In recent months, VS Factory has brought us a lot of new things, including the 100th Oyster Perpetual Rolex watch and the so-called free-sprung movements, but I do not think their 3235 and 4131 are true free-sprung movements.
Why the 3235 and 4131 are not true free-sprung? Please check the pictures below.
The picture above shows the new clone 3235 movement with free-sprung balance made by VS, the factory firstly installed this movement in the titanium Yacht-Master, later, they equipped this movement in their Datejust.
Although you do not find the extra regulator, but it is hidden below the balance cock.
Remove that balance cock, you can see the extra regulator hidden below, it is used to adjust the error.
The 4131 movement made by VS also has the same issue.
Are VS Factory able to develop the true free-sprung movements? I think they can, but in a short period they won’t, maybe the better true free-sprung movement will be their next move. However, the so-called free-sprung 3235 and 4131 from VS are meaningless, what is the purpose of VS to do so?
On my blog, I have introduced several stories about OR Factory, from its closure to re-opening, now they must be planning a big thing, with the release of new free sprung 8800/8806 movement, they want to occupy the entire market of the replica Omega Seamaster.
OR Factory announced that they will develop the 8800/8806 movement in the middle July, now the actual watches just came out, the regular Seamaster 300m models use free-sprung 8800 movement, while the Seamaster No Time to Die and Bronze Gold use free-sprung 8806 movement. Both movements have the same structure, only the engraved movement number is different.
Today, I want to show you the green Bronze Gold Seamaster, to compare it with a genuine watch, actually I have introduced this watch from OR Factory before, at that time, OR still uses a regular clone 8806 movement with extra regulator on top of the balance, you can read that review at https://www.susanreviews.com/2026/02/16/or-factory-seamaster-bronze-gold-green/. Before the start of our comparison review today, please see the new free-sprung 8800 movement pictures below.
The two watches, guess which one is genuine, which one is the replica. You guys must have watched the comparison videos reviews between the two watches on the internet, yes, this time we can see the ambition of OR Factory, they really want to beat VS factory and become the boss in the replica Seamaster field. They lent this genuine green Seamaster to many dealers to make the “genuine vs replica comparison review”, but many dealers said this replica is perfect and has no difference with the genuine, that’s not true.
Hand Pin on GenuineHand Pin on Replica
There is a difference in the center pin. On the genuine one, the tip of the center pin is very well concealed and barely noticeable, whereas on this OR Seamaster, the tip of the center pin protrudes and is clearly visible.
Genuine dialReplica Dial
On the replica, the tip of the second hand has a brighter color.
Precious Metal Stamp on GenuinePrecious Metal Stamp on Replica
The precious metal stamp at 12 o’clock on the case. It looks more refined,clean and neat on the genuine watch.
The comparison on the case back letterings, it is much thinner on the genuine watch.
The case back has the same weight on the genuine and replica, which is 10.6 grams.
There must be other differences that are not included before,but next we see the movement difference.
Genuine Movement Balance Wheel
On genuine 8806 movement, there are “OMEGA” and its logo as well as Si letterings that are engraved on the balance wheel, please see the movement picture above, I marked them with red arrow.
While on the replica, you can see there are no engravings on the balance wheel like the genuine. By the way, although OR Factory added two weights on the balance, but the surface of the weight is smooth, on the genuine, the weight surface is fluted.
Besides the weight, another place I marked with red arrow on the replica movement is also different, it is protruded, while on the genuine, it is flat or looks a bit sunken.
On genuine, the A783616 is deeply engraved and thick.On replica, the A533636 is printed.
At last, use a Timegrapher to show the specification of both movements.
First, it is the genuine Omega 8806 movement, with a frequency of 25200.
Next, it is the replica 8806 movement from OR.
Replica 8806, the two screws are silver, while on genuine, they are in blued steel.
And the frequency of the replica 8806 movement is 28800.
My conclusion
If you have a genuine and compare it with this replica side by side, you can find many differences. Here I could not include all differences in this post. Since this Omega Seamaster has a see-through case back, I think the replica from OR Factory will look closer to genuine than the one from VS Factory.
About two weeks ago, THB published the V3 edition of the replica AP 15407, which now has a free-sprung balance. I have introduced the AP 15407 several times on my blog, first, it is the one made by ZF, then I introduced the V2 edition of 15407 made by THB in 2024, you can read the review about the THB V2 15407 at https://www.susanreviews.com/2024/09/26/thb-factory-replica-ap-15407/, now it has been almost two years later, THB published the V3, is this a signal that APS will be back soon? We all know their relationship. However, I suspect that the real factory behind this newly released V3 15407 may actually be ZF. In the past, THB has always the biggest seller of this AP watch. Now that APS has shut down, it seems unlikely that THB – being a branch of APS – could return to the market so quickly. Therefore, this new free-sprung 15407 may actually be a ZF release marketed under the THB name. You know, ZF has been very active in the AP field in recent months.
On the first replica of AP 15407, the balance wheel has a wrong position and it does not move. On the updated V2 edition of THB, the balance wheel is rotating. On this V3, we can see there are weights on the balance wheel. But the watches does not have a double balance wheel, it is a single balance wheel. I watched many video reviews about this watch, some claimed that a customization of adding a double balance wheel is possible and they charged a lot of money, I think it is not necessary to spend thousands of dollars to do this, not worthy. Besides the balance wheel, I think there is another flaw which the factory should pay attention to and correct it immediately, please check the two pictures below, the place marked with red triangle, the space between the bezel and the bottom line of the case. On genuine watch case, the space is not that wide.
I already said that VS Factory will publish the free-sprung 3235 movement before in my last article at https://www.susanreviews.com/2026/06/08/two-big-news/, now the movement comes, but is it the true free-sprung 3235 movement? Everybody has different opinions about this, but I do not think it is a real free sprung movement, it does not have weights, just like the clone 4302 movement they developed for AP 15500 before.
Look at the clone 4302 movement from VS Factory, there are no weights on the balance wheel. To correct the inaccuracy, you still need to adjust that regulator I marked.
Genuine AP 4302 MovementFake 4302 Movement from VS Factory.
How about the one with new free-sprung 3235 movement from VS? Please check its pictures below first.
New VS Free-Sprung 3235 MovementOld VS 3235 MovementGenuine Rolex 3235 Movement
At first glance, we can clearly see the new clone 3235 movement indeed lacks a regulator if you compare it with the old 3235 movement from VS. But if you compare the new clone 3235 movement with genuine Rolex 3235 movement, you will find the former does not have weights on the balance wheel. However, with a solid case back, people do not see the movement inside, that’s also the reason why a lot of people think it is no need to buy the free-sprung movement, because almost all Rolex models have solid case back.
After this 3235, I think VS will publish the free-sprung 4131, but I do not know when. For all DD series movements, the free-sprung movements published by VS factory in future will not feature weights.
In the Rolex field, many factories have now released free-sprung balance movement, including QF, ERF, Rich, and others. Among these names, some are new to me, and honestly, I am not even sure whether they are newly established factories or just branches of some older factories.
For example, I previously talked about RG. It sounds like a new name, but it is actually operated by RC. RC’s business has really expanded quickly. Last year, their Day-Date became extremely popular across the whole market, and now they have successively released the Daytona and the GMT-Master models.
Alright, let’s come back to this Daytona from QF Factory.
QF Factory’s current marketing strategy is somewhat similar to what Noob Factory used to do. For almost every hot-selling model, they like to keep releasing new versions and create new selling points or gimmicks, but in reality, the actual upgrades are often not that significant.
For example, this 4131 Daytona is claimed to be the V5 version. This kind of naming easily gives people the impression that their Daytona is the best one on the market. However, in terms of overall workmanship, there is still a gap between QF and VS, not to mention compared with the previous Clean version.
Now QF has free-sprung versions of the 4131, 4132, and 3235 movements. In fact, for Rolex Datejust and Daytona models, it does not really matter that much whether you choose a free-sprung movement or not.
However, for some exhibition caseback models, such as the Le Mans Daytona and the newly released Daytona in 2026, you can choose the version with the free-sprung movement. And in the current market, it seems that QF is the only factory making a Daytona with the free-sprung 4132 movement.
I have learned from some suppliers in the watch market that APS will be back. If this is true, that will be too good. But the bad news is Victory Factory(VF) may never be back to this business. I explained the connection between VF and APS in post at https://www.susanreviews.com/2026/05/15/want-to-sell-this-blog/, but VF makes Rolex replicas, that’s the big problem, and the watch parts of their Rolex replicas are made by the same parts suppliers as Clean, and Clean Factory’s thing is not over yet, so you would imagine what happened next.
Not sure when APS will be back, or they have been back? ZF already got the 4302 free-sprung movement and 4401 free-sprung movement that were owned by APS before, now everybody knows they can buy good quality replicas of AP 15500 and AP 26240 from ZF. What watches APS will bring to us if they back, Rolex?
Another good news is VS Factory will bring two new movements, which are free-sprung 3235 and free-sprung 4131.
There are many factories manufacturing Rolex replicas with free-sprung movement, such as QF, ERF, Rich, etc. Among them, QF is the one with the most potential. About the free-sprung 3235 which VS will bring to us soon, I advise you not to expect too much. Because last time the 4302 they adopted in the AP 15500 is not a true free-sprung movement, because it does not have weights. I am not sure if the free-sprung 3235 and 4131 from them will have the weights on the balance wheel.
It’s been a long time since we last heard from ZF in the replica Audemars Piguet space. The last time ZF made waves in the AP replica market was a few years ago with their widely popular AP 15400. However, after APS released the super clone 3120 movement, ZF was thoroughly outperformed. In the years that followed, there was almost no news from ZF in the AP replica field. Meanwhile, APS thrived and essentially dominated the entire high-end AP replica market. Unfortunately, APS was shut down last month after being hit by a crackdown. Now, this could be ZF’s only chance for a comeback.
The watch is ZF’s latest 15500, equipped with a free-sprung 4302 movement. Could it be that ZF has directly taken over APS’s free-sprung 4302 movement? After all, this movement was first introduced by APS. A few months ago, facing competition from VS, APS rushed to release a free-sprung 4303 movement. Now that ZF has taken over the free-sprung 4302 movement, just heard that ZF has also taken over the super clone 4401 movement that was owned by APS before. The question is whether they can also take over APS’s super clone movements in IWC replicas.
The 15500 from VS is good, so is this new 15510. But I have seen a lot of reviews about the VS 15500 online, many dealers said it is much better than the one made by APS, I do not think so, APS has been making AP replicas for many years, VS is just a new challenger in this field. Each of them has their own advantages in AP 15500, and in this AP 15510.
For this new AP 15510, currently VS Factory has the blue dial version and green dial version, the following pictures I show is the one with green dial.
The following is picture comparison between the VS 15510 and APS 15510.
The left one is from APS, the right watch is from VS. The dial color looks different. VS 15510 has a lighter blue dial color.The grid on VS 15510The grid on APS 15510APSVS
The tail of the second hand, its shape is different. On APS, it is rectangular, on VS, it is trapezoidal. The hollow-out part is much bigger on the second hand of APS 15510.
The lug shape is different. The bottom one is from VS, it looks bigger and fatter.
The end link on the bracelet of VS 15510 is more flexible, just like their 15500.APS Movement
The color of the auto rotor looks different, the movement below is the 4302 movement from VS Factory.
About the 4302 movement used by APS and VS, I mentioned the difference before, VS’s 4302 is not the true free-sprung balance version, because it does not have weights. APS offers two movement options for the 15510, one with regular balance wheel, the other with a free-sprung balance, APS’s 4302 free-sprung movement has weights on the balance. Besides these differences, VS also claims that the auto rotor uses ceramic ball bearing. VS also saying their 4302 movement has the same power reserve time as the genuine AP Calibre 4302, which is 72 hours, I do not believe this, currently no fake movements can achieve such a long time of power reserve.
I mean in the replica watches market, what things will happen in 2026? First, some factories will be closed and some new factories will appear. Like Clean, some of those big factories here in the factories will be closed, maybe VS or APS. This thing happened every year. Second, more movements with free-sprung balance will appear. Currently we have seen such movements used in the Richard Mille and Audemars Piguet, actually in Rolex, some factories are also secretly using such movements, for example, UFO and QF. In 2026, we will see more factories participate in the development of free-sprung movements, and its technology will become more mature.
Another thing we care is which factory will become the main competitor of VS. We know VS has occupied the most market share of super clone Rolex, but this factory also has a lot of things that could not be solved, for example, the Rolex market is so big, VS can not take it all, many popular models are usually out of stock, so this is an opportunity for other factories, I think V will have a great development in 2026.
Why V? In the beginning of the closure of Clean, V claimed that the Rolex watches made by them use the same watch parts as Clean, this is important step for a new factory because at that time Clean still has a high recognition in this industry, everyone was looking for their products. And many distributors and dealers are promoting the watches from V. This is a great marketing strategy of V Factory to grow fast, you know, there are hundreds of distributors and dealers, absolutely the quality of V Factory watches is good, otherwise, their prices wouldn’t be even higher than VS’s.
What is the quality of the Rolex made by V? If compare with VS, I think the 40mm Submariner from V is very good, even better than the one from VS. Take a bezel on a genuine watch to make a comparison, the pear on V looks awesome, it’s luster and color are very close to the genuine, or even look the same. Like I mentioned in the reviews on Clean Rolex watches before, the polishing and finish on the hands are the best on Clean, the same finish is also used on the hands of this Submariner from V, the hands look more three-dimensional and do not have burr.
This black Daytona with 4131 movement is also from V. Like the 40mm Submariner above, its hands’ finish has the best quality, the hands appear more three-dimensional, while on VS, the hands look a bit flatter. While the chamfering on hour markers is rounder. For the 116500 white Daytona, perhaps the replica made by VS is better, because the white color on VS looks closer to the genuine.
Conclusion:
What we will see in 2026?
1.Some big factories may be closed. 2.More factories will develop the movements with free-sprung balance. 3.V may become the main competitor to VS.
VS Factory has published the AP 15500 for weeks, I wrote a review about this watch at https://www.susanreviews.com/2025/12/29/vsf-ap-15500/, today, I want to make a comparison review on the 15500 grey model between APS and VS.
I did not see the genuine watch, I do not know which one is closer to genuine watch, I think both are very good replicas.
First, dial color.
The left watch is from APS, the right watch is from VS. Both have grey dial. The grey color on APS 15500 looks slightly darker. And at some angles, the light reflection looks stronger on the dial of APS 15500.
Second, hour markers and hands. Check the two pictures below. Both watches have very good polishing on the hands and hour markers. On APS 15500, the hour markers feature wider luminous material, the white luminescence on the hour markers of VS looks narrower.
Third, date font. Look at the date font below. APS 15500 has a pure white date font that looks slightly thicker. VS 15500 has a warm white date font. The axis of hands looks different, it is solid on both watches, but I like the solid axis on VS more.
Fourth, the first link. Are you able to find the difference on the first link? The two pictures below, first watch is from APS, second watch is from VS. On VS 15500, there is a bigger gap between the first link and the main case. So you can feel the first link and even the entire steel bracelet are more flexible on VS 15500. Because of this, the case of VS 15500 maybe fit your wrist more comfortably.
By the way, like I mentioned before, the bracelet of APS 15500 has 24 links, which has one more link than VS. If you have a big wrist, maybe APS 15500 is a better choice.
Fifth, the comparison of AP logo on the clasp.
APS.VS.
Sixth, the movement. The following pictures show the SH4302 movement from APS, this is the latest SH4302 with free-sprung balance, APS just released. It features weights. The auto rotor is rose gold, but that sculpture AP looks yellow gold.
The following pictures show the movement DD4302 from VS. It is not real free-sprung movement even you do not see the regulator. There are no weights on the balance. But the golden tone of the auto rotor is better.
