ubiquitous

13 year long project nearing completion. Added genuine, period correct gilt radium hands...

Fantastic collection, my friend, and that is truly a display of your passion for the brand. Though I don't have a lot of Panerai left in my collection, the very early watches have a special place in my heart. Seeing and thinking about all of those early A/B/C serials have me feeling a bit nostalgic... The magic of the design, the frenzy of strap collecting, and I think a big part of it all was very much to do with the 2 major competing enthusiast forums at the time, showcasing beautiful imagery of personal and private collections, discussing the history, the brotherhood and family built through a shared passion... It all transcended to something far greater than just a watch... And the passion was very contagious. I fondly remember my first foray into Panerai reps; a 22B from river. It really stood out to me as a fun, oddball design. Destro, seconds at 3:00... Everything upside down. Ah, the memories 😌

Truly heartbreaking! Bob has been an important foundation to this forum, and will be missed dearly. Very, very sorry for your loss and ours as we'll no longer have his presence; it was a true honor to be his friend. Deepest condolences and with much love.

Nanuq, it's good to see you, old friend! I hope all is good your way! It's been about a decade since I put this watch together... It all started with finding the gen dial. Not an easy task to do, due to rarity of vintage Patek chronographs (130, 530, 1463, etc) from the 40's and 50's. I actually found 2 dials; the first was not in the best condition, but I put a watch together with it, and gave it to my uncle. The second surfaced by chance, and it was incredible; fantastic condition with very pronounced champleve fonts, which is my favorite characteristic when looking at the dial under the right lighting conditions. It has very feint traces of wear; just enough to give an idea of it's existence of a prior life. I paired the dial with some period specific genuine hands and had a case fabricated to gen spec. Added a genuine unsigned crown, and fit everything to a Valjoux 23, which is the base enbauche used for the 13-130. I've been kind of contemplating the idea of doing another and have even found some nice dials. But the price of those dials (which are not quite as nice of condition as the one I already have) are astronomical (ranging between $20k and $48k, respectively). That said, I can be completely happy with having just one in the watch box (and occassionally looking at it when it's out of the safe deposit box)...

It's a chocolate day today...

Friday wear

It's been a long absence, but nice to see old friends! Miss you guys! Have not done much with watches in a long time, and frankly, with some of these new pieces coming out, there's really not a lot to do with regards to building either. Admittedly, it's kinda strange to have a new rep that doesn't need a gen dial, or hands or crystal... And more shockingly, has a reliable clone movement with 72hr power reserve... So, been spending a lot of my free time putting miles on the car. Miles of smiles 🙃

Just like this one that hammered at Christies in 2018 for an insane amount (minus bezel)... 😆

6538 today...

Love that chapter dial and the PCGs!

Freshly serviced Vacheron 454 finally fitted, displacing the old JLC base movement that was installed prior.

And 36kbph! Not bad for half a century!