A BATHING APE "BAPEX SUBMARINER"

Well, this is unexpected... received this on behalf of a good friend and decided to have a look at the watch.

It's the Bapex Submariner... a homage of the Rolex Submariner by the Japanese fashion brand A Bathing Ape.

The design is lifted directly from Rolex Submariner's iconic design.

Movement is an automatic.

No details on the movement in the manual but I suspect it's a Miyota Movement as the hand winding felt similar to my Laco Pilot which is powered by Miyota as well but without a date.

Cyclops for magnifying the date is not the usual 2.5x but less.

Printing on the dial is crisp, Bapex by A Bathing Ape at the top and Made by Human on the bottom...

Made by Human... erm... ok... :-P

Clasp and diver's extention features the Ape logo.
The clasp mirrors Rolex's double fliplock clasp.
It locks in firm enough but it hurts my nails a little trying to unlock it. Maybe after a period of use, it will be smoother.

Bracelet construction is ok.

After removing some links, i can see that the bracelet is made of solid midlinks.

The screw pins does not sit as flush though...

Finishing of the bezel is acceptable too.

120 clicks uni-directional.

Crown is screwed in.

But I can't feel or see the gasket.

Also the crown sit's below the case and the crownguards as opposed to aligned like the original.

No water resistant rating on the manual as well.

I think it will survive rainwater... I wouldn't risk anything more that that.

Caseback looks to be screwed in as well.

A sticker with the Ape logo.

Being a Rolex Submariner homage, it wears similar to one alright.

But the feel of "solidity" is not present.

Fit and finish could be improved but I doubt the target market of this watch will look beyond the brand.