Categories
Rolex

VS Factory Free-Sprung Watches Review

I don’t understand why VS is making these so-called free-sprung movements. If it were a genuinely free-sprung movement, that would be one thing, but the factory has even released a fake free-sprung version. What is the point of that?

The fake version does nothing more than hide the regulator arm so that the movement looks free-sprung visually. That feels misleading to consumers. And on top of that, it costs several hundred more than the previous version. It really feels like the factory is playing games with buyers and squeezing more money out of them.

Because the factory’s next step may simply be to add regulating weights to the balance wheel. If they could have done that from the beginning but deliberately split the upgrade into several stages, then what else would you call it besides milking the market?

Some time ago, VS released a free-sprung version of the 3235 movement, which was first used in the titanium Yacht-Master. This time, the factory has introduced two Daytona models with free-sprung 4131 movements. One is the latest Daytona with the white enamel dial, and the other is the white-dial 126500 Panda Daytona.

Of these two Daytonas, the former has an exhibition caseback, while the latter has a closed caseback. If someone really understands movements, they will immediately notice the difference around the balance wheel, because there are no regulating weights on it.

As for watches with closed casebacks, I have always felt that whether the movement is free-sprung or not really does not matter that much.

Facing competition from factories such as QF and Rich, was VS simply not fully prepared, or did it deliberately choose a different path?

We know that the free-sprung movements used by QF, Rich, and some other factories have balance wheels fitted with regulating weights. Visually, they can be said to look almost identical to the genuine movement.

But the movement from VS is in a somewhat awkward position. The factory calls it a free-sprung movement, but visually there is still a clear difference compared with the 4131 movements from QF and those other factories.

Perhaps when facing competition from QF and others, VS was simply too eager to keep up with their pace this time. Maybe VS felt that during this wave of free-sprung movements, having something was still better than having nothing at all.

VS Factory 4131 Daytona Free Sprung
Categories
Bell Ross

M+ Factory Replica Bell Ross BR-03 Helipad Review

Last time, I introduced a very unique Bell & Ross watch, the BR-03 ASTRO. The design of that watch was indeed very impressive. Today, I am bringing you another Bell & Ross replica made by M+ Factory. It is the BR-03 Helipad. As you can see, there is a helicopter on the dial, which looks very impressive.

This square-shaped watch brand has really brought us quite a few interesting designs recently, but in the replica watch market, very few people buy Bell & Ross watches. When I first entered this industry, Bell & Ross did not have so many unusual and bold designs, but more people bought them at that time. It seems that people who like this kind of design are still a minority. There are many Bell & Ross replicas in the market, but most of them are only of average quality. Very few factories make super clone Bell & Ross watches. Even M+ Factory has only made a small number of Bell & Ross models.

M+ Factory claims that this watch uses a black ceramic case, the same as the genuine watch. However, I have not tested the material myself. The watch still feels quite heavy in the hand, and it does feel like ceramic, but some people previously questioned whether the BR-03 ASTRO released by M+ really used genuine ceramic. The entire black ceramic case has a matte finish, and the texture feels very good.

The dial is the biggest highlight of this watch. The entire dial design is inspired by a helipad and a helicopter. You cannot see the normal hour hand, minute hand, and second hand found on an ordinary watch. So how do you read the time? On the yellow circle on the dial, you can see a square-shaped marker, which indicates the hour. The nose of the helicopter points to the minutes, while the rotating rotor blades simulate the movement of the second hand. Do you like this way of reading the time?

The watch comes with a yellow banana-style strap, which matches the yellow color on the dial very well. At the same time, the factory also includes an additional fabric strap.

Replica Bell Ross Helicopter
Replica Bell Ross BR-03 Helipad
Replica Bell Ross Helipad
Bell Ross Helipad Case
Bell Ross Helipad Case Back
Bell Ross Helipad Buckle
Bell Ross Helipad Lume
Bell Ross Helipad Replica Watch
Categories
Panerai

VS Factory Replica Panerai PAM 1698 Submersible Marina Militare with Super Clone P.900 Movement

Replica Panerai 1698

I didn’t expect VS Factory to continue releasing new Panerai replica. When VS discounted its Panerai inventory last time, I thought they probably would not release any more new models in the future. But just a few days ago, they released this PAM 1698.

This watch looks pretty much the same as the carbon-fiber Submersible models Panerai released over the past couple of years, with almost no real innovation. Maybe this is also one of the reasons Panerai has become much less popular in recent years. We simply haven’t seen many new models that are truly attractive or exciting.

Panerai PAM 1698 Green Dial
Panerai PAM 1698 Marina Militare

Panerai used to be a fairly important part of VS Factory’s business, and their Panerai replicas sold very well in the past. But sales have dropped dramatically in recent years. I actually think VS should consider outsourcing its Panerai business to another factory or production team. After all, VS is now mainly focused on Rolex. If they outsourced the Panerai production, they could put more resources into developing their Rolex lineup and strengthening their position in this market.

Panerai PAM 1698 Carbon Case

Especially now that we have entered the era of free-sprung movements, other factories are becoming stronger and stronger in this area. In comparison, although VS used to have a very obvious advantage when it came to clone movements, its recent progress in free-sprung movements has not been as aggressive as I expected.

Panerai PAM 1698 Crown

VS Factory has actually released quite a few carbon-fiber Submersible models before, including the PAM 1324, PAM 2231, PAM 961, and several others.

This green PAM 1698 comes with a 44mm carbon-fiber case, and the overall thickness is around 15mm. It has a strong military-inspired look, mainly because of the green color scheme.

Panerai PAM 1698 Pre-v Buckle

The dial has a very high level of visual accuracy. The green surface has a slightly grainy texture and a noticeable gradient effect, with black around the outer edge that gradually transitions into green toward the center.

At 9 o’clock, the small seconds subdial features a white seconds hand, with an anchor logo printed underneath. The depth of the date window and the thickness of the date font are also carefully replicated to match the genuine watch.

Panerai PAM 1698 Dial Lume

The green nylon strap matches the dial very well and completes the overall military-style appearance.

This watch is equipped with the super clone P.900 movement. Sometimes I wonder about something: this movement has already been available for quite a long time, and other factories should also be able to get access to it now. So why don’t more factories make Panerai replicas?

Categories
Rolex

Sonic Factory Replica Rolex DiW Daytona Ferrari Carbon with 4130 Movement

Sonic has been around for several years, but it is still not widely known today. In its early days, it mainly gained attention through customized Richard Mille replica watches.

To talk about Sonic, we probably need to go back four or five years. At that time, there were not many major factories producing Richard Mille replicas, and ZF Factory’s RM 35-02 was generally considered the best option on the market.

The emergence of Sonic made the larger factories realize that producing replica Richard Mille watches could generate very high profits, because a customized Richard Mille from Sonic was extremely expensive at the time. This encouraged ZF to keep improving its RM 35-02 and was also one of the main reasons why factories such as BBR and APS later entered the competition. The potential profit was simply too attractive to ignore.

It can be said that Sonic, as a customization workshop, played a pioneering role in driving the continuous development and improvement of Richard Mille replicas.

Now, let’s return to this watch. Sonic previously produced several similar customized Daytona models inspired by DiW and Blaken, but this particular version features a Ferrari-themed design. Regardless of how closely this replica resembles the genuine watch, one thing that can be said with confidence is that its overall quality is quite good.

In the past, when buying a replica watch, I believe most people had the same concern: how long would it last before something went wrong? Today, however, the quality of high-end replicas has improved considerably, and many of them can operate reliably for several years. Of course, I am not encouraging anyone to purchase replica watches. This is simply an honest observation about the current quality of the market.

The entire watch incorporates a large number of Ferrari-inspired design elements. Unless you particularly like this style, it probably would not be your first choice for everyday wear. The case is made entirely from carbon fiber, giving it a distinctive texture. Interestingly, the patterns on the case and bezel are different. To be honest, I am not particularly fond of the texture on the case, and I am not sure exactly how the manufacturer created or treated it. The case thickness, however, is claimed to be consistent with that of the genuine watch.

The subdials on the dial take inspiration from the instrument cluster of a Ferrari sports car. The yellow subdial at 6 o’clock is especially eye-catching and features a small red seconds hand. The two subdials positioned at 3 and 9 o’clock are slightly larger and are used to display the chronograph minutes and hours.

This replica Daytona is equipped with one of the best clone 4130 movement. Through the crystal back, we can see the movement with genuine-like Rolex 4130 decoration. The watch will look better if DiW has used Ferrari car’s elements on the movement rotor.

Replica Rolex Daytona DiW Ferrari
Replica Rolex Daytona DiW Carbon
Replica Rolex Daytona DiW White Dial
Rolex Daytona DiW Ferrari Watch
Rolex Daytona DiW Carbon Bezel
Rolex Daytona DiW Carbon Crown
Rolex Daytona DiW Carbon Case
Rolex Daytona DiW Carbon Case Back
Rolex Daytona DiW Carbon Band