For a number of years, modern consumer trends have been favoring larger watches. As a result of this, Rolex’s 34mm references have become somewhat forgotten in all the excitement and shuffle that surrounds their larger, sport/professional watchlines. However, recently it seems that smaller-sized watches are starting to make a comeback, and Rolex’s once-overlooked, 34mm watches now represent some of the best values for the money among all Rolex timepieces, both vintage and contemporary.When it comes to Rolex sports watches, the Submariner and Explorer II are amongst the most beloved. And despite the fact that they are both tough, purpose-built timepieces, they’re just about as different as it gets in nearly all respects.But if you’re not very familiar with either watch, comparing these two industry titans can seem daunting. So here, I’m breaking down everything you need to know – and compare – about the Rolex Submariner and the Rolex Explorer II.True sports watches, both the Submariner and Explorer II were built by Rolex with specific jobs in mind – and the hint lies in their names. Unsurprisingly, the Submariner is a divers watch, built to time out scuba dives and withstand the unrelenting pressure of 300-meter (1,000 foot) depths. In fact, this watch has been one of the world’s top diving watches since it was first released back in 1953.The Explorer II, on the other hand, was originally introduced in 1971 for speleologists who work in deep underground caverns. But like the original Rolex Explorer – the watch that provided its foundation – the Explorer II appeals to adventurers and explorers of all kinds, especially since its popular 40th anniversary remodel.
Now, it comes to this IWC replica watch, which is the popular IWC Aquatimer we have not seen for years. Now, IWS published this replica, it is really a great news for us because some people have been waiting for a good replica of Aquatimer IWC watch for a long time. I do not know IWS factory, it is absolutely a small workshop in our market, but this watch is in a good quality, it is the best IWC Aquatimer 2000 replica I have seen in these years.The IWC Aquatimer from IWS has two models, one with black dial, the other with white dial, the bezel insert is also different in color. The case is big, it is measured to be 44mm in diameter. Please check the lugs carefully, their font is brushed, while the edge is polished. The bezel has half moon shaped grooves, the bezel is uni-directional rotating, the insert is black, while it is orange during 0 to 15 minutes.
The case is made of 316L stainless steel and then has 18K rose gold coating plated, the gold coating is thick, which is almost 5 mils. You must concern whether the rose gold coating will fade or not, I must say yes, even gold coating on genuine watches will fade, but on the replica, it will keep its gold tone after two years of wearing, that’s enough for us. The case has a very big diameter, which is 46mm, even though the case is brushed very well, but check its case edge, it does not feel as smooth as replicas made by ZF. The back is see-through crystal, which uses sapphire like the crystal on the front.The dial is in blue color, looks very charming. Amazong all IWC Le Petit Prince models, the one with blue dial is the most popular. Like the case, hour markers and hands all feature rose gold edge. Both subdials have refined circles, the small second hand is runniong on subdial at 9 o’clock. The subdial at 3 is an indicator that is displaying the remaining power reserve. It is marked with 7 DAYS, but the replica has 3-day power reserve. At 12 o’clock, there is a fan-shaped indicator that features three small windows, which displays month, date and week separately. The Annual Calendar function just works the same way as genuine watch. To get a better readability, the replica not only has big hour markers, it also has genuine Swiss lume material applied on markers and hands.
By the way, the lume is strong blue and the diamonds are not genuine.116613 is one of the best-selling Submariner watches, its popularity is next to the black Submariner 116610LN. 116613 is popular because it is a two tone model, and the watch features a blue bezel and blue dial. Today, the replica Rolex Submariner is made by AR factory, its case and bracelet are made of 904L stainless steel, now on this model, only AR factory uses 904L stainless steel, even Noob has not used. The replica watch was just published by AR factory in last week. Now, let’s take a close look at its photos.The watch has a 40mm case diameter, it is 13mm thick, which is the same as genuine. The case is not only made of 904L stainless steel, but the golden part uses 18K yellow gold, whose layer is measured to be 5 mils, it is so thick, you do not need to worry about the fading of golden layer. The bezel uses real ceramic material in blue color. The golden markers on bezel exactly echoes with the golden case and bracelet. Now, AR factory uses special process to fix the bezel, so it will not fall off easily.Blue dial is the ocean theme representation of the blue Submariner watch. There are golden dial printings and golden edge on hands and hour markers. Swiss lume material is fully filled in round dotted hour markers and hands. The blue lume color of the dial is very close to that of genuine watch. The silver rehaut has correct engravings, at 6 o’clock, there is serial number engraving on the rehaut like genuine.Behind the solid case back, there is a high quality movement inside, it is a super clone 3135. The movement has all necessary engravings on the plate, which looks the same as genuine Rolex 3135. This movement has its own advantages and disadvantages, whatever, if you have ever owned a genuine Submariner watch, you will know its perfect winding feeling, which this fake Submariner will also give to you.The specification of the watch.
Several years ago, Panerai published Luminor Submersible 1950 PAM 382, which raised a bronze storm in watch industry. The story between XF and bronze started from Panerai’s PAM 382. Afterwards, XF unveiled PAM 507, PAM 671, Zenith Type 20 Pilot Extra Special, Tudor Black Bay Bronzo, these are all art work of XF that are made of bronze material. So, we can see that XF factory continuously researched bronze and applied this material in their watch-making process, today, they released this IWC Pilot Spitfire bronze watch, it is the first IWC watch that is made of bronze.Actually, it is not hard to make a bronze case, but the difficulty is that bronze case should be oxidized to our expected result at the speed we want, XF has always been researching this, now the oxidized result on this IWC Pilot Spitfire has achieved a perfect condition, which is closest to genuine, compared with the bronze case from small factories, you will find that their oxidized color is uneven and there is even rusty spot.
