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Beginmariner has just arrived, pics and impressions


Pakz

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OK, guys

So this is my first topic "per se"... I've been looking for three watches for some times now, a Navitimer, a Radiomir and.... guess what, a Sub... Yep, I know, greatly original.

Thanks to a friend who owns a pretty decent rep' of the Navitimer, I got into the rep' world, thinking that maybe I can have these watches in the coming year instead of the coming decade (and that's only if I'm lucky ;) ). I got the Radiomir (a GMT 10 days, pretty decent but far not that accurate). And now, having learned a few things from you guys on this forum, I've tackled the problem of the Submariner with Josh's Beginmariner.

It arrived this morning and I got hold of it tonight when I came back from the office.

My first impressions were ..... AAAHHHHHHhhhh looks nice !!! feels great (and quite light, but not toyish yet... ) Then, I've looked at it a bit more attentively.

Beg1.jpg

It definitely doesn't have any AR yet there's the little crown laser engraved at 6 on the cristal (whooo, I just noticed, but it shows a bit on the first photo) and the rehaut gets the "ROLEXROLEX" engraving that only the most recent (gold only) gen submariners sport. But it ain't too conical. A bit too shallow, maybe, but the general impression is pretty good.

Beg2.jpg

the case seems very good, at least to my noobie's eyes... and so does the bezel and the crown guard.

The pearl on the bezel is a bit off-centered but looks better "in real life" than most I've seen on the net.

The back of the watch, again, seems great...

Beg3.jpg

To be honest, at the moment the only fault I can find to this watch is one or two minute scratches on the bracelet (that, by the way, is great albeit a bit to large for me, even though my wrist is by no mean meager... ;) I don't have screwdrivers of the right size, so I'll wear it loose, for the time being ) and the fact that the rotor is so damn noisy... A fact I was quite aware might happen, having read a few reviews.

Beg4.jpg

So, to conclude, for my noob's eyes at least, this is a great watch, and even more so given the price (108$, shipping included... ), that comes with great service from Josh (my order got lost, he found it again, and straighten every thing very fast, plus he was very fast overall), a well known rep in this forum yet with some small differences (the engraved rehaut) with past examples.

Edited by Pakz
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I think Josh's Noobmariner is one of the best subs for the money you can find. Get a better pearl and you're good to go. Only other downside is it's six beats per second instead of 8 like a gen. Most people would never notice that, though.

Good choice.

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may i ask where you bought this beginmariner from?

and what is this the M-serial?"

with M engraving on the rehaut?

from his site, he doesnt have the M-Serial beginmariner...

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can you link me to that specific watch on josh's site?

i cant seem to find it...

Got the watch from Josh's site (Perfect Clones...)

And the M-serial on the rehaut is M092117, it's visible on the first photo !

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http://www.jpc8118.com/rlss10009-black-beg...ing-p-2303.html

I guess Josh hasn't updated his pics yet. The crown on the M serial doesn't appear to be as big as the original crown on the ealry noobs/beginmariners. As gplracer says, maybe the cg's are getting better. This could really be a great case with just a few mods- correct sized crown, trimmed cg's, and a few turns on the lathe so that the inside diameter of the bezel was just a bit larger so that the aftermarket inserts and gen inserts would snap in and it would be a killer watch. It's got the correct rehaut for the 16800, so lug holes would be great! A WM pearl is also a great improvement and cheap when you can buy it for $10+.

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I think the pearl looks alright on this one. A clear coat with some clear epoxy would finish it up!

You're very right... It's something I may do in the future... However, even if it looks rather fine, it's still a bit off-centred... But the coating may mask that to some extent.

All in all, after four days of wearing it, I'm definitely very satisfied with that watch stock. There's always room for improvement, but considering the price, it's really awesome. (Only things bothering me are: the noisy rotor... and that seems to improve (slightly) over time, plus the squeaky bracelet, that's solved easily by oiling it a bit)

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Hummm, guys, I think I may need a bit of advice here...

this watch is running fast, too fast for my taste, as it gains 2 to 3 minutes a day.

Is there anything I can do to cure that, at least partly, short of bringing it to a watchmaker ?

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Hummm, guys, I think I may need a bit of advice here...

this watch is running fast, too fast for my taste, as it gains 2 to 3 minutes a day.

Is there anything I can do to cure that, at least partly, short of bringing it to a watchmaker ?

You can regulate the watch, but you'd probably be better off having a watchsmith do it. It's a $10-15 deal, IMO. And a watchmaker will do it correctly- you're going to be guessing and have to do it 2-3 times minimum.

Try searching for posts around here on regulating your watch. First thing is getting the case back off and masking tape will work, but the correct way to do it is with a $40 Rolex case wrench- you can't get the caseback on tight enough with the duct tape method- there goes your WR. Watchmaker can check your WR for you also- good idea if you plan on swimming.

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That's the key to enjoying this hobby, finding a rep friendly watchmaker. Mine is Chinese (Taiwan), and he has an independent watch repair shop. He'll work on just about anything I bring him, but he can't get Chinese parts, so I've had to get those for him in the past.

Some watchmakers don't want to take responsibility when they work on reps, if something breaks, how do they get replacement parts or fix it? But if you tell them you understand, maybe they'll work on it for you. If it breaks, you may be out of a watch, but those are the breaks. That's why a lot of people buy reps w/ ETA's in them- at least those can be repaired.

And regulating a watch and checking for WR is pretty basic stuff.

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You might check with some of the other members on the forum who are in the EU or France and see what they do. Instead of calling it a replica, maybe you refer to it as "an inexpensive Chinese watch".

Luckily in the US, it's no big deal. Sure, there are still watchsmiths who don't want to work on them, but there are plenty who will.

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