The reason for this review/comparison is I ordered a DSN 176 H from Davidsen in the beginning of December. I was just going to do the DSN review but on Christmas morning I woke up to find 2 presents under the tree from my wife. The first being a tiny radio control forklift and the other a brand new never worn Gen 176 J.
DSN 176 H experience/overview:
After sending money via western union to Davidsen I received the watch 2 days later in California. This was by far unexpected as I was in bed sleeping when the delivery guy started to pound on my front door. After opening the package the watch was nicely packaged and came with 2 straps and 2 pre v buckles and all the hardware. The rep rubber strap and a faux croc strap made of leather. The faux croc strap is actually really nice as is the rubber strap.
The entire watch is really sturdy and does have a high quality feel to it. I wore the watch for a week when the lume started to bother me some. This is the absolutely only issue I had with the watch. The hands did not match the dial lume. The hands looked to be superlumed but the dial was just not as strong and was a different color. Also on a few numbers the lume looked to be dirty. As if it were rusty or something. You could not see this unless you put it right up to your face.
(DSN lume before sending it to Vac)
Well this bothered me enough that I decided to send the watch to Vac and have him relume the watch and remove the inside AR. The blue AR was also pretty annoying as no Gen that I've seen in a AD has this. Also, none of my gen watches have this as well. This is something most reps have and is something I knew about before ordering. I just didn't think it would bother me so much.
When I got the watch back from Vac it was gorgeous and the lume was really strong. With no inside AR I could actually tell the time when outside. The blue would sort of blind the face at times. By this time my Savage strap had arrived and the two have been on my wrist everyday up until christmas. The watch keeps excellent time as long as you keep it wound up. I actually wore it today as it is still one of the best watches I own regardless of being a rep.
DSN 176 H vs Gen 176 J Comparison:
First off I'm not a professional photographer and the pics below are the best I could do with my abilities and my camera.
When looking at the two seperately, 99.9% of people would not know that the DSN was a rep. So few people actually know the name Panerai let alone the details of the watch. When looking at the two together the look very much the same.
(rep on left, gen on right in the image below)
As you can see from the picture above they look almost the same. From this view you can't tell the 6 is not as curvy as the gen but the 2 does look a bit skinny. People in the real world would have to be right up on the watch to see this. Next is the "Luminor" and "Panerai" text on the gen matches the lume much more when compared to the DSN rep. The DSN rep is white and not ivory or off white as on the gen. This can also be seen in Aquaracers excellent review.
(gen crystal view)
(DSN crystal view)
Both crystals look pretty much identical. DSN's crystal is a tiny bit higher but what catches the eye in the photos is that the crown wheel is much higher on the DSN watch when compared to the gen. I measured and it seems the DSN watch case is indeed thicker on the sides and curves more than the gen. This results in about a 1/16th of an inch difference. Although small this adds to the problem of not having a thick sandwich dial as on the gen. When combined the crown
is just not centered as in the gen. You can really see the difference in the photos below. The crown wheel on the gen is perfectly centered where as the DSN one is higher.
(both crown guards, below)
(gen crown guard view, below)
(DSN crown guard view, below)
(upside down on crystal, DSN left, Gen right)
What you can now see in the pictures above is how the crown wheel is pretty far off from the gen. I think this is something that is an issue with the titanium case. As I've seen pictures of his other watches and the crown wheel looks pretty close to centered. Another problem which you can now see is the bezel is bigger on the DSN 176 than on the gen. The straight part of the bezel on the gen where it meets the case is about half as much when compared to the DSN. When you combine
this with the thin dial and slightly taller case you get the crown in the wrong position. Since the crown is higher this means the entire movement is higher. In the picture of both watches when on their faces you can see the difference more clearly. In the pictures below you see the movement but what you can't see is the gap between the movement to the rear sapphire crystal. The Gen is really close where as the DSN 176 has a bigger gap, about twice the distance. The View from the top crystal to the dial looks good which is more important than the bottom.
Also from the pictures above you can see how the gen crown guard is curved with the case. (The gen crown guard looks crooked but it is just the angle). DSN's crown guard is straight and does not curve with the case. The case guard is the biggest flaw of this watch in my opinion. I'm sure with a better case guard he'd sell even more watches. There is no work around with this case guard as there is not enough material to work with.
(gen movement, below)
(DSN swiss movement. below)
The movements are very similar. the only thing I could notice was the engraving on the gen is much more fine than on DSN's movement. The anti shock is different as well. Not sure why the cheaper reps have the correct anti shock but davidsens does not. The gen also has a finer polishing overall on several parts.
(gen lugs, below)
(DSN lugs, below)
In the images above the strap lugs are a little bit different. The gen has sharper lines where DSN's is smoother and softer. I actually prefer DSN's as his follows suit with the lines on the side of the case. Also on the gen they left little room for error when they drilled the holes. You can tell they do this individually and is not done by a robot like on watches that are mass produced. The lugs remind me of a turtles head. Which brings me to another detail. The gen sits lower to the ground when you sit it on the table due to less material below the drill holes.
(bevel between lugs, gen is on top and rep is on the bottom, image below)
The DSN case has a smooth grind between both the top and bottom lugs. The gen has a sharper bevel between the top and bottom lugs. The picture above explains much better.
(gen L swiss L, below)
(DSN L swiss L, below
DSN's version of the L swiss L is pretty close to gen. It's not looking like it is touching like on previous versions. It is slightly off center but you can only tell when zoomed in like in the pictures above. All in all it is perhaps the best that you can expect. I haven't seen any of those new PAM dials some members were able to get made to compare. As you would expect the gen is very crisp and slightly smaller.
(gen AR, below)
(AR removed, below)
The gen AR on my crystal has a very slight yellowish AR. It definitely works when compared to my no AR DSN crystal. Blue AR tint is not my thing. I guess if you are going to have blue tint you might as well get Double AR. I can see why Rolex chose not to put AR on their crystals.
(lume shot, gen on left, Vaclume on the right, image below)
I was amazed how bright the gen lume glows. It is indeed brighter but after 5 minutes they are around the same. Not sure which one glows longer but Vacs lume is the same if not better than pretty much any other watch I own.
Conclusion:
DSN makes one hell of a watch for 1/10th the price of a gen and even better ratios when you look at his flybacks or the pvd models. There is nothing I could not live with about this watch now that the lume was fixed and the AR removed. I'll probably keep this for a very long time or trade it for a PVD rep or homage. Almost forgot to mention that DSN's watch weighs 2.6 oz to the gens 2.9 oz.
DSN 176 H experience/overview:
After sending money via western union to Davidsen I received the watch 2 days later in California. This was by far unexpected as I was in bed sleeping when the delivery guy started to pound on my front door. After opening the package the watch was nicely packaged and came with 2 straps and 2 pre v buckles and all the hardware. The rep rubber strap and a faux croc strap made of leather. The faux croc strap is actually really nice as is the rubber strap.
The entire watch is really sturdy and does have a high quality feel to it. I wore the watch for a week when the lume started to bother me some. This is the absolutely only issue I had with the watch. The hands did not match the dial lume. The hands looked to be superlumed but the dial was just not as strong and was a different color. Also on a few numbers the lume looked to be dirty. As if it were rusty or something. You could not see this unless you put it right up to your face.
(DSN lume before sending it to Vac)
Well this bothered me enough that I decided to send the watch to Vac and have him relume the watch and remove the inside AR. The blue AR was also pretty annoying as no Gen that I've seen in a AD has this. Also, none of my gen watches have this as well. This is something most reps have and is something I knew about before ordering. I just didn't think it would bother me so much.
When I got the watch back from Vac it was gorgeous and the lume was really strong. With no inside AR I could actually tell the time when outside. The blue would sort of blind the face at times. By this time my Savage strap had arrived and the two have been on my wrist everyday up until christmas. The watch keeps excellent time as long as you keep it wound up. I actually wore it today as it is still one of the best watches I own regardless of being a rep.
DSN 176 H vs Gen 176 J Comparison:
First off I'm not a professional photographer and the pics below are the best I could do with my abilities and my camera.
When looking at the two seperately, 99.9% of people would not know that the DSN was a rep. So few people actually know the name Panerai let alone the details of the watch. When looking at the two together the look very much the same.
(rep on left, gen on right in the image below)
As you can see from the picture above they look almost the same. From this view you can't tell the 6 is not as curvy as the gen but the 2 does look a bit skinny. People in the real world would have to be right up on the watch to see this. Next is the "Luminor" and "Panerai" text on the gen matches the lume much more when compared to the DSN rep. The DSN rep is white and not ivory or off white as on the gen. This can also be seen in Aquaracers excellent review.
(gen crystal view)
(DSN crystal view)
Both crystals look pretty much identical. DSN's crystal is a tiny bit higher but what catches the eye in the photos is that the crown wheel is much higher on the DSN watch when compared to the gen. I measured and it seems the DSN watch case is indeed thicker on the sides and curves more than the gen. This results in about a 1/16th of an inch difference. Although small this adds to the problem of not having a thick sandwich dial as on the gen. When combined the crown
is just not centered as in the gen. You can really see the difference in the photos below. The crown wheel on the gen is perfectly centered where as the DSN one is higher.
(both crown guards, below)
(gen crown guard view, below)
(DSN crown guard view, below)
(upside down on crystal, DSN left, Gen right)
What you can now see in the pictures above is how the crown wheel is pretty far off from the gen. I think this is something that is an issue with the titanium case. As I've seen pictures of his other watches and the crown wheel looks pretty close to centered. Another problem which you can now see is the bezel is bigger on the DSN 176 than on the gen. The straight part of the bezel on the gen where it meets the case is about half as much when compared to the DSN. When you combine
this with the thin dial and slightly taller case you get the crown in the wrong position. Since the crown is higher this means the entire movement is higher. In the picture of both watches when on their faces you can see the difference more clearly. In the pictures below you see the movement but what you can't see is the gap between the movement to the rear sapphire crystal. The Gen is really close where as the DSN 176 has a bigger gap, about twice the distance. The View from the top crystal to the dial looks good which is more important than the bottom.
Also from the pictures above you can see how the gen crown guard is curved with the case. (The gen crown guard looks crooked but it is just the angle). DSN's crown guard is straight and does not curve with the case. The case guard is the biggest flaw of this watch in my opinion. I'm sure with a better case guard he'd sell even more watches. There is no work around with this case guard as there is not enough material to work with.
(gen movement, below)
(DSN swiss movement. below)
The movements are very similar. the only thing I could notice was the engraving on the gen is much more fine than on DSN's movement. The anti shock is different as well. Not sure why the cheaper reps have the correct anti shock but davidsens does not. The gen also has a finer polishing overall on several parts.
(gen lugs, below)
(DSN lugs, below)
In the images above the strap lugs are a little bit different. The gen has sharper lines where DSN's is smoother and softer. I actually prefer DSN's as his follows suit with the lines on the side of the case. Also on the gen they left little room for error when they drilled the holes. You can tell they do this individually and is not done by a robot like on watches that are mass produced. The lugs remind me of a turtles head. Which brings me to another detail. The gen sits lower to the ground when you sit it on the table due to less material below the drill holes.
(bevel between lugs, gen is on top and rep is on the bottom, image below)
The DSN case has a smooth grind between both the top and bottom lugs. The gen has a sharper bevel between the top and bottom lugs. The picture above explains much better.
(gen L swiss L, below)
(DSN L swiss L, below
DSN's version of the L swiss L is pretty close to gen. It's not looking like it is touching like on previous versions. It is slightly off center but you can only tell when zoomed in like in the pictures above. All in all it is perhaps the best that you can expect. I haven't seen any of those new PAM dials some members were able to get made to compare. As you would expect the gen is very crisp and slightly smaller.
(gen AR, below)
(AR removed, below)
The gen AR on my crystal has a very slight yellowish AR. It definitely works when compared to my no AR DSN crystal. Blue AR tint is not my thing. I guess if you are going to have blue tint you might as well get Double AR. I can see why Rolex chose not to put AR on their crystals.
(lume shot, gen on left, Vaclume on the right, image below)
I was amazed how bright the gen lume glows. It is indeed brighter but after 5 minutes they are around the same. Not sure which one glows longer but Vacs lume is the same if not better than pretty much any other watch I own.
Conclusion:
DSN makes one hell of a watch for 1/10th the price of a gen and even better ratios when you look at his flybacks or the pvd models. There is nothing I could not live with about this watch now that the lume was fixed and the AR removed. I'll probably keep this for a very long time or trade it for a PVD rep or homage. Almost forgot to mention that DSN's watch weighs 2.6 oz to the gens 2.9 oz.
