What to mod on DSN Ultimate 127?

[prdubis]

Hi everybody,

I am about to order an Ultimate PAM127 from DSN, as it comes already superlumed, and looks pretty good...

I am not an expert and would like what are the main flaws on this watch, and what mods are to be done to make it more accurate.

Thank you for your help!

[NoobyPanFan]

Flush and polish the pin, and rebrush the CG. Toss on a killer strap and wear the HE// out of it!

[prdubis]

Thanks!

I thought the caseback was wrong (heard about printings ont he back of the caseback, as SWISS MADE or something like that)...

And what about the dial? Anyone bought one recently?

[NoobyPanFan]

I think the dials are pretty well done. I have seen, had (and have) a dial that was varnished to give it a more Gen-like texture and it made a difference. The hands are VERY well done! As far as the back, I have never been too concerned there. I think there is a set of less commonly found serial #'s out there but I am not sure. As long as you get the Ultimate with superlume you will be golden.

[z3k0]

Thanks!

I thought the caseback was wrong (heard about printings ont he back of the caseback, as SWISS MADE or something like that)...

And what about the dial? Anyone bought one recently?

Lot of parts on DSN Fiddy are "wrong", but currently best you can get out there on the market. Of course you can wait for some modded or old-school EL version to come for sale, but you must prepare that these don't come cheap. As for SWISS MADE, it should be engraved on inside of caseback - meaning you can see it when you remove caseback, not really something you should worry about. As far as I'm concerned worst thing on current DSN fiddy is CG. I just bought one, and when I compare it with ELs 217 CG that I had, it is terrible - but since I couldn't get anything better for the moment, I'm happy with it.

regards

[babola]

Thanks!

I thought the caseback was wrong (heard about printings ont he back of the caseback, as SWISS MADE or something like that)...

And what about the dial? Anyone bought one recently?

Mate, the 'swiss made' inscription on the underside of the caseback should be the least of your worries when it comes to Fiddy reps. You have a bigger "issue" with a known and common rep serial E0117/1950 staring at you from the front . If you could find one of those casebacks with E0851/1950 serial that came from another Fiddy fatory known for their exploding xtals, go for it although even that is a very well known 'fake' Fiddy serial.

Fiddy dials...hm, where do I start - unfortunately the quality, finish and attention to detail on those progressively deteriorated from the times of Honpo/EL/River Fiddys of '05/'06. Dial txt has gone from a correct off-white ivory color to beige, light brown to even brown on some recent dials. 1950 text has moved around the bottom of the dial as well, with early dials from Honpo and EL being spot on in that respect. The thickness of the top sandwich layer has also changed a lot, where some dials are so thin at the top that almost appear as sausage dials, while others are thick and deep you need to look at them at straight angle to be able to see the numerals.

Davidsen doesn't make Fiddy dials. He sources them from the rep factories, and uses what's available at the time of the install. If you get the Fiddy with a dial that isn't up to scratch or up to your standards don't blame DSN...it really isn't his fault.

One of my biggest gripes with recent Fiddy's is quality of case/CG manufacture and attention to detail. The lugs have lost the elongated curvature, the case corners aren't as sharp as they used to be, getting the well finished CG with lever that actually does the job is close to winning a lottery these days, and the whole fit and finish isn't up to standards of early Fiddy reps.

I owned many Fiddy's over the last 5 years, from EL's "perfect" one with wrong mov't (OPII with squared bridges) to his second edition that wasn't as good as firts, as well as three generations of DSN Fiddy's. I basically ended up using EL's case/CG/dial/hands/caseback and ETA-6497-1 E-series mov't from DSN's latest offerings, as this was IMO the closest and nicest E-series mov't ever produced in rep-dom.

Thare you have it mate...it's almost an essay but hope you got some good bits out of all this. As 'z3k0' said above, see if you can source EL's Fiddy on secondary market, but be ready to pay the little premium for it, as people in the know wouldn't hesitate to do so.

Stay well and enjoy the hobby!

[GMTII]

Just received mine. It was missing part of the letters on the "OR" of Luminor. Sent it back. Received it again. Very nice watch...for a Rep. It has really good potential. Crystal could be improved around the edges. The CG is TERRIBLE! Where can I get a better CG?? The pin fell out and the arm fell off. The CG arm is all ground up and not round. I will say it again... I would love this watch if the CG was any good!!! Where to find one???

[PeteM]

Having owned a few myself and a few ELs, I would agree the DSN is the best of whats readily out there. But it is heavily flawed which can be worse depending on the particular DSN batch. As mentioned the CG is very wrong, so is the crown, the case (mainly the lugs), the crystal is OK but has a horrible rep blue AR though the gen does have a purplish blue hue, the dials seem to vary and the colour and position of font can be well off on some, also the shape of the 6 and 9 etc, the hands tend to be good, the bezel is also too low and lume tends to be bright but the wrong colour. As D says overall the EL far surpasses the DSN (heads up) though this is also flawed but to a lesser extent much the better option. Personally I wouldnt think of modding a DSN just enjoy it and as you learn more about the Fiddy either build your own using better more accurate parts or get an EL though the different variations mean you may need to swap out various parts.

Heres a pick of mine though its still a long way off but a passable version

[tanya]

You got about the best advice possible from my mates above but if you are really picky I would wait until an EL comes for sale in the trade forums. I own a FRanken Fiddy with Genuine Dial, Movement and the best EL parts from his different fiddys modded and assembled for the case

Good Fiddy's start with El parts and I have seen a few for sale recently