Is Davidsen 111h any good?

[horologie_unitas]

Joe,
no doubt. but Panerai with their neverending...limited series of.....this and that watch....i compared CG's from many pics of gens from the last 10-12 years
- also the quality and shape is so diffrent. as you say...you have to have the gen to compare side by side.....
so, i - shamelessly - borrowed some pics ....

 

[phoenixgod]

hmm
left rep = right gen?

hehe someone enlighten me what series is this? 111h?

 

[horologie_unitas]

yeah, 111 H

- sure, flaws....but pretty good ? - if you consider the approx price comparison of 1 : 10

 

[MK08]

hmm
left rep = right gen?

hehe someone enlighten me what series is this? 111h?

Actually it's left gen - right rep, you can tell from the size of the L Swiss Made L at the bottom of the dial and it's distance from the 6. Also the rest of the font on the rep dial is a little off (especially the lower bars on the A's), and perhaps the most striking of all is the difference between the creamy off white color of the gen font, compared to the stark white on the rep dial. If I'm correct about the source of those comparison photo's I believe this is a 111J (although from the dial side it's identical to the 111H, you would have to look at the serial# on the caseback to know for sure).

 

[watchbuff]

It's obvious unless you are a dealer or a "nut" like most of us. They need to be side by side to tell.

 

[WatchDude13]

My take is this: side by side, blown up on your computer monitor, sure they are different. Close, but different.

Flatten the pin on the rep's CG (5 minute mod) and it is even CLOSER (look at the pictures of my 112 above).

Maybe the dial text is too white on the rep, again, walking through a mall - without a gen side-by-side - who can tell? It isn't as stark white as these pictures make is seem (look at the last picture, how different is it there? :wink: ). The ONLY think that I think gives it away is the L SWISS MADE L which is so much smaller on the watch than in the pictures. It is glaringly too close to the 6, but not THAT noticeable in everyday life.

How many Panerai's have you seen out and about? How many times have you (or have you witnessed) gone up to a stranger with a PAM on and asked to take a REALLY CLOSE LOOK at his/her dial? It doesn't happen. I live in a city with about a million people and I can count on 1 hand the number I've seen "In the wild".

The people on this board that tell you HOW BAD it looks are the same ones that will bitch about a mm rehaut difference on a Submariner - or a half mm on the crystal height, tell you how cheap the bracelet feels (have they ever held a gen Sub, because it isn't that different - Oyster bracelets DO feel cheep!), yet don't complain about an etched crown that is staring at you in the face. They'll replace the crown and grind the CGs of that same Sub - yet leave the crystal alone.

I don't get it, I just don't get it. . .

This 111h is good IMO. Not perfect, not ULTIMATE, but very good.

[/end_rant]

 

[Aquaracer]

Hey Watchdude- Congrats- you GET IT!!

Unless you are a forger or a counterfeiter- what is the POINT of comparing a rep to a gen- I own three gen Panerais- and side by side with my Davidsen reps I can tell the difference- OF COURSE I can. But it is NOT a qualitative difference. In fact that's the big joke- when I'm wearing a Panerai my wife asks me "Is that the $5,000 one or the $300 one?". Like I'm a big dope for owning the real deal but smart to own the reps!!

I'll say the same thing I've said in other threads- Put a good strap on it- wear it like it's a gen and NOBODY- including risti's will know. Yes the 111H from DSN iS WAAAAAAY off... I wore mine on a flight to Atlanta and the guy next to me had a gen panerai with the white dial and closed caseback- is that a 113?? Anyway- we swapped watches- I was getting ready to explain the rep thing to him but he flipped the watch over and looked at the movement- "Wow- I forgot how beautiful these movements are- I've got to start wearing mine more often"- and then he explained that he had a couple of display back models- I'm guessing form his description a gen 112 and a gen 177- but he liked the white dial with a blue suit!! (Of course I was wearing jeans and dirty sneakers...) He kept turning the watch over in his hands and marvelling at how much cooler the sandwhich dial was- he did notice the shallower DSN sandwhich but just assumed Panerai made them different over the years- He even took a picture of the watch with his phone to remind himself to get THAT EXACT strap for his own sandwhich dial watches. (Mario Paci Noce)

So a guy with THREE gen panerais sitting in first class (Had to use up my Delta Skymiles before they expired..)did not know my rep was a rep- and we compared the two watches for a few minutes- So don't sweat it. And I have had two other encounters similar to that with the same result.

Davidsen's watches DO feel right to me- Yes the AR is wrong- Yes the font is wrong- Yes the lume is slightly wrong- Yes the movement is worng- Yes the number pacing is wrong- yes the crown is wrong, yes EVERYTHING is wrong- It's a copy!! But it's SOOOO right as a wristwatch...

Plus the thing you guys never seem to realize is that if you ever DO get busted- the HIGH QUALITY REP STORY is far, far more interesting than just buying some $5,000 overpirced junk watch from the snooty Authorized Dealer. Finding this place- finding these discreet Chinese dealers, secretly wiring money, waiting for the dirty little box to come from China- it's all very sexy.

The only time I ever get called out is when I wear my gen Rolex Datejust that my dad gave me in 1990. EVERY time I wear it somebody shows me their $35 Canal Street Datejust and says "Hey- You've got the same Rolex copy I do!!". I just smile and say "How about that!!" An ex business partner of mine came to myhouse last week wearing his BAD Datejust copy- he ha djust received a $1 Million buyout- and even though I knew better- I assumed the watch was gen- even with it's 17K Asian heartbeat. Finally I said- "Look at you- wearing a Rolex"- "Nah", he said" Guangzhou- $25 USD".

 

[WatchDude13]

BINGO! My thoughts EXACTLY!

I've owned a rep 113, 005 and now a 112. All of them had flaws, yet all were beautiful and soooo close, I will wear them ANYWHERE except an AD (I don't play that game). I can pull it off and do.... :wink: Although I don't fault those that wear Rolex reps, I don't think I could do it - too self conscious. That and my wife wouldn't understand as she bought me a gen GMT II. I don't want to have that conversation..... :roll: But with a good PAM rep that has the correct cannon pin and lume, I could give a shit. There really aren't THAT many of them out there, most people still don't know what the Hell a PAM is. Last I read, they only make about 30,000 a year for the entire globe. Figures on Rolexes are closer to 1,000,000. Which do you think you are more likely to encounter and get called out on?

IMO DSN makes a hell of a watch, a watch that if it is QC'd - would easily sell for the $300-400 he charges even if it was non-branded. THEY ARE NICE WATCHES PERIOD! Nice movement, crisp dial, good lume, fit and finish is second to none - unless you get a dud..... They truly are works of art (IMO).

 

[Aquaracer]

We need to start a new forum- you and I-

Replica watches for guys who like expensive watches- are not "rep collectors" and don't give a crap if they are not 100% "accurate" down to the little font peculiarities. Guys who just like to choose from a box of cool watches- some gens, some reps- and like the slightly "Dirty" nature of buying these!!!

 

[WatchDude13]

We need to start a new forum- you and I-

Replica watches for guys who like expensive watches- are not "rep collectors" and don't give a crap if they are not 100% "accurate" down to the little font peculiarities. Guys who just like to choose from a box of cool watches- some gens, some reps- and like the slightly "Dirty" nature of buying these!!!

I'm in!

 

[joeyc]

We need to start a new forum- you and I-

Replica watches for guys who like expensive watches- are not "rep collectors" and don't give a crap if they are not 100% "accurate" down to the little font peculiarities. Guys who just like to choose from a box of cool watches- some gens, some reps- and like the slightly "Dirty" nature of buying these!!!

Some fantasy watches are nicer then the so called origional