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Ran across this next store , never saw it posted here. Good stuff! Memeber ALE7575 did this great work, all hail! Posted 07 December 2014 - 07:38 PM KW PAM382 Bronze material – Official Chemical Analysis We all would like to know the chemical composition of PAM 382 reps bronze material. Therefore in order to get the answer I contacted some months ago with KW owner Mehmet and Puretime’s Angus asking them for case samples of KW and ZFac PAM 382 respectively. In parallel I contacted with official Spanish laboratories trying to get a free but reliable chemical analysis of the samples. KW’s Mehmet was immediately willing to send me the sample when the Laboratory was ready. But it was not able to get ZFac sample, because Puretime told me that he had already sent a sample from ZFac to another member (Pete M) in order to make the same official analysis as I wanted. In August 2014 I got, through a friend of mine (an engineer colleague), the possibility of a free chemical analysis from a first class Official Spanish Laboratory. I ask Mehmet for the sample and in some days I received the sample of KW PAM 382 case from Kuvarsit. The sample was an unfinished KW PAM 382 case before machining, taken directly from the current production as I asked to KW. You can see the sample received in below pic. SAMPLE OF KW PAM 382 CASE BEFORE MACHINING At that moment my fried was just starting his summer vacation and I had to wait until the end of September to send him the samples In October my friend got the sample to start the chemical analysis of the bronze. I have the results from about 20 October, but I have not found time to prepare this thread until this moment. TECHNIQUE OF ANALYSIS I wanted to get a chemical analysis by an Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer, because that was the analysis method I was used to using when I worked in metal alloys. But my friend told me he liked to use a more modern system. It was used one of the most modern, reliable and precise techniques available at this moment: Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) See below link for more info: http://serc.carleton...niques/SEM.html http://www.labtestin...g/sem-analysis/ To get an idea about the sophistication of this method, you should know that the cost of the equipment to make this kind of analysis is about 3 million Euros. Of course SEM is a very reliable method of chemical analysis and there is no doubt about the precision of the results. PREPARATION OF THE SAMPLE It was necessary to cut a part of the case to make the analysis. The Laboratory cut a lug of the case to prepare the final sample to be analyzed. This lug was slightly polished to be introduced in the SEM device. You can see in below pics the lug detached and prepared. SAMPLE OF KW PAM 382 CASE WITH THE LUG DETACHED AND PREPARED TO BE INTRODUCED IN THE SEM ELECTRON MICOSCOPE THE RESULTS In the figure below showed you can see the results of the chemical analysis extracted from the SEM Electron Microscope. The square marked in yellow is the chemical composition in Weight%, which is the composition we were looking for. CONCLUSIONS As we can see from above Figure the bronze of the sample KW PAM 382 studied has a chemical composition about as follows: Cu (Copper)- 93% Sn (Tin)- 6% Zn (Zinc)- 1% Therefore, KW bronze is not exactly a CuSn8 like gen, but it is very close to this material. Mainly we can state without doubts that KW bronze is a TRUE BRONZE (it is not at all a Brass, as many people have commented) I have knowledge about this matter because I have worked many years (many time ago) producing Bronzes and Brass and another alloys. KW bronze is actually a CuSn6Zn1 bronze. It is really very similar to CuSn8 and the colour and properties are almost identical to gen bronze. In below Figure you can see the differences between a gen bronze CuSn8 and the CuSn6Zn1 and KW bronze. As you can see differences are a little less content of SN, but a bit more of Zn (less than 1%). Differences between KW bronze and CuSn6Zn1 are almost non existent. Indeed both are the same material. In practice and bearing in mind the application in a watch case, we can say the materials are actually equivalents. In other words: We can expect from KW bronze the same properties and behaviour regarding appearance and patina creation that we will get from Gen bronze PAM 382 Besides, as you can see from the chemical analysis, KW bronze has no impurities. That means that this alloy is made from almost pure metals and using no recycling materials. Therefore KW bronze used in KW PAM 382 is a very good quality alloy. To get a better idea of above statements, you should know that we are using Stainless Steels for super reps much more different from the gen SS than the differences observed between CuSn8 and CuSn6Zn1. To illustrate this matter read my thread about Stainless Steels in watches: SS 316L vs. 316F vs. 904L- The final VERDICT- A technical study http://www.replica-w...ead.php?t=82263 As you can see in above thread the differences between SS 316L and 316F and mainly with SS 904L used by Rolex are way bigger than differences found between CuSn8 and CuSn8Zn1. See below figure where the differences of three SS are showed and compare these differences with the bronzes table differences. Despite above showed differences of composition, we are using SS 316L in some watches made of SS 316F and vice versa. And we are always using either PAM 316L or PAM 316F to make the super reps of Rolex, which the gens are made of a very different SS 904L as you can see in above table. Being the KW sample unfinished and not machined, polished or brushed I was not able to make a reliable comparison between the KW sample and the bronze of my KK PAM 382 V1 from May 2014. But cleaning and brushing a little the surface of the sample, and using my experience in these alloys, I would say that my KW PAM 382 V1 and the sample are made form the same material (it is almost impossible to get a reliable comparison by pics, because some pics seem identical and other different, just a direct visual comparison can show the materials are very close in appearance) Unfortunately we have not the same analysis of ZFac bronze. Some people is saying, and some reviewers and reviews (remember NCcheff reviews http://www.repgeek.com/showthread.php?t=234018 & http://www.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php?t=187564 ) that ZFac material is more reddish than KW bronze. From the pics I have seen, I have to agree with these observations. That just means that ZFac material, most likely, has higher content of Copper (Cu) and less Tin (Sn) and other elements, what goes against the quality and properties of the bronze alloy and detaches Zfac bronze from the gen. But that is just a speculation from pics and comments. Anyway, forget the colour on the pics, the false comparisons, the patinas, the speculations… Now we know what we are actually getting when we buy a KW PAM 382: a true bronze CuSn6Zn1 of very high quality, from which we can expect the same colour, properties and behaviour than a gen CuSn8 bronze ************************************************* I would like taking this opportunity to say many thanks to KW’s owner Mehmet for being so kind (and even brave, why not to say it) sending me the sample of the KW case to make the analysis, and congratulations to KW for the good results of this chemical analysis.

For the past six months I have been working on the Pam Guide. It was a dark, very tough, and long road. For those who are unaware of this project. It is, in short, a website hooked to a massive database which contains every rep Panerai. On the website you can filter down by attributes to find a Panerai to your liking. Click on a Panerai for its details. While doing this I neglected both my family and my job for this. But looking back it was worth it! I want to thank Ale from RWI for letting me use his Excel sheet. Without this I would not have been able to accomplish this. And of course you guys, for the kind words that kept me going. If you have any ideas or questions regarding the Pamguide, feel free to post them here. Feedback is appreciated. Also consider a donation to keep this bad boy alive. Even it's just a dollar or two. It's running on a very expensive dedicated server and it's hitting my wallet every month HARD... Ladies and gentlemen, I hereby present THE PAMGUIDE! Upcoming updates: - Strap makers section - Panerai Dictionary - Panerai classification - Panerai - A compare functionality Note: The Pamguide is gets updated when Ale's Excel sheet gets updated. So it is possible that the Pamguide does not contain yesterday's released PAMs.

Just noticed that many customers come from Rep world. So i'm here to join rep world. I'm interested in AP mid cases of 15400, AP ROO 42mm and 44mm( noob and JF version first). I also want to learn more about Rolex curved strap watches, Catier watch...etc But firstly, i would like to say hi. Thank you.

The watch that launched me on my journey to obsession/madness/watch building was the 203/A. There is just something that resonates with me when I see the contrasting black dial with aged cream colored tritium. And the iconic tan strap against the anthracite colored PVD.... Oh yes... The PVD. That's the one feature that's been hardest for me to get nailed down. Noob still makes great cases that can be reshaped. DSN makes amazing crowns and acceptable CGs. Rolli is constantly producing great dials. There are lots of great caseback options, but the PVD... What to do? Since affordable European sources have dried up all that remains is spending upwards of $1000 for a decent PVD job. So, over the last 2 years I have been trying to work with existing shops to get a decent price on a coating with all the required nuances. The finish should change color based on the lighting. In most outdoor conditions you'll see the classic pencil lead color emerge with a nice contrast of charcoal. On dark days and low inside light, the watch will almost look black Just as important as the anthracite finish is the surface preparation. The case must be bead blasted with the appropriate fine media to achieve the special shimmer that makes the case glow under the finish. Seems easy, right? Not really, not for a decent price. That is until recently when a friend put me in contact with a friend who I was able to work through a few iterations to get the finish just right, in my opinion anyway... the specs on this build: Noob 111M reshaped by me Gen crown with custom tube WSO gen correct double screw bars BM C3 Crystal Southy museum grade dial (only 2 in existence) Jakob caseback Swiss 6497 And on this one, a very special strap... A genunine Pre-V PAV99 with a 22mm buckle The journey was long but worth it in the end!

Just got this in the mail

Just in from StoneP, very nice!

Brought this Queen from my box today. More things to come.

Every time I see that tagline it reminds me of a joke: A blonde is out in the bayou with a flashlight, hip boots and a rope. Spying movement, she throws her rope around a huge alligator and wrestles him to shore. Dripping wet, she drags him up onto a pile of deceased reptiles, then bursts into tears wailing... "Oh no! This one isn't wearing boots either!"

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I've bought a couple of those. Two subs (one blue and one red) and a lady's Datejust for my wife. The DJ had to be returned since the cyclops was misaligned and I've had to buy a new red sub, because of my own stupidity (took it apart without the proper instruments, and broke the second hand). The blue sub is now my daily beater. It works great and if you can accept the misalignment of the rehaut engraving, too little magnification of the cyclops, that the blue is too purple (which I like, btw) and all the other minor errors, it's a great watch. I enjoy wearing it very much. The subs are only $29.99 each, which make them a real bargain. Plus Michelle (who works there) is great to deal with.

I had bought 2 Silix budget watches beginning of the year. A classic sub and ladies datejust. If you want a watch to beat around, you can't go wrong for the price.

Also, lower quality construciton, fit and finish, and QC. But some of them are great watches for a low price.

You'll be surprised, some are quite nice! I've only got one Silix "budget" watch left but I still wear it on occasion. This was about $50 when I bought it a couple years ago so I'm not sure how much it would be now...