TC Elabore 2824 Yacht Master 16622 First Look

[tc670207]

I had to take half day off rushing back home to my work bench the other day to build this piece, I called it "TC Elabore 2824 Yacht Master 16622".

Before the British dial maker brought KH 16610 Dial to this community, he showed great interest in vintage Rolex Rolesium Yacht-Master 16622.

He wanted to know if he could produce the vintage Yacht-Master dials, would I build a couple of YM for him and the family. Of course I would. I thought it was easy. All I need to do was to buy a couple of Factory Direct Yacht-Master from my Chinese friend.

I was naive and not knowing how the Chinese repdom had evolved. The so-called "TC Factory Direct Yacht-Master 16622" were all gone. The successors are the ones with the modern 116622 bezel font and the Chinese cloned 2836 movements, which I do not fancy due to its wrong crown position and very not gen like crown shape.

My Chinese friend rejected my proposal of making a small batch of the TC Factory Direct YM. Our demand was not even close to the MOQ that he could turn the machines on. It was simply not financially logical to him.

Disappointed I was, so was my friend. But we can understand that being a parts manufacturer in Far East, every bit that is being produced has to be sold. It matters to my Chinese friend as well as his workers' very survival. The whole Rolesium Yacht-Master 16622 RE-LIVE project was put on hold indefinitely.

"I do not have the buying power to meet your MOQ. If there's any way we can work this out. If there's something you or the syndicate behind you need, that I can provide, you let me know." I told my friend before leaving his factory in the ancient country.

Earlier this year I received a call from my Chinese friend. He briefly explained how the Chinese horology industry is this year. Quite a few factories can produce quality watch parts. Quality parts that can meet toe to toe with their Swiss or other European rivals. However, the Chinese brands or the Chinese watch companies are still having big headaches dealing with after sales issues, especially with accuracy and durability issues. They need better watch movements.

"Wasn't Shanghai, Seagull, and Hangzhou already good enough?" I asked.

"Shanghai and Hangzhou are 2nd tier watch movement makers. They mainly serve smaller brands and watch companies domestically. The movements they made may look close to ETA, but in terms of accuracy and durability, those two makers are still not in the game."

"Although the State owned Tianjin Seagull being the top tier watch movement maker in China, quality control (of the final products....the movements) is still a nightmare to watch companies who buy from Seagull."

"You may find a certain percentage in each batch of delivery very good and perform on par with their Swiss counterparts. But you'll find another certain percentage perform like rubbish and the rest dead on delivery."

"Seagull's employee turnover rate is at history high this year. The talented and well-trained ones didn't get a raise fast enough to balance the economic inflation within China. Once they can no longer bring home enough rice to the table, they just leave and head South for more opportunity."

"We need better movements!" My friend emphasized again at the other end of the phone.

Let's take a break on the story I'm telling. I want to spend a minute and walk you through the components of "TC Elabore 2824 Yacht-Master 16622".

The first and most profound upgrade on TC Elabore 2824 YM is the Kensington High 16622 Dial.

According to the maker, KH 16622 Dial plate is made of German silver, which is a white colored copper alloy and a common material being used to manufacture high end movement's main plates by most of Swiss watch giants. The other compounds remain the maker's trade secrets.

The dimensions of KH 16622 Dial's hour markers or indices are ever so slightly different to the 16610LV's. The triangle at 12 and the rectangle at 6 and 9 have to just be a tad bit more slender than the ones on the 16610LV dial. This in my opinion makes the craft even harder. Nonetheless, the polishing job on the hour markers were done just tremendously awesome.

Bear in mind the polishing and lume job on hour markers are done by hand instead of machine. There is no way the dial maker could mass produce this kind of dials given the fact he is doing this for fun.

I have already talked about the print job in "KH 16622 Dial First Look". Handling the KH 16622 Dial while assembling the watch, I couldn't help but suspect the British dial maker, a gen Rolex dial maker gone rogue.

After seeing how good the KH Dials are, I couldn't go back and use the 16622 V1 hands anymore. The hands and the dial have to match. They have to match in visual quality, in craftsmanship, and in harmony of reflections of  light.

The Date Wheel Overlay also, is playing a significant part of visual harmony when reading the watch face. It sits right under the cyclops. So, it has to be centered vertically and horizontally within the date window and cyclops. I pay special attention to the DWO's position during each of my build. However, once a while I still get emails from members with Replica Owner Syndrome complaining about the position. I am not going to gripe over tiny variances that exist even in gen units.

TC Elabore 2824 YM comes with "TC 16622 Hands Set V2" and "TC DWO V4".

TC Elabore 2824 YM case set, bezel assembly, insert, and 78760 bracelet are from the same Chinese manufacturer that made "TC FD YM". Although being a 2015 remake in very limited volume, it shares the same gene traits to its 2012 batch.

The material being used to produce the case, bezel, and bracelet is 316L stainless steel.  Unlike its 316F brother, 316L is a tad whiter under light and is a tad harder to machine. Which resembles the material character of gen Rolex 904L stainless steel, a Rolex Proprietary steel alloy.

What I like about TC FD YM case:

1. It has the correct vertical crown position which gracefully houses any 2824 movements.

2. Unlike the modern 116622 reps, it has the correct crown guard shape that gorgeously embraces the 7 mm crown.

Gen Yacht Master bezel gives the wearer a solid and springy feedback when turning it. One would hear a crisp "ding" on each click. Do not expect the same gen feedback and click sound on the rep despite how indistinguishable it looks to a gen Yacht-Master 16622.

I want to point that the bezel turning on this YM is still a bit on the softer side.

My hunch to answer the secret is machining tolerance. However, I don't think my Chinese friend could break the machining bottleneck in making the bezel assemblies. No matter how I tweak the click spring, the tolerance is there. So if the bezel turning feedback and the click sound is something you would nick pick about, DO NOT buy it.

Another imperfection I mentioned in "TC Factory Direct YM" and I want to point it out again is that there are tiny sand blasted pits on the bezel insert. The 2012 batch had them. The 2015 batch still has them. It's not easy to see them with naked eyes, but with a loupe there are everywhere on the insert. It's one imperfection the Chinese maker couldn't eliminate due to sand blasting process.

Despite I categorize the blasted pits on the insert an imperfection, a senior member told me that gen YM has them, especially those made in circa 2000 to 2006. He would not categorize it an imperfection since vintage gens were made with the same manufacturing process, thus shares the same product characteristics. But gen owners would not complain about it to Rolex. A gen owner blogged about it on Timezone thinking it is a plus, a character, and a human touch from Rolex technician.

TC Elabore 2824 YM comes with "2015 TC 78760 Bracelet". I did not name it "78760 Bracelet V2" because it is not. It is a 2015 remake of the old TC 78760 Bracelet. Everything is the same except the end link is slightly wider to fit the mid case tightly.

The 2015 remake has the end link in 20.15 +/- 0.02 mm both ends. I get great visual pleasure after fitting a 2015 TC 78760 bracelet into a YM mid case.

Members who own a modern 6 digit serial Submariner 116610 or a Yacht-Master 116622 may feel disappointed how flimsy a classic 5 digit Submariner 16610's bracelet is. Rolex made the vintage 5 digit Submariner 16610's bracelet with hollow links in order to cut excessive weight. It has practical reasons in that era.

If you are one of those who prefers how the modern 6 digit Rolex's solid bracelet feels, 78760 bracelet will not let you down. You will feel the solidness, the proper and yet very well balanced weight of this 1997 debuted solid mid link 78760 bracelet.

TC Elabore 2824 Yacht Master 16622 comes with "TC Elabore 2824 Movement".

Earlier this year, my Chinese friend wanted to know how well my "TC 2824 movements" perform in terms of accuracy and durability. As I stated above, they needed better movements. So, I shipped a tray to let him to see for himself.

Within a month I received another call from him. "If you will help us to reach a merchandising deal with your new movement maker, we will help you make a small batch of the old Yacht Master."

"What's the catch?" I was alerted.

"My friend, you have to understand with our fast growing middle class, the Chinese wants and needs better quality goods."

"Jiangsu province alone has 2 times the population than California. And Jiangsu holds only 5.9% of the Chinese population."

"There is no catch. We do not have connections to your movement maker. Being red necks from rural China and not well educated, we need someone's help to reach a deal with your respected movement maker."

"Well, that I can be of some help." I said.

The very reason I call it "Elabore 2824" because this is the elabore grade of TC 2824 movement. Some members claimed TC 2824 China made movement. I didn't bother to explain because numbers will speak for it self. Some parts within may be imported from other countries, but it is cut, assembled, fine tuned, and QAed on this land, by its people. It's American.

What are the difference between Standard grade and Elabore grade or even COSC candidate Top grade? There are several variables and several criteria a movement that have to match the performance before it is branded Standard, Elabore, or the COSC candidate Top grade.

In plain English, a Standard grade 2824 movement has to run within +/-12 seconds per day on CH (dial facing up) and 6H (6 o'clock facing up) when fully wound. Max variation on all positions is 30 seconds per day.

That means a watch with a Standard grade movement will probably gain or lose maximum 30 seconds each day.

An Elabore grade 2824 movement has to run within +/- 7 seconds per day on CH, 6H, and 9H when fully wound. Max variation on all position is 20 seconds per day.

A top grade 2824 movement has to run within +/- 4 seconds per day on all 5, CH, 6H, 9H, 3H, and FH positions. Max variation on all position is 15 seconds per day.

The timegraph of this very Elabore 2824 movement within this "TC Elabore 2824 YM" you are looking at is performing a COSC candidate Top grade gen ETA 2824-2 movement would perform. A gen Rolex 3135 can easily run worse than this specific TC Elabore 2824.

I am not telling or making promises here to members that you will receive COSC performing movement if you are acquiring "TC Elabore 2824 YM". I am stating how good a "TC Elabore 2824 Movement" could be.

Before I begin building each unit, the movement is clocked, adjusted (if needed), then clocked again on my machine when finished. It is then going through a 14 days real life timing checks on my rotating machine which simulates everyday wear. 

I will provide a written report of the final readings in the package. However, if upon receiving the unit your time is off by xx seconds, don't email me and ask me what's wrong. Variations are UNAVOIDABLE. Mechanical watches are not atomic clocks!

The accuracy of a movement can be thrown off by a variety of factors. The length of how long a movement stay within standards also varies. If you are anal about DEAD ON accuracy, look for a qualified watchmaker or modder to make the fine tuning.

The yacht and the Yacht Master.

Gentlemen, that is about the quick look at TC Elabore 2824 Yacht Master 16622.

Thanks for reading.

TC

08/05/15

After note:

Some members may ask why the manufacturer won't use 904L? The Chinese Bao Steel and An Steel both manufacture their own version of 904L steel. It won't be so much trouble and cost to use the Chinese 904L steel.

Don't be fooled by the Rolex code designation. According to the maker, the only other stainless steel on this planet that has the same machining and complete product character of Rolex 904L is Allegheny Ludlum's AL-6XN. But for some reasons, they couldn't get their hands on the AL-6XN.

Do you know, we used to make the world's best marine time pocket watch? Do you know that Hamilton and Waltham were original American watch companies?

I am very happy our Chinese friends are buying the most important part of the watch, the movement, from us. I am even happier they are putting our movements in their local brand watches instead of reps. We may actually reclaim our position in the horological world again like we once did.

Some members complained about the lengthy turnaround time. Some who would not wait simply buy parts and bits from me then build the watch themselves or have their local watchmakers assembling for them.

If you know a bit or two about watchmaking, I'd be more than happy to pass you the parts and bits. I would actually encourage you to do so. I've found joy and peace of mind assembling TC Subs and now TC YM. I believe you could, too.

However, if you're buying parts and bits just to have your local watchmaker to build it for you to save time, I would recommend you to carefully select your watchmaker. After all, to complete a TC Sub or YM takes time, patience, skills, and also some rep know hows. Even the tiniest mistake can render a part/parts useless. If your watchmaker screwed up during a build, and pin it on the part/parts being defect that is not fair to me. Please remember watch making isn't an exact science. One would need an artisan's mind and steady hands to do so. 

I can provide you with some recommendations of modders/watchmakers which I have worked with in the past may that be in the US, EU, or Asia. Please remember that as I have mentioned times and again, building these units is my hobby and my escape from troubles. It brings me a peace of mind. I do not charge members for my labor. However, my personal estimate of a fair market value of TC Sub or TC YM including labor is well over US$1,000. So, if your modder does a good job, please pay fairly to your watchmaker.

[astonjenks]

Wow, great article and great work


AJ

[jcrystal23]

Just fantastic! Another amazing watch from TC.

Sent from a traveling phone booth

[Mike on a bike]

Looking good TC as always and some great info into the way things are going over there.

[ubiquitous]

NICE!! Looks excellent, TC!

[pam007]

wow, looks amazing.

You are a king of modern rolex replicas...

Now you need to start repping 93150.  K thx. 

[themannier]

It's really a great work, this is a wonderful watch !

[atossg]

Any one knows the price?

[Trüffi]

640$ +shipping Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk

[droptopman]

Awesome write up TC. The point about exporting US made movements is outstanding. Sent from my droptop using telepathy

[Repfreak83]

   

[Skywatch]

Great looking watch, the dial is simply amazing !