deltatahoe

wow....what a looker i really like how the seconds subdial is denoted in black -- it makes for a less cluttered, more symmetrical dial. if i didn't already have the u2 this one would probably top my list for next genuine watch. deltatahoe

so i was in vegas for the long weekend & stopped by the tourneau hoping for some major watch eyecandy, but to be honest was pretty disappointed sure, they probably had 500 different rolex watches in the rolex section, but they only had 5-10 subs, sedwellers or other classic rolex designs worth mentioning. most notably absent were the gmt's -- they didn't have the ceramic bezel gmt, or any gmt for that matter. pretty slim pickings in the panerai section as well (apart from the ferrari series, which almost matched the number of non-ferrari pams they had available). the highlight of the trip for me was seeing the new big-size ingy with power reserve indicator. i tried it on, as i felt it should be pretty good proxy of how the big pilot would likely feel on the wrist (given it's nearly impossible to find them in stock at an AD). however, i have to say after seeing it in person -- it is a real looker in it's own right probably the most disappointing part of the whole experience was the person following me around the store, who was the snootiest worker i've ever experienced at an AD. she was constantly spouting a bunch of canned b/s in her most condescending tone, yet couldn't answer some pretty basic questions. one part of our conversation went something like this: me (trying on the big ingy): i actually dodn't like how much this iwc strap tapers given the heft of the watch.... her: well, you know all watch bands are like this -- it's the way they are designed....blah blah blah (i can't stand to type any more -- she went on a long discourse about this). me (i didn't feel like arguing): yeah, i guess you just kind of get used to wider straps after wearing a panerai for a while... her: which panerai do you have? panerai straps taper down like this as well... me: i have a 112. her: oh, the seven day power reserve? me: no, it's a historic model. her: oh, well you know those were intended to be worn outside of a wetsuit -- that's why the straps were thicker on those. they aren't intended to be worn next to your skin..... me: umm, ok. anyways, you get the idea.....maybe i'm spoiled by the shreve & tourneau here in sf or had unrealistic expectations for the tourneau in vegas, but figured i'd pass along my experience.... deltatahoe

i recently bought a fully serviced (full breakdown) 1575 for $1,375...felt like decent value. deltatahoe

@bbb, what strap is that you have on the 187? looks familiar, but i can't put my finger on it.... deltatahoe

too funny nanuq!! congrats again on the new watch; wear it well deltatahoe

wow -- that's one crazy looking crystal definitely an interesting looking watch -- would probably look even better w/ chieftang's double sided AR coating deltatahoe

thanks for the color nanuq -- i watched only part of the youtube video & it was on mute (i'm at work), so i wasn't able to get the full story. cheers, deltatahoe

it's funny you post this -- i just watched grizzly man this past weekend; from that youtube clip it looks like charlie really interacts with the bears more so than timothy treadwell. is charlie as crazy as tim was?

personally i'd go for the big pilot all the way.... particularly if he already has a pam, which seems to be the case.... deltatahoe

thanks for the pics; hopefully some of the guys who responded this morning will chime in re: what exactly they are talking about.... deltatahoe

hmmm....very interesting indeed. thanks for the color on this M - I wonder if angus is assembling these himself, he might be using different lug screws? deltatahoe

hmm....i wonder if this is a difference between angus' ap roo and the mbw ap roo? deltatahoe

hmm....is this the primary difficulty of changing the strap on these (ie. having to have two screwdrivers engaged at one time)? sounds like having a friend hold one screwdriver in place while unscrewing the other side would be the easiest solution... this is actually good news -- i was expecting that there would be significant difficulties related to getting the strap to align properly / work with the small ss tabs that fit the case. thanks for the responses; i'll post back here after i try the strap change myself... cheers deltatahoe

a guy on paneristi just posted some nice pics of his 229 today; i figured i'd post the link for those interested.... hxxp://www.network54.com/Forum/353391/message/1200600918/Just+wanted+to+share+some+229+love. cheers deltatahoe

mine still gets some quality wrist time; the double AR coating makes a huge difference on this one.... deltatahoe

oh me oh my chieftang is right -- this one deserves a congrats on a beautiful piece deltatahoe

i have a mbw ap royal oak offshore on the way and was reading in this thread about the difficulties in changing from a bracelet to the strap (i have a kevlar oracle strap on the way as well); i was wondering if those who have already completed this task had any suggestions and/or best practices that will make my life easier when changing this strap.... thanks in advance, deltatahoe

wow looks great tourby i'm really liking the looks of this one deltatahoe

congrats ajoesmith; welcome to the 1,000 club like you said, here's to 1,000 more deltatahoe

i hate to break it to you i5475p, but the best way to get the answers you're looking for is to take some time & read some old threads about the watches you're talking about. people discuss new watches in detail when they come out; you'll find your answers there. fwiw, from my recollection, the 092 has very respectable (ie. as good as it's going to get on a rep) date mags & fonts. i'm not familiar with the date mag & fonts on the 243. it's pretty common knowledge that the 092 is said to have a sub-par crown guard. however, don't take my word for it. do a search for pictures of people's ultimate 092 & 243s (making sure what mods if any have been done), and judge for yourself. cheers deltatahoe

hate to rain on the parade on this one, but the chances of them getting both the PVD coating and the submarine logo thingy on the dial right = 0.00% EDIT to add: in the event this case is actually ceramic instead of PVD, i will revise my projection to -0.00% deltatahoe

thanks for the response bazonkers doesn't sound like good news for me though. were the holes in the crown guard within a reasonable closeness to the case (so that you could possibly widen the holes / otherwise modify the crown guard to make it work)? EDIT to add: @jonathan, so were you able to slightly mod the crown guard to make it work? sounds like from your response that it wasn't an issue w/ the holes in the crown guard, but rather how the crown guard fits on the case relative to the chrono pushers. deltatahoe

@yellowmen, i was more directing my post to i5475p, who was asking if "either of these models [pam 252 & 186] were available". i'm all for trying to push for this project to eventually happen (chalk up another post for me in that cause) however, if it turns out to be as good as it looks, the pam 229 might just satisfy my blue-dial pam needs for the moment deltatahoe

just to clarify the 252 project (enclosed in this thread) has been abandonded at this time (read up above where i provided an update from angus)... deltatahoe

so i've decided to give up on my quest for an original AR coated sapphire version of the pam 212 and instead send off my handwind pam 212 to get relumed & a double AR coating on the mineral crystal by chieftang. i figure that way i have a more accurate dial (with the inward ticks), and the scratch resistance of the mineral crystal will be increased. that way if it DOES get scratched, then it will likely just scratch the coating, not the crystal. after the ziggy relume & double AR-ed crystal, the only the mod that remains on this one is to get a correct crown guard. has anyone tried putting an engraved crown guard from the automatic version of the pam 212 on the case of the manual wind 212? if so, does it fit properly? any finally (assuming the engraved crown guard fits), does anyone have an extra engraved crown guard from their automatic pam 212 that they would like to sell me to help complete my project? i've asked angus to look for one for me but he hasn't been able to find one yet... thanks in advance, deltatahoe