namor

You're welcome !

Now talk about Quality Control... But honestly I guess this is a single phenomen, nothing to be really afraid of...

If you have a watch like this - forget about ANY water-resistancy... The crystal definately can be popped off with "thumb pushing", but it should be really really hard to do so... If you have the right glue for the job, you will have more than sufficient time to align and adjust, it takes at least half an hour to dry (with the glue I use) - better not to touch it for 1 day to dry completely... Ah, one additional thing: be 100% sure to not have any microbubbles with air under the cyclops - otherwise it will bug you to insanity and you have to start over...

I had the same issue - it was a damaged balance wheel. As fxrandy already said - these "Molnija" movements are often used in cheap russian pocketwatches, it's a LOT cheaper to buy one and change the movements than repairing the old one. If you are really on the DIY-trip, then you can transplant the engraved bridges (if your watch has any) from your broken movement to the new one. Et voilá ! P.S.: I often see these pocketwatches for around 35,- USD range - how much spare-parts can you get for 35,- USD ? Besides the fact, that it will be impossible to get spare-parts for this movement...

Absolutely right, there's never a shortcut - either you do it the right way, or you better don't touch it at all... But even Watchsmiths are aware of removing these cyclopses because there's always a risk of breaking the crystal/cyclops - you have to ask first if they work on reps, and then you can ask if they are able and willing to do this mod. Personally I can say that I removed and reglued at least a dozen cyclopses (because they are almost never 100%) and I always took my time to do this and succeeded everytime. Never broke any (but burnt my fingers a little... ).

Congrats, well done ! I am wondering since I first saw the 036 why they can make the crown nice and fat - and on most other PAMs they're just slim and bad...

I had one - it was genuine ETA 2892-A2 with a nice engraved Rotor.

No, I didn't do a review - cause it's just the same like the others... I like Silix too - but found out that their cheaper price sometimes results in a slightly increased number of, well, small issues. (Which they work out !) But overall you need a little more patience and have to work on your watches for yourself to not increase the price. For example: I received a nice Day-Date from them, but the Datewheels were both misaligned - well, they will send me new ones and I will change them. If you can't change it yourself you'll have to pay for it to be done or pay for shipping back and take again the risk of customs when they ship you out a new one... Again, everyone here has to inform himself and make his decisions based on facts. For a discount of more than 70 bucks (I am speaking of the PO) I am ready to work on some issues *IF* they occur... But that's just me - another members are happy to pay more and get a flawless watch at first attempt... (mostly)

Yeah - I never said to accept blindly everything they offer, that's why I buy from different Dealers... Bought a IWC Jones from River for 79,- USD shipped (Sapphire and the "old" movement with real cnc-crafted bridges - not the stick on plates they offer now...) - that's incredible ! Got an Ultimate PO from Silix for 150,- USD instead of 220+ from the other Dealers - compared it side by side with a friends one (who bought it from another Dealer for much more) - exactly the same...

Try different browsers. I can't log in with Firefox, but have no Problems with Opera...

You're right - but those Dealers don't speak English THAT good, don't operate Web-Sites, don't operate several accounts to offer you easy payment services, don't ship your watch half way around the earth don't shoot photos from all angles for you, and mostly they don't have a clue of watch details and so on... You're right, our Dealers probably DO make more profit - but they also offer more service. You can get a burger at BK - or go into a nice restaurant, your choice. (I like BK, by the way...)

Yes, I fully agree - Scam-Sites aren't comparable. Yeah - everyone has to decide for himself and should think about it. I don't do any impulse buys and never did - I don't buy a watch just to "complete a row" when I don't like it really. I love Chronos - but don't own one at this moment, because I don't want to have trouble with the asian 7750 - and the swiss ones are either to pricey or I don't like them (like some Breitlings for example). Also I need watches which are at least basic waterproof (for simple swimming) - therefore I don't own watches which are dangerous for that (for example a seadweller with it's He-Valve). There are no Show-watches in my box - every piece gets it's wristtime and has it's purpose, but that's just my way of collecting...

I agree - we get a very good service from our Dealers here ! You have to have this in mind when buying, you always pay for the service too ! When I look at the watches generally, without talking about specific brands or models, I am really convinced that I get more for my money than anywhere else. You can't get watches with Sapphire, S/S cases, Titanium Cases, ETA-Movements, good S/S-Bracelets, Buckles, Deployants, Swan-Neck movements, Super-Lumi Dials and Hands, A/R Coating on the crystals and many more features for these prices anywhere else - and please don't quote me some ugly copied No-Name watches in eBay now... But you get even more ! You get parts for your projects, you get something to work on, you get watches which you really like but are not willing to pay several thousands for it - and you get an international platform here to learn new people who share the same hobby and you can build realtionships with. If you don't like wearing a replica - paint the dial of an PAM black (just an example) and you still have an outstanding, reliable watch for a fraction of the money you would pay anywhere else... A genuine buckle (just a freakin' buckle !!!) from Panerai costs the same like a whole complete PAM here !!! Just think about !!! What do we have to pay for it ? A fair price - and if you want to increase the quality, your time to mod/tweak it. It's everyones own decision - I made it for me and I'm really happy here and enjoy every little piece, even if there are flaws and sometimes a little trouble (which our dealers always try to minimize/sort out !) Don't get me wrong - of course it would be better for us if the prices remain low, without raising - but we're still in a very good price range...

Have you tried a different browser ? I can't log in to RWI with Firefox - but works well with Opera...

Just a quick question: are there any Hands which (fortunately) will fit straight on like from a Fiddy perhaps - or do they have to be made individually ?

Thom, we are joking a little bit (but I'm sure everyone here knows the feeling when waiting for a new watch...). You just have 2 choices: 1.) mail your dealer and validate your 4 digit code (perhaps there's a typo ?) 2.) Try other Websites who are involved in the transport (like USPS) - like stated above. Otherwise you just have to wait patiently like we all do when Tracking doesn't work properly (which is very common)...

Ah, yes - nice Idea indeed ! I would buy a rep of it too - should be not too hard to produce for the factories. And I really would not be picky about flaws on this one... (as long as it is overall good quality !)

There definately IS a trick: Sometimes the goods are ready delivered in your hands and the Tracking No. is still not in their system...

I suppose this has not much to do with the different cases (0581 / 0117) but if the crystal is mineral or sapphire... My story: I have a 217 with mineral-crystal, it got scratched minimal and because I read about the problems I decided to not wear the watch and observe the damage. The scratch really grew itself and got deeper - in a period about 3-4 days, and then it shattered - all this happened with no influence from outside ! The watch was all the time on my desk and was not touched and it was in a constant temperature...

As far as I know all of them are engraved - otherwise I thought it would be a good starting point for self-building an individual watch with a clean case. @craytonic: Just curious: what was the second reason ?

Oliver, you're absolutely right ! Most people have not in mind that there are heavy variations in the genuines sometimes ! For example Rollies: I have seen personally and in watch-catalogues too many which have slightly different fonts, font-spacing on the dials and even cyclopses which differ from 1x to 2,5x magnification... Just a little detail to add: the catalogues which I am speaking of are the japanese Rollie collectors books - so no AD-Catalogue where pictures are altered/photoshopped... Don't get me wrong please - I like a 2,5X cyclops too, beautyfully filled with the date, but for example the rehaut is more important to look at because this detail differs not !

Generally it is a nice calming sound which I enjoy - but sometimes it can be so exciting that I stand up again and start cleaning, polishing, repairing, modding... Hehehe, just kidding...

...so really no 1:1 - I would have been surprised !

I don't believe that there's really a 1:1 Rep out there. There are always some little differences (and I don't mean this in a negative way !) - that's just the way it is... All of our trusted Dealers honestly keep saying "a Rep is a Rep !"... Yes, many parts are interchangeable, some Reps even take genuine Parts - but 1:1 would mean an exact copy - these just don't exist. Why these 1:1 copies are never been done ? Well, that's another point which we discussed many times with different results...