Been looking at one of these for a while, just wanted some feedback from owners.
Is the bezel and crown action as smooth and good as the high tech nature of the case would suggest?
My biggest pet hate is stiff/not smooth bezels and crowns! Especially crowns that feel gritty and vague when screwing down. The level of engineering in the Damasko makes it very interesting.
Cheers,
Paul
I was considering these a while ago - surprisingly little in the way of reviews or opinions on the net. I came across two owner reviews - one asking if the fogging inside the crystal was normal (!) and the other saying the crown was quite rough to screw down. I lost interest after that! But did strike me as odd as reviews I have read of other models have been great.
Can't speak for the bezel, but I've borrowed a D37 and the crown was fine, not gritty at all.
If the bezel is as good as the one on the DC67 I had then it is amongst the best. Very precise and tightly engineered. Why did I sell the 67? Too much white in my life, I got a DC56 instead to go with my DA37! They still look like new and the crowns on both have no problems at all.
F.T.F.A.
The bezel action on a Damasko is probably the best of any watch i've owned, it makes no noise, just a wonderfully well engineered tactile feeling. I've had a DC66, a couple of DC67's and a DA47, the 66 was quite stiff, the others were very smooth. The crown on all of them was not that smooth, but again felt well engineered with little chance of cross threading because it is completely hardened.
Eddie sells the DA46 for about £960 if I didn't already have a 67 I'd look at buying a DA46 because it's pretty good value and I think that Damasko will stop using ETA movements at some point in the not too distant future. The result will put their entry level watches using the in-house movement at about £2.5k, which will help consolidate the prices of those watches originally bought below a £1000.
One of the reasons for me ordering a DA36 a few weeks ago (invoice received today and ready for dispatch). Not the sole reason, obviously, but it spurred me on.Originally Posted by ROBANNENAGY
Incidentally, Eddie is out of stock of the DA36, but ordering from Damasko was easy enough. They told me: 'With Timefactors we don’t work anymore', so presumably the Damaskos that Eddie has in stock will be the last. Get ordering!
Is that true Eddie?
Their syntax sucks :evil:
I have the '47 version, same watch but white dialled. The bezel action is easily the best at that price point and better than some brands costing twice as much. It's firm enough to give you confidence it will stay in place but easily adjusted if required. Some owners do not like the edges of the bezel but for me it gives good grip enabling you to adjust accurately. I've used the bezel with gloves on and never had any issues.
The crown does feel a little gritty when winding but there's no problem with any "vagueness" when screwing down. It's as solid and well (over)engineered as the rest of the watch.
I had a da47 and the quality was top notch, the bezel action was the best on any watch I've owned. I still think the best all rounder I've had. If only they would make a diver with a bracelet. :|
There are several reasons for this.'With Timefactors we don’t work anymore'
I had decided to drop Damasko to concentrate on my own watches because business is increasing dramatically (hence the recent closures to clear the backlog). Even had this not been the case, I would have dropped them because:
I refused to dance to their tune when it came to ordering and they didn't like this.
As the official UK dealer, they should refer UK enquiries to me but they didn't they were happy to supply direct.
Having priced their product to me at a level where I needed to sell at their MRSP to make it worthwhile, they then undercut my price.
There were a couple of examples of abysmal customer service, the worst one was when a customer from New Zealand returned a faulty watch under guarantee and they refused to accept delivery because duty was due and the watch was lost in the system. It still hasn't turned up and Damasko defend their position.
The day-to-day running of dealer and customer relations is in the hands of a young woman who attended the Victor Meldrew School of Customer Care.
The watches are great but they need to learn how to market them and interact correctly with customers and dealers. Selling watches to the public is a little different to dealing with military contracts.
As one of their first authorised dealers who sold a LOT of Damasko watches, I'm not particularly happy how the relationship broke down; when I dealt with Konrad direct, everything was good.
Eddie
PS. They also need to deliver the oft-promised bracelet.
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
I don't think the bezel construction of the DA46 is of the same high quality as the DC66 one. I specifically remember them talking about it at the time.
Pity about the communication breakdown because I've got my eye on their inhouse movements, in a couple of years down the road, once they are out and proven.
I never thought the bracelet was ever going to happen. It was just a lot of noise from our end.
john
Costume jewellery. Ouch!!!
Sad to hear Damasko does not stand up to the same level as their watches do.
There are a lot of watches I like, but most are made by companies I can not stand behind! (as in endorse, promote, or justify)
(Sorry for not finding the right words, I am Dutch!)
Aye, superbly engineered.
Amen.
Damasko are very well made imo, wish they would make a HEQ 8)
It is a shame that the Timefactors / Damasko relationship has broken down. I am sure Damasko watches are very decent, but lack of a UK representative who will take responsibility if there are issues would drive me into the arms of Fortis or Sinn. I can't see how that is in Damasko's long term advantage.
People may remember 2/3 years ago when the DA36 was as rare as hens teeth. Eddie had been waiting for stock for ages.
Damasko failed to answer email and on the phone it sounded like they didn't care whether they sold me a watch or not.
I ended up ordering via a German AD~waited about 9 months if I recall. It was worth it. :)
I have to say that the people I've been dealing with (Nadja and Isabella) have been delightful and very efficient. All emails replied to on the same day and very friendly in their manner.
Couldn't have been better, to be honest.
+1
For me, it's a shame that Timefactors will no longer represent Damasko, I'm not keen on the fact that you can't buy direct using a credit card or paypal, the international payment via a bank (Lloyds TSB in my case), normally means a fixed fee of about £20 and a rubbish exchange rate, plus I have to go into a branch to fill out a form. For smaller items this makes it disproportionately expensive. Damasko should really follow Stowa as an example of how to sell watches on the net from Germany.
Yoda works for Damasko?
:shock:
:lol:
:clown:
Just about to upload his picture and say the same thing. :DYoda works for Damasko?
:shock:
I had one for a while from a forum member- superb watch, would definately buy again, bezel was lovely.
Goat
I looked on the Damasko website and couldn't see how to buy the watches in the UK.
+1
I see that Page & Cooper has taken on being the AD for Damasko. Has anyone got any experience of Page & Cooper? What's their customer service like? Or will Damasko influence customer service more than the AD?
Updated to add that I've been very impressed by the service from Page & Cooper, whom incidentally I see have just become the authorised UK distributor for Fortis too.
I have the DA47. Awesome watch with near perfect bezel and crown actions. Dial readability is off the charts.
They're OK. I prefer Sinn's designs, though.
After reading about Eddie's experiences with Damasko's CS, it might be worth mentioning that Sinn's service has been consistently exemplary. They're a great company to deal with directly in my experience.
I prefer the look and feel of Damasko more than Sinn, which only proves how individual tastes vary.
My experience of Damasko has been very sound; service has clearly improved a lot. In particular, Page & Cooper seems to have a good grip on things.
That's a great photoI have the DA47. Awesome watch with near perfect bezel and crown actions. Dial readability is off the charts.
What's the rubber strap? Is it an OE rubber Damasko strap?
Last edited by Dougal; 26th June 2014 at 18:52.
Same for me. I really don't think you can go much wrong with either of the brands to be honest. Both offer a lot of watch for the money although value is a subjective thing.
I've heard a lot about the bezel action on Damaskos. I'm sure it's brilliant, but my concern would be the increased height to the watch head. Less of an issue on the 46/47 and more of an issue for the 66/67 though.
My collection seems to be going the Sinn and Damasko route so I'm interested to hear any owners thoughts on the above.
You're right about the Damasko bezel: it is brilliant
Looks are obviously subjective, but I find the 46/47 to be extremely well proportioned, when seen in the metal. The whole thing is beautifully engineered. A Damasko watch is like engineering art.
+1. Still astonished by my DC66, the engineering, build and quality particularly. Helps that the design is brilliant also. The best chrono and/or diver I have owned period.
More than happy with my 37 crown perfect and a very rugged watch - very difficult to mark the ice hardened steel.
Was very close to pulling the trigger on a da47 but the fact that they aren't planning on making their steel bracelet available for this case ended up putting me off, might still go for one if Incan find used
The strap is a 20mm Bonetto Cinturini 317I prefer the look and feel of Damasko more than Sinn, which only proves how individual tastes vary.
My experience of Damasko has been very sound; service has clearly improved a lot. In particular, Page & Cooper seems to have a good grip on things.
That's a great photo
Thanks Bedlam. Nice strap.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote