So you've all been seeing my screen name pop up quite a lot lately, thought I'd start giving back to the "Community" here and post some photos.
I found RWI after buying a bunch of gen watches- Business for me was good and I thought I'd finally indulge my watch passion. Spent too many years as a pro photographer with a few "famous" watch company clients, so I treated myself to a few nice Tags, a few of the more affordable Panerais... Got in to the Panerai Strap thing...Then Google turned up RWI...
So my interest in Panerais was casual at best- but the idea of a $200-$300 watch that really captures the look, the feel and the appearance of the $4K-$20K Pannys was just too exciting. (You guy sknow the feeling...I think)
I started off with a 111H and then added a few more pieces form some of the dealers here. The Davidsens really caught my eye because it seemed that he was building these from the ground up.
How much Daviden really does is open to speculation, and whether his cases, dials, movements etc are different from the rest of the pack, i don't really know for sure, but I rolled the dice on a 127 Fiddy and this sweet 2533 Vintage. From the photos, and Davidsens are pretty lousy frankly, this watch looked just like the $198 model Trusty sells, except closer inspection does show a different treatment of the movement, slightly different dial font and a different crown shape. OK David- Impress me!
8 Days after I ordered the USPS truck rolls up with the box. Unfortunately the welded in strap loops were dinged quite a bit during shipping- Nothing a jewelers pliers couldn't repair. The fixed loops are tough on straps- luckilly Davidsens straps are quite nice. No replacement for a nice Mario Paci but unless you want to sew one up yourself options are limited. I got the brown shown and a black- decent pigskins straps.
A first look at the watch and WOW- what a great looking piece. Like my other Davidsen it feels good- right weight, right look and the crown screws and unscrews with a satisfying smoothness. The way the Perspec crystal distorts the "Panerai" font is very cool- you really can spend hours looking at this thing on a sunny day. This is a great "Car Accident" watch. The watch sits there on your window glistening in the sun, changing as the light changes- You keep glancing over at it, ignoring traffic. The constrast between the really beautifully polished case and the plexi crystal sets off the Pigskin strap so well. Whether Davidsen cases are proprietary I don't know- but he polishes them up FAR beyond the ohter Panny reps I've seen.
Of course that sweet Rolex crown looks SOOO good on this watch, and it looks like Davisen has upgraded the crown tube and stem- Unlike my 183G, the tube threads are long and well machined, and the crown fels heavier and screws down with 5 turns- does not feel like it will strip out quicky like my 183- The 183 trick of screwing backwards till you hear the "Click" of the threads catching is great on this piece- since the steel crown clicks quite loudly. It FEELS quality.
The most noticeable feature of the watch is the high Perspex crystal, which always does amazing things in the sunlight. I'm a big guy with big wrists, so it's a super fit.
The dial and the dial fonts look good. The watch just reeks of quality, there's none of the lightweight cheapy feel that too many earlier reps suffered from.
Oonce I got the strap a little broken in you've got to deal with that big Vintage straight tang buckle- It's the size of a snow shovel but looks so very authentic, again if you're a large wristed man you can pull it off.
Of course the movement is really fascinating- I really didn't think they could dress this Russian rustbucket up to look anything like a vintage Rolex piece- but I think the Davidsens do the best job of it- Finish quality is really good- Beter I think than the modern Panny's, and the watch seems to keep great time as well. Unlike the Unitas copies it winds till it's wound and then turns no more, but winding it feels pretty smooth- none of the grittiness and backlash my Poljot Aviator watches exhibit.
I know that one of these was recently put up on ebay with a fairly deceitful lisitng. It closed for thousands of dollars. I think in the flesh the watch could pull it off. People who have asked me have been told that it's a custom made reproduction of an original Panerai Military watch, and I think that's fair. It looks and feels like a pricey piece, and since it's not a copy of anything currently available it's not really even a rep- it's a historical recreation. Whatever- I do like this a lot and other than the fairly standard rep-quality lume (Davidsen promised it was Superlume, but it ain't) It's a wonderful watch. Regardless, I have no intention of selling it- as the crystal gets scuffed it continues to look more "RIGHT".
It's a big and fairly noticeable watch, so be prepared with your "story"- i think it's fascinating and a bargain.
I found RWI after buying a bunch of gen watches- Business for me was good and I thought I'd finally indulge my watch passion. Spent too many years as a pro photographer with a few "famous" watch company clients, so I treated myself to a few nice Tags, a few of the more affordable Panerais... Got in to the Panerai Strap thing...Then Google turned up RWI...
So my interest in Panerais was casual at best- but the idea of a $200-$300 watch that really captures the look, the feel and the appearance of the $4K-$20K Pannys was just too exciting. (You guy sknow the feeling...I think)
I started off with a 111H and then added a few more pieces form some of the dealers here. The Davidsens really caught my eye because it seemed that he was building these from the ground up.
How much Daviden really does is open to speculation, and whether his cases, dials, movements etc are different from the rest of the pack, i don't really know for sure, but I rolled the dice on a 127 Fiddy and this sweet 2533 Vintage. From the photos, and Davidsens are pretty lousy frankly, this watch looked just like the $198 model Trusty sells, except closer inspection does show a different treatment of the movement, slightly different dial font and a different crown shape. OK David- Impress me!
8 Days after I ordered the USPS truck rolls up with the box. Unfortunately the welded in strap loops were dinged quite a bit during shipping- Nothing a jewelers pliers couldn't repair. The fixed loops are tough on straps- luckilly Davidsens straps are quite nice. No replacement for a nice Mario Paci but unless you want to sew one up yourself options are limited. I got the brown shown and a black- decent pigskins straps.
A first look at the watch and WOW- what a great looking piece. Like my other Davidsen it feels good- right weight, right look and the crown screws and unscrews with a satisfying smoothness. The way the Perspec crystal distorts the "Panerai" font is very cool- you really can spend hours looking at this thing on a sunny day. This is a great "Car Accident" watch. The watch sits there on your window glistening in the sun, changing as the light changes- You keep glancing over at it, ignoring traffic. The constrast between the really beautifully polished case and the plexi crystal sets off the Pigskin strap so well. Whether Davidsen cases are proprietary I don't know- but he polishes them up FAR beyond the ohter Panny reps I've seen.
Of course that sweet Rolex crown looks SOOO good on this watch, and it looks like Davisen has upgraded the crown tube and stem- Unlike my 183G, the tube threads are long and well machined, and the crown fels heavier and screws down with 5 turns- does not feel like it will strip out quicky like my 183- The 183 trick of screwing backwards till you hear the "Click" of the threads catching is great on this piece- since the steel crown clicks quite loudly. It FEELS quality.
The most noticeable feature of the watch is the high Perspex crystal, which always does amazing things in the sunlight. I'm a big guy with big wrists, so it's a super fit.
The dial and the dial fonts look good. The watch just reeks of quality, there's none of the lightweight cheapy feel that too many earlier reps suffered from.
Oonce I got the strap a little broken in you've got to deal with that big Vintage straight tang buckle- It's the size of a snow shovel but looks so very authentic, again if you're a large wristed man you can pull it off.
Of course the movement is really fascinating- I really didn't think they could dress this Russian rustbucket up to look anything like a vintage Rolex piece- but I think the Davidsens do the best job of it- Finish quality is really good- Beter I think than the modern Panny's, and the watch seems to keep great time as well. Unlike the Unitas copies it winds till it's wound and then turns no more, but winding it feels pretty smooth- none of the grittiness and backlash my Poljot Aviator watches exhibit.
I know that one of these was recently put up on ebay with a fairly deceitful lisitng. It closed for thousands of dollars. I think in the flesh the watch could pull it off. People who have asked me have been told that it's a custom made reproduction of an original Panerai Military watch, and I think that's fair. It looks and feels like a pricey piece, and since it's not a copy of anything currently available it's not really even a rep- it's a historical recreation. Whatever- I do like this a lot and other than the fairly standard rep-quality lume (Davidsen promised it was Superlume, but it ain't) It's a wonderful watch. Regardless, I have no intention of selling it- as the crystal gets scuffed it continues to look more "RIGHT".
It's a big and fairly noticeable watch, so be prepared with your "story"- i think it's fascinating and a bargain.
