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DSN 5218-205/A pictorial review [PICS HEAVY]

kilowattore

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The 5218-205/A
Luminor Submersible
Sly Tech Panerai


A pictorial review




Once I decided I wanted to expand my collection with some Pre-Vs, it took me a while to decide which one should have been the first.
Then I stumbled into this thread from Cpairways HERE and fell in love with the 205a, the black dial with non matching hands and indices was exactly what I was looking for!


THE GEN




This watch has an indeed particular history behind, which speaks of how a company that spent decades designing and producing watches and other devices for military purposes and mainly for the italian Marina Militare, turns into a luxury brand and gains the interest of the Vendome group (now Richemont) who will later acquire the entire Panerai company, its brand and its know-how.
In 1993 Officine Panerai launched their first limited editions meant for a larger public: the Luminor logo 5218-201/A in 44 mm and the Mare Nostrum 5218-301/A in 42 mm, while the PVD 5218-202/A was specifically designed for the italian navy. As anybody could tell nowadays, these new references had potential, but they needed a boost to reach a larger public.



First ad on the italian press in 1993


According to the legend, in 1995 Sylvester Stallone was recording the Daylight movie in Rome when he first saw a Luminor Panerai and immediately fell in love with it. So much so that he wore that watch during all the movie, and then asked Panerai to produce a special limited edition for him named SLY TECH.
At least that's what we are told, in any case a very smart marketing move I would say ;)



Extract from the 205/A brochure


The first Slytech reference to be released is the 5218-205/A: It features a standard 44 mm Luminor polished case, brushed crownguard, black dial with tritium lumed indices and numbers, small seconds subdial at 9 and closed caseback. The movement inside is the basic, standard for that time, swiss Unitas 6497 without swan neck.
The dial is customized using the inscriptions LUMINOR SUBMERSIBLE (this term is used for the first time afaik) and SLY TECH PANERAI, while on the closed caseback Sylvester Stallone's signature and "SLYTECH PANERAI SPECIAL EDITION SYLVESTER STALLONE" are engraved.



Again an extract from the same brochure


Another interesting fact is that the initial prototypes have been produced using the 201a caseback, with serial numbers 872,873,875,876,880,881,882,885,886 and 887 (others say the prototypes were 12 with consecutive serial nos. from 872 to 884) . In perspective, this specific rep is my goal since I like the simple 201a caseback more than the 205a.
The regular production was estimated in 200 pieces, but only 95 were effectively made, of which 38 were sold to Vendome in 1997.

A few other sly tech models have been released, the white dialled LUMINOR DAYLIGHT (ref.207/A), the DLCed LUMINOR BLACK SEAL (ref.209) and a couple of MARE NOSTRUM chronographs (ref.302 and ref.304), all were produced in very small quantities and are extremely rare and collectible (and expensive ;)).
Well, I was forgetting PAM 225, no rep of this that I am aware of, but an incredibly good looking "real" submersible imho:




Anyway I'm digressing, here's
THE REP





Model: 5218-205/A
Maker: Davidsen (DSN)
Movement: a6497
Dealer: Davidsen




This is the latest version of the 205a from DSN, it features the most recent case, crownguard and non matching dial/hands.
The first impression is extremely good, the watch is solid, all screws are tight and so is the CG lever. The crown operation is precise and winding is smooth.
The case shines nicely and the dial is gorgeous.
Like all Pre-V cases, there's no notch under the case between the lugs and so straps can easily be damaged by rubbing against the case.
The watch comes with a real leather strap with sewn-in Pre-V buckle. The buckle and strap are nice enough, but I had a special Orloff waiting for this one ;)





CASE




Case shape is simply great, very close to gen imho. All surfaces are very well polished, all edges of the case are smooth, I could not find any sharp corner all around it.
Cushion shape looks great from the front and from the side.




Lugs are slightly too fat, but it's a microscopic matter.
Overall very impressed :)


CRYSTAL




Crystal is sapphire, without AR as per gen.
As a matter of fact it is so clear that it reflects less than some of my AR'ed reps from the big makers. Again very impressed.
Crystal height looks fine to me.

*EDIT*
As commented by atomic_doug the rehaut should be polished. This is something I totally missed from the pics, but I'm sure in real life makes a noticeable difference.

DIAL


GEN


REP


The gen tritium dial is especially hard to replicate due to the numbers and indices being very deeply engraved, so much that they look "carved" on the dial.
Moreover, the non-matching effect of the gen is due to the ageing of tritium on the dial combined with the varnish used, which made the color of indices get darker with time, varying from beige to different degrees of dark yellow/orange. The hands were not threated with that varnish so their color does not change with time, thus creating the color difference.




The DSN dial replicates this look very well, but there is a cost: the indices and numbers on the dial are NOT lumed, only the hands are.
Obviously this is a pity, but the effect under natural light is indeed very good and is the most important thing imho.
In the macros you can see the indices look hand painted with the paint showing small cracks inside, almost invisible to the naked eye anyway.


GEN


GEN


REP


Fonts are very good, they have the slight, almost imperceptible serif of the gen. Placement of inscriptions looks accurate and printing is crisp.

*EDIT*

As ALE correctly spotted,the inscriptions are slightly bolder and narrower in gen.




The black finish is semi-gloss (or semi-matte?). I have seen members using some finish on these dials to make them look a bit more grainy/textured, honestly I can not say from the gen pics I saw if this is needed, this dial looks very good to me as it is (except for the missing lume on indices that is).


Lume shot:




Not only lume is exclusively on the hands, it's pretty weak as well.
I don't think a 20 years old watch lumed with tritium would shine very bright anyway, but since I never saw one in person I don't know for sure :)


HANDS & CP


GEN


REP


Hour and minute hands are black Pre-V, seconds hand is white. Their lume color is lighter than the color of indices, a very nice and warm beige. The finish is nice enough but could be a bit better.
I must admit I noticed some imperfections in gen hands as well so maybe it can all be justified with the "age"of the watch :)
Black color of the hands is spot on to me.

CP is flat and polished in gen, while pointy and not polished, but at least not recessed in rep.


CROWNGUARD


The overall shape of the CG is very good in my eyes. It's the fat Pre-V CG with a nice brushed finish.
Inner corners are sharper than expected, but not perfectly finished.
Common flaws we are used to with almost all PAM reps, I'd say.


GEN 201a


REP


The upper side is almost flush with the case, very gen like imho.
CG pin is slightly raised instead of recessed. It is not polished, like in gen.
Crown shape looks good as well, the outer edge is polished and sloped as per gen, the inner part should be the same but does not have the same nice finish.






The lever has no ball bearing as per gen, shape is a bit too fat in the inner part, but it is almost perfectly flush with the CG body.
On the other hand the lever tip is a bit too long and distant from the case. Moreover it looks straight while it should be slightly curved towards the outer side of CG.




CASEBACK


GEN 201a caseback


REP


My rep came with a 201a caseback instead of the expected 205a. It would not have been a problem if the serial number had been one of those stated above because it would have been correct just the same (and it would have been exactly what I was looking for). Unluckily the serial is not matching :(
Anyway, the engravings are crisp but the fonts are slightly smaller than gen, especially the 5218-201/A and 30 ATM, the serial number has different font as well. Logo is placed correctly.




The biggest concern about the caseback though is its shape: it's too flat and thin, wearable but not satisfactory :)


CONCLUSIONS




This is indeed a very well made rep, I was really amazed by the beautiful polished finish of the case and its smooth edges. The clarity of the crystal is also extremely good.
The painted dial appearance is very good and convincing, even though not lumed. An upgrade might be necessary but not mandatory.
On the other hand the caseback is screaming for improvement, it is not up to the quality of the rest of the watch as it is. Luckily enough a Jacob caseback is not extremely expensive and is a very good alternative.


Now, a few more pics to complete the review:

































Final wristie :)





As always feel free to point out any inaccuracies and any detail I might have missed, I am glad to update the review with the members input.
Hope you found this useful, thanks for reading :)

:cheers:
 

ALE7575

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Hi Kilo

You are making many good reviews. I'm impressed by your production !!

This is another good example of your nice reviews supported by fantastic and useful pics. You are a true artist

Many thanks for sharing and take the time to do it



Regarding the review, it is a pity than rep markers have no lume, and I will include that inscriptions on gen dial are a bit bolder and narrower

REP POINTS ADDED

Congrats

ALE
 

chris3007

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Very nice review and fantastic pic's. Thank you.


Sent from my iPhone 6
 

Bozz

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Really impressed. Very good review. DSN quality jumped to an higher level here. I can considere to buy a PreV without spend a lot of money. Two or three mods and this watch will be to the top.
 

rolli

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mine will look like the gen, it will be made in swiss oem standard

regards

rolli
 

granvino

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Thanks for the pictorial. At first glance it looks like David has improved not only the shape of the Case in general and the CG/Crown in particular, but also the crystal, which was always a serious point of contention in his offerings. As said before, maybe the factories should jump on the Pre V / Pre A production and begin a competitive race. Enjoy your watch.
 

Dochere2

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Loving it, I'll be in on one of these... The watch is killer and your review, stellar. A+ to both of you!
 

kilowattore

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Thanks to all, glad you appreciate :)

Hi Kilo

You are making many good reviews. I'm impressed by your production !!

This is another good example of your nice reviews supported by fantastic and useful pics. You are a true artist

Many thanks for sharing and take the time to do it



Regarding the review, it is a pity than rep markers have no lume, and I will include that inscriptions on gen dial are a bit bolder and narrower

REP POINTS ADDED

Congrats

ALE

Thanks ALE, you're right about the inscriptions being a bit narrower on gen dial :)

Really impressed. Very good review. DSN quality jumped to an higher level here. I can considere to buy a PreV without spend a lot of money. Two or three mods and this watch will be to the top.

I agree, a few mods would take this rep to an almost gen-like level. My plan would be to change the dial for a rolli one once it's released, change the caseback for a Jacob one, reshaping a bit the CG and pin and having the rehaut polished. TBH case shape and lugs look fine enough to me.
The dial and caseback would raise the price of the rep by 600 usd more or less, that's without considering the work on the case though, so not really inexpensive ;)

mine will look like the gen, it will be made in swiss oem standard

regards

rolli

Mine will as well, as long as I can save enough for one of your dials! ;)

Thanks for the pictorial. At first glance it looks like David has improved not only the shape of the Case in general and the CG/Crown in particular, but also the crystal, which was always a serious point of contention in his offerings. As said before, maybe the factories should jump on the Pre V / Pre A production and begin a competitive race. Enjoy your watch.

Surely some competition would do wonders, but I think the Pre-Vs are a niche, I don't know if there is enough market for the big players.
Anyway the good news is that Davidsen seems to me truly pasionate about his work and keeps improving his reps. The modding part, which is almost unnecessary in modern KW, noob and ZF reps is also part of the fun here imho :)
 

Bozz

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I agree, a few mods would take this rep to an almost gen-like level. My plan would be to change the dial for a rolli one once it's released, change the caseback for a Jacob one, reshaping a bit the CG and pin and having the rehaut polished. TBH case shape and lugs look fine enough to me.
The dial and caseback would raise the price of the rep by 600 usd more or less, that's without considering the work on the case though, so not really inexpensive ;)

Your project is an heavy mod ;). Imho two or three cheap things are enough: polished and flattened cannon pinion, polished rehaut, chamfered and polished edge on CG, rebrushed CG pin.
Rolli dial and jackon CB are a must-to-have, but if the cost it's not a problem. Imho DSN dial is good enough an CB is quite acceptable.
 

ozon1969

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I absolutely love it when one takes the time to write a great review of his or her's beloved watch.

Thank you!

Kind regards,

Ozon1969
 

EBE

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Kilo-

Your well written review has just created another sale for DSN. I'm going to go with the 203a though. I assume it is just as nice.
 

Beone21

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Thansk for the great review. You said last version of the 205a. Do you have a link, because I can only find a model that's more than 1 year old.
 

kilowattore

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I absolutely love it when one takes the time to write a great review of his or her's beloved watch.

Thank you!

Kind regards,

Ozon1969

Thanks mate, as a matter of fact shooting the pics, gathering the info and writing the reviews are maybe the best part of the hobby for me. And they help me slow the buying spree down! ;)

Kilo-

Your well written review has just created another sale for DSN. I'm going to go with the 203a though. I assume it is just as nice.


Thank you, love the 203a but I ordered this together with the SLOB and I thought two DLC at the same time were too much ;)
Please, if possible post some pics of yours when you get it, I would love to see some real life shots especially of the dial.


Thansk for the great review. You said last version of the 205a. Do you have a link, because I can only find a model that's more than 1 year old.

Maybe I was not clear enough in the review, I meant it is the latest version, not a new version.
From what I understand Davidsen is often improving his reps, the case and crystal are most likely more recent than the dial since they are used for other models as well, dial might be from a year ago instead.
In any case these are just my assumptions, when I ordered I emailed DSN asking for a 205a, that's it :)
 

eyky

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Bravo, A! Una revisione fantastica!
This makes me want a 205a. Thanks!
 

kilowattore

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Danke C., meine freunde!
Ich bin sehr glücklich, dass du hast die Rezension gefallen :)

Err... trying to remember some german from school, with a little help from google translate :D
Glad you enjoyed the review and I think you would like this 205a a lot! ;)
 

fredl187

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funtastic to read, fantastic to look at....thank you for the great review, kilowattore. Always a real pleasure!

best,
fredl