Transcription
Welcome back to Franken Watches. My name is Paul, and before starting today's video, I want to quickly mention that this channel is strictly educational and informational, and it does not promote buying counterfeit watches or replica items.
For those who don't know, a Frankenstein or Franken watch is a super clone that's been modified with authentic parts in order to make it indistinguishable from the original one. Definitely not as common and popular as the previous Datejust blue we reviewed. The green motif dial Datejust 41 is one of the coolest dial configurations you can get. The geometric tiles pattern combined with the beautiful sunburst effect goes perfectly with the fluted bezel, as the texture almost mimics the pattern of the bezel.
In today's video, we're going to compare a Franken version of this Rolex Datejust 41 with its authentic version; see what parts have been upgraded and what the total cost of such a Franken build goes for. As you can see on the left part of the screen, we have the authentic Datejust with a current market price of $17,600. While on the right part of the screen, we have the super clone base with no upgraded parts, but a base price of only $550.
The first element to be upgraded on the Franken version is the actual sapphire crystal. The cost of an authentic Rolex crystal paired with an authentic gasket is around $450 for this particular model, but it's definitely worth it. It will add so much clarity to the dial by removing the milky edge effect and will also fix the date disc font magnification issue, making it a great start point for the build. Usually, the issue with the stock date disc is that the font printing is all over the place, and many of the numbers are misaligned. They don't have the right thickness and have large bleed areas around the edges, making them look less sharp compared to the original font. With a price of around $300, all these issues will be fixed by swapping the stock disc with an original one coming directly from Rolex service.
Moving on to the next element. As I mentioned in the beginning of this video, the key element of this watch is indeed the unique dial. Unfortunately, the stock super clone dial does not have the right details, with the uneven tiles pattern and the lack of green sunburst. In reality, it does look very different from the authentic. Adding an authentic motif dial will not be worth it, as one in brand new condition would cost way over $1,000. On the positive side, there are some aftermarket parts manufacturers who perfected this dial together with all its pattern details, and installing one would only cost an extra $200. So, that would definitely be the right way to go.
Not many people know that the authentic fluted bezel on the Datejust series is actually made out of solid white gold, while the one on the Super Clone is made out of stainless steel, and it's also thinner compared to the original one. There will always be a small visual difference between the white gold color and stainless steel color. Going for an aftermarket steel bezel that's been white gold-plated would be the way to go in terms of recreating the look of the original one. That's because this entire process would cost less than $200, while adding an authentic fluted bezel would require spending almost $2,000.
There's a similar problem when it comes to the hour hands. The hands on the authentic Rolex are made out of solid white gold, while the ones on the super clone are made out of steel. It's not only the color, but they often don't have the clean, sharp finishing of the authentic ones. To solve this issue, I always recommend my clients getting the hands white gold-plated and have the edges polished to remove any of the imperfections. This entire procedure would cost roughly around $150, while sourcing an authentic set of hands would cost at least $600 or $700, and in my opinion, it's simply not worth it.
So, all these upgrades would bring the total price of the Franken build to roughly $1,840, which is still only a small fraction of the authentic Datejust's price and would make them visually indistinguishable. It's also worth mentioning that these super clones come equipped with Swiss clone movements decorated like the actual Rolex caliber with engraved rotor, similar layout and displacement, and more importantly, identical accuracy and great power reserve. The only small issue is that sometimes super clone movements come a bit too dry, so they might need a small micro-servicing and proper greasing to make them silent and more accurate. But I always provide that for my clients free of charge.
Thank you so much for watching. I hope that you enjoyed today's video and that you found the information useful. If you're interested in buying a Franken build of this watch or any other model, send me an email at frankenwatches1@gmail.com and I'll be happy to build it for you.