So, where to begin. Lets start in the beginning God created the heaven and...the Davidsen Panerai 82.
Background:
Since the original post of the debut of this watch, I was very, very, very eager to buy it, and finally, gave in, like many. Waited my time, seen the reviews as people received theirs and hoped that mine would be fine, in one piece, and unvisited by the devil. Alas, it arrived.
Initial Reaction:
created in his own image...
If I was going to make a watch, I would have made this watch, or the 177h, either wait, it would be Titanium, and it would be beautiful.
Upon further examination:
This section will consist of GEN pix and their comparison to this 82. along with my critic. Gen pix will be first, 82 pix will be second, followed by an analysis. Note: all pix where taken with a FILL FLASH, no over exposures unless so noted in red.
You see the difference fairly quickly. The hands look almost identical, because they both C3, the numbers are not (on the rep). Text positioning is fairly perfect, unless you take a telescope photos you will not tell the difference, awesome. No, the lume was NOT charged at all, it was sitting in total black for a good 3 hours before I started to take pictures, this was the FIRST picture I took. If you look closely to the CG and clasp you will see that it is overlapping a little bit, barely noticeable unless you looking directly for it.
Again obvious differences in C3 level in both. I know what your going to say, it looks completely and utterly charged, maybe it does, but I assure you that it was not at all, this was after a few flashes of the fill flash in a completely dark room, it honestly did not glow at all after I took the picture. You can see the very nice finish of the dial compared to the gen, though the pictures were taken at different distances and with different lighting, you can see that there is a difference in the numbers.
Difference in clasp size and slope. you can see that it is notflush once you unlatch it, and I will honestly say it is a pain in the arse to unlatch, it is very difficult, on top of that I think my nails are starting to hurt, but very tight, so I guess thats water proofing + + ? Crown is thick, very thick, and very nice, sort of hard to make it click out, but its doable, but not something I would want to do on a regular bases.
Masterpiece. The only way this can get any better is if he actually had it acid etched into the Ti.
Enough with the comparison, show me the good stuff!!
Fine, fine. Check these out. Some of these are taken with multiple light sources and not a fill flash
Did you say AR?
Yes, this on purpose, check the blue ring around the top, it is thick AR. So thick in fact, that it is probably the best I've seen on a rep, bar-non.
Did you say you wanted to see more dial pix?
I was feeling creative, so I chopped one:
NOTE: I only lowered the brightness. See something? I do. Green. Damn green. C3, sure. Look at the "2" in the "12" see the little black dot in the middle of it? Not an error, not dust, thats crap in the lume, hrm. The hands though. Do they look C3 or C1 to you, don't answer that.
Buckle:
Yes. It is Ti. No. The threads are not stripped. Yes. It is awesome and light.
Lume:
The dreaded section.
Photo Magic:
Wow, yes, I know. It is 1/4ms over-exposed. I literally turned off the two 100watt bulbs and LED light, and took the picture within a seconds time. So there is no ZERO lag time. Bright, I know, wow! Do not get so happy.
Taken five, or so, minutes later:
Shot I took originally when I received it, full charge, sat for 10 minutes
Lume Conclusion:
Charged (under 3 bulbs, non-exposed shot, taken in light so it would not glow):
The hands are either C1 or C3. Would explain a lot if they were C1 (the complete whiteness of them for one), or if they are densely packed C3. The numbers, well, you can tell for yourself. They are C3, or they are crap. Or both? C3 crap. However they were lumed, they were not lumed correctly, or they were not dense enough, either way this is the result.
The Bad:
I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy travail
My particular 82 came with two flaws, not counting the expectedly crappy lume.
You feel my pain no? Ouch. It is crooked. Rubs on the bottom portion of the CG. Sets time fine, but you can feel it grind.
The Ti screw-in-able tubes which came with the watch are on the right. The top one fits fine, screws in tight and stops fine. The bottom one, spins freely, and, is made poorly, the groove is not deep enough. Also I have noticed after looking at GEN 82 pictures that the screw-in-able tubes are SS not Ti. I have a spare SS one which I tried to screw in, well, end result is the same, it spins, so it is stripped. But wait, good thing Davidsen included some adjustable tubes, bad thing that the tubes you see to the left, do not fit them, so the point of them being included escapes me.
The Overall Conclusion:
For such an anticipated piece, I was happy to receive it. Being my second Ti Panerai REP, I knew what to expect. Light, durable, very beautiful finish. But the Ti is not the highlight of the watch, even though it is a great asset, it gives this watch the icing, not the cake. What is the cake? The dial. The magnificent dial. I do not say this lightly. Even with its flaws of mismatched lume markers and poor density/pigment C3, the dial finish is, in one word, magnificent. I do not care how much you hate this watch, I do not care how much I paid for it. The blue dial is worth it. In plain sunlight/room-light it is black, but as soon as you flick your wrist you see that blue finish, and that thick AR. The first time, my heart simply melted, I am in love with this dial. After I put this ivory alligator BOB strap on it, the puzzle was complete. I am satisfied with it, even with all of its imperfections.
Magnificence aside, I was bummed to know the lume sucked so much. Davidsen will no doubt be fixing this issue, quickly. When he does he will send me a new dial which I will replace this first run with. I doubt he will have any reason not to send a replacement dial since this one has obvious imperfections. Yes, I can always send it to Vaccum for the lume job, but I do not want to part with it since it will be literally glued to my wrist for the next few weeks.
Am I telling you to buy this watch? That is up to you. There are flaws, there are attributes. There are alternatives, and there is rarity. At $380 this watch, minus the lume has done everything it can possibly do. Davidsen is a master at his work, the obvious issue will surely be fixed. Davidsen has a great name, a great reputation for quality and customer care and I am fairly sure that something will be done about the quality.
In Thanks:
I want to thank
anubis144 and his wife, for letting me borrow his 300 and 52 mm lenses along with his Fill Flash, plus giving a good look over the watch and give an critical opinion.
watchlover for communicating with me his review and personal thoughts about the watch. Though he got it worse than anyone here when it came to the 82's, I am sure the situation will be solved.
dawg for patiently waiting for his watch, and sharing shipping concerns.
and, everyone else who commented critically on the 82 and shed light and experience into the thread!
Hope you enjoyed my review!
Background:
Since the original post of the debut of this watch, I was very, very, very eager to buy it, and finally, gave in, like many. Waited my time, seen the reviews as people received theirs and hoped that mine would be fine, in one piece, and unvisited by the devil. Alas, it arrived.
Initial Reaction:
created in his own image...
If I was going to make a watch, I would have made this watch, or the 177h, either wait, it would be Titanium, and it would be beautiful.
Upon further examination:
This section will consist of GEN pix and their comparison to this 82. along with my critic. Gen pix will be first, 82 pix will be second, followed by an analysis. Note: all pix where taken with a FILL FLASH, no over exposures unless so noted in red.
You see the difference fairly quickly. The hands look almost identical, because they both C3, the numbers are not (on the rep). Text positioning is fairly perfect, unless you take a telescope photos you will not tell the difference, awesome. No, the lume was NOT charged at all, it was sitting in total black for a good 3 hours before I started to take pictures, this was the FIRST picture I took. If you look closely to the CG and clasp you will see that it is overlapping a little bit, barely noticeable unless you looking directly for it.
Again obvious differences in C3 level in both. I know what your going to say, it looks completely and utterly charged, maybe it does, but I assure you that it was not at all, this was after a few flashes of the fill flash in a completely dark room, it honestly did not glow at all after I took the picture. You can see the very nice finish of the dial compared to the gen, though the pictures were taken at different distances and with different lighting, you can see that there is a difference in the numbers.
Difference in clasp size and slope. you can see that it is notflush once you unlatch it, and I will honestly say it is a pain in the arse to unlatch, it is very difficult, on top of that I think my nails are starting to hurt, but very tight, so I guess thats water proofing + + ? Crown is thick, very thick, and very nice, sort of hard to make it click out, but its doable, but not something I would want to do on a regular bases.
Masterpiece. The only way this can get any better is if he actually had it acid etched into the Ti.
Enough with the comparison, show me the good stuff!!
Fine, fine. Check these out. Some of these are taken with multiple light sources and not a fill flash
Did you say AR?
Yes, this on purpose, check the blue ring around the top, it is thick AR. So thick in fact, that it is probably the best I've seen on a rep, bar-non.
Did you say you wanted to see more dial pix?
I was feeling creative, so I chopped one:
NOTE: I only lowered the brightness. See something? I do. Green. Damn green. C3, sure. Look at the "2" in the "12" see the little black dot in the middle of it? Not an error, not dust, thats crap in the lume, hrm. The hands though. Do they look C3 or C1 to you, don't answer that.
Buckle:
Yes. It is Ti. No. The threads are not stripped. Yes. It is awesome and light.
Lume:
The dreaded section.
Photo Magic:
Wow, yes, I know. It is 1/4ms over-exposed. I literally turned off the two 100watt bulbs and LED light, and took the picture within a seconds time. So there is no ZERO lag time. Bright, I know, wow! Do not get so happy.
Taken five, or so, minutes later:
Shot I took originally when I received it, full charge, sat for 10 minutes
Lume Conclusion:
Charged (under 3 bulbs, non-exposed shot, taken in light so it would not glow):
The hands are either C1 or C3. Would explain a lot if they were C1 (the complete whiteness of them for one), or if they are densely packed C3. The numbers, well, you can tell for yourself. They are C3, or they are crap. Or both? C3 crap. However they were lumed, they were not lumed correctly, or they were not dense enough, either way this is the result.
The Bad:
I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy travail
My particular 82 came with two flaws, not counting the expectedly crappy lume.
You feel my pain no? Ouch. It is crooked. Rubs on the bottom portion of the CG. Sets time fine, but you can feel it grind.
The Ti screw-in-able tubes which came with the watch are on the right. The top one fits fine, screws in tight and stops fine. The bottom one, spins freely, and, is made poorly, the groove is not deep enough. Also I have noticed after looking at GEN 82 pictures that the screw-in-able tubes are SS not Ti. I have a spare SS one which I tried to screw in, well, end result is the same, it spins, so it is stripped. But wait, good thing Davidsen included some adjustable tubes, bad thing that the tubes you see to the left, do not fit them, so the point of them being included escapes me.
The Overall Conclusion:
For such an anticipated piece, I was happy to receive it. Being my second Ti Panerai REP, I knew what to expect. Light, durable, very beautiful finish. But the Ti is not the highlight of the watch, even though it is a great asset, it gives this watch the icing, not the cake. What is the cake? The dial. The magnificent dial. I do not say this lightly. Even with its flaws of mismatched lume markers and poor density/pigment C3, the dial finish is, in one word, magnificent. I do not care how much you hate this watch, I do not care how much I paid for it. The blue dial is worth it. In plain sunlight/room-light it is black, but as soon as you flick your wrist you see that blue finish, and that thick AR. The first time, my heart simply melted, I am in love with this dial. After I put this ivory alligator BOB strap on it, the puzzle was complete. I am satisfied with it, even with all of its imperfections.
Magnificence aside, I was bummed to know the lume sucked so much. Davidsen will no doubt be fixing this issue, quickly. When he does he will send me a new dial which I will replace this first run with. I doubt he will have any reason not to send a replacement dial since this one has obvious imperfections. Yes, I can always send it to Vaccum for the lume job, but I do not want to part with it since it will be literally glued to my wrist for the next few weeks.
Am I telling you to buy this watch? That is up to you. There are flaws, there are attributes. There are alternatives, and there is rarity. At $380 this watch, minus the lume has done everything it can possibly do. Davidsen is a master at his work, the obvious issue will surely be fixed. Davidsen has a great name, a great reputation for quality and customer care and I am fairly sure that something will be done about the quality.
In Thanks:
I want to thank
anubis144 and his wife, for letting me borrow his 300 and 52 mm lenses along with his Fill Flash, plus giving a good look over the watch and give an critical opinion.
watchlover for communicating with me his review and personal thoughts about the watch. Though he got it worse than anyone here when it came to the 82's, I am sure the situation will be solved.
dawg for patiently waiting for his watch, and sharing shipping concerns.
and, everyone else who commented critically on the 82 and shed light and experience into the thread!
Hope you enjoyed my review!
