The two watches I will introduce today were actually reviewed before on my blog, one is Pagani Design(https://www.bobswatchstore.com/2022/07/18/pagani-design-daytona-paul-newman-quartz-homage-review/), the other is Vakuy Rigas(https://www.bobswatchstore.com/2023/05/02/vakuy-rigas-daytona-paul-newman-homage-review/), like I said before, both are great homages of the Daytona Paul Newman, however, I did not compare them in hand, today, it is exactly a comparison review between them, after reading this article, you will know which one is the best homage of Daytona Paul Newman watch.
Before I review the two watches, I want to give a brief introduction of Vakuy Rigas first, indeed I reviewed several Vakuy Rigas watches on my blog before, but a lot of people do not know the background of this brand, I doubted its relationship with Parnis and thought that both are created by the same company, I was not sure about this before, but after receiving this Vakuy Rigas Paul Newman homage watch, I am very sure that Parnis and Vakuy Rigas are run by the same company the shipper has the same address and contact phone number. By the way, the box of this Vakuy Rigas watch is the same as the one of the Parnis Pepsi GMT I reviewed two weeks ago. Check the box and accessories coming with this Vakuy Rigas below:
No need to post the pictures of the box and accessories of Pagani Design here again, you can find in the article of review on the Pepsi GMT homage at https://www.bobswatchstore.com/2023/08/27/pepsi-gmt-homage-review-pagani-design-vs-parnis/.
Case:
Both watches have the same finish on the case, brushing on the front and polishing on two sides. While the Pagani Design has a larger than case than the Vakuy Rigas, check the pictures below, the case of the Pagani Design is measured to be 39.8mm in diameter, almost 40mm, but the case of the Vakuy Rigas is only 38mm in diameter. About case thickness, if including case back and crystal, the Pagani Design is 13mm, while the Vakuy Rigas is up to 15.4mm in thickness. Why the Vakuy Rigas is much thicker if it has a smaller case? Because the crystal and movement of the Vakuy Rigas watch add the thickness. I have already checked the crystal on the Vakuy Rigas, it is very thick and too high above the bezel. And the mechanical chronograph movement inside also increases the thickness of the entire watch.
Both watches have brand logo on the crown, each chrono pusher has screw to lock, seeing from the pictures, the screw on the chrono pusher of the Pagani Design watch is in unlock status.
Conclusion:
When I hold the two watches in hand and you will see the Pagani Design is larger. Pagani Design also looks more fashionable, it is a watch that has a more modern case design and modern finish on the bracelet, while with a panda white dial with a little vintage flavor.
The case size and design of the Vakuy Rigas are closer to that of genuine Rolex Daytona Paul Newman, it has a strong vintage flavor emitting from its case, dial and bracelet.
Crystal:
Pagani Design claims that they use a sapphire crystal on the watch, I did not test. This Vakuy Rigas uses a Acrylic face, we can also call it Plexi Plastic Crystal. As far as I know, the old Daytona Paul Newman impossible to use a sapphire crystal, the plexi plastic crystal on the Vakuy Rigas enhances the vintage flavor of the entire watch.
Dial:
Both watches have a cream white dial, the color is correct. The white match-head markers on the small dials are also correct. I have taken a very close look at the dial on both watches, and I found that the small dials on the Vakuy Rigas have more refined CD patterns. The lume markers next to each stainless steel hour marker, Vakuy Rigas makes them correct, in round shape and correct cyan color. Pagani Design makes them in square shape, and they also look too orange. By the way, the dial lume on both watches is weak even after absorbing enough light under the sun. The central second-chronograph hand on the Vakuy Rigas has a white tip, which is the same as genuine Daytona Paul Newman.
Functions:
Both watches have hours, minutes, seconds, chronograph functions, while the Pagani Design also has a 24-hour display. Because the movement is different, the Pagani Design is powered by a quartz, while the Vakuy Rigas is equipped with a mechanical chronograph movement, the display of the small dials is not the same, their functions are also not the same. The Pagani Design first, you can see the step-by-step moving small second hand on the subdial at 6 o’clock, the 9:00 subdial is a 60-minute chronograph counter, the 3:00 subdial is for 24-hour display. Then let’s see the dial of the Vakuy Rigas, the display of the small dials is the same as that on genuine Rolex Daytona Paul Newman. A smoothly moving small second hand is on the subdial at 9 o’clock, the other two subdials are 30-minute chronograph counter and 12-hour chronograph counter. Both watches have a real chronograph function, you can start, stop and reset the chronograph by pushing the two buttons on the case.
After checking the details and functions displayed on the dial, I must say the Vakuy Rigas is much closer to genuine Daytona Paul Newman.
Bracelet:
Both watches are made with solid stainless steel. The bracelet of the Pagani Design looks more modern because it uses two different finishes, polishing on the middle links and brushing on two sides. The bracelet of the Vakuy Rigas is entirely brushed, just like the bracelet on real Daytona Paul Newman. Well, for a vintage watch, I prefer the bracelet of the Vakuy Rigas.
The case back of the two watches is also different, on the Pagani Design, there is a racing car pattern, while the case back is empty on the Vakuy Rigas.
Movement:
The Pagani Design is powered by a quartz movement. The Vakuy Rigas watch is driven by a Chinese chronograph movement, which is automatic, I can feel the swinging auto rotor inside when I shake the watch slightly, not a manual winding, it is an automatic movement, I am very sure. On the website of Vakuy, they say it is a Dandong 7750 from China.
Videos:
Buying advice:
Both watches have an acceptable quality, especially the Pagani Design, it is unbelievable that the watch is sold at less than $80 but has such a good quality, with a quartz movement, it is also very convenient for the user. If you do not have enough budget, this Pagani Design, which has been added with several modern elements, will be a good choice. However, if you are looking for a very good homage of the Rolex Daytona Paul Newman watch with very strong vintage flavors, then this Vakuy Rigas will be the best one, it looks very close in every detail, as far as I know, there are few homages of Daytona Paul Newman, Vakuy Rigas should be the best one in the market.