My deepsea-mania journey...sorry it's a long one

[vapplebomb]

With 6.5" wrist size, I was thinking I never like DSSD...looks too big, too heavy, too clumsy...those are the thoughts when I never see a real one.

It was about 9 months ago, there was a local boy selling his BK DSSD V6 at an incredible good price. I told myself, let's try it on. If I don't like it, I can always sell it at the same price because it is a great price to start with...so I bought my first ever DSSD.

Since then, I started to love DSSD. I feels great on my 6.5" wrist. Never feel it's too big. Also I got used to the weight of wearing an AP ROO with bracelet, this DSSD does not feel too heavy to me. The love just keep growing in me. Then I was thinking...I need a franken DSSD. I want to make it perfect. Fast-forward to another 3 months, I encountered a franken BK DSSD from @Heisenburg here, with gen insert, PBDAD's matte processed and relumed dial. I snapped it right away. I also learn a lot from Heisenburg about different versions of the dial...about the difference on the gen and rep bezel...He is truely a great member here!

After I spent a bit time with this DSSD, I found that the relumed job on the dial is not 100% perfect. It can only be seen if I take close up photo and mag x10 to see that. Normal eyes are not easy to impossible to see within a foot, not even talking about 5 feet away...And after I read lots of gen and rep forums, the gen DSSD dials seem to be "satin" instead of "matt" finished. I am an anal-perfectionist in this aspect...I want to make it perfect. So I sold this franken and started to think of building a franken starting from scratch.

So I went out looking for gen parts...lucky enough, I met another good member (now a good friend) @sacsha1 from the sister forum for some gen parts (gen insert/bezel/spring-click-ball-bearing, dials).

At the same time, after I learnt that there are different versions of the dial, I couldn't stop myself to get each one of them.

With everything's ready...it was the time to send everything to the modder to assemble everything together, also let's do some more modding like darken the OGEV text, brush the braclet, single AR the crystal...

and it was the beginning of the nightmare...

The modder was great, promising and responsive to start with, and estimated the work would take around 2 weeks...made sense and sounded good to me! So I paid and went ahead to send all parts to him. At the same time, I ordered a BK DSSD 2015 version and send directly to him as well. It took about 1.5 weeks to finally have the watch arrived to the modder. And he also confirmed that all parts has arrived and will start the work, also send the crystal to his lab for the single AR.

Then I waited for a week...no update from him. Which is ok because he said it would take 2 weeks. But I sent him an email anyway to see the progress. No reply in 6 days, then he said no news from his lab.

Waited another a week, asked again...no reply in another 7 days, then an email came back said no news from the lab.

Back and forth for 2 months...finally got the crystal back...but modder said AR was not done right. Returned to the lab and redo...

Email back and forth and waited another month. Crystal was done right. Then modder said will finish the work by the weekend.

After the weekend, an email came back saying 2015 DSSD case cannot fit gen bezel and the size is too big.

Then I happened to see another 2014 BK DSSD on m2m, so I snapped it right away and sent it to the modder to put the gen dial and bezel on it. Modder came back in a week saying that the already AR'ed crystal on 2015 DSSD does not fit with the 2014 DSSD case. Asked me do I want to send the 2014 crystal to his lab to AR. I didn't want to wait another 2 months so I said no. I know rep game is a waiting game...but I nearly spent $3k and still never see anything except the pic from the seller. I needed to see and touch a DSSD badly...like NOW!!

Fast-forward to all the chasing email and frustrated super non-responsive breif emails...

Finally...the franken DSSD arrived, and I love it! It's so great to look at...the dial...the bezel...

But wait a minute...my buddy sacsha1 told me that the gen DSSD has a tiny sunken HEV, and the razar sharp edge center link SEL...which the noob DSSDs aren't still up to the gen spec at the moment.

And I really blame on sacsha1...one day I randomly walked in the AD after lunch, asked for whether they have black dial daytona (sold out everywhere all the time), they routinely said NO...then I asked...what about Deepsea BLUE? I never have any love on the d-blue, only dssd black. But I know it's rare from the AD. They only have one or two to sell in a year. Suprisingly, the guy from the AD said..."I might have one". Then he went to the back and took out one. It was still in the small transparent plastic box (not the big green rolex box). He took it out to me, and I immediately put it on my wrist...oh...that moment...my love to d-blue exploded. I resisted to take it off. And I took out my wallet...

This blue/black gradient dial just grows in me everyday. I love it so much. I look at it all the time under different lighting and see how it changes...

It was very difficult to catch that bad boy LEC from the gen crystal...with my presbyopia eyes...took me 5 minutes to look for it.

So now, I have a few dssd and dials to play with...

a 2015 BK DSSD with AR'ed crystal, modded OGEV (top center without bracelet)
a 2014 franken BK DSSD with gen mk1 dial, gen bezel, modded OGEV (top right)
a gen d-blue (top left)
a gen black mk2 dial (lower left)
a gen black mk3 dial (lower center)
a rep black mk1 dial (lower right)

I think other members have done lots of comparisons on the DSSD...but I am doing a few as well on some particular areas

Let's look at the OGEV...

Gen d-blue:

2015 BK DSSD:

2014 fraken BK DSSD:

Conclusion: the noob version OGEV are pretty much flat level with the case. But if you are not 1 foot away looking at it, you won't be able to see.

Next, let's see the bezel height...

Gen: it has a tiny gap between bezel and case...I would say less than 0.5mm. Also SEL center link edges are sharp

2015 BK DSSD: pretty close to the gen with tiny gap

2014 franken BK DSSD: I think the modder did not do a good job assembling the gen bezel on this so it leaves a rather bigger gap here. Also the SEL center link edges are rounded.

Conclusion: The out-of-the-box noob DSSD are pretty good on the bezel. Very gen like. I would say the gen bezel feels a tiny bit sharper on the teeth. One note that the gen bezel with gen ball-bearing spring turns very softly and feels great. While the rep noob bezel turns relatively tighter. But who cares? I don't turn the bezel everyday. I will later install the original 2014 bezel back to the 2014 case to minimize the gap on the franken.

Last but not least, let's look at the black dials...I want to show the difference under the light. It's definitely not matte in anyway.

Gen mk2 dial: Satin under light...still glossy tho

Gen mk3 dial: (at the left)

Noob Rep mk1 dial:

Conclusion: The Noob mk1 dial is glossy, without the satin light reflection under light. But again it is very very hard to see under the crystal. Also the prints on the mk1 dial are definitely embossed onto the dial. Not just flat print on it. Very gen like!!!

One more thing...the Crystal...the gen crystal is very very clear! Since I have done a single AR on the 2015 BK DSSD, it is definitely more clear than the stock noob crystal on the franken 2014 DSSD with gen dial. The AR makes the crystal to look amazingly clear and very close to the gen's clarity on my d-blue. If anyone has a chance to do the AR, it's no brainer for a simple upgrade!

This is my journey so far within 9 months. Thanks for reading and hope you are not too bored...

[themannier]

Waouh, you made a fantastic review, thanks for sharing that...congrats on you gen deep blue, what a wonderful piece !

Modding is a true headache sometimes, but when we like...

[436NR]

Very nice R! The key in all this is that I wouldn't bother doing any of these mods without adding an AR'd crystal. I'm not entirely convinced that Rolex doesn't secretly AR the crystal on the DSSD. It is far too clear to not be. They just don't advertise it!

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[droptopman]

Awesome journey and review. What a great story.

Thanks for sharing and congrats on the deep blue.

[panerai153]

Very nice comprehensive review. Lots of good info and photos. The conclusion I would draw here is pretty simple. No matter how much you spend on a franken, be it a DSSD, a GMTIIC, a vintage Daytona or SeaDweller, it will a NEVER be a gen. You may get it to 95-98%, but it will never be 100%. Most of us have come to terms with this, and are pretty satisfied with the 95% franken, that no one could tell from a gen at a distance of 5 feet. Nothing against anyone, it's just simple facts, they are reps, and they will always be reps. If you are, and there are a lot of folks who try reps, among those who dwell on the tiny details, then the only alternative is to buy a gen. Don't take this wrong, I'm not being judgmental. I have around 40 watches and over half of them are gen. I love them equally, and I have learned to live with the small flaws of my frankens. Over the years, the ones that were not fixable to a level that I was comfortable with were sold on. The rest I have kept.

I certainly can appreciate your frustration with the franken process. It can be a real trying journey, especially when you are dealing with modders who cannot or will not do what you really think is correct. I have been there, and I know how frustrating the process can be, not even considering the expense. Even more frustrating is the time and expense involved in getting one as right as it can be and then 6 months later, the bezel falls off, or the movement suddenly stops working!! Back to the modder or watchmaker, more expense, and more time off your wrist. Not that gens don't break, because they do, but probably not at the frequency of reps.

I do like your choice of DSSD's. It's a beautiful watch, and with reasonable care, it should give you years of service. AFA the genuine parts that you have accumulated, I would bet that you can help them find another happy home and not be out too much cash.

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[sacsah1]

I'm so sorry bud for causing all this inconvenience but I think you deserve nothing less than the genuine piece. Your watch is simply beautiful and I might have a little piece of information for you that might make things even better for you but I'll message you that privately. Enjoy the beautiful piece my friend!

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[danielv2000]

Fantastic.  Nothing like Gen with these models!  Love the deep sea Blue.