babola

Cool mate, thanks for a heads up about the new batch of DSN historic dials, been out of action for a while so need to catch up with all the recent happenings in general :-) I spotted Valerian's DSN 001/004A straight away from his first photo (I own one of these dials myself...worth its weight in gold these days :-)), but thought Quest's one was one of the older DSNs as well, there's that recognizable "DSN-ism" in it, and if you'd be around long enough his dials you'll know what I mean ;-), I'm sure you do anyway :-). Then I noticed the font's different, hence I thought it was possibly a gen, without too much looking deeper. When it comes to thickness of the dial txt, I've come across many pics of A, B and transitional B series historic Luminors that come with anemic font, thinner than they normally are on those models. Basically for me the jury's still out on gen/rep font thickness. True, most of the gens come with thicker txt only replicated well one some of the rare early 2005-2006 EL/River/Honpo rep models and recently by FGD and maybe LH, but this isn't always rule-of-a-thumb when comparing rep to gen Luminor dials. BTW, I managed to source one of the early EL old-school 001B-L dials recently, by total accident but can't complain...still a droopy A, but the best ever Marina rep dial produced by rep factories, bar none IMO. Fishing for a good case at the mo... cheers and stay well, b

"EDIT" ...on second reflection the watch/dial looks like a gen PAM001A/B one - LOL! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wow, another infamous DSN 001/004A dial from early '06 with correct crossbar on 'A', great find indeed These are long gone from his spare parts box, and made legendary in their own right. Also, great work on removing the "-" from T-Swiss-T Wear it well, mate!

Speechless... Excellent work there, mate - big thumbs up!

Crown guard for which PAM series, specifically? Do you own a genuine watch by any chance and if you do would you mind letting us know what model/series, or simply a year of production if you happen you know. Good luck with the project, and please keep attention on that CG pin and rubber o-ring inside the lever

Very nice result, indeed I'd personally go with either Micah or GeF...whichever you end up choosing, wear it well!

Personally, I wouldn't believe most of the things Joshua and/or Andrew state on their websites.

FGD, long time no speak buddy...but these are just pure beauties ;-) Agree on your pre-A non-matching argument, but we've been over this many times before here, haven't we :-) cheers and keep up the good work! babola

The problem is actually more pronounced on V3 bezel. V1/V2 BCEs come with better rider tab engraving in general, also it's deeper and closer to gen then V3.

Exactly the same issue as I had with my first Skyland V2 some 6-7 months ago...to a tee! I had to send it back, but the dealer looked after me very well. Either send it back, or ask the dealer if he would chip in the cost of a repair with your watchmaker.

Yeah, it seems so...as Dave pointed out on another rep forum.

Great result, chieftang :-) The A/R is also phenomenal. Hope the bezel removal on these didn't give you too much grief ;-)

They differ in price simply due to the fact they are manufactured by different factories and are different versions. This one: http://www.jpc8118.com/bl02053-chronomat-e...bph-p-3010.html - is so called V1, you can spot the recognizable bezel hash marks that are too close to the outer side of the bezel, also numerals 15, 30 and 45 are much closer to the gen engraving. AR is almost non-existant on these. Wrong DW font. The second link: http://www.jpc8118.com/00blev10001-chronom...ing-p-4028.html - shows the BCE from different factory. These aren't known as neither V1,V2 nor V3, they're just different. The A/R should be a tad better on these compared to V1, that's what I heard anyway. These are great and as far as the case build and bezel engravings go, my favourite, but the bezel lume dot is substandard and again, DW font is wrong. The third link: http://www.jpc8118.com/bl02024-chronomat-e...bph-p-2724.html - Is what is called BCE V2, updated bezel and bracelet (smaller gap between SEL and the first link), great A/R, but again - wrong DW font. If this came with updated correct Breitling DW font it would have been known as BCE V3 or "Ultimate BCE". Is it ultimate or not is debatable, it still comes with many small flaws, but probably closest to the gen when observed from the distance. If you're after gold or TT model, it will be hard to source V3, as these are made for limited models like BCE Graphite, black dial silver subdials and grey dial black subdials, all S/S. Potentialy you could get blue dialed BCE with updated DW font but as far as I know only Angus (puretime) has these available. Hope this helps a bit. Good hunting :-)

So...? Yes, No...?

This may just fit the bill: Brown dial BCE This is neither V2 nor V3, it's just a different version from another rep BCE factory. DW is worng font, bezel pearl is pretty bad on those and A/R is mediocre, but in return you get the BCE rep with one of the closest and best cut cases and bezel engravings, very gen like. Also that plated mov't with engraved rotor is a beauty in itself. Currently going at a heavily discounted price

Great one R! I'm sure the T-lume looks just right in person, no sweat. You could post this one on any gen Pam forum, they'll all fall for it guaranteed, the only bit they could fry you on would be a CG lever, but even then...they wouldn't have the guts to call it out

Great one my friend! And as PamMan already mentioned above, with 29 L-dial the dial markers position and orientation is spot-on. It's also interesting fact that the L-dial PAM29B-L is much rarer model as fewer of them were made than Tritium 29B-T ones. Wear it in good health!

As perfect at these GMT reps get !

Sadly the World is still full of idiots...

Great one! The only thing I'd still try to do would be getting a hand-set relumed by The Zigmeister in his shade lighter T-lume, that green lume doesn't do this great watch a justice @tonryart...that's first gen DSN 201/A CG, long gone... Wear it well!

Actually I don't see it like that, for most people it's either or, majority that go for Skylands normaly wouldn't be able to pull off SA, those that find SA a good fit rarely "downsize"

It actualy isn't as bad as I thought...actually it's not bad at all ;-) They also changed the look of Skyland Avenger...now both new '09 SA and AS look almost identical. Check the post on TZ: Link here I'm sensing some nice AS and SA reps coming in second part of '09

Tales of problems and issues with latest batch of BS V2 are coming from PMs and emails off-line, and these people haven't shown theirs on forums, not yet anyway. Most are sent back to dealers for fix/replacement. But let's wait and see. If I receive any more updates from fellow forumers I regularly keep in touch with about these BSes, will post them here.

That's great news, mate. BTW have you checked the bezel screws yet? The strap issue is the same as with the gen, slightly too wide for the buckle, although the gen is a tad softer, but not much. Lani and some others managed to sand off the sides of the strap to fit the buckle better. Any pics of the dial? cheers!

Just a quick word of caution re latest flood of the AS Blacksteel reps. It appears that after the price has dropped considerably in the last few weeks, a BS maker is unable to keep with demand (this statement is supported by one of the dealers I keep in touch freequantly) and the QC standards have dropped considerably. I've been hearing about even worse lumed dials with more than 4-5 dots badly applied, movement stopping for no apparent reasons (I thought rep makers have dealt with this issue already...obviously not), chrono pushers not engaging, bezel "screws" falling out, chrono hands falling off, chrono register hand at 6 o'clock register spinning continuously, inconsistent chrono pusher lengths...you name it, it's there. Normaly you'd expect these sort of things to be still there, let's face it we're dealing with reps, but the issues I mentioned above are usually few and far between these days. Here's a couple of pictures from the latest batch of "cheap" V2 Blacksteels (from HBB maker), that I received from a source who wishes to remain anonimous. Both watches are from the same batch, made by same people. Check the pushers length differences on these two, the pushers length on the second is even greater than on "standard" V1/V3 Blacksteels...also check the spinning 6 o'clock chrono register on the first picture. Not trying to stir sh$t here, just aluding to that old "buyer beware"...and in case of Skylands and Blacksteels ALWAYS go with the dealer who will show you the photos of the watch you've paid for...;-) I for one would go extra distance and pay a l ittle more to avoid that "OMG WTF have I just received" reaction after opening the parcel from a dropshipper. cheers, babola

Hmm, you might be onto something there...