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J12 SubC vs Gen | A Quick Overview


dbane883

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I just took delivery of the new J12 SubC.  Before it undergoes some major surgery, I thought I'd do a quick visual comparison of it relative to my gen no-date Sub.  The Gen will always be on the LEFT or the bottom...  J12 will be on the right.

 

Out of the box, to the average person, the J12 is a very good rep:

IMG_4070_zpsd9d00236.jpg

 

Sunken SELS, AR cyclops, hefty weight - Crystal is a touch high but overall, its not bad.

 

First lets look at the dials:

IMG_4062_zps61e4e103.jpg

 

Gen dial:

IMG_4063_zpsf1691481.jpg

 

J12 dial:

IMG_4064_zpsb0f9208a.jpg

 

Very briefly, the minute hand is too chunky.  Fonts are a bit off, especially "Superlative Chronometer" being too fat rather than thinner, minute hashmarks are also too fat, 3,6, 9 rectangles too square.."Rolex" should be more elongated.  The printing is not white enough, etc, etc..I cant bare to look any more closely.  

 

 

The bezel insert engraving is lacking depth compared to gen,.  At the same time, fonts are too thin:

IMG_4065_zpse2587b34.jpg

 

Pearl surround and dome over the lume is actually pretty good.  However there is a slight bluish tint to it.. Or maybe its a bit translucent compared to the more opaque gen pearl:

IMG_4060_zpsca9ac023.jpg

 

The general case shape dimensions is very close to gen.  lug tip to lug tip on the J12 is 47.93mm compared to 48.05 mm on the gen.

Case width is about smack on as well:

IMG_4061_zps1bc423f9.jpg

IMG_4053_zpsad159cad.jpg

 

Like 99.99% of rep cases, the crown guards are a touch off.  Little bit too wide at the base:

IMG_4059_zps7dd9fa00.jpg

IMG_4057_zps543d9b6e.jpg

 

Despite the fact that dimensionally, the length and width is about dead on with the gen, there was something that was really bothering me about it.  Then I noticed that case sides on the J12 is way too square.  By that, I mean that on the gen cases, the top of the case is a touch narrower than the bottom, which results in the case flaring out from the dial side to the caseback side... You can see the side profile here and notice that the gen flares out 2-3 degrees more than the J12 case:

IMG_4056_zps17392267.jpg

 

The difference is more prominent at the lugs if you look down dead-on from above.  Notice how the sides of the lugs on the J12 is nearly vertical, whereas the gen has an elegant flare:

IMG_4054_zpsb03e42aa.jpg

IMG_4055_zps35a5ff4e.jpg

 

Enough about the case, onto the bracelet.

As I removed the J12 bracelet, I noticed it just felt a tad "loose" to me.  So I compared the "stretch" to the the gen bracelet (on the bottom).  The J12 clearly has more stretch than the gen which has tight links that hinge like butter:

IMG_4066_zpse9c26b6f.jpg

 

The coronet on the fliplock of the J12 is a definite improvement over say, the BP bracelet, but my only complaint here is the width and depth of the recessed scallop:

IMG_4067_zps1065fe3e.jpg

 

I will not go into an indepth review of the clasp, but its probably the best rep glidelock clasp today that I have seen.

 

The middle links of J12 are a bit blocky if you know what I mean, but not bad.  

IMG_4069_zpsb4ce6439.jpg

 

And in case you were wondering, the gen bracelet will fit on the J12 case no problem, so good job there.

 

Overall, not a bad piece.  

 

This concludes another episode of useless watch trivia.

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Thank you for the very in depth pictorial review, I always learn something new from reading posts such as this, even if the watches do not appeal to me personally. :)

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