Rolex Submariner 116613 VS Factory Review

The Rolex Submariner 116613 model is produced by VS Factory with a high-tech ceramic case, standard case diameter and high-precision automatic Super Clone movement architecture. It is among the most successful 1:1 super clone watch reviews on the market, with its sapphire crystal AR coating glass, original case tolerances and detailed workmanship.

What surprised me the most was that the factory offered a gold-plated version. The coating thickness is 20 microns and approximately 3 grams of gold is used. The full watch price of the gold-plated version is four thousand-odd. Considering that the gram of gold is currently approaching XXX, you can only roughly calculate the cost of gold. The advantage of gold plating is that the color does not change for years. On the other hand, the price difference between gold plating and electroplated plating is quite large. Moreover, many people are confused about the concept of gold plating or electroplating; To summarize in one sentence, it is a matter of permanence.

Here let me explain a little about the difference between gold plating, 18K gold and PVD electroplated plating, which one loses its color.

(Those who know can skip this part and read the rest.)

The precious metal work on original watches is simple: white gold, platinum, gold. Among gold, some brands distinguish between rose gold and yellow gold; rose gold is also called red gold. Most brands state it as 18K or 14K because it is necessary to mix other metals to increase the hardness of the gold. On the rose gold side, copper content is added for color adjustment.

On the replica watch side, the gold color is much more complex and its naming is diverse. Roughly, it is divided into gold plating, electroplated plating, gilding, PVD electroplated plating and entirely gold manufacturing. 99 percent of the watches on the market are actually made with electroplated workmanship; What we generally call gilding is electrolysis workmanship. The so-called gilding is not truly precious metal; Coloring the case surface using modern technology. The buyer side always asks whether it will lose its color or not, and 99 percent of the sellers say it will not lose its color. However, without exception, electroplated coating wears out over time. In the end, the buyer complains about the seller's dishonesty and the seller complains about the buyer's ignorance. I think neither of them are actually wrong, or both parties are to blame. In terms of world resources, gold is the only metal that gives a golden color; The copper element is oxidized. So, for now, there is no other metal that can replace gold with a gold case. Do you think a replica watch sold for two-XXX would be a precious metal? Of course, most of those who buy replicas want to think of everything at its best; In this case, we cannot blame the seller for complying with this request. If the buyer and seller were to change places, I'm sure you would say the same thing: 'Yes, it is gold plated, it will not lose its color', or even directly you would say 'it will never lose its color'. If you say it will lose its color and someone else says it won't, who will the buyer buy from? In fact, everyone who is well educated knows the truth; But for some reason, when some users buy a replica, their intelligence is reduced by half, and the more the seller deceives them, the happier they become. Honest sellers are also slowly turning into deceivers; In this age, honesty leaves people hungry.

Electroplated coating is also diverse in itself. Poor coating fades quickly, while well-crafted coating retains its color for a long time. The previously gold Daytona from N Factory had lost its color over a large area within two weeks; This is an indication that the coating factory's workmanship is completely substandard. Good coating is called PVD electroplated coating. So what is this? Its definition on Baidu is as follows: 'Using low voltage, high current arc discharge technology, evaporation of the material through gas discharge, ionization of the evaporated substance and gas, and deposition of the evaporated substance and reaction products on the workpiece with the accelerating effect of the electric field.' Simply put, it is the coloring method that preserves color for the longest time. The cost of this method increases by 50-100 for a set of cases, and the number of factories that are really willing to use this workmanship is very few.

So what is the difference between gold plating and electroplated gold plating?

Gold plating literally means covering the watch with gold after it is melted. Generally, its thickness is around 2C; ten C equals 2 mm. Once it reaches 2C, it can generally resist the natural wear of 3 years of use. But some customers think that the gold plating will not wear at all. The gold plating itself does not lose its color, but once it wears away the color of the underlying metal will still be revealed; for example, when there is frequent unintentional friction on the buckle. To put it simply, once this 2C thickness wears off the underlying color is revealed; That's why factories that use this labor generally offer 3 years of free renewal service. Gold plating does not experience a major change in color throughout the process; whereas electroplated coating constantly chemically reacts with oxygen and the color goes 'dull'. Many customers buy a two-XXX watch from somewhere else and are informed that it is '18K gold plated', then ask 'if it is gold plated, why is it losing its colour?' he asks. In fact, what you get for this money is electroplated coating; You don't even need to get it verified by a testing institution, just search Baidu for the price of a gram of gold, you will immediately know whether the person you are dealing with is a fraudster or not. It's an issue that can be easily understood once you think about it a bit.

In fact, N Factory and VR Factory had previously released the gold-plated Water Ghost. N Factory's steel-gold Demon was poorly crafted and gradually disappeared from the market when the color of the hour markers faded; It has no longer been produced for a year or two. The gold plating of VR is very bad; From what I heard from colleagues, other metals were mixed in order to avoid work, oxidation occurs occasionally when used for a long time, and it has been eliminated from the market. That's why I'm particularly hopeful about this steel-gold Demon from VS.

Gold plating and electroplated plating are the same in terms of the color they offer on the new watch. Friends who want gold plating need to order in advance, because VS Factory also produces on order; Ultimately, the cost of keeping 'gold' in stock is very high. The electroplated version is mostly available from stock.

The color calibration of the diver hour markers on this steel-gold Demon from VS is very well done; A look with a 'gold' tone in yellow, very close to the original. I have already explained details such as engraving lines, solid needles, and the collapse effect in the middle of the dial surface in VS's Black Water Ghost article, I will not extend it again here; In this article, focus on looking at the photos.

It is also worth mentioning the gold color on the inner cover. In the past, whether it was N Factory or AR Factory, the color here would always overflow. The moment you opened the inner cover, it was obvious that it was a replica. VS Factory has fixed this problem very well; The treatment of the gold color on the inner cover with the steel color is much cleaner.

We finish here. I hope this article was useful to you. I will share more detailed teardowns, live footage reviews, and real-replica comparisons in the future.