So I was on the hunt for the coveted Da Vinci Automatic by TW (Super Rep in the Consensual List).
I sent inquiries to several dealers over the summer. They all informed me that this was no longer available from the factory; TW don't make these anymore. Well, all except for one. This one particular TD told me that he'd check 'with TW' and let me know in 1-2 days. Sure enough, a day later he emailed me and said: yes, it's available for $298.
I was ecstatic but also a bit skeptical at the same time. After 7-8 others TDs had told me no, it just seemed too good to be true to have found someone savvy enough to locate an old stock of my grail. Either this TD was truly exceptional or he was full of shit and playing me. I needed to find out. So I threw him $298+ and placed the order.
Sadly, it didn't take long for my skepticism to prove justified. Just a week later, he emailed me that he (supposedly) received the watch from TW, but the movement was not good and the watch had to be sent back. He said he wouldn't be able to get another one from TW, and he offered to get me the MKF version instead as a substitute. Ah, the classic bait and switch!
At this point, I was pretty much resigned to the fact that no one was going to be able to find a TW for me. Just when I was on the verge of asking for refund and about to pull the trigger on this watch in gen (yikes), a friend from another forum told me that the MKF Da Vinci is basically the same rep, that they use the same parts and design choices as the TW, but assembled in China rather than in Taiwan. He said, they should be very similar.
My curiosity was piqued. I had to find out. So I gambled again and agreed to the MKF alternative. It arrived last week. Here it is (all pics shot with iphone):
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The Good: I was relieved to find that most of the perpetuated talking points circa 2017-18 about MKF Da Vinci being crap were just myths. Well, maybe they were true then, I don't know. If so, it appears MKF has upped their game. Here's my take on some of those old myths out there:
The Bad:
In summary, here's the short version of my review: The MKF Da Vinci 'looks' premium, but doesn't 'feel' premium. If you get it, you'll likely need to spend a bit more to get it to where it should be.
I sent inquiries to several dealers over the summer. They all informed me that this was no longer available from the factory; TW don't make these anymore. Well, all except for one. This one particular TD told me that he'd check 'with TW' and let me know in 1-2 days. Sure enough, a day later he emailed me and said: yes, it's available for $298.
I was ecstatic but also a bit skeptical at the same time. After 7-8 others TDs had told me no, it just seemed too good to be true to have found someone savvy enough to locate an old stock of my grail. Either this TD was truly exceptional or he was full of shit and playing me. I needed to find out. So I threw him $298+ and placed the order.
Sadly, it didn't take long for my skepticism to prove justified. Just a week later, he emailed me that he (supposedly) received the watch from TW, but the movement was not good and the watch had to be sent back. He said he wouldn't be able to get another one from TW, and he offered to get me the MKF version instead as a substitute. Ah, the classic bait and switch!
At this point, I was pretty much resigned to the fact that no one was going to be able to find a TW for me. Just when I was on the verge of asking for refund and about to pull the trigger on this watch in gen (yikes), a friend from another forum told me that the MKF Da Vinci is basically the same rep, that they use the same parts and design choices as the TW, but assembled in China rather than in Taiwan. He said, they should be very similar.
My curiosity was piqued. I had to find out. So I gambled again and agreed to the MKF alternative. It arrived last week. Here it is (all pics shot with iphone):
_
_
The Good: I was relieved to find that most of the perpetuated talking points circa 2017-18 about MKF Da Vinci being crap were just myths. Well, maybe they were true then, I don't know. If so, it appears MKF has upped their game. Here's my take on some of those old myths out there:
- "MKF has wrong case back engraving" -- False. See pic above, nothing wrong with case back.
- "MKF has wrong DW font" -- False, I think. Comparing the DW numbers to a lot of gen pictures via Google Image, I don't see any font issue. But I admit I wasn't able to check all 31 numbers. If anyone has an MKF and finds any particular DW number to be off, please let us know. Or let me know. I'd be curious.
- "MKF YG index color doesn't match gen" -- I don't know. I cannot accurately and objectively verify or refute this claim using only pictures. I need to see the actual gen in the same light as the rep to be able to make the call.
- "MKF has wrong case size (39mm)" -- 100% False, see below. The specs match IWC website.
The Bad:
- Dirty dial. There's some dust and micro lint on the dial. It's not really noticeable to the naked eyes from 2+ feet away. But definitely visible when you look at it under magnification. I must say this sketchy TD did a good job of concealing this issue in his QC pics by manipulating angle, lighting, and depth of field. He sure knew what he was doing.
- Creaky lugs. The lugs make creaky noise when the watch is shaken or moved around.
- Awful leather band. This is the worst, lowest-effort rep strap I've ever seen, seriously. I've just ordered a genuine Santoni alligator strap from IWC ($450 + $23 shipping) to replace this garbage. I can do a detailed rep-vs-gen IWC Santoni alligator strap comparison in another thread if there's interest.
In summary, here's the short version of my review: The MKF Da Vinci 'looks' premium, but doesn't 'feel' premium. If you get it, you'll likely need to spend a bit more to get it to where it should be.
