5218-201a from davidsen...

[longshot]

it took me two tries to get a good 5218 from davidsen, but he was great to deal with!

but now i have discovered that the second one runs 3-4 minutes a day slow i've had chinese movement and swiss movement pam reps and they have all run between +5 and +30 seconds a day. pretty acceptable to me. but a base that has to be reset every day when it's wound is kind of a pain

i don't believe this could be fixed with regulation and really do not want to send another back so i'll probably just pay to have one of our gurus service it.

but i'm wondering if there is an easy way for whomever does the work to age just the lume a bit? i love the watch but the lume on the dial looks a bit too bright yellow to me?

thanks!

 

[hooligan]

How long have you had it?

If you let it "run in" for 2-3 weeks, it might settle down a little closer to accurate and then you *might* be able to correct it via regulation.

Have you tried the "palm slap".

 

[Anubis]

Hey Peepshow, would you be so kind to elaborate on this slap maneuver you mention?

 

[longshot]

actually i would never do that to a mechanical watch. i'm far from an expert but have owned over 80 mechanical watches (new, used, vintage, restored, gens and reps) and have had more than one watchmaker tell me never to subject them to shock like that. in fact the watchmaker who restored my vintage seiko divers told me "why do you think they developed 'incablock' shock protection?". there was also an article on tz some time ago that showed sustained hand clapping could throw a rolex off beat! my experience has been that watches will 'settle' maybe 20-40 seconds a day, never minutes. and trying to regulate for large time errors is generally just avoiding dealing with the real problem:wink:

but the 5218 saga has gotten more depressing. the first one i got from davidsen had the strap screws bent badly and stripped in the lugs. they were bent so badly they would not fit thru the tubes! so i sent it back and my cost and got this one. this one arrived with the hands slightly mis-aligned (for example when set at 6:00 with the minute hand dead on at 12:00 the hour hand is maybe 5 min past the 6:00 marker) and with one strap screw that would screw into the 6:00 or 12:00 lugs just fine, but the other would only push in (too small or stripped).

so i contacted davidsen for more screws and they arrived today and not one of the four sent will screw into either lug. they catch maybe 1/4 turn and then stop. too big. so i'm back where i started...

it's a shame as i'm really excited about the 082 rep but with problems now with two 5218's i'm looking forward to an 082 less and less.

i did not mean this to be a dealer review and really expected that when the new screws arrived they would solve at least one problem :roll:

 

[higgy]

Bummer man.... I feel for you

Higgy 8)

 

[longshot]

Bummer man.... I feel for you

Higgy 8)

thanks :wink:

i'm sure it will all eventually get worked out and the shame is; davidsens reps are (IMHO) like the MBW of pams!

 

[RqThrottle]

so i contacted davidsen for more screws and they arrived today and not one of the four sent will screw into either lug. they catch maybe 1/4 turn and then stop. too big. so i'm back where i started...

Boy, does this sound familiar! *shiver* Good luck. Some would have (and had) given up long ago.

 

[longshot]

I am surprised you are even bothering with threaded lugs, ask him for spring pin replacements, the change-over will make you want nothing but, on ALL of your PAM models

i tried the springbars with the end that looks like a faux screw, but the ones i was sent would not fit thru the tubes. because all my pam straps have been stretched to use the tubes i found the sloppiness really unacceptable. plus if i buy a pam rep that uses screws and tubes, well...

 

[hooligan]

Hey Peepshow, would you be so kind to elaborate on this slap maneuver you mention?

Here you are. :wink:

G'day mate!

Yep, had a twisted mainspring and watch came to a halt, on a Swissie 6497.

FIRST: let the watch run down as much as possible.

Second: then bang it against your palm.,,, er, vice versa (likley no diff, just have more finesse on degree of force - not too much!)

Wait, wind it a bit. Does it start?

Repeat (2). If this is not efficacious, then the issue requires opening of the case.

--- BBB

 

[vaccum]

How long have you had it?

If you let it "run in" for 2-3 weeks, it might settle down a little closer to accurate and then you *might* be able to correct it via regulation.

Have you tried the "palm slap".

"Palm slap" wont help.

A movement running 3 to 4 minutes slow require more than beat / rate adjustment.

 

[AWS]

....i had the same issue with my 201a from david (lugs pins that dont thread tight into lug hole) i just glued the pins at the threads and let it be...i love mine even though i cant change the strap as easy..by the way is yours the third gen 201a?...cheers,aws.

 

[hooligan]

actually i would never do that to a mechanical watch. i'm far from an expert but have owned over 80 mechanical watches (new, used, vintage, restored, gens and reps) and have had more than one watchmaker tell me never to subject them to shock like that. in fact the watchmaker who restored my vintage seiko divers told me "why do you think they developed 'incablock' shock protection?". there was also an article on tz some time ago that showed sustained hand clapping could throw a rolex off beat! my experience has been that watches will 'settle' maybe 20-40 seconds a day, never minutes. and trying to regulate for large time errors is generally just avoiding dealing with the real problem:wink:

Well, if you're sending it in for service regardless, what do you have to lose? :wink:

it's a shame as i'm really excited about the 082 rep but with problems now with two 5218's i'm looking forward to an 082 less and less.

i did not mean this to be a dealer review and really expected that when the new screws arrived they would solve at least one problem :roll:

I'm still excited about the 082 and I'll order the day it is available.

It sounds to me like you have a solution to your problem, i.e. use the springbars you have w/out the tubes. The fact that you choose not to go that route is just that, a choice.

I'm sure Davidsen will come through in the end. Did you let him know about the issue with the movement?

 

[Cucumber_Jones]

The solution to the pin issue is contact river and get a few sets of his spring bars. They work very well - I use them on my 201a. They make strap changing a snap and you never need to worry about thread isues.

 

[longshot]

Well, if you're sending it in for service regardless, what do you have to lose? :wink:

because a number of real watchmakers including ziggy have posted that it does NOT work. including, i believe as a response to one of your posts on one of the other forums? i'm not a hack. i don't beat on mechanical equipment in a childish attempt to make something i don't understand work...

I'm still excited about the 082 and I'll order the day it is available.

It sounds to me like you have a solution to your problem, i.e. use the springbars you have w/out the tubes. The fact that you choose not to go that route is just that, a choice.

I'm sure Davidsen will come through in the end. Did you let him know about the issue with the movement?

if i had paid for a rep that was advertised as accurate except will only accept springbars not screws and tubes like genuine then i would be fine with that and would accept the fact that i would not be happy using the quality straps i have a few hundred dollars invested in.

but that's not the way this watch is sold now is it?

yes i've contacted davidsen and he wants me to send it back, again, at my time and expense

defend him all you want. i hope it moves you up the spot on the list for the 082 that you are hoping for. but i've gotten enough pm's to let me know that this is not a rare problem. i've had a gen pam 001 and 10 or so reps and never had a problem with the screws and tubes. including my old style 036 where the ss tubes are screwing into a ti case.

 

[longshot]

enzo

if i could find tubes i could make do with the springbars but none of the tubes i have are thick enough?

where do you find tubing of the right sizes?

i am aware on the inaccuracy of the strap arrangement, but the 5218 is my favorite base and davidsens is the closest we mere mortals can hope for

 

[grebeck]

i'm wondering if there is an easy way for whomever does the work to age just the lume a bit? i love the watch but the lume on the dial looks a bit too bright yellow to me?

thanks!

Is it common for gen pams to have different colored lume on the hands versus the dial? I have a 177h with hand lume that does not match the dial lume. It bothers me a lot, I rarely wear the watch.

 

[hk45ca]

In a hobby shop, they sell tubing to make models.

Stainless, Brass, Aluminium, Carbon Fibre, Copper, lots of choices and sizes, take your springs with you and test them out on the tubing. One length of tube makes a lot of watch tubes, and gives you all kinds of mod ideas ... all my buckles now have tubes ...

Yeah well I had a pair of the PAM Pre-V lug pins and so mod'd the lugs and that can be a solution as well. My point I guess is being so accurate isn't always good, especially when the design is flawed.

Plus you can notch the second end of the spring pin and it will "LOOK" like an authentic Pre-V, at least more than the threaded ones, (I suppose one could notch the solid threaded lugged end too as a visual mod?)

when you use spring bars what is the point of the tubes? my spring bars are the size of the tubes and all the tubes do is rotate with the strap and spread the stress across a larger area of the strap. the spring bars do both of these jobs making the tubes obsolete. when installed you can't tell they are not screws so i am confused as to what the problem is with this.

the only time i use a screw now is for a ss band.

 

[longshot]

the springbars with the faux screwheads i was sent are smaller in diameter than the tubes and once a strap has been stretched to fit the tubes they are well over a mm to small and the fit is very loose and the gap is actually visible when mounted on a watch.

 

[horologie_unitas]

i really dont like to hear those stories about Davidsen.....and it is by far not the only one....i think he should be way more professional and concerned with the specialties he sells....everybody ranks him so High in the business, it seems when youre the one that has bad luck with him....you are really screwed....bad !!

 

[lacklusterplus]

Yikes! I hate to hear this. After reading so many good things about his products, this makes me VERY nervous.