Pakz Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 (edited) 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. 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. 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... 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. 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 December 8, 2008 by Pakz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pakz Posted December 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Huuuu So, what do you guys (rolex experts... ) make of it ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Glad you are happy with your first rep, say good bye to your spare cash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gplracer Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 If those crown guards are stock they look much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pakz Posted December 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Everything is stock, straight out of the box... As I said, I got my hands on it only this evening (well, better said, I've got it on my wrist... ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbh Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dr.TuB Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 may i ask where you bought this beginmariner from? and what is this the M-serial?" with M engraving on the rehaut? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dr.TuB Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 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... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pakz Posted December 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 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 ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dr.TuB Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 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 ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted December 9, 2008 Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 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+. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbh Posted December 9, 2008 Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 The newest Noobs have much better crown and the insert sits nice and low in the bezel lip. The CG's just need a very little work. All great improvements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pakz Posted December 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 Ah.... by the way, I need to precise that the movement is hacking, since it's not indicated on josh's site... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbh Posted December 9, 2008 Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 Yes, it is a hacking movement. DG2813. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bklm1234 Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 (edited) the noobfactory is infactuated with serial no. ending with 117. The F serial is F520117. Now the M serial is M092117. SSD's is Z539117. -bk Edited December 10, 2008 by bklm1234 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadtorrent Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 I think the pearl looks alright on this one. A clear coat with some clear epoxy would finish it up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pakz Posted December 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2008 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) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pakz Posted December 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2008 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 ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corgi Posted December 16, 2008 Report Share Posted December 16, 2008 It's always nice when a newcomer makes a quality post with some great pictures! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted December 16, 2008 Report Share Posted December 16, 2008 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pakz Posted December 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2008 Well, that's what I thought... Problem is finding a watchmaker that will accept taking care of a rep here in France... and in my place, which is not that large a city. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted December 16, 2008 Report Share Posted December 16, 2008 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pakz Posted December 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2008 Indeed. Problem is, as I understand the thing, reps are totally illegal in France, and that may cause more problems to a watchmaker than just the fact that spare are hard to come by... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted December 17, 2008 Report Share Posted December 17, 2008 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlad1980 Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 has anyone done any modding on their beginmariners? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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