PAM 112h by DNS - Review

[pennerei]

Hello,

finally i received my PAM by DNS (Davidsen). You can follow the order process here.

First of all i must say im not really satisfied. I spent a lot of money cause i finally wanted a perfect made watch. I dont mean perfect like the gen, i mean a perfect handcraft.
I think for the price of 420$ i could expect that or what do you think?

My opinion is, that for this money the flaws must be reduced to the minimum and maybe only at parts you dont see or notice but at this watch there are a few flaws you can see at first look.

Im really unsecure what i will do now?

• Maybe send it back for money refund because i never will get a rep that will satisfy me?
• Or send it back for a new one?
• Or accept the flaws?

PS: three times i ordered a black leather strap but i received a brown leather strap and the rubber one (this one i would never wear because of the health risk) :realmad:


But now the pics:



First look - dont look so bad

the first obviously issue is that the glass is not inserted well

i dont know what this is but at certain angle you can see on the back of the glass a lot of scratch tracks like from a machine or something like that.
(also some fine scratches at the outside, i thought sapphire is unscratcheble - not seen at this pic)

another pic at normal angle and light

In my opinion the CG pin dont looks very nice and well finished.
Its not flat, its not in same level as CG and its not polished.
It dont looks well integrated.

The back of the CG lever its not brushed. Its raw.
The lever from my silix-PAM for 100$ is better finished.
But its seated tight.

the lume is good but its normal that it looks so crackle? looks like a foil and not like applicated with a brush or something like that

What do you think? Give me your opinion.

regards
Pennerei

 

[pcsam]

I think you should return it for a replacement .....you paid top dollar for a good watch .........that watch is not a top dollar watch ............... as you said some $88 ones are better finished that one you received ...................

 

[guru]

I think all all problems you are showing are minor problems, except the crystall.
I would keep the watch and tell DSN about the crystall problem and ask him to provide a new crystall and ship it to you. The CG and Pin I would fix by myself.

Sending the watch back will cost you a lot of money and has high risks.

 

[iphreak]

I agree with Guru. While this piece is not up to "normal" DSN standards, the fixes are quite easy. Other than maybe the crystal. The CG pin you can do yourself (tutorial on RWI) You were going to need to send it to VAC for the lume anyways. DSN does not do near the job that Vac does.

Personally I would keep it, shipping it back will be a major headache. With that said, if you are over displeased the rep game might not be the hobby for you. None are going to be perfect.

 

[pennerei]

Yes, i agree. The CG pin and the lever i could do it on my own but what make me angry is the fact, that i thought i paid for a out-of-the-box-all-well-modded-watch!

If i have to start making mods on my own now i would had be better stay with my cheap one from silix and make the mods all on my own and on the end it surely finished better and cheaper.

Im wondering why DNS receives so much good reputation if i get something like this?
Am i too anal and all the others are satisfied with this quality or is this a singular quality issue from DSN?

The worst thing is the crystal. Thats a fact i can not mod on my own.
If DNS would send me a new one i must spend money at a watchsmith to change the crystal. :realmad:

 

[DonBrizzel]

You should have read more about DSNs watches before you bought then. If you looked into DSNs watch a little more, you would have seen that he does not flatten the CG pin and that the CG lever is a bit loose.

The reason DSN has good reputation is that he does make very nice watches, and his dials are now second to none. He has problems as of late with his QC, though, so don't feel left out.

I would return it for a new one, since DSN will always make good on his mistakes. (another reason for his high reputation)

Perhaps your would have been happier with a Vac made PAM? The CG pin is already flush

 

[hooligan]

I agree with what the others have said, other than the crystal, I don't really see what you're on about.

No one flattens the CG lever pin out of the box (vac doesn't count, as he mods them himself, they don't come that way).

The crystal is seated in the bezel where it should be and is equivalent to the 2 genuine PAM Luminors that I've owned, so that's a non-issue. I honestly have never looked at the inside of the lever to see how it's finished, honestly. If it bothers you, clean it up yourself.

I think DSN's pieces are worth the $$$, but if you disagree, feel free to return it for a refund. Just know that you won't find anything better, as a whole, from any other dealer (again, excepting Vac, since he mods them himself and uses DSN dials).

 

[pennerei]

Ok maybe it was my mistake to think that the CG pin came already modded. I thought vac and dsn are at similar quality level. Vac never was a alternative because he wont send to germany.

@hooligan

sorry, but have you maybe problems with your eyes?
At the second pic i think its clearly visible that the crystal its not installed correctly. One side is about 1mm more out than the other side. Its not installed flat if you know what i mean. Maybe isnt it a problem for someone who has tools to correct this but im not a watchsmith and don't have that tools.
And in the next two pictures i think its clearly visible too, that something is wrong with the crystal, or not?

 

[alvinado]

@pennria, crystal has a need for replacment, The lume sometimes looks crackled because of the lume powder, it is hard to get a great consistensy because of the different batches of lume powder, I know because I do luming all the time..

 

[phillycheez]

the scratches on the crystal you see is probably the AR coating... im not gonna lie. this is not a $420 watch. iv also had an aligned crystal problem but it was on a $125 watch so i didnt mind it. I understand what everybody is saying and DSN does make amazing watches but $420 isnt cheap and if your charging that much i think QC should be a top priority.

If i was you, i dont think i would have posted this as a problem. i would have emailed DSN your concerns first. i am sure he would be more than happy to meet you in the middle on this.

EDIT: nobody has said anything about the ordering of a black leather strap 3 times and always receiving something different... i havent dealt with dsn before but i am sure thats not normal.

 

[pennerei]

No the scratches don't seem to be the ar coating because it looks liked brushed and polished with a machine or something like that.

I don't post this problem to flame DSN or something like this i only wanted to hear your opinions and how i should react.
My sorrow was that im too anal.
But it seems that i don't have to accept the flaw with the crystal.

I will send DSN a message and wait what he have to say.

 

[jimmyj]

The strap is worth about $5 no one uses them from dsn we buy new ones from dealers here. p.s. Davids english is not the greatest, Its a rep! There is no 1 to 1 for $420 lume from VAC crown guard fix, Gunny strap, fix crystal, you now have your watch that meets your standards I hope?

 

[pennerei]

The strap never was an issue. I know that i should have to buy a new one. I only wanted to tell that i ordered a black one and received a brown one.
And the strap is not that bad. Don't looks like 5$. It looks better.

 

[phillycheez]

we all understand there is no 1 to 1. whenever i consider buying a watch from a watch builder like dsn, vac, bk, wm9, spinmaster, fakey i personally dont consider them reps anymore. i consider them watches. REAL watches. these are individuals, not some assembly line in china. my standards when i buy from dealers are a lot lower than when i would buy from one of these personal builders. maybe thats just me... but i thought thats what we are paying for when we buy from these people, well except for fakey because he definitely charges too little for how much work he really puts into it. if they cant send out near perfect watches (im not talking about accurate to gen) than why i am paying $200 to $300 more?

 

[jimmyj]

real watches? for $420 Gen. prices crown guard $500,deployment buckle $420 strap $360 should I go on? The crystal has a bad seat lets not BLOW it out of proportion!

 

[pedecter]

Give DSN a 2nd Shot

I've had great luck with DSN. My 232 had a problem, and I sent it back. I thoroughly explained the issues, and he addressed them all. I had the watch back in 3 weeks, and it's perfect. It's a slight pain, but send it back after e-mailing him the issues, and include a letter (which could be a copy of your e-mail) and I'm sure you'll get back a worthy DSN. Sorry you had the issue but even the best dealers occasionally make a human mistake or two.

 

[phillycheez]

im just playing devils advocate considering nobody is on the OPs side and the simple solution is to go to your local watch smith and reseat the crystal which is something i consider a headache. for me the nearest watchsmith is maybe 100 miles away. when i am paying premium price from one of these builders i think its unacceptable to send a watch with such a minor defect. again, thats just my opinion.

Are you really saying $420 for a rep is cheap? there comes a time when rep and real is blurred. 1 to 1 or not i guess i have a different view on watches in general. when people start messing with swiss eta's, AR coatings, Lume jobs and mods i think you start heading in the direction of a watch that can be sold legitimately in stores for their actual values at $400 to $800. the only thing that may keep them to their "rep" title is because the brand name is still on there. Does invicta make reps or watches?

 

[guru]

@PC...you are kind of right, he paid a lot of money and got not the qc watch he wanted. So we can talk all night about it and I agree, for 420 USD I would expect more. To keep the damage small is why I would fix it by myself. Sending it back costs money and has some risk that the watch could be lost.
I have received some watches which didn't meet the QC specs, I always fixed them and now they are running fine and I am happy. I sent one watch back to Ruby and I got a replacement 6 month later, I already gave up on that watch.

After reading this I am happy that I got all my PAM's from Vaccum, they are 500 but have all the goodies.

 

[phillycheez]

I agree 100% with you guru. if it was me, id just ask for a replacement crystal and id be happy. its definitely a beautiful watch and i wish my wrist could handle such a PAM. congrats on the purchase.

 

[pennerei]

I see i raised a hot discussion and the opinions are divided in two directions.
Im glad that here are few who think similar than me.
For this money i thought i could expected more. Maybe my fault.
But im also agree, that it would not worth it to send it back because of costs and risk.
I try to do the the mods myself and ask DSN to send me a new crystal and try to find someone who could change this.