gianton Posted May 6, 2008 Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 Just received it... took about a week to arrive via registered air mail. Well packed as usual from Davidsen, with my name written on the box. Unlikely to other members watches, I can set the date and time but the lever opens and closes very tight. Also the lever is polished instead of brushed as per the GEN one. The crown is a bit thinner than my gen's 111. Major fault is at the dial where there is a misprint at letter "t" in word "Automatic" (see pic no. 1 & 2). Now to the pics. 1. Nice dial overall but there is the misprint 2. Compared to DSN's watch at his sales post 3. The dial looks from black to blue under different angles 4. Caseback 5. Next to my fiddy 6. Compared to my GEN 111 7. Compared to a GEN 104 Overall is a great watch, feels heavy and has this GEN look. But I think I will send it back to Davidsen for a replacement due to the misprint in the dial. If only Davidsen's QC wasn't this bad... :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sssurfer Posted May 6, 2008 Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 Thanks for the review, gianton! All in all, a great watch. If it were not for the date, it would be impossible to tell the dial from the gen without a side-to-side comparison, and even in that case hard or almost impossible to tell. Same about the caseback. I stll wonder why Davidsen does not make improvements on his Contemporary crowns. Maybe it's because he sells a lot of pre-V / vintage models, where that crown is pretty correct. What a shame for the misprinted "t"! I think you are doing well asking for a replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gianton Posted May 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 Already emailed Davidsen addressing the faulty dial. Do you think a modder can fix the misprinted "t"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sssurfer Posted May 6, 2008 Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 The Zigmeister no doubt. Other modders: maybe, if they already make relume works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWR Posted May 6, 2008 Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 Can you take a picture of it from the side-on view of the crown guard and crown? Curious how they are sitting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red Posted May 6, 2008 Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 That date looks pretty bad. What happened to the upgrade? Is that a magnification or date wheel problem. Either way I agree teh dial is very good, just poor date font. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gianton Posted May 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 Davidsen replied to my email and offered either a full replacement of the watch or a new dial. I preffered the new dial and he will also send me a brushed lever. Thanks David San! @Jonathan See below pic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gianton Posted May 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 BTW the watch keeps perfect time +-10 sec/day! Here is a wrist shot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sssurfer Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 Is that a magnification or date wheel problem. Both. But I would say that the cyclops problem is the greatest of the twos. About the upgrade... this was a step in the right direction -- still far from perfect, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoobs1971 Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 Both. But I would say that the cyclops problem is the greatest of the twos. About the upgrade... this was a step in the right direction -- still far from perfect, though. When you compare this cylops/date-combo to the ones on the new DSN 088/089 and the new 'ultimate' PAM104/164/229, which one comes the closest to gen? @Gianton: congrats with your new watch! Too bad that you need to fix the dial flaw, but apart from that it looks awesome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sssurfer Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 When you compare this cylops/date-combo to the ones on the new DSN 088/089 and the new 'ultimate' PAM104/164/229, which one comes the closest to gen? They look exactly the same, IMO. Surprisingly enough, as, AFAIK, DSN and the other makers developed their solutions independently. They both came to using a recessed cyclops embedded in a sandwich crystal, though. This is less surprise, as this is the only way to have a 7mm cyclops with adequate mag on 7750 PAMs without getting into low room troubles between the cyclops and the hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoobs1971 Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 They look exactly the same, IMO. Surprisingly enough, as, AFAIK, DSN and the other makers developed their solutions independently. They both came to using a recessed cyclops embedded in a sandwich crystal, though. This is less surprise, as this is the only way to have a 7mm cyclops with adequate mag on 7750 PAMs without getting into low room troubles between the cyclops and the hands. Thnx for the background info! So do you think that upgrading with a Lello DW would be a further improvement? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sssurfer Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 So do you think that upgrading with a Lello DW would be a further improvement? Honestly, I have mixed feelings about it. I had a chance to look at a DSN DW not yet assembled into the watch, and it looked just a little less good than a Lello DW. Still, once mounted in the watch, it looks worse. Unfortunately DSN was pretty stingy about further info on the matter. In the end, I think that the cyclops is the greatest problem of the two. But not the only one. After working on dozens different cyclopses, I developed a bit of a sense of how much of a problem is due to the cyclops and how much to the DW, and here I would say it is 70-75% due to the cyclops, 25-30% to the DW. So, I think you may expect an improvement -- but not a great one -- by replacing the DW only. Sorry for not being able to offer a better advice, I too got very few info about this subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoobs1971 Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 .............After working on dozens different cyclopses, I developed a bit of a sense of how much of a problem is due to the cyclops and how much to the DW, and here I would say it is 70-75% due to the cyclops, 25-30% to the DW. I've recently ordered 2 Lello DW's. So I will have to see by trial and error if it works better on the ultimate PAM164, the DVN-PAM088 or none. I'll let you know my experience as soon as the parts and the 088 are in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sssurfer Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 I've recently ordered 2 Lello DW's. So I will have to see by trial and error if it works better on the ultimate PAM164, the DVN-PAM088 or none. I'll let you know my experience as soon as the parts and the 088 are in. Great! Thanks! I am sure there are quite a lot of members interested in your outcome as well as me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gianton Posted May 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 Would like to see the Lello DW installed as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 I love it when Sssurfer replies. You do a great job of clearing things up, thank you sir. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sssurfer Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 I love it when Sssurfer replies. You do a great job of clearing things up, thank you sir. Wow... thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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