result of packing. Very happy in that regard.

 

Because of the nature of mechanical watches, and the duration of time in shipping, I actually expected to have to wind the watch when it arrived. I was pleasantly surprised to find it ticking.

 

Alright, on with the photos, and then I'll summarize.

 

Full shot of the watch

 

Closer

 

Face

 

Wrist

 

Crown

 

Bracelet & HE Valve

 

Bracelet & Clasp

 

Lume shot (good God, this was a PITA...)

 

 

Okay, so now back to the NATO strap...

 

So, I'm NOT UNHAPPY with ANY aspect of the watch. It looks and feels like a million bucks, looks super sharp. Very, very, nice watch. However there are a few shortcomings that I noticed, some of which could be pretty easily improved.

 

When I removed the bracelet, I noticed a few things.

-First, there is no serial number at the 6 O'clock position between the lugs although the model number is where it's supposed to be at the 12 O'clock position. I'm 99% positive that the Gen displays a serial at the 6 position between the lugs.

-Second, the spring bars are the wrong size and of very poor quality. I was unable to reattach my bracelet after wearing the NATO strap for a while because they warped so easily and would not hold the bracelet flush against the case anymore.

-Third, the more I played with the Glide-Lock micro-adjustment clasp, it began to jam and does not move freely anymore. This is after only 1 day.

 

Fourth, but on another note... the noise from the pendulum inside is noticeably louder than that of the gen. The gen is almost silent. Perhaps a drop of oil from the jeweler would eliminate this.

 

None of these are QC issues from the seller, just things I think could/should be improved or modified from the factory. I intend to get genuine Rolex spring bars, and lubricate the glide-lock clasp and all should be well. I also intend to have the watch serviced as soon as possible to be proactive.

 

Here's a couple photos of the NATO strap.

 

 

 

 

 

In summary, an excellent watch. This is the Ultimate version with the Swiss movement, and I think it's $400 well spent.

[dusk]

Watch looks great and I think a drop of the correct oil will dampen the noise. It looks amazing in the leather strap! Enjoy it!

[Inertiadrifter]

I think the gen doesn't have the serial number at the 6 o'clock side cuz it's inside the rehaut.

Great watch and congrats

[martijnp]

The DSSD is a big boy! Like the nato strap combination

[Guest mikemcnair]

The statement about the gen having serial and model numbers on the ring lock is correct (rehaut), and the spring bars are likely not the issue experienced above.

Let me explain:

The leather strap you have appears to be a 21-22mm strap, and is clearly SQUEEZED between the lugs, even in the limited photos above (which happen to look great for a camera phone btw, as does the watch. Hands down my favorite piece and one I have had EVERY VARIATION known of in hand, as well as gen and Franken builds of it. I've seen them all, and was a TD on RWG before one "issue" of negativity sent my TD status spiraling down faster than a lead balloon. I digress...)

With the strap not being the right width, and possibly the wrong thickness, it will make the already sub-par spring bars over stressed and terribly difficult to get to go into their holes.

It's such a simple thing to have a spring bar installed one would never expect to have ANY difficulty installing them, but more often than not, the rep DSSDs have issues with this.

In fact, I would bet your spring bars are even a little off center (as in, the post that physically touches the lug is not a perfectly centered "top hat" design, rather it likely looks like a Dr. Seuse "cat in the hat" crooked hat. (If you visualize it, it makes sense lol).

I will illustrate this with a photo shortly.

With this, just be mindful that changing straps/bracelets will likely ALWAYS be a PITA, and not the 2 millisecond job every other watch on the planet is.

Thanks for the review and photos, I always appreciate a "short and sweet" approach to these, and well, just love the DSSD so I never tire of it.

[Guest mikemcnair]

here you go, almost EVERY DSSD i have seen EVER has had this "issue"

 

GOOD......

 

 

NORMAL and BAD springbars......

 

[childishthing]

Got brand new (thicker) spring bars from local Rolex shop today. I then had the same problem with the bracelet not sitting flush against the case. Reason being, only one side of the spring bar would sink. The holes must be offset because after the first side sinks, the opposite side WOULD NOT. Played with it for damn near an hour. I curved the spring bar, played with a bit more, and then it finally set in. Fits perfect now, but I had to curve the spring bar to do it... same for both spring bars. A little displeased, but I can deal.

 

I was also surprised to learn that my Rolex dealer would not touch my watch in any way. Wouldn't change my bracelet for me, re-size it, nothing. Granted, I'm capable of doing all those things - but normally I expect the service to accompany my purchase of new parts when it's something simple like spring bars and changing a bracelet. Apparently, handling my watch in any way is a violation of their franchise agreement with Rolex. Or maybe it was just his way of punishing me for owning a fake. I suspect however, that either way, if I had a friendly relationship with the gentlemen behind the counter, he'd be willing to overlook such a trivial thing in a heartbeat.

 

I was EVEN MORE SURPRISED to learn that this "policy" also applies to my Invicta Pro Diver I had with me that I wanted to have looked at for a possible adjustment to the movement. Apparently Invicta is a pretty sore spot for Rolex...

 

I'm not sure where I'm going to get my watch serviced in the future, and am a little bit bummed about it. I hope I can find someone trustworthy close by.

Edited May 28, 2014 by childishthing

[childishthing]

Also redid my lume shot....

 

Edited May 28, 2014 by childishthing

[Guest mikemcnair]

While I have not read the forum rules on every forum, I do know it's a HUGE NO-NO to bring a rep into an AD REGARDLESS of your intent.

That is a counterfeit, trademark infringed, piece of BAD NEWS to an AD, and while he should not turn his nose up to an Invicta, turning his back on a rep is not only expected, the AD should never be put in the position to have to do so. I'm sorry to offend, this is the hard truth sir.

You bought gen spring bars for your rep and expected him to install them? Honestly man, that's just plain ballsy! (You sir, have brass ones lol )

Also, how did you get the gen SB to fit the rep holes in the lugs? They are typically (not always) smaller holes and "fatter" bars... I'm intrigued!

As for locating a repair facility; there are many of us here eager to assist, and I'm always glad to lot a DIY or PM instructions etc. That's the beauty of these forums; we are all here to help eachother.

Should you find yourself questioning a repair or modification, place feel free to ask. Hell, email me, I can send photos, DIYs, etc. I have emailed NOVELS to help people through fixing things, and I'm happy to do so.

Back on topic: the watch looks great! And the new lume shot is awesome! I am so glad you didn't do what most do; set the camera for ~2-5 seconds of exposure to ultimately make the like look brighter, but also making the second hand look like a lit streak across the dial. I think the "honesty" of a standard exposed pic is awesome.

Well done sir.

[childishthing]

"You bought gen spring bars for your rep and expected him to install them? Honestly man, that's just plain ballsy! (You sir, have brass ones lol )"

 

Zero f***s given I guess... In all honesty, what happened was the worst-case scenario - in which, he said no. If I put him in an awkward position, I'm sure he's already over it. He even did it with enough tact, and explained his position well enough that I didn't go home and cry about it. But honestly, my watch would be in great hands having it served there if they didn't mind. My thinking: Kia/Hyundai have been pretty blatant about copying Mercedes for example. Now, it would be foolish for a Kia owner to expect a Mercedes service center to perform Warranty work, but on the other hand, it would be foolish of a Mercedes service center to turn away a Kia owner because they want an oil change. I work at a BMW dealership, and revenue is revenue... also, the technicians at Mercedes are masters at their craft. I understand that a Kia is very different mechanically than a Mercedes, so it's not a perfect example, but I think you get my point.

 

"Also, how did you get the gen SB to fit the rep holes in the lugs? They are typically (not always) smaller holes and "fatter" bars... I'm intrigued!"

 

Forced it. It was a b****.

 

 

Thanks for the kind words about the photo. I'm pretty happy with my Galaxy S5 (the only camera i own).

Edited May 28, 2014 by childishthing

[Guest mikemcnair]

makes sense man, and i follow your analogy well.  :thumbup:

 

EDIT:  i can not believe how visible your LEC is on that watch, i am wearing mine now and its hard as hell to see.  yours pops out of the crystal.

 

mine is a franken of sorts though.......

 

 

Edited May 28, 2014 by mikemcnair

[hautetime]

Beautiful!

[panerai153]

That's a very nice watch, and while I admire your taking your watch to your local AD it's strictly against forum policy, and that extends across all rep forums. What you probably don't realize is how draconian Rolex USA and Rolex SA are when it comes to counterfeits. All it would take would be for someone in the store to mention in passing to someone else about what and amazing replica DSSD was in the shop today! could be someone who was mad at the owner, the watchmaker, etc. mention it to the Rolex Distributor, and all manners of hell could descend on the AD, up to and including jerking his franchise, cancelling his Rolex parts account (which Rolex will do in and instant for the smallest infraction) which would essentially put him out of the Rolex repair business. So please in the future don't tempt fate and go into any AD with a replica of one of their watches.

 

Also, your analogy of the Kia/Hyundai/Mercedes is not a good or accurate. While they build cars that closely resemble Mercedes, nowhere on their cars appear any of the Mercedes symbols or trademarks. You don't see a Kia with a three pointed Star on the hood. Many auto companies are copiers of other brand's vehicles. Chrysler has a couple that are very similar to Bentleys at least from a distance. The front end of a Ford Focus looks quite like an Aston Martin, but the defining difference is none of these companies are trying to pass off their product as something else by using the other companies copyrighted name or symbols.

 

If you are looking to get it serviced, which personally I believe is a good idea if it's a watch that you intend to keep, there are several watchsmith/modders here on the forum that could easily do the job. Also there are quite a lot of independent watchmakers who will work on reps, a stripdown,clean, oil and regulate is a very straightforward job for any competent watchsmith, and ETA parts are plentiful and not restricted(yet!!) like Rolex parts.

[dusk]

^^^^ good point well made. The badges differ at least,

Meanwhile in China....