Our preview of this watch is one of our most popular articles, and we at WRUK could not wait to get our hands on it. I won’t keep you in suspense: EMG watches have knocked it out of the park with this one! Let’s take a closer look at the EMG Dl63 Panda Chronograph in person.
A Week on the Wrist – EMG DL63 Panda Chronograph
We’ve covered the basics in our preview feature. For the uninitiated, the watch is a reimagining of the HKED version of the Seagull 1963 Chinese Air Force Chronograph. It is a hand-winding chronograph with a 42mm case, mineral crystal and an original modern dial design.
I wore it for a week to see how it holds up as a daily wearer and was much happier than I expected. As well as being a real looker it is a practical size and the mineral crystal reduces the feeling of bulkiness compared to the Seagull watch. I’d not seen the case back before, and the movement looks absolutely stunning as it ticks away. It looks almost as good from the back as from the front!
The Verdict
Overall, I loved the watch. If it was available with a bracelet I would definitely want to add it to my collection. Quality-wise there is very little between this and mid to high-end chronographs from brands like Omega. It really is that well built.
The Good Points
- Great design, catches the eye and gets lots of comments
- The strap is superb quality – much softer than I expected and very comfortable
- The size is just right. It fits under a sleeve but still looks good when dressed down
The Not So Good Points
There is nothing major wrong with the watch, but I found a few niggles:
- Legibility is tricky due to the black hands and black sub-dials. I found myself wishing the white lume strips on the hands were a little thicker.
- I really miss a date function. It’s not an option with this movement but my job requires me to write the date often, so I look at it several times a day.
- The chrono pushers feel a bit “spongy” so it does no always register a click when you start and stop the stopwatch. This is not unique to the EMG, it happens with all watches sharing the basic movement
Differences in the Production Version
This watch was a preproduction sample we were loaned by EMG for review purposes, The final watch has some changes:
How to buy the EMG DL63 Panda Chronograph
Numbers are limited but EMG are hoping to do a second run following the success of the watch. Drop them a line on their website for more information.
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