kingkaiser

Rarity doesnt come into it. All these Hfac and noob-fac pams have the same consistent giveaways, which the gens dont have. CP, CG, etc. So any WIS who knows the common tells will know without needing to see the gen. But yes, the 247 is less likely to be called out than a 111 primarily since its a closed caseback, which removes a huge tell (incabloc).

Yeah, I wouldn't put much stock in that. Basically all it means is that someone at the factory accidentally knocked over a half empty glass of water on one of these in the past, and it didn't stop ticking.

The trusted dealer section on the main page of RWG is the best place to start. Read through the reviews of dealers and make your decision according to your preferences (some guys are cheaper, but will have lower QC, etc etc etc)

A few diff things. First, all seikos will have good quality control, unlike a number of our reps. Ask anyone who got an h fac panerai that was dead on arrival. That's why you pay for those instead of reps if you want quality. Second, I (a relatively inexperienced member) can point out certain reps in one second, including the 005s/318/359 etc. anyone on this forum who has studied the reps will know how to tell the gen of that particular watch apart from the rep. I am not surprised that senior members could do that for a number of random watches. Unless modded, there are still no 1:1 reps, but there are loads of 99% reps. Enjoy them, but don't think you can get past that tiny percentage of the population that REALLY knows their watches.

txcollector, how so? I saw pure times breakdown of the Nfac version but haven't seen anything similar for the hfac so cant compare. Sidebar: any of these factories doing the 305? I know that angus' factory is, but those guys are not as good as h and n factories.

Gen on left - lever pin did it, and the text on the movement didn't seem finely engraved. If left with just the movements, id probably need them side by side though. took me one second after seeing the lever, but around a min all in.

For a lot of life on these forums, the key is to buy the seller. If a guy with 5 posts is selling something claiming its OEM, I'd be hesitant to buy. If a long-time member did so, I'd be less apprehensive, especially if the language was clear and unambigious (as others have pointed out "Gen alligator panerai strap" is not the same as "genuine panerai alligator strap"). The gen foraa are often decent places to buy, especially from established traders as the markup on a fake strap wouldnt be worth their ability to sell their gen watches later. But again, as you'll note, I'm talking about buying from established members. I'm curious as to why you're not looking at good aftermarket straps though - I have a gen Pam with gen straps; I swapped out the strap within hours for an aftermarket one that I though looked better. There are loads of good, reputable strap makers on this forum and others that might be able to match/beat Panerai in strap quality.

WEll, you know for a fact that the strap you showed is a rep, and not made by the same guys that panerai uses. So it's certainly not OEM. Might have panerai stamps on it, but so do all PAM reps; doesn't make them OEM either. Unless you've purchased from panerai or their official strap makers, it's considered aftermarket ( I'd wager that even buying it from their official strap makers is considered aftermarket on some gen forums). How can you tell whether a strap is OEM? Tough call really - there is a difference in strap quality, but at the higher end that difference shrinks massively. I have the gen 359 strap and the rep; quality difference exists but not so much that I'd know if I didn't have both in front of me (stitch color is off, but thats particular to this model).

Erm -to the OP: Does your caseback say "Antimacnetic"? not sure if thats just lighting or a genuine typo

To the daytona freaks in RWG - how do you think this one compares to a spinmaster build (assuming no gen parts)?

There are a few issues with this vs gen (loupe police alert): 1. On the inner bezel (whats the right word for this piece of the watch?), you'll see that the minute numerals are larger on gen than rep 2. The datewheel cutout on the gen doesn't seem to have a surround. 3. The indices on the rep seem to be thicker than those on the gen (same way that those on the rolex DSSD reps are thicker). But I've never seen one of these in the wild (and I've seen virtually every other brand; the Middle East is pretty good for watch-spotting), so apart from hotspots like Vegas, I think you're never going to get called out. Is there ANY dealer with this in stock? Its gorgeous! You never even see this for sale on the forums

Lol!

Great - the biggest flaw on the V6's can be fixed :-)

After all the posts form TA8088 it'd be amusing if someones first post in this thread happened to be 253...

If by nearly you mean 100 posts away.... Although this is a great way to get my post count past 200

seems like a good reason to pad my post count...

I've handled this rep. Is it attractive? Yes. But it does have a purple brown tone to it, as opposed to a coppery brown. Doesn't really look the part, but again is an attractive watch.

Lol - love the attention to detail.

Tx - whats the color of the AR on these? Blue, Purple, Colorless?

How do you know its Mary btw? (Watchinternational) - she never used a timeographer whenever I asked :-(

*edit: realize this charged discussion is dead, so removing my comment on it :-)

Well - might have something to do with the forum you're on. What do you think the "R" in RWG stands for? As txcollector stated - many of us have gens as well, and are happy to assist, but I wouldn't recommend bringing disdain for replica collectors to a rep forum and then asking for help.

How much are the crystals for? I might be in for 2

I find it interesting that the rep factories got the rep so close, and then went and reversed the grooves on the 2 parts of the strap. Gen grooves flow on the long end, and close on the short end; reps are the opposite.

Good god, that guy must be regretting that purchase. It looks like his pam has a skin disease!