babola

...and the hands are still to short, this has been a plaque 051 has been suffering for over 2 yrs now :-( babola

Mate, just another proof that UPO simply - ROCKS !!! So is your one with the 'fixed' Omega logo or old-style ? Could you post a pic where we could see the logo please ? cheers, babola

Exactly my thoughts ...I haven't seen one with the hash @ 9 o'clock yet recently, apart from the early version from begining of '06. I'd really like to see the photos, if they got it right this time round, I'll be all over it cheers, babola

You know what's in order don't you ? - an obligatory photos !!! Let us all see how the new updated 089 dial looks like. cheers, babola

Just out of interest, are you planning to relume that 12 o'clock bezel dot marker as well to 'upgrade' its lume/appearance and make it more consistent with the dial ? I actually find it much easier sendin the whole watch head over for modding. In case you need a 'how-to' on PO bezel removal, see Pug's writeup somewhere on this forum - sorry I lost the link :-( cheers, babola

Just as Ssurfer and Pamman said... Also, Tourby - you simply got unlucky with your PAM reps with E-series mov'ts. The one on the left shows the now so 'popular' (or shall I say unpopular) E-series Hybrid Asia/Swiss movement, that some forumers refer to as 'swasian' or 'chiniss'...although constructed of mainly non-interchangeable Asian parts, it does come with old-style ETA mainplate. Good movement ? For sure...but definitely noth the one we should call Swiss ETA. The pic on the right shows the Asian ETA 6497-2 (higher beat 21,600bph) mov't. I know the movement very well because I have one as a spare. It comes with shorter hairspring, and no ETA markings on the mainplate. As I said, you just got unlucky...some of us managed to source reps with good Swiss ETA E-series mov'ts with Panerai engraved bridges, S/N regulator - but without dagger needle, the needle is pointy, just as the one that comes on gen standard Swiss ETA 6497-1. The movement refer to in particular is the one Eddie Lee first came on the market 5-6 months ago in his 'ultimate' Fiddy, as well as Davidsen in his Fiddy as well. The Asian factory producing the E-series bridges and S/N add-ons for this movement stop the production 2 months ago, however according to Davidsen, they have just released them on the market this week. The first ones will be available in Davidsen's Fiddys...so keep your eyes peeled I think I (personally) have beaten this horse to death, and then some...I should stop now, as I'm sure getting on some forumers nerves with repeating the same story about E-series mov'ts again and again... cheers, babola EDIT: Just had another look at the mov't on the right, this one could well be the first Swiss ETA E-series mov't released around early 2006, and started to appear in those first Fiddy's with Swiss ETA E-series movements. I had it in my first Fiddy that I bought from Joshua in Feb 2006 - definitelly Swiss ETA base movement, although with a lot of Asian add-ons like engraved bridges, beveled gears, S/N reg, balance wheel etc. It also had proper gen ETA markings and symbol, and if your watchmaker is saying this is not Swiss ETA he's only 25% right, IMO BBB (Brad) is still one of the forumers that has the very same Fiddy this particular movement comes with. I sold mine since.

Is it rare...you betcha ! It's unobtainable in that particular config these days as new... Definitelly a keeper in anyone's books ! cheers, babola

Well moded Logo Base always gets my vote There are some things dial rep makers could have done better, like the 'leg' on letter 'R' that doesn't beloeng to Panerai type font, but that's a minor issue, really...it takes a good look to notice it, and most of us haven't known about it until after we bought it. The dial txt on a gen PAM Base is actually crisp white, and not aged white (cream/salmon color) like the one found on gen G, H, I and J series sandwich-dial Rads, Bases and Marinas. Not sure why Panerai left it like that, but I believe since it's one of the last of the painted dial models they kept it the same white color as older Base and Marina historics with pained dials like 111/112G for example. cheers, babola

Nice effort altogether, especially with DSN crown fitting, it ain't exactly an easy job to fit it on a standard rep case, but once you get over the crown tube hurdle and lever tip adjustment - it's all worth the effort. BTW, that MP strap rocks ! Looks like you swapped the minute hand in all the hury and excitement with the one from your Rad 183 ...and your Rad ended up with a Luminor hand cheers, babola

Any pics of that PVD, Flav ? So this will mean 15-20 watch orders...how about creating another post re this to gouge the interest ? @deltahoe, that PVD finish looks EXTREMELY close to the 2nd gen PVD Finish Panerai used on gens, just before they dropped Ti models from their product line completely. The finish is less grainy and definitelly darker that 1st gen that came out in pencil-gray finish, almost titanium look alike. For few bucks you can get nice PVD screws from Don or Panatime, they'll complement the package quite nicely :-) Shame for that CG lever, can it not close completely ? Very nice specimen, I wouldn't let go of it if I were you... cheers, babola

239 'lefty' is another good Sub from the latest batch of Pam reps, although not as nice as 243... 75 pieces were only released as SE for French watch boutique Chronopassion, my guess is the gen will become a highly prized collectible item in few years. babola

Drop The Zigmeister a PM :-) babola

One thing's for sure - it aleviates a floppy lever issue, LOL ! babola

I see no problem with doing that, just post it here...that's fine.

Looks like Paul has gone AWOL again...either that or his Web site had been hijacked in the last 12 hours.

It looks like we caught ourselves in the circle here (again)...so I'll drop it...I said enough on this theme in the past few months anyway, getting tired of repeating myself, that's all. babola

...and again, we've been over this number of times in the past few months - it's a hybrid mov't, a combo of Swiss and Asian 6497-1 parts, and although with 2/3 of parts being China made - definitely not what you'd call Asian 6497, since Asian 6497 is built on top of the Asian 6497-1 copy of the mainplate, the one in this Fiddy rep isn't. If the name 'Swiss/Asian hybrid' is so hard to digest for some, how about we start calling it 'swasian' or 'chwiss'....LOL!

I wouldn't call it Asian ETA...it may be more Asian than you'd expect from the mov't being sold to you as Swiss - but definitelly not a full Asian. It's the movement we now know much more about these days, especially after The Zigmeister took it appart, and posted a long review of...and then confirmed by Vacuum, Finepics and others. The movement is actually a so called 'hybrid', with old-style Swiss ETA main-plate and just about everything else Asian add-ons. It's a good movement, and appart from few initial issues with the c0ck pallet it's been running just fine in hundreds of watches bought as new from circa July 2006 - until now. I'm sure The Zigmeister will be able to fill you in more specifics if required...but the bottom line is - while not full Swis ETA, it's not the full Asian one, either cheers, babola

It's hard to beat good old 061, especially on perfectly matching leather cheers, babola

"The best $30.00 USD I ever spent? " Hardly...but let that "product" become a catalyst to the wonderful world of decent reps in future cheers, babola

It's a misprint, TTK's pics show 177H not 111H. Simple as that ... babola

Ruby, DSN, Joshua...

Things are a little different these days with DSN Rad crowns & crown tubes. They now come in 2.5, 3 and 4 mm diametar sizes, so one should fit the standard Rad case, I believe. Still, getting the old crown tube out and 'pressing' the new one in, can be a major undertaking sometimes, I agree. cheers, babola

Nice to see the watch reached its new owner without issues Wear it in good health, Max ! cheers, babola