Grimlock's DSN PVD 5218-203a Build Finally Complete. FGD UPDATE on PAGE 2
I finally got my replacement crown from DSN on Friday and went to work fitting the H3 canon pinion set, changing hands, and fitting the stem. 2 hours later...Awesomness...
Here's the recipe for those cooking at home:
DSN Newborn PVD Case
DSN Crystal
DSN double gaset, spring loaded crown
DSN Crown guard
Jakob Caseback
DSN Dial
FGD Hands with white-ish non aged lume
Grimlock flattened and polished H3 canon pinion set
Swiss 6497
Dirk Tan Strap
First, let me say that without a light box, it's virtually impossible to photograph a non-AR watch....I will try to get some better pics later.
This is easily my favorite watch I have ever owned and it's only going to get better when I get a new dial (I have been begging an expert to make me one :wyliehelp: )
Overall I love the DSN PVD, but it already has a few nicks and I've barely worn it. I'm not sure how tough it is. The Crown is awesome and honestly the shape of the CG is really close. I take the comments about the lever being off. But seriously the only obvious tell is the back edge near the pin that should be curved and rounded off instead of flush with the rest of the CG body. Other than that, it's an amazingly accurate Pre-V CG. The slope and the thickness is perfect. Nice work Davidsen!!!
Before you ask about the white, "non-matching" hands... I understand there was no "non-matching" 203/a's but I have seen a ton of pictures where the dial has aged, but the hands haven't. The DSN Hands match the dial and don't looks as nice. I love how the white pops out against the vintage numbers and indices. I took my inspiration from photos like this one
\\
Here is the DSN CG versus the Gen CG, the lever is far different. DSN's is too squared off with few contours, but the CG body is darn close. Nay-sayers...I scoff at you. I say, "that'll do"
DSN Lever
Gen Lever
DSN Profile
Gen Profile
Another major comment is the lugs, of course. Two things about the lugs...They are just not fat enough. They seem to be missing about 2mm off the top edge. Second... the downward angle seems to be too severe. Hopefully we'll get a newborn--newborn case that fixes the lugs. Maybe davidsen can take a mold of the 111J?
DSN
Noob 111J
About the Dial, the DSN is a very respectible effort. Where else for $50 can you get a milled brass dial, hand lumed and shaped with reasonable accuracy? This no Southy dial, but it's damn nice for the price. The major difference is the over all thickness of each marker. I swear if everything gained about 0.25mm they would get spot on GEN! This is a huge opportunity here for DSN to send his sales through the roof.
I adjusted the contrast here so you can see the true thickness of the markers...
This is all run by an undecorated Swiss ETA 6497. This is actually, the exact movement that Panerai used in some of the PAM318. So it's technically GEN!!! :lol:
You can't forget about the Dirk strap. This is a Dirk tan which is the original color that came with the 203a. If you've always wondered why a strap would cost $150-200, Do yourself a favor and try one out. You will quickly learn where the money goes. This is the most comfortable strap I have ever had.
Last but not least is the Jakob Caseback. The DSN is really nice for the money, but I thought I'd try out the Jakob for my first build. I wasn't sure at first, but it has really grown on me The more pics I see, the more I realize the engraving is very close to gen, although I think he combines different elements of different gen casebacks making or kind of a mish-mash of different gen properties. For example on this 203a I think the serial number should be the smaller stamped style like DSN.
Overall, I would say bravo to DSN for the amazing PVD work and look toward the future for hopefully a newborn---newborn case that fixes the lugs and dial.
I love this watch.
I finally got my replacement crown from DSN on Friday and went to work fitting the H3 canon pinion set, changing hands, and fitting the stem. 2 hours later...Awesomness...
Here's the recipe for those cooking at home:
DSN Newborn PVD Case
DSN Crystal
DSN double gaset, spring loaded crown
DSN Crown guard
Jakob Caseback
DSN Dial
FGD Hands with white-ish non aged lume
Grimlock flattened and polished H3 canon pinion set
Swiss 6497
Dirk Tan Strap
First, let me say that without a light box, it's virtually impossible to photograph a non-AR watch....I will try to get some better pics later.
This is easily my favorite watch I have ever owned and it's only going to get better when I get a new dial (I have been begging an expert to make me one :wyliehelp: )
Overall I love the DSN PVD, but it already has a few nicks and I've barely worn it. I'm not sure how tough it is. The Crown is awesome and honestly the shape of the CG is really close. I take the comments about the lever being off. But seriously the only obvious tell is the back edge near the pin that should be curved and rounded off instead of flush with the rest of the CG body. Other than that, it's an amazingly accurate Pre-V CG. The slope and the thickness is perfect. Nice work Davidsen!!!
Before you ask about the white, "non-matching" hands... I understand there was no "non-matching" 203/a's but I have seen a ton of pictures where the dial has aged, but the hands haven't. The DSN Hands match the dial and don't looks as nice. I love how the white pops out against the vintage numbers and indices. I took my inspiration from photos like this one
\\Here is the DSN CG versus the Gen CG, the lever is far different. DSN's is too squared off with few contours, but the CG body is darn close. Nay-sayers...I scoff at you. I say, "that'll do"
DSN Lever
Gen Lever
DSN Profile
Gen Profile
Another major comment is the lugs, of course. Two things about the lugs...They are just not fat enough. They seem to be missing about 2mm off the top edge. Second... the downward angle seems to be too severe. Hopefully we'll get a newborn--newborn case that fixes the lugs. Maybe davidsen can take a mold of the 111J?
DSN
Noob 111J
About the Dial, the DSN is a very respectible effort. Where else for $50 can you get a milled brass dial, hand lumed and shaped with reasonable accuracy? This no Southy dial, but it's damn nice for the price. The major difference is the over all thickness of each marker. I swear if everything gained about 0.25mm they would get spot on GEN! This is a huge opportunity here for DSN to send his sales through the roof.
I adjusted the contrast here so you can see the true thickness of the markers...
This is all run by an undecorated Swiss ETA 6497. This is actually, the exact movement that Panerai used in some of the PAM318. So it's technically GEN!!! :lol:
You can't forget about the Dirk strap. This is a Dirk tan which is the original color that came with the 203a. If you've always wondered why a strap would cost $150-200, Do yourself a favor and try one out. You will quickly learn where the money goes. This is the most comfortable strap I have ever had.
Last but not least is the Jakob Caseback. The DSN is really nice for the money, but I thought I'd try out the Jakob for my first build. I wasn't sure at first, but it has really grown on me The more pics I see, the more I realize the engraving is very close to gen, although I think he combines different elements of different gen casebacks making or kind of a mish-mash of different gen properties. For example on this 203a I think the serial number should be the smaller stamped style like DSN.
Overall, I would say bravo to DSN for the amazing PVD work and look toward the future for hopefully a newborn---newborn case that fixes the lugs and dial.
I love this watch.
