Mini-Review : Davosa Argonautic Lumis Chronograph
- balzebub71
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Mini-Review : Davosa Argonautic Lumis Chronograph
Was shopping for the new Tudor Fast Rider (Ceramic Bezel) as a gift, but ended up getting this for myself instead.
Davosa is a brand that gets little mention on watch forums and zero advertising here in Singapore. So I thought I would share my thoughts on this watch.
I made the purchase knowing full well that Davosa mostly uses catalogue cases and stock ETA movements for most of their watches.
However the use of tritium gas tubes and super luminova together appealed to me.
Rough specs : 42.5mm diameter, around 51mm lug to lug, 17.5mm thick (my thickest watch to date), 22mm lug width, screw down crown, case back and pushers, manual HEV, ceramic bezel with engraved markings and sapphire crystal with AR coating and 300m WR.
Case: Thick, heavy and solid case. This is by far the thickest watch I own, thicker even than my tuna and Pam. Finishing is satin brushed and polished, very simplistic but the areas between the lugs hidden by the bracelet are also finished to the same standards as the rest of the case which is a +.. Screw down crown and pushers work flawlessly and smoothly with no wobble detected for the crown stem. Lugs curve down sharply which allows the watch to hug my 6.75" wrist rather comfortably.
Bracelet: The achilles heel of this watch. The design doesn't quite appeal to me and I would have preferred the bracelet from their Ternos range instead. However, the solid end links fit well- flush against the case with no gap or movement. The clasp however has too few micro adjustments due to the diver's extension and feels flimsy. I was lucky to be able to get a good fit as there are also no half links. At this price range, can't really complain as recent Tag Heur watches costing up to 3k plus have similar clasp quality.
Dial/Bezel: Dial is simple matt black with concentric circle pattern around the minute markers and sunken sub dials. 10 T-25 tritium micro gas tubes made by MB-Microtech AG provide illumination together with super luminova for the chronograph hands and 12, 3, 6, and 9 markers.
Use of red for "Argonautic" and the 12, 3, 6, and 9 markers plus second hand tip add a dash of color to a otherwise mono chromatic dial. Quality of the printing however isn't as good/sharp as more expensive time pieces. But it is a clean and well balanced dial. The ceramic insert is well done with engraved white filled markers and numbers. Don't know why they went with 60 clicks? But bezel action feels high quality with zero back play and everything lines up well.
Movement : Elabore grade 7750 ticking in there, everything works as it should flawlessly. Nothing much to be said about this work horse movement. Keeps time well so far +5 to +6s per day. One strange thing though my date jumps over to the next day at 11pm. Guess if I want I need to have this adjusted.
To summarise, I think this watch is good value for money. A solid watch with a reliable Swiss mechanical chronograph movement, decent build quality. Would rate it slightly better overall compared to Steinhart, Tissot.. Comparable to Hamilton, Mido but not as good as Oris, Longines etc.
If Davosa could invest in more unique case designs, slightly better overall finishing and more "exciting" designs, they would be even better.
Looks okay on leather strap as well.
Any recommendations for a thick solid rubber strap for it?
Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk
Davosa is a brand that gets little mention on watch forums and zero advertising here in Singapore. So I thought I would share my thoughts on this watch.
I made the purchase knowing full well that Davosa mostly uses catalogue cases and stock ETA movements for most of their watches.
However the use of tritium gas tubes and super luminova together appealed to me.
Rough specs : 42.5mm diameter, around 51mm lug to lug, 17.5mm thick (my thickest watch to date), 22mm lug width, screw down crown, case back and pushers, manual HEV, ceramic bezel with engraved markings and sapphire crystal with AR coating and 300m WR.
Case: Thick, heavy and solid case. This is by far the thickest watch I own, thicker even than my tuna and Pam. Finishing is satin brushed and polished, very simplistic but the areas between the lugs hidden by the bracelet are also finished to the same standards as the rest of the case which is a +.. Screw down crown and pushers work flawlessly and smoothly with no wobble detected for the crown stem. Lugs curve down sharply which allows the watch to hug my 6.75" wrist rather comfortably.
Bracelet: The achilles heel of this watch. The design doesn't quite appeal to me and I would have preferred the bracelet from their Ternos range instead. However, the solid end links fit well- flush against the case with no gap or movement. The clasp however has too few micro adjustments due to the diver's extension and feels flimsy. I was lucky to be able to get a good fit as there are also no half links. At this price range, can't really complain as recent Tag Heur watches costing up to 3k plus have similar clasp quality.
Dial/Bezel: Dial is simple matt black with concentric circle pattern around the minute markers and sunken sub dials. 10 T-25 tritium micro gas tubes made by MB-Microtech AG provide illumination together with super luminova for the chronograph hands and 12, 3, 6, and 9 markers.
Use of red for "Argonautic" and the 12, 3, 6, and 9 markers plus second hand tip add a dash of color to a otherwise mono chromatic dial. Quality of the printing however isn't as good/sharp as more expensive time pieces. But it is a clean and well balanced dial. The ceramic insert is well done with engraved white filled markers and numbers. Don't know why they went with 60 clicks? But bezel action feels high quality with zero back play and everything lines up well.
Movement : Elabore grade 7750 ticking in there, everything works as it should flawlessly. Nothing much to be said about this work horse movement. Keeps time well so far +5 to +6s per day. One strange thing though my date jumps over to the next day at 11pm. Guess if I want I need to have this adjusted.
To summarise, I think this watch is good value for money. A solid watch with a reliable Swiss mechanical chronograph movement, decent build quality. Would rate it slightly better overall compared to Steinhart, Tissot.. Comparable to Hamilton, Mido but not as good as Oris, Longines etc.
If Davosa could invest in more unique case designs, slightly better overall finishing and more "exciting" designs, they would be even better.
Looks okay on leather strap as well.
Any recommendations for a thick solid rubber strap for it?
Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk
Last edited by balzebub71 on 05 Aug 2015 22:38, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Mini-Review : Davosa Argonautic Lumis Chronograph
A tough looking nut that's hard to crack!
Look at the thickness of the case! The height! This will not look good with long sleeve shirts, as the case is too high to be covered by the sleeve cuff. But if with No.4... Very nicely military themed!
Look at the thickness of the case! The height! This will not look good with long sleeve shirts, as the case is too high to be covered by the sleeve cuff. But if with No.4... Very nicely military themed!
yan sang yew guo dak fai lok, zao yew dui yan hor see zou luo jik xing geh fan sik yu goon cha, ng hai zou yoo chun mong mok dek pan duun... yoo guo yi liong din doh mou geh wa, yat gor yan geh yat sang zao guo dak gey pok gai loh...
- doinkydoink
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Re: Mini-Review : Davosa Argonautic Lumis Chronograph
Nice! Need a lume shot!
Sorry for the typos..am using auto correction.
Sorry for the typos..am using auto correction.
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Re: Mini-Review : Davosa Argonautic Lumis Chronograph
For original case design... i think can consider this diver chrono from LIMES baa...balzebub71 wrote:...I made the purchase knowing full well that Davosa mostly uses catalogue cases and stock ETA movements for most of their watches. ...
...WR not as deep as DAVOSA though...
yan sang yew guo dak fai lok, zao yew dui yan hor see zou luo jik xing geh fan sik yu goon cha, ng hai zou yoo chun mong mok dek pan duun... yoo guo yi liong din doh mou geh wa, yat gor yan geh yat sang zao guo dak gey pok gai loh...
Re: Mini-Review : Davosa Argonautic Lumis Chronograph
Nice write up bro. Very informative. Thanks for sharing.
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Re: Mini-Review : Davosa Argonautic Lumis Chronograph
This is quite interesting... 0014- Limited Edition Number?
Can chiong 4D liaoz!
yan sang yew guo dak fai lok, zao yew dui yan hor see zou luo jik xing geh fan sik yu goon cha, ng hai zou yoo chun mong mok dek pan duun... yoo guo yi liong din doh mou geh wa, yat gor yan geh yat sang zao guo dak gey pok gai loh...
- balzebub71
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Re: Mini-Review : Davosa Argonautic Lumis Chronograph
No leh, not LE. No idea why the serial number is 0014? Don't tell me their production run is so small up to 9999 nia? But that's what is engraved on the case back and the same is written on warranty booklet.Ed.YEO wrote:
This is quite interesting... 0014- Limited Edition Number?
Can chiong 4D liaoz!
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Re: Mini-Review : Davosa Argonautic Lumis Chronograph
congrats on a nice hoot, solid looking!
Re: Mini-Review : Davosa Argonautic Lumis Chronograph
Very nice watch and review bro. I see we have some davosa fever in this forum
Re: Mini-Review : Davosa Argonautic Lumis Chronograph
I recall the Davosa Auto with the Moonphase is quite delicious., but your Argonautic Lumis Chrono looks very tempting too. Congrats on the purchase. Wear her in good health.
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Re: Mini-Review : Davosa Argonautic Lumis Chronograph
Davosa rocks.
"Please touch your own favorite watch with your kind heart and love forever." - Ikuo Tokunaga, Chief Designer of SEIKO Dive Watches and Sports Watches
- balzebub71
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Re: Mini-Review : Davosa Argonautic Lumis Chronograph
Lume shot added..doinkydoink wrote:Nice! Need a lume shot!
Sorry for the typos..am using auto correction.
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Re: Mini-Review : Davosa Argonautic Lumis Chronograph
looks like a solid watch boss.
Thks for the review.
*Shifting this to the Review Section
Thks for the review.
*Shifting this to the Review Section
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Re: Mini-Review : Davosa Argonautic Lumis Chronograph
Didn't come across any Moosphase model earlier during the visit. But do come across some models with 7753 Chrono on 50% sale(after discount, roughly under 1.4k). Mostly dress pieces, no swimmer spotted.telepgm wrote:I recall the Davosa Auto with the Moonphase is quite delicious., but your Argonautic Lumis Chrono looks very tempting too. Congrats on the purchase. Wear her in good health.
yan sang yew guo dak fai lok, zao yew dui yan hor see zou luo jik xing geh fan sik yu goon cha, ng hai zou yoo chun mong mok dek pan duun... yoo guo yi liong din doh mou geh wa, yat gor yan geh yat sang zao guo dak gey pok gai loh...
- balzebub71
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Re: Mini-Review : Davosa Argonautic Lumis Chronograph
Yeah the 50% off are their world traveller gmt chronograph and normal chronograph series mostly. Quite worth it at that price...Ed.YEO wrote:Didn't come across any Moosphase model earlier during the visit. But do come across some models with 7753 Chrono on 50% sale(after discount, roughly under 1.4k). Mostly dress pieces, no swimmer spotted.telepgm wrote:I recall the Davosa Auto with the Moonphase is quite delicious., but your Argonautic Lumis Chrono looks very tempting too. Congrats on the purchase. Wear her in good health.
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Re: Mini-Review : Davosa Argonautic Lumis Chronograph
7754 GMT Chrono? Waaa! Which branch you saw that? Didn't see that in Bugis last nite wor...
yan sang yew guo dak fai lok, zao yew dui yan hor see zou luo jik xing geh fan sik yu goon cha, ng hai zou yoo chun mong mok dek pan duun... yoo guo yi liong din doh mou geh wa, yat gor yan geh yat sang zao guo dak gey pok gai loh...
Re: Mini-Review : Davosa Argonautic Lumis Chronograph
GMT chrono...wah sei, they are cramming lots of function in a watch man. Should be rock solid. My only gripe with Davosa is that there isn't much history to the brand...Ed.YEO wrote:7754 GMT Chrono? Waaa! Which branch you saw that? Didn't see that in Bugis last nite wor...
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Re: Mini-Review : Davosa Argonautic Lumis Chronograph
Not much history... i don't mind that much. Usually i judge a value of a timepiece by Movement 1st, Price 2nd, Attractiveness 3rd... Brand Lastly, aka 一芯,二价,三样,四牌.
Nowadays, most watches uses generic movements, no matter how high, or low end it can be. Movements used, plays an important part affecting the high cost of the watch. History? In modern day context, history are made to be a marketing tool. Rather than a mark, which signifies quality and trust it was built upon. Watches Brand with rich history and the 2 essential elements(or nails in my term, that hangs the plaque high and stable) are getting rarer and rarer year by year, decade by decade...
Nowadays, most watches uses generic movements, no matter how high, or low end it can be. Movements used, plays an important part affecting the high cost of the watch. History? In modern day context, history are made to be a marketing tool. Rather than a mark, which signifies quality and trust it was built upon. Watches Brand with rich history and the 2 essential elements(or nails in my term, that hangs the plaque high and stable) are getting rarer and rarer year by year, decade by decade...
yan sang yew guo dak fai lok, zao yew dui yan hor see zou luo jik xing geh fan sik yu goon cha, ng hai zou yoo chun mong mok dek pan duun... yoo guo yi liong din doh mou geh wa, yat gor yan geh yat sang zao guo dak gey pok gai loh...
Mini-Review : Davosa Argonautic Lumis Chronograph
good point, Ed. I'm taking my comment on history back. Just learnt that Davosa has been around for a bit.Ed.YEO wrote:Not much history... i don't mind that much. Usually i judge a value of a timepiece by Movement 1st, Price 2nd, Attractiveness 3rd... Brand Lastly, aka 一芯,二价,三样,四牌.
Nowadays, most watches uses generic movements, no matter how high, or low end it can be. Movements used, plays an important part affecting the high cost of the watch. History? In modern day context, history are made to be a marketing tool. Rather than a mark, which signifies quality and trust it was built upon. Watches Brand with rich history and the 2 essential elements(or nails in my term, that hangs the plaque high and stable) are getting rarer and rarer year by year, decade by decade...
Strap Shine by Dicon: Leather Care for Watch Straps. Nourishes | Waterproofs | Cleans
http://www.leather-care.sg/product/stra ... -by-dicon/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Contact: hello@jaspe.com.sg
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