DSN crystal for the Fiddy

[klocklind1]

Hi there !

I am very happy with my Fiddy ( Pam 127 ) but I am not sure what kind of crystal it is on it ?

It is suposed to be a saffire one ( 0117/1950 case ) but I do not know ( mine is NOT AR coated ! ) .

Are ALL crystals that are made of saffire ALWAYS AR coated ( You can see that the crystal is a little blueish on the top of it ! ) like on the one from Davidsen ( DSN ! ) ?

I have been thinking of buying a extra spare crystal ( because af all reports about exploding crystals, and I will keep it for a long time ! ) from DSN ( just in case !!! ) but it cost 100 $ and I do not know if it is worth buing one extra just in case ?

So the last question is :

Will the crystal from DSN ( davidsen ! ) fit in a 0117/1950 case without problems ?????????

Is davidsen the only one ( Pure time also seems to have a crystal that looks the same as davidsens !? ) to buy a saffire crystal from ?

[turboGUATE]

Go with DSN's crystal. You can't go wrong with it, and it WILL fit your 117 case.

Cheers.

[sssurfer]

All genuine PAM non-plexi crystals are sapphire.

All genuine PAM sapphire crystals are single AR coated (on the inner surface only) after B series (1999).

Genuine PAM AR is almost colorless, not blueish.

DSN crystal for 127 will fit any standard 127 rep case. But non-standard 127 rep cases do exist (less than 5% of cases, I would speculate).

Non-DSN sapphire crystals are subject to spontaneous exploding like glass crystals.

Never heard of a DSN crystal exploding.

[klocklind1]

Thanks for that info !

You always have the right info ragarding the pam crystals, thank You !

The next thing to consider is if it it worth buying a "spare" crystal from DSN just in case for 100 $ ???

All genuine PAM non-plexi crystals are sapphire.

All genuine PAM sapphire crystals are single AR coated (on the inner surface only) after B series (1999).

Genuine PAM AR is almost colorless, not blueish.

DSN crystal for 127 will fit any standard 127 rep case. But non-standard 127 rep cases do exist (less than 5% of cases, I would speculate).

Non-DSN sapphire crystals are subject to spontaneous exploding like glass crystals.

Never heard of a DSN crystal exploding.

[archibald]

The DSN Xtal is fine, but none of the rep xtals are accurate. A chieftang single sided ar would fix the Ar problem (or if that's not doable for you, I'd just remove the rep AR). The main problem is the distortion, or lack thereof, on the rep xtals when compared to the gen. Having had the opportunity to compare all the possible rep/gen dial and xtal combos in person, I'd rather have a eddie lee dial and a gen xtal than a gen dial and a DSN xtal.

[babola]

I got DSN Fiddy xtal fitted on both 127 rep type cases, the one that opend from the back (standard) and another that opens from the front by removing the bezel. Saying this, even DSN xtals aren't all the same, and provide diferent dial distorsion when installed. The older model was much closer to gen xtal in the sense that provided almost a 1:1 distorsion when looked at both top down or slightly from the side, angled.

The one you don't want is the one that visualy "squashes" the dial numerals and indices towards the centre of the dial, the one you should look for is the one that 'breaks' the numerals when looked at from the top. The break point on a good xtal should also be visible when you look at the dial at sharp angle.

after owning 6 different Fiddy iterations in the last 3 years, I eventualy settled on the one that was combined from diferent parts, like EddieLee dial and case, DSN hands and older generation sapphire xtal.

[turboGUATE]

I got DSN Fiddy xtal fitted on both 127 rep type cases, the one that opend from the back (standard) and another that opens from the front by removing the bezel. Saying this, even DSN xtals aren't all the same, and provide diferent dial distorsion when installed. The older model was much closer to gen xtal in the sense that provided almost a 1:1 distorsion when looked at both top down or slightly from the side, angled.

The one you don't want is the one that visualy "squashes" the dial numerals and indices towards the centre of the dial, the one you should look for is the one that 'breaks' the numerals when looked at from the top. The break point on a good xtal should also be visible when you look at the dial at sharp angle.

after owning 6 different Fiddy iterations in the last 3 years, I eventualy settled on the one that was combined from diferent parts, like EddieLee dial and case, DSN hands and older generation sapphire xtal.

Would it be possible for you to "illustrate" this? (Probably it's been covered before, but in my time in rep world this is the first to come across a fiddy crystal topic with so much info).

Thanks!

[klocklind1]

Thanks for that VERY intresting info !

So You mean that if I buy a saffire crystal from DSN for 100 $, I still do NOT know if it will fit my 0117/1950 case ???

I thought he only had ONE sort of AR coaded saffire crystal for that model ( 0117/1950 case 1950 ) ???

The OLDER generation crystal that You have , is that one with AR coating ?

BTW I read that some here on this forum bought a plexiglas crystal from OFREI and that IS the crystal they had in the original 1950 model !!??

I got DSN Fiddy xtal fitted on both 127 rep type cases, the one that opend from the back (standard) and another that opens from the front by removing the bezel. Saying this, even DSN xtals aren't all the same, and provide diferent dial distorsion when installed. The older model was much closer to gen xtal in the sense that provided almost a 1:1 distorsion when looked at both top down or slightly from the side, angled.

The one you don't want is the one that visualy "squashes" the dial numerals and indices towards the centre of the dial, the one you should look for is the one that 'breaks' the numerals when looked at from the top. The break point on a good xtal should also be visible when you look at the dial at sharp angle.

after owning 6 different Fiddy iterations in the last 3 years, I eventualy settled on the one that was combined from diferent parts, like EddieLee dial and case, DSN hands and older generation sapphire xtal.

[babola]

Thanks for that VERY intresting info !

So You mean that if I buy a saffire crystal from DSN for 100 $, I still do NOT know if it will fit my 0117/1950 case ???

I thought he only had ONE sort of AR coaded saffire crystal for that model ( 0117/1950 case 1950 ) ???

The OLDER generation crystal that You have , is that one with AR coating ?

BTW I read that some here on this forum bought a plexiglas crystal from OFREI and that IS the crystal they had in the original 1950 model !!??

Unless you have an odd Fiddy case, DSN xtal should fit just fine. As I said above, in my case DSN Fiddy xtal fitted two diferent case styles from different times of manufacture.

To answer you second question, yes, both xtals came with a very good and respectable A/R treatment, one was more blueish one purplish in appearance, but both quite good. Plexy was extensively used on vintage Panerais in between 1940-50es, but the PAM127 "1950" SE model came with sapphire domed xtal. DSN has both plexi and sapphire that fit 1950 case, although I wouldn't install domed plexi on Fiddy, it just isn't 'right', IMO, go with the sapphire.

babola

Edited November 16, 2008 by babola

[FxrAndy]

I had a exploding fiddy once and i got Finepix to do a crytal swap for me, the crystal was a touch too small for my o581 case so the crystal had to be glued in, no problems with exploding any more but i dont think i would swim with it now!

if you are doing any mods on a FIDDY get some DSN hands and a high canon pin at the same time and it will look like this

[babola]

I had a exploding fiddy once and i got Finepix to do a crytal swap for me, the crystal was a touch too small for my o581 case so the crystal had to be glued in, no problems with exploding any more but i dont think i would swim with it now!

if you are doing any mods on a FIDDY get some DSN hands and a high canon pin at the same time and it will look like this

I second that Andy, you seem to own the "third" style Fiddy case I've come across in the past, the notorious e0581/1950. I owned it as well, and yes the xtal exploded on mine too. Never tried to fix it up and the case has been reduced to my spare parts box. This very case comes with slightly wider sides than the omnipresent e0117/1950 case, and appears to be made by another Fiddy rep factory. I'm not surprised that DSN xtal didn't exactly fit first up. I noticed on mine that the area where lugs connect to the main case was finished a bit rough. Mine came with that "hybrid" swassian/chiss movement with deciorated bridges and S/N reg, did yours?

cheers,

babola

[turboGUATE]

Although I think the best currently available Fiddy is DSN's the purplish AR on the crystal is what bothers me the most out of the incredible watch it is. It's curious that I have never seen a Fiddy with a redone AR job where someone took DSN's AR and got Chief/Jakub do a SINGLE inside AR.

I can't seem to recall who did do a DOUBLE AR on his crystal, but still wouldn't be "accurate".

[klocklind1]

Thanks for the info !

I bought a separate dial and hands from Puretime that he did a VERY good superlume ( superlume from modder Flav ! ) on for 60 $ .

I have still not fit the dial on my fiddy as I am thinking of ordering a new crystal from DSN !!!

My case ( 0117/1950 ) is the one that You have to take out the movement from the crystalside ( i think it exsists two ways of fitting the dial on the 0117/1950 case ??!! ) so I am a little afraid of taken in and out to many times with a risk of breaking the crystal an perhaps also the dial !!!!

The case where You take out the movement from the dialside has the MORE accurate ( more genuine like ! ) screws ( BIG round onea instead of the ordinary "plate" ones ! ) that holds the movement ( like the genuine one ) !!!

I had a exploding fiddy once and i got Finepix to do a crytal swap for me, the crystal was a touch too small for my o581 case so the crystal had to be glued in, no problems with exploding any more but i dont think i would swim with it now!

if you are doing any mods on a FIDDY get some DSN hands and a high canon pin at the same time and it will look like this

[ume]

I had a exploding fiddy once and i got Finepix to do a crytal swap for me, the crystal was a touch too small for my o581 case so the crystal had to be glued in, no problems with exploding any more but i dont think i would swim with it now!

if you are doing any mods on a FIDDY get some DSN hands and a high canon pin at the same time and it will look like this

Very nice trap on the 1950, back yard shot. What is it and the cost please

UME