ZainoDetail

Rob, Stunning as always. I have another proejct I need to send your way after the Holidays!

Personally I'd probably be what they're afraid of, which is someone who would pass on this model. I understand what it is and why it's special but the whatch in general does very little for me.

Dare I ask how long you had to search to find that case? and how much it set you back? I desperatly want to build a 176 but every Ti. case I see has horrible fitment with the CG which is holding me back from starting that project. I've almost given up and started to save for a Gen 176 instead.

I've been thinking about giving lume a shot as well. Seems like sandwhich dial watches are the way to go for a first timer however, Have you ever done a 113 dial where the only lume on the dial is dots at the hour markers? I'm wondering if the dots are more or less complex as I've got an inexpensive 113 project sitting here that I was thinking about giving it a go on.

I had The Zigmeister lume my 005 because I knew there was no way on earth I'd be able to pull off a sausage dial. I've always thought about attempting a sandwhich dial myself though but never had a project to try it on. I just picked up a 113 and I'm curious to hear if anyone has tried luming the dots themselves on a 113 and can share some insight on if it's fairly straight forward or something I shouldn't even consider. Again no way I'd trust myself to do full numbers myself on a sausage but I wonder if the dots on the 113 aren't a good way to start trying out luming myself.

Gents, My wife wants ideas cheap / fun christmas presents for me. I'm trying to decide between 133 or 177 as a starting point for my next PAM project. her budget is <$200 so we're talking Asian Unitas in either watch which is fine with me actually. I'm not a huge stickler for movement accuracy as with many others here i believe that if you've got a display back PAM there are far too many tells in the movement to pass it off as GEN anyhow...so I'm fine with Asian here. In comparing the watches on Josh's site (he's usually who I do my business with) it seems like the 113 would be much better out of the box. Both watches are the same price but the 113 comes with saphire out of the box and is "less" wrong in the dial than the Titanium watch. However I've wanted a base Titanium watch since I started this hobby but never got around to it. Obviously the only place to currently get a 176 is DSN but his watches aren't exactly in the price range. Also it seems like the Titanium watches are drying up from the cartel dealers so I'm tempted to tell her to get me a 177 and then just plan on doing a dial swap as part of the build process to make the 176 of my dreams. (esp with the Little Hero dials now available). Somehow I think I'd probably be better in the long run to tell her to get me the 113 now and then get a DSN 176 in future and mod it further...but I'm soo drawn to the Titanium. Thoughts?

My car is red...so I'd go red. As a matter of fact I think that's the only color I'd own that watch in personally. Don't think I'd wear it much over some of my others but when it did come out of the box it'd be a good change from the norm to have the red one.

+1 and a backing plate for the dials with outstanding lume (The Zigmeister). I'd get one Ti. case and one polished case and make one of each if I were in your shoes.

Outstanding collection...and as others have mentioned some great straps in there too. I've been thinking about putting together a 176 for months and I think this thread is enough to push me over the edge.

There was just a post on this the other day. I wasn't even arare that DSN was even making 127's anymore...likely because of the lack of the correct movement. The only source for a movement that resenbles the one you posted is Angus as far as I know. From the reports the current version has horrible engraving making it only a little better than the completely wrong movement.

I've been passively looking for one recently as well. There was a post about a month ago which basically stated that Angus' is the best one to source at present BUT that there really is not availability for a GREAT 127 in the market right now. The one from Angus apparetly has a good dial, can be had with real saphire, but according to most here the engraving on the movement and movement quality in general is not good on the current offering. Also it apears as though while he offers superlume and a canon pin fix most have stated the lume is still not great and rather than installing a tall canon pin the watch instead had hands that were filed down. Due to those details I've decided to continue to wait for a good one to come along either second hand from a member here or until the dealers get a better version.

For us not in the know, can someone shed some light on these Alpha cases and what makes them better than the rest. I have to admit I still have a hard time pulling out the tells on the standard cases vs. the Jimmy cases myself but would love to learn more as I'm thinking about building another PAM project soon.

??? I asked DSN about this last week and he stated he's got the 000 available. I think I'm going 176 Ti. Base for my next one though.

Is DSN the only way to get one right now? I've always wanted a 176 or a 009 and I'd rather have the Ti model I think... Do DSN's Ti cases sill have the issue with poor crown guard fitment? Thanks

hummm...I'll see if I can take the back off and get a picture of the exact movement in order for you guys to help me identify it. Thanks for the insight.

As stated earlier by another member the PAM's are pretty few and far between in the Midwest still. I've seen maybe 2-3 in two years, see many more in Miami where we spend a good bit of time though. However In flying back home this past weekend I had a "neat" experience...I'm wearing my Modded 005 rep and the gent that sits down directly across the isle from me is also wearing an 005. I could never get a close enough look but from what I saw it was a Gen. Tried to get his attention a couple of times to strike up a conversation but he was consumed with keeping his children in line the whole trip.

Any pointers on where to source a new movement?

Gents: my PAM 005 rep has a 21J movement in it that appears as though it's starting to give up on me. (randomly loosing time and /or stopping The watch has run almost constantly for over 2 years now without missing a beat. Since having The Zigmeister lume the watch and install a palp crown over a year ago it doesn't leave my wrist. The others in the collection simply sit there collecting dust. Ahynow, as I understand it the 21J movements are dirt cheap....but is there a source for 21J movements that come lubricated and ready for install as if it's a "better" option than having the current movement serviced I'll just buy a new one and have it installed. BUT if that new movement will also need serviced to insure longevity then I might as well just send the current movement to The Zigmeister to be serviced. Thanks for any feedback.

There's been a Blue Scuba around for quite some time. I don't think it's great but it's not bad either. Can't find any record of anyone on the forums who's actually purchased one though. I looked at one but wasn't going to be the first to take the plunge.

Very nice. I think you'd like the Marino collection too if you get the bug. Bob's Marino was the first "nice" strap that I ever purchased and it still gets a good amount of wrist time even though I have several other very good straps.

I'm on the hunt for my next strap. Thinking of going for something exotic this time but clueless on where to start looking. I initially saw a Strap Culture Legend strap in Gator that got me on the hunt, some of these hornback straps are cool looking too. Hoping some of you can give me some constructive reviews as well as sources for looking into some of these further. I'm also torn everytime I see some of the great Ted Su Ammo straps and other vintage straps of the like as well. But I've got a couple of Savage straps that I absolutely love everytime I reach for a leather strap.

IN my searches I've found that most dislike their rep rubber PAM straps becuase they're stiff and uncomfortable to wear. It sounds like Angus' is the best as compared to OEM but I'd prefer tang buckle vs. deployment. Curious to hear if anyone has found a comfortable / plyable rubber rep strap for tang buckle, or if I should just go for the deployment version from Angus. Thanks

Looks pretty good. I too have an older 212 and there are some good updates on this one. I wonder if you can buy the display back cover separate as many of the older ones did not have serial number on them like the one pictured does. Only thing I can note is the chrono. pushers should be polished. That's an easy fix though. Side note: I really need to wear my 212 more!

I think the 005 is overlookd much of the time because it's got many flaws. Davidsen's logo is the best because of it's angle but it's too close to the wording on the dail and the rest of the dial in general leaves a good bit to be desired. AND the pictures you show there have an F-series case back and the 005 wasn't even made until G series. I've got a modded 005 with a standard dial from Josh that The Zigmeister lume'd for me. Despite the logo not having the correct angle of slant I feel the rest of the dial is much closer than DSN's. Either way there's not a "great" 005 dial out there currently. if you want a logo watch the 000's or historic versions of late are "better"...unless like me you just really really like the design of the 005 and can deal with the flaws.

Agree with the above. I love my modded 005 but know it will never be a truely great rep. The 112 has a much better chance of doing so and if I were to build another PAM it would be the 112 or 176