Which replica Rolex factory is actually best
VSF is the best replica Rolex factory when the watch is a Submariner, a Datejust or a Daytona. It is the only name on the current card with five stars. The other eleven are specialists. Buy one of them when the watch is a Yacht-Master, a small Datejust, a Sky-Dweller, or a dial VSF does not lead with.
VSF first, then the specialist
Ask for VSF when the watch is a Submariner, a Datejust or a Daytona and the dial is a standard one. The card credits that line with stable Dandong 3235 and 4131 movements, high visual accuracy, and a case weight brought closer to the genuine watch. Leave VSF only when another factory is named for that exact model.
The default
VSF for Submariner, Datejust and Daytona. It is the only factory on the card with five stars, and the one both new buyers and experienced buyers are pointed to.
The specialists
BT for a Daytona on a budget. GSF for a 31 mm or women's Datejust. C+ for a grey Yacht-Master. ZF for a black Sky-Dweller. EWE when the dial colour is the point.
What each factory is for
Read this as a buying card, not a league table. VSF covers the three watches most people actually want. The rest earn a line because they do one family better, or because they do a model VSF does not lead with.
VSF
The all-rounder. Submariner, Datejust and Daytona are all strong. The movements named are the Dandong 3235 and 4131, and they are described as stable. Detail is close, the weight has been brought up, and the wrist feel is the nearest of the twelve to the genuine watch.
Dandong 3235 / 4131
ARF
The settled classics: a black Submariner on the earlier 3135, a green Datejust, a chocolate Datejust, and the left-handed Sprite on a Dandong 3235 or 3285. The note on the card is plain. The work is solid, and these are stable pieces rather than new colours.
3135 / Dandong 3235 / 3285
BT
The Daytona to buy when the budget comes first and the watch is still a Daytona. The card names the panda on 4131, the baton-marker ice-blue Daytona, and the newer compact Daytona. All three sit on the Dandong 4131.
Dandong 4131
EWE
The colour board. A panda Daytona on a Shanghai 4131, not a Dandong one, plus a Tiffany-blue Oyster Perpetual, a left-handed Sprite and an avocado-green Datejust. The other calibres named are Dandong 3230, 3285 and 4131.
Shanghai 4131 / Dandong 3230 / 3285 / 4131
QF
A full Daytona line, plus the Day-Dates this factory is actually known for: smoked green, a green-stone Daytona, and the black iced Day-Date. Movements named are 2836, Dandong 4130 and 4131. The Day-Date is called out as properly done, not as a side project.
2836 / Dandong 4130 / 4131
RC
Full gold and the unusual Day-Dates. The card names the Shawn Yue Datejust, iced dials, an ice-blue Daytona and a plain Day-Date, on Dandong 3255 and 4131. If the metal is gold or the dial is a special, start here.
Dandong 3255 / 4131
GSF
The Datejust factory for smaller and women's watches. At 31 mm: pink Roman, purple Roman, green, mother-of-pearl and champagne, on 2236 and 2271. At 40 mm: black iced, a full-Roman green Datejust, and the pale iced dial. The widest small-diameter board on the card.
2236 / 2271
C+
One model, and it is the reason the factory is on the card. The grey Yacht-Master, on a Dandong 3235. Shown as CPLUS on the comparison card. If the watch is a Yacht-Master, this is the name to ask for.
Dandong 3235
B factory
Not a standard line. The piece named is an ice-blue dial on a Miyota 9015 base, modified and sold as a 7135. Treat it as a special build. Ask which movement is actually in the case before you compare it with a Dandong Daytona.
9015, reworked as a 7135
PPMF
Day-Date is the whole catalogue. All-black and black-green, mint and white day-date dials, smoked green, and the black iced dial. Movements named are 2836 and the Dandong 3255. This is the Day-Date workshop in the same way BT is the Daytona workshop.
2836 / Dandong 3255
THB
A Datejust supplement, not a replacement for VSF or GSF. Chocolate, mint green, and a green stick-marker Datejust, on the 2236. Useful when the colour is the reason for the search and the main factories do not list it.
2236
ZF
One model, and nobody else on the card offers it. A black-dial Sky-Dweller on an integrated 9002. If the watch is a Sky-Dweller, the factory question is already answered.
Integrated 9002
Which factory for which Rolex
The factory name matters only after the model is chosen. A workshop that leads the Daytona is not automatically the right call for a 31 mm Datejust, and the movement column is part of the answer. A 3135 Submariner and a 3235 Submariner are not the same order.
| Model | Ask for | Movement | Why this one |
|---|---|---|---|
| Submariner, Datejust, Daytona | VSF | Dandong 3235 / 4131 | Full line, stable calibres, weight brought up. The five-star default |
| Black Submariner | ARF | 3135 | The classic build, on the earlier calibre rather than the 3235 |
| Green or chocolate Datejust | ARF | See the listing | Named among ARF's stable classics |
| Left-handed Sprite | ARF, or EWE | Dandong 3235 / 3285 | ARF for the classic; EWE when it sits with the colour dials |
| Daytona on a budget | BT | Dandong 4131 | Panda, baton ice-blue, and the newer compact Daytona |
| Tiffany or avocado dial | EWE | Dandong 3230 / 3285 / 4131 | The colour specialist. Its panda uses a Shanghai 4131 |
| Smoked-green or black iced Day-Date | QF or PPMF | 2836 / Dandong 3255 / 4130 / 4131 | QF if you also want the Daytona line. PPMF if the Day-Date is the whole order |
| Full gold, Shawn Yue, plain Day-Date | RC | Dandong 3255 / 4131 | Gold and the unusual Day-Dates |
| 31 mm or women's Datejust | GSF | 2236 / 2271 | Widest small-diameter board: Roman, green, mother-of-pearl, champagne, iced |
| Chocolate, mint, green stick Datejust | THB | 2236 | Extra Datejust colours, not a sports-watch factory |
| Grey Yacht-Master | C+ | Dandong 3235 | The Yacht-Master specialist. CPLUS on the source card |
| Black Sky-Dweller | ZF | Integrated 9002 | The only Sky-Dweller on the card |
| Ice-blue modified piece | B factory | 9015, reworked as 7135 | A special build. Confirm the movement before you compare it with BT or VSF |
Where two factories share a model, the movement decides it. ARF's black Submariner is a 3135. VSF's sports line is a Dandong 3235 or 4131. EWE's panda is a Shanghai 4131.
How to choose
One watch, a standard dial
Order VSF. Submariner, Datejust or Daytona, on the Dandong 3235 or 4131. That is the row the card marks with five stars, and the row it tells both new buyers and experienced buyers to start from.
One watch, a specific model
Use the table. A 31 mm Datejust is GSF. A grey Yacht-Master is C+. A black Sky-Dweller is ZF. A Daytona bought to a budget is BT. A full-gold or unusual Day-Date is RC. Do not pay a VSF price for a model VSF does not lead.
The name on the sticker is not the movement. Ask for the calibre that factory is known for, photographed with the case back off. A watch sold as VSF should show a Dandong 3235 or 4131 on the sports line, not a 2236. How to read what you find there is covered in how to tell a real Rolex from a fake.
Pick the model first. The factory is the workshop that leads with that model.Factory card, November 2026
The factories that aren't
2025 was a bad year for the top of this market. Three workshops that most buyers still search for by name stopped producing, and their names did not stop selling. A closed workshop has no parts chain, which turns a failed movement into a dead watch rather than a repair.
| Name | Status | What listings do with it |
|---|---|---|
| Clean (C factory) | Closed 2025 | Sold as new stock; usually a relabelled mid-tier unit |
| V7 | Closed 2025 | Bundled into "V7/V9" listings that predate the closure |
| RC | Closed 2025 | Rarely named now; stock absorbed into other catalogues |
| Noob | Seized 2019 | The oldest dead name in the market, still in page titles |
| V6F | No supply | Occasional dead stock at falling quality |
None of this means the watches are bad. It means the name on the listing is no longer evidence of anything, and the parts question is now yours.
What to order first
VSF for the main line. A specialist only for its model.
- VSF Submariner, Datejust or Daytona, Dandong 3235 or 4131
- BT when the watch is a Daytona and the budget comes first
- GSF when the Datejust is 31 mm, Roman, or a women's dial
