deltatahoe

my list goes something like this:

i) iwc costeau divers

ii) breitling steelfish superocean (black dial w/ gen black rubber strap)

iii) pam 212

iv) pam 203 (w/ AR sapphire fiddy crystal; mf 1942 strap)

Hey now! I am not his wife I think that Melissa his soon to be would be rather upset....

that was just a joke to lighten things up a bit

This is a recurring drama,. that, it seems thanks to some of you posting in this thread, will only understand

years from now, when you have seen a few more episodes....

Too bad that some can only learn from personal experience...and don't give a care about the community as a whole..

@RT, who/what exactly are you referring to? i went back through the thread to find people who have posted 'positively' about rbj (as opposed to voicing concerns, etc), and really the only ones i could find are azmindreader and denisegold (who could be rbj's new wife for all we know)...

if you're referring to people who are still giving rbj a chance (ie. sending him work to be done; myself being one of those people), i fail to see how the fact that i sent my 111h to rbj for pvd coating means i 'don't give a care about the community as a whole.' actually, if you look back at my posts, my intention is to write a review with pictures of the pvd coating from rbj's pvd company for comparison purposes for the benefit of the forum -- there have been lots of posts lately asking about the various pvd coating options...

a little confused...

deltatahoe

you beat me to the punch pugwash....was intending to do a similar review for my group buy, but ended up working late last night...for those from my group buy reading this post, your straps will go out in the mail today

kudos for responding to this thread rbj

Go up and read his letter on his situation on the Darkside forum. He explains it all.

anyone care to post this for us non-RWI members?

how about the 45mm ultimate planet ocean lite?

i definitely agree -- i wear my dark brown straps the most (hands down). although a nice black strap can be a nice change from time to time.

but my absolute favorite color is the PAV 91 on your 112h in that picture (am i right about this one V?)

deltatahoe

welcome tom!

after 34 years of pent up watch lust, you better hold onto your wallet!! especially given your interest in panerais....

deltatahoe

personally, i would rank potential first PAMs in the following order....

i) 112h

ii) 183h

iii) 212

iv) 063

v) 217 or 127

vi) 187

i'm hoping pennies gets his watch back quickly -- a waterproof check should only take a several minutes to complete.

@pugwash, keep that popcorn handy. i figured if nothing else the whole rbj pvd experience would make for an interesting story. for me, part of what makes rep collecting interesting is the stories that go along with the watches. my 111h was my first panerai and my second rep, but for whatever reason i just kind of fell out of love with it. for a historical-type PAM, i like my 112h better by a long margin. so i crossed my fingers, and sent rbj my 111h for a pvd coating. we'll see how it works out.

deltatahoe

this thread doesn't make me feel very good about sending my 111h to rbj to be pvd coated....

my 111h wasn't getting any wrist time, so i figured it was worth the risk (also thought it would be something to contribute to the forum -- see how joe's pvd coating company compared to other options).....i'm a pretty patient guy, so i'm not too worried about waiting a little while to get it back.

all he has to do is disassemble the watch, give the case to mr. pvd man and assemble the watch back together, right....

regardless, i will write a review and post pictures of the pvd coating (and the whole experience with rbj, for that matter) when it's all said and done....

deltatahoe

you need to depress the little button in the middle of the link, then push the pin through the bracelet. i found some links were easier to remove than others...

what exactly do you mean by scans of the front & back sides of the strap? azgjav's review (found here) has some nice close up pictures; in particular, you should note the notch in the strap at the lugs (it's a little different than most)...

w/ regard to measurements, here's what i measured the strap as (note however, this is with a paper ruler; would probably be good to have confirmation from some other folks):

strap width at lugs = 26 mm

strap width at buckle = 24 mm

strap thickness at lugs = 4.5 mm

strap thickness at buckle = 2.0 mm

distance between strap holes = 7.5 mm

hope this helps,

deltatahoe

rbj has started providing pvd service (see his post here); i crossed my fingers and sent my pam 111h off to rbj last week to be pvd coated...i'll write a review and post pictures when i get it back...

from the pictures, looks like most of the damage is on the insert.....get yourself a new insert and that watch will look 5x better...

personally, i think the 217 belongs on a europelli black shell cordovan w/ gold stitching (see subzero1's pics here)...

will release by 25th =)

@angus, will we have some final photos? would be good to see the finished product

i ordered an iwc pilot watch from EL a while back; no tracking....just a watch.....be patient....it will come.

thanks for all your hard work and contributions to the forum ziggy -- have a good break.

deltatahoe

i think it is actually a pretty nice strap. not that expensive either; definitely worth a shot. it tapers quite a bit at the buckle (which is quite a bit different if you're used to wearing 24mm pam straps), but i'm sure that's the way the gen is made....

one thing to note: the strap comes in both ss and ti buckles, so if your ingy happens to be the titanium version, be sure to specify -- you can get one that has a ti buckle.

hope this helps,

deltatahoe

Case in point, my grandfather once told me about the time he bought a new Bentley. He loved that car and drove it every weekend for a year. One day though he thought heard a rattle coming from behind the dashboard when idling. It was only intermittent and consequently drove him mad literally, trying to recreate it and locate the exact source. After 5 or so visits to the service yard without success, they finally announced they had found the cause and fixed it. Initially he was delighted, but soon after my grandfather sold the car he once loved so much - for him, the enjoyment was gone because from that point on, he was always listening for the rattle. Of course, he found out years later from the mechanic, there was no rattle.

"Whatever you do with your life..." he used to say to me, "never ever listen for 'the rattle'".

great story and life lesson doc

Hi Guys,

So a quick question just to be sure. Will the gen strap fit the Josh and Andrew 45mm Ultimate PO? I've seen the gen and it looks like a perfect fit, just wondering how exact the rep is.

Thanks

yes, the gen PO strap will fit josh & andrew's 45mm ultimate po

wow. that's some unexpected good news. post some more pictures of your project watch as it comes along....

poor form 2manywatches. go find another place hang out.