rmcsherry

I posted a warning here when the Graham Chronofigher was released, and he was selling at an unbelievably low price - the photos he used were stolen from Bernard Watch (a gen watch site), and the Asian 21J Graham he later posted (at the hugely inflated cost of $180) had photos stolen from a rep at cqout.com. He sounded ok via email, but Bryan Pannel also seemed nice to deal with before he stole my money. Stolen photos, too-good-to-be true prices and now the dealer falling silent has all of the signs of a good 'ol scam. Lets hope he comes through and nobody loses any money over this.

I'm always amazed that they repped the BRM a few years ago, only they got the name wrong! Whilst it's clearly a sub $50 rep, it's an interesting start - and certainly this type of model would be an easier option. It makes me wonder why they would rep a such a unique timepiece, and replace the name with a brand (which at the time) was relatively unheard of. Check out the better case photos here. Gen for reference (don't even try to count the differences!): - Basically, this model is based off of a 7750, it is conventional in every sense of the word - so possible, yes; likely, no!

I have a Graham Chronofighter (the 43mm one) that I am modifying, and need some new hands. The movement is an Asian 21J - appears to have a day / date / moonphase movement (with the moon phase covered by the dial). The tube on the seconds hand broke when I was removing it, so I really need a new one, but new hour minute / sub dial hands wouldn't go a miss either. Is there anywhere you can buy these seperately? I've looked at cousins, but they only have two styles to fit this movement. Here is a photo of the watch (before the subdials were reprinted):

I'm sure I've got a fantasy watch model in StudioTools - it depends on what format you're after (Alias doesn't import into Max very well, and shading information will be lost). The other alternative is to download a free model from Google Warehouse, use the Sketchup trial to open it and export it as an .obj file for rendering in a better program. There are plenty of high-quality Seiko models there if that takes your fancy!

The deployment lever is amazing, a little steep at

That'll keep 'zee Germans at bay for another few years...

Looking good, it would be nice to see the new style pusher though - especially for any other dial variants that were not produced in 2005 / early 2006.

I nearly pulled the trigger on that one, but he only takes WU. I noticed that he's using photos of a genuine Graham from Bernard watch. I'm sure the watch will turn up from this dealer (and he's very pleasant to talk to), but I'm not willing to take that risk - Angus has confirmed that the factories are working on other dials with the polished lever and new pusher - but if the photos are borrowed, alarm bells are ringing. I think I'll wait for the problems to be ironed out, prices to drop and new dials to be released! Thanks for the link though.

$290?! Who's got it available at that price?

At the end of the day, people will wear what appeals to them. In a consumerist society, everybody looks to project their self image through products they buy, clothes they wear and houses they live in. As such, a unique aesthetic (and falsified history) becomes appealing and satisfies the owner, so it shouldn't really matter if we have differing opinions or use the product outside of it's original intended market. Anyway, back to the topic - the locking crown lever on a Panerai isn't exactly what I would call a neccessity for the daily commute!

Getting a little confused, when you keep referring to the trigger, do you mean the pusher (the button to control the chronos) or the lever (the lever to start / stop the stopwatch?)

If you read my post on the last page, you'll see that this was a design revision made in 2006, and that the rep is of an older model. Look here to see the current Graham Chronofighter Oversize range.

Absolutely right - the Chronofighter Overlord measures in at 45.5mm, whilst the Chronofighter RAC (previously just the Chronofighter) is 43mm excluding the crown. In June 2006, the Oversize models 2OVAS.B01 and 2OVAS.S01 were modified to include a satin brushed lever and a new shaped pusher. Basically, this model is accurate but it is a rep of a 2005 model, whilst the current model range (consisting of 8 model variations) have a mixture of 2 different shaped pushers (polished sqaure in profile, and PVD conical in profile), and some of them sport the new brushed lever. Not a big deal, but hopefully when new models are released, the pusher will be replaced.

...inspired me to have a look at my old rep! The original automatic Grahams had excellent cases, but an extra pusher underneath the lever, and incorrect printing on the subdials. As there are no plans to rep the 43mm Chronofighter, I decided to have a look at removing the extra pusher and making it flush with the case - using a quartz Graham rep as a donor. Whilst it's not completely flush, it's certainly a huge improvement. Now, I am left with the dial. The printing on the subdials are acutally on top of a lacquer - and could be removed very easily without damaging the dial. What I wonder is, are there any people out there who would be able to recommend a technique or company who would be able to reprint the subdials? I was wondering whether a tranfer technique would work, it would certainly be a cheap option. I've got new hands to go on the sub dial, and a genuine strap to fit - so visually, it'll be a huge improvement for very little cost (less than

I've heard that the Swordfish is being repped by not one, not two but 3 factories! Hence the variation in dials (old and new models). Hopefully this means we'll see right and left hand versions, several dials, asian / swiss movements, PVD versions (the Black Knight) and some competitive pricing. All sounds too good to be true!

Looks awesome. Personally, I prefer the 43mm with the classic lever although, I have read an interview with Pierre-Andr

The 46mm Chronofighter Oversize was being developed by another factory (I think Angus mentioned the HBB maker was doing the Swordfish). The 43mm won't be repped yet, and the 46mm is looking problematical - the complications to the movement regarding the crown lever could prove difficult! Out of interest, have you got the link to the article that mentions the Japanese rep?

Good stuff! Will be very glad to see the non-destro Swordfish and 46mm Chronofighter being released. Interesting to note that Neil has a photo of the 2007 edition (which Angus confirmed is being repped from an original), whilst the Japanese photo is of an older model. 2 different dials, 2 different factories or simply a genuine being pictured by the Japanese?

They were produced in T dials, I think one or two may have had the dials replaced by the service centre to 'L' dials - much to the owners disgust! I think our reps have L dials because I believe the original publicity shots had L dials - Panerai often take photos of watches that are incorrect for their catalogues (presumably to deter rep makers?).

Like this?

Without wanting to p*ss on your bonfire, it may well work out much cheaper to buy a watch like the one you're after from the trading boards, and swap the dials! I guess it really depends on what you're looking to create, but have a think before you spend too much.

Does anybody have any decent images of a 1950-style case that I could use for a CAD project I'm working on? A 6152 would be great (I've seen the scans of an uncased 6152, but the perspective is really distorted), but a Fiddy case is very close. Ideally, I'm looking for blueprints - but if anybody has any decent images of the top and all sides with minimal distortion, I'd really appreciate it. All will become clear with regards to the project!

There are some reasonable (low price) reps out there - in fact, I have one I'm going to add to the sale section soon, I just need to stop being so lazy and take some photos!

If it's a 6497, the holes are there! Have a look at the sides of the movement, and you'll see the 2 screws (one either side) that clamp the dial feet.

'Cracking' open a vile of Tritium isn't all that fun. There's a reason that radioactive substances have controls put on them!