Choosing Between the 3135 and 3235 Movement: The VS Factory “Hulk” Explained

This document is for watch knowledge and identification reference only, to help enthusiasts understand the differences in workmanship between genuine and replica versions. It does not involve purchase advice. Please comply with relevant laws and regulations and respect intellectual property.

Contents

• The 3135 or 3235 Question
• Size: One Millimeter Does Not Matter
• Color and the Genuine Market Price
• The Genuine 3135 and 3235
• The Replica Movements: Dandong 3135 vs 3235
• Long Power Reserve Is Overrated
• Before You Buy

The 3135 or 3235 Question

This piece explains which movement to pick between the 3135 and the 3235, using a simple example: the old and new Submariner. The new Submariner is 41mm, the old one is 40mm. I’ll use the VS Factory Submariner as the example, and I hope you won’t get endlessly brainwashed by feel-good marketing posts.

Size: One Millimeter Does Not Matter

On size, I don’t think it’s worth agonizing over. A 1mm difference has no real effect on how it looks or feels. Put your attention on the color and the movement instead.

Color and the Genuine Market Price

On color, the old Submariner is a green and green pairing, the new one is green and black. When the genuine launched, the new green was hyped to around HK$200,000 and briefly ran several tens of thousands above the old green-green. After two years of market testing, once the novelty faded, the new green-black fell hard and you could get one at about half the hype price. The green-green also corrected, but it now sits above the green-black. When buying a replica, most people ignore the genuine’s price trend. Nine out of ten buyers just follow the crowd. They see a post pushing a new model and rush to buy it, then when someone asks how much it is, they stand there blank and embarrass themselves. If you like green, you can follow the genuine market and buy the hotter old green. To be honest, I found the green-black pairing odd from the moment it came out.

The Genuine 3135 and 3235

Once the color is settled, let’s talk about the movement. The genuine 3135’s base technology runs from 1988 to around 2020, roughly 30 years, and the overall structure hasn’t changed much. New materials were added to improve it, such as the silicon hairspring and anti-magnetic transmission parts. On the forums, many fans still have a soft spot for the 3135, and plenty of people hunt for the last remaining new 3135 Submariners. Some veteran players don’t care much about the 3235’s longer power reserve. That long reserve gets a lot of attention in the replica market, though. If you’re buying a genuine watch and not collecting at that level, the mindset should be to buy new rather than old.

The Replica Movements: Dandong 3135 vs 3235

Does the same logic hold for replicas? Not exactly, and that’s where marketing fluff does its work. I’m not saying the 3235 is worse than the 3135. The point is to understand the difference between the two, so you at least know what you’re buying and why, instead of getting excited over a few lines of copy. Take VS’s Dandong 3135 as the example. Its full power reserve is similar to a traditional 28xx movement. It has one very likable advantage: because the structure is a high-level copy of the original, the transmission gears are quiet, and in normal wear, or even when you shake it on purpose, you barely feel the rotor move.

The Dandong 3235 lengthens the mainspring barrel and lowers the amplitude to reach around 70 hours of power reserve. The upside is that its full reserve lasts longer than the 3135. The downside is that it adds weight to the rotor to improve winding efficiency, so it’s a little noisier than the 3135. Stability is about the same on both. Pick based on your own needs, and don’t ask me which is better. It’s been spelled out above.

Also, things like the blue hairspring have no discussion value on a replica. A normal hairspring painted blue and called a blue hairspring isn’t worth talking about, and the solid case back means you can’t see the movement anyway. Some people keep obsessing over this kind of thing, and it’s a waste of energy.

Long Power Reserve Is Overrated

On power reserve, the general view, mine and the industry’s, is that anything beyond three days is pointless. After the IWC Portugieser and Portofino seven-day models came out, not many brands followed. To reach seven days you must wind it by hand, at least 50 turns to fill it, and nobody keeps count of how many turns they wind. Eight hours of normal daily wear won’t fill a seven-day barrel, and nobody with an automatic sets it down to count seven days before winding. If you want it to keep running, a winder solves that. A long mainspring barrel also has metal inertia when it releases, which affects accuracy. The seven-day movements don’t hold a candle to the Rolex 31xx or the Omega 8xxx on accuracy, and in some cases they’re about as accurate as a basic entry Swiss movement. The top brands aren’t interested in long-power designs.

Back to replicas. Take the replica 3235 movement. Many people think 70 hours of power means you wear it for a day and then set it down for three days and it keeps running. That’s completely wrong. A replica’s winding efficiency isn’t as high as a genuine’s. To reach the 70-hour reserve on this 3235, you must wind it by hand. Relying on normal wear alone gives you the same reserve as a 3135. That’s what it means to spend with your eyes open.

Before You Buy

These replica 32 and 31 movements are widely used on the three-hand Rolex models like the Yacht-Master and the Submariner. By the time you finish reading, I hope you have a clear idea of the movements before you buy. I’m not here to recommend which one to pick.