This is part three of my Panerai Power Reserve Reviews. In this installment I’ll be taking a close look at the PAM028 A and B Series. Let’s start with an overview of the power reserve models. Very low grade versions of these watches exist in Chinese 21J form. But the best versions ever made have only been repped by Watch Honpo and DSN. These watches from Honpo and DSN actually use the same genuine Swiss movements as the gen model: the 2892-2 with 9040 Soprod power reserve module.Honpo only repped the 27A and 28A. DSN has done a much more complete line. He makes three different models in several different series. Here's the full listBlack dial 027A: SS with 1997 T dial 027B: SS with 1998 L dial Black Hobnail 028A: PVD with 1997 T dial 028B: PVD with 1998 L dial 028J: PVD with 2006 L dial Tobacco Hobnail 057C: Ti with 1999 L dial Now for the PAM028:Let's cut to the chase the only difference between the two watches is some details on the dial and the power reserve meter hand.The A Series is a Tritium dial indicated by T SWISS MADE T below 6. It has the iconic "Silver Arrow" power reserve hand and a white outline around the meter.
The B Series is a Luminova dial indicated by L SWISS MADE L below 6. It has a leaf style power reserve hand, indentical to the seconds hands on modern Luminors, and no white outline around the meter.
The Dial:First of all I can't get enough of the Panerai hobnail dial. I've got a PAM025A and a Honpo 28A in my collection to prove it. The DSN delivers on the hobnail beauty in full.
On the A series dial DSN nails it. The hobnail its self seems to be 100% accurate to gen, which is shocking considering the level of detail necessary to recreate the surface texture. Also note the accuracy of the print. The quality/crispness of the printing is very much the same between the rep and gen. There is a minor font issue in PANERAI, where the “R” seems to be slightly too large, but this is mostly hidden by the hobnail texture on the 028. Finally the lume application on the DSN dial is a bit too flat. Gen has a nice raised sausage profile.
GEN
REP
So that's the A Series... The main concern comes into play on the B Series. The margin between the indicies and the rehaut is off. The A Series for both the 27A and the 28A is perfect and totally gen like. But after the A Series Panerai changed the spacing between the indices and rehaut making the gap much more narrow. DSNs and Honpo’s spacing on the A series is perfect, but not accurate on the B and C series dials.
GEN
REP
Notice on the gen the L Swiss Made L is very close, almost touching the rehaut, But on the DSN the numbers and indicies have the same spacing as the A Series that leave about 1mm distance from the rehaut.
Hands:Overall the shape and length of the hands is very accurate, with the small exception being made for the length of the power reserve silver arrow and the position of the lume dot on the seconds hand. The gen is placed about 0.25mm closer to the tip. I have gen soprod seconds hands on both of my personal power reserve builds and I can tell you first hand that the DSN seconds hand is accurate enough to not bother me. The Honpo on the other hand is way too close to the tip. This makes DSN the Soprod hand stack champion!!!
Crystal/Cyclops:Now that I have had about 10 DSN 6mm Cyclops crystals pass through my hands. I have some good perspective. Overall they are too cloudy. When struck with bright light from a low angle. He did promise a batch of improved crystals, and delivered me one that was so good that it looked gen. I kid you not. See for yourself:
But since then he has delivered me another with the same low quality, so I can’t be sure I wasn’t just lucky
Regardless the crystal above is one of the best out of the box 6mm Cyclops crystal I have ever seen. So the potential is there. Notice on the Cyclops a pretty obvious "frozen Halo" as Ale calls it, but check out the gen. You see the same effect, although not as pronounced.
GEN
REP
Case/Bezel:It isn't 100% gen shape, but it is pretty close. There are definite differences in the lugs. The DSN has a bit of a hump on the top edge of the lug. The gen has a smooth slope. On the bezel: the slope and height look correct to me.The main difference is the PVD. My honpo 28AMy Honpo 28A has a coating from the same OEM provider that Panerai used for their cases during the late 90s. The comparison is clear. DSN has a flat gray color of PVD, while the gen has a charcoal gray with lots of black undertones when the light hits from certain angles.
HONPO
DSN
CG:DSN has actually done quite a nice job improving his CGs. The lever tip shape REALLY close now. The top of the CG body is a bit too flat, but overall at first glance…. Really not a bad effort!GEN
REP
Crown:The case is closed on the quality and accuracy of the DSN crowns. They are amazing… It’s already been said in my other review. You probably missed it… Take another look.http://forum.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php?t=183193 Gen Ti on the left, DSN Stainless on the right
Screws:The first time I changed a strap I had to be careful to seat the screw correctly before tightening it. It felt a little rough, but only the FIRST time. I almost think that I broke the thread in by seating it correctly. I haven't had a problem since then through MANY strap changes. The CG screws however do seem to be tapped a little rough. I recommend care when working with the CG screws, but this goes for any rep. Case Back:The case back is a slight weakness. The print of the Serial and case number is too small. Also, in this day ther is ZERO excuse for the inside of the CB to not say "SWISS MADE" That's just lazy that it doesn't have that detail. I must admit, I have been spoiled by the 100% accurate Honpo casebacks. They are shocking. Even the inside of the caseback is 1:1. DSN falls well short of that, but still not bad. Check out Gen versus DSN and as a bonus… some Honpo shots as an example of “doing things the gen way” GEN
DSN A SERIES
DSN B SERIESThis is actually much better. Notice how the text size has improved.
Honpo
Movement:Simply AWESOME! One of my main reasons for wanting a DSN power reserve. In the first 60 hours of wear, it only gained 2 seconds. This IS the gen movement. Given, it is missing the decorated rotor and movement ring with pearlage, which the honpo actualy includes. Eitherway, it is Genuine Swiss goodness. Once again I will compare Gen to DSN to Honpo GEN
REP
Honpo versus Gen
Lume: I can’t find my lume shot of the 028, but I do have a lume study of DSNs vintage lume from a pervious review.The DSN is flanked below by a Noob 299 and my Rolli 002A with AUTHENTIC SWISS RC Tritec lume. The DSN lume isn't the best, but this is intended to be a tritium lumed watch, which degrades and weakens over time. This doesn't bother me. Noob - LEFT; DSN - CENTER; RC Tritec - RIGHT
after 2 minutes:
after 7 minutes:
These weren't my best lume shots. It is much brighter in person
Conclusion:I think the A Series is one of the finest Reps made. Correct dial margins put it over the top. The only drawbacks in my view are the PVD color and crystal Cyclops issues. Aside from those variances, we are looking at a pair of the best reps around with Gen movements and improved CGs. You can't go wrong... get one while you still can.
The B Series is a Luminova dial indicated by L SWISS MADE L below 6. It has a leaf style power reserve hand, indentical to the seconds hands on modern Luminors, and no white outline around the meter.
The Dial:First of all I can't get enough of the Panerai hobnail dial. I've got a PAM025A and a Honpo 28A in my collection to prove it. The DSN delivers on the hobnail beauty in full.
On the A series dial DSN nails it. The hobnail its self seems to be 100% accurate to gen, which is shocking considering the level of detail necessary to recreate the surface texture. Also note the accuracy of the print. The quality/crispness of the printing is very much the same between the rep and gen. There is a minor font issue in PANERAI, where the “R” seems to be slightly too large, but this is mostly hidden by the hobnail texture on the 028. Finally the lume application on the DSN dial is a bit too flat. Gen has a nice raised sausage profile.
GEN
REP
So that's the A Series... The main concern comes into play on the B Series. The margin between the indicies and the rehaut is off. The A Series for both the 27A and the 28A is perfect and totally gen like. But after the A Series Panerai changed the spacing between the indices and rehaut making the gap much more narrow. DSNs and Honpo’s spacing on the A series is perfect, but not accurate on the B and C series dials.
GEN
REP
Notice on the gen the L Swiss Made L is very close, almost touching the rehaut, But on the DSN the numbers and indicies have the same spacing as the A Series that leave about 1mm distance from the rehaut.
Hands:Overall the shape and length of the hands is very accurate, with the small exception being made for the length of the power reserve silver arrow and the position of the lume dot on the seconds hand. The gen is placed about 0.25mm closer to the tip. I have gen soprod seconds hands on both of my personal power reserve builds and I can tell you first hand that the DSN seconds hand is accurate enough to not bother me. The Honpo on the other hand is way too close to the tip. This makes DSN the Soprod hand stack champion!!!
Crystal/Cyclops:Now that I have had about 10 DSN 6mm Cyclops crystals pass through my hands. I have some good perspective. Overall they are too cloudy. When struck with bright light from a low angle. He did promise a batch of improved crystals, and delivered me one that was so good that it looked gen. I kid you not. See for yourself:
But since then he has delivered me another with the same low quality, so I can’t be sure I wasn’t just lucky
Regardless the crystal above is one of the best out of the box 6mm Cyclops crystal I have ever seen. So the potential is there. Notice on the Cyclops a pretty obvious "frozen Halo" as Ale calls it, but check out the gen. You see the same effect, although not as pronounced. GEN
REP
Case/Bezel:It isn't 100% gen shape, but it is pretty close. There are definite differences in the lugs. The DSN has a bit of a hump on the top edge of the lug. The gen has a smooth slope. On the bezel: the slope and height look correct to me.The main difference is the PVD. My honpo 28AMy Honpo 28A has a coating from the same OEM provider that Panerai used for their cases during the late 90s. The comparison is clear. DSN has a flat gray color of PVD, while the gen has a charcoal gray with lots of black undertones when the light hits from certain angles.
HONPO
DSN
CG:DSN has actually done quite a nice job improving his CGs. The lever tip shape REALLY close now. The top of the CG body is a bit too flat, but overall at first glance…. Really not a bad effort!GEN
REP
Crown:The case is closed on the quality and accuracy of the DSN crowns. They are amazing… It’s already been said in my other review. You probably missed it… Take another look.http://forum.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php?t=183193 Gen Ti on the left, DSN Stainless on the right
Screws:The first time I changed a strap I had to be careful to seat the screw correctly before tightening it. It felt a little rough, but only the FIRST time. I almost think that I broke the thread in by seating it correctly. I haven't had a problem since then through MANY strap changes. The CG screws however do seem to be tapped a little rough. I recommend care when working with the CG screws, but this goes for any rep. Case Back:The case back is a slight weakness. The print of the Serial and case number is too small. Also, in this day ther is ZERO excuse for the inside of the CB to not say "SWISS MADE" That's just lazy that it doesn't have that detail. I must admit, I have been spoiled by the 100% accurate Honpo casebacks. They are shocking. Even the inside of the caseback is 1:1. DSN falls well short of that, but still not bad. Check out Gen versus DSN and as a bonus… some Honpo shots as an example of “doing things the gen way” GEN
DSN A SERIES
DSN B SERIESThis is actually much better. Notice how the text size has improved.
Honpo
Movement:Simply AWESOME! One of my main reasons for wanting a DSN power reserve. In the first 60 hours of wear, it only gained 2 seconds. This IS the gen movement. Given, it is missing the decorated rotor and movement ring with pearlage, which the honpo actualy includes. Eitherway, it is Genuine Swiss goodness. Once again I will compare Gen to DSN to Honpo GEN
REP
Honpo versus Gen
Lume: I can’t find my lume shot of the 028, but I do have a lume study of DSNs vintage lume from a pervious review.The DSN is flanked below by a Noob 299 and my Rolli 002A with AUTHENTIC SWISS RC Tritec lume. The DSN lume isn't the best, but this is intended to be a tritium lumed watch, which degrades and weakens over time. This doesn't bother me. Noob - LEFT; DSN - CENTER; RC Tritec - RIGHT
after 2 minutes:
after 7 minutes:
These weren't my best lume shots. It is much brighter in person
Conclusion:I think the A Series is one of the finest Reps made. Correct dial margins put it over the top. The only drawbacks in my view are the PVD color and crystal Cyclops issues. Aside from those variances, we are looking at a pair of the best reps around with Gen movements and improved CGs. You can't go wrong... get one while you still can.
