I’ve read a series of QC threads on the Aqua Terra VSF. The points that come back are always the same. I’ll put them in order here, and I’m asking you to add whatever is missing. For how to take the photos, the how to ask for a QC guide applies.
Let’s start with three questions: is the logo straight? Are the “teak” lines even? Is the date centred?
The logo one comes up a lot. People ask if a slightly tilted Omega logo is a red light.
It depends on how much. If the tilt is visible to the naked eye in the straight-on photo, it’s a real flaw. If you need to zoom, it’s probably the camera angle. Confidence: medium. The same criterion applies in the Royal Oak QC thread.
The teak lines are the heart of the dial: they must be even and parallel. A wider or broken line shows as soon as the light hits it.
And the colour? The Aqua Terra blue changes a lot with the light. In QC photos it sometimes looks green or too dark.
Yes, it’s a recurring topic: many QC requests ask whether the blue “looks wrong”, and the answers almost always point back to the lighting in the photo. Better to ask for a photo in natural light.
Date shift too. Some posts mention the date sitting a bit off in the window.
And the bracelet: it’s described several times as stiff and sharp at the edges. Not a reason to reject, but good to know.
Let me sum up occhiodilince’s points in a QC checklist for the Aqua Terra VSF, with confidence levels:
Real flaws (high confidence)
To check (medium confidence)
Normal, not a reason to RL (medium confidence)
Post a straight-on photo of the dial in natural light, so the teak lines and the logo alignment are clearly visible.
Final verdict: logo and teak decide. The rest is cleared up with a better photo. For logo and indices, the tools in the alignment tools thread help, but only on a straight-on photo.
Very useful, thanks. Natural light is what decides, always.