Post by timelessluxwatches on Aug 19, 2015 15:28:30 GMT -6
Damasko DA20 & DA20 Black Review
Damasko is known for many things: ultra-hard steel cases, advanced in-house movements, and flieger designs, to name a few. What they have not been known for is their love of vintage styling. Until now.
The Introduction
Damasko has many popular models, but none come close to their most celebrated watch, the DA36. Its classic German pilot styling with bold Arabic numerals and bright yellow seconds hand has become something of a symbol of the company. In other words, the DA36 is to Damasko the way the Speedmaster is to Omega or the Submariner is to Rolex. It's no surprise then that Damasko has chosen to spin off two new models that share a very strong familial relationship to that classic, the DA38, which is reviewed here, and this new DA20.
Where the DA38 was more of a new variety of DA36, primarily being a color alternative, the DA20's changes are far more radical. The dial is now the color of sand, to quote Damasko, and the hands are a very dark brown. Both of these features, as well as vintage styling generally, are new territories for Damasko, so read on to see how they do.
The Dial
The dial is more of Damasko's classic flieger good looks, but this time it has a strong vintage flair to it. Some have come to calling the DA20 as the "Vintage."
At a glance, the changes are obvious, namely the new strap and new colors, but there is a little more than meets the eye. Before we get to that, however, we should address the dial for those who may not already be familiar with Damasko.
For whatever changes that were made in designing the DA20, the bold Arabic numerals weren't among them. As is typically the case with Damasko watches, clarity and legibility is paramount, so fans of Arabic numerals will be very happy here.
A feature of almost all of Damasko's dials that is important, but often overlooked, is the characteristic cross hair at the center of the dial. This aesthetic decision has important implications for the placement of the date.
Namely, it forces the day and date complications off of the x-axis and slightly below into the southeast quadrant. Unlike many off-centered dates, which are often seen in dive watches between 4:00 and 5:00, the subdials themselves are not angled at all--they remain horizontally aligned. I think it's a refreshing look. If you're confused by what "FRE" could mean, that's just German for Friday (Freitag). This is because each watch is capable of displaying the owner's choice of German or English.
Perhaps the most interesting change is in the hands. This is not the first time Damasko has used solid-colored hands, of course, but it is the first time to use brown hands.
Here, both sword hands and the seconds hand are fully coated in a thick, textured coat of matte brown paint. Under very close inspection, I'd say the application of paint is of a higher quality than the black hands, insofar as it is more uniform.
Unlike virtually all light-dialed Damaskos, the DA20 has no lume whatsoever. While a disappointment to fans of lume, I can only suppose that it was necessary to get the exact colors they were looking for.
So how does it look overall? Well, it accomplishes its vintage goal quite well, and in a way that doesn't look like an old watch. I don't mind a vintage-styled watch, but don't make my new watch look like it's 50 years old out of the box. This feels more like a WW2-era watch that was reissued in 2015.
So, dial-wise, it's not the Damasko for everyone, nor a replacement for your DA37 (since it also has a light dial). But the vintage look is very popular among watch collectors right now and it's nice that we have a very affordable, very tough option from Damasko.
The Case
Damasko really made a name for itself not with its dials or movements, but with its cases. Here we're fortunate to have both the DA20 and DA20 Black to look at and compare.
Both cases are 40mm, which is, at least for me, about the perfect size. The whole case is just 12.3mm thick, very thin for a tool watch as this style tends to go large.
The primary advance to Damasko cases (among many others) is their hardness. They're made of a unique alloy and then ice hardened to a level that approaches that of high-end knife steels. Unlike virtually all of the competition's method of case hardening, a Damasko case is hardened all the way through.
The black model uses the same steel but has a proprietary coating of Damasko's Damest. Damest not only gives the watch a cool black look, it's even tougher than the hardened stainless steel that forms its substrate. It is often considered to be the single longest lasting and most scratch resistant coating in the business.
The screw down crown is another signature feature of Damaskos. Because it decouples from winding the watch while being screwed in, as well as sits in a lubrication cell, it is amazingly smooth to use, among the best I've ever experienced.
Each DA20, like virtually all Damaskos, receives extra magnetic protection in the form of an anti-magnetic cage.
The Strap
It's interesting to note that Damasko is using a Hirsch Liberty strap, which is genuinely a perfect complement to the color scheme of the rest of the watch.
These straps are quite thick with a nice brown surface, accented by exposed light tan stitching. Naturally, you can also have the DA20 on Damasko's hardened bracelet, but I'd actually suggest that the more affordable strap suits its character better.
The Video
Check out our HD videos of the DA20 here and DA20 Black here.
The Conclusion
While the DA20 may not be an all-new model or movement from Damasko, it is a rather significant departure from the company's well-defined stylistic preferences.
It is the first time Damasko has really attempted a vintage-styled watch, which is kind of odd when you consider that all flieger watches are a sort of a throw back, so unlike the DA38, which is really just a new version of the DA36, this is really a new direction for the company.
Perhaps a new direction is too bold; a course correction may be more accurate, as it is only the smallest departure from its most popular designs. Still, this brings us our first model like this without lume. But does the new look work?
Absolutely. Some have questioned the brown hands, but you really don't notice them at a glance--the contrast is so high against the tan dial that they're almost black in practice. It definitely succeeds in capturing a vintage look, even if it's not strictly something that would have been made in the era it's inspired by.
But which one is better, DA20 or DA20 Black? I come down in favor of the non-black model. If you're going for a vintage look, and I assume you must if you're buying either DA20, you might as well go for the bead blasted stainless, which looks to me more like something you might actually find in a classic watch.
