peepshow

Deffo needs a PAV or sharkie, IMO.

I would lean toward dark brown shark, but that's just me.

Fantastic Rob! I think it's a wonderful fit for the Fiddy.

I love those Hamilton movements. I understand that Tourby is going to be offering some pilot watches later this year with "your" movement, as well as 2 other Hamilton PW movements. Can't wait to see those...

'JOA' is Vac. look under our modders here.

Correct. AFAIK, he doesn't "make" any parts, though. He *can* source standard rep parts or DSN parts. I think he still has some JzF cases around, but no CGs.

I think a DLC'd 210 with gold hands would rock. I'd skip modding the dial, though.

Go with DLC, as it's a much tougher coating. I'm afraid that if you PVD the Rad, you'll have the case back all scratched up in no time from strap changes.

Yes, only with the diagonal Cotes de Geneve decoration instead of the "grafitti" decoration.

Certainly a rare piece if it came that way from Panerai. However, the discrepancy between the watch series (I) and the movement series (G at the newest) has me scratching my head. BigCrown you're not the original owner, are you?

Hmmm, I thought the Logo models were supposed to use the OPI movements with CdG decoration and no swan's neck????? This watch has an E-G series OPX movement.

Strange.....

You could replace it with a gen ETA7750 that is modified for the GMT complication, other than that.....

Angus/PureTime?

Davidsen.

He's the only dealer offering a PAM082 and his Fiddy is probably the best available at the moment.

The CG is crap and the movement decoration is wrong for the 036. Something about the crown looks funny, too.

No idea of the quality, as I've never held one.

DSN offers manual wind PAMs as well!

No kidding?

What I meant was that, while DSN offers LOTS of manual wind PAMs (and up until recently *only* offered manual PAMs and the 029/063 autos), he offers far fewer auto PAMS than the other rep dealers.

My first stop for replacement screws would be DSN.

Here's a Pre-A with the 6502 case back and the A series style case:

Yeah, FGD's dials are certainly Pre-A with the fat markers and the dashes. I thought I read somewhere that there were Pre-A watches that used the Pre-V style cases and also Pre-A watches that used the A series cases and that they carried the different OP numbering.

I'll have to see if I can dig that up.

Anyway, beauty of a watch, buddy! My Pre-A 002 should be coming back from vaccum any day now!

S, for the A series style case/cg (as opposed to the Pre-A watches that used leftover Pre-V case/CGs), shouldn't it be the 6502 caseback instead of the 6500 caseback? I thought I read that somewhere....

No, DSN doesn't carry all the reps that other dealers do, and he offers some Panerai reps that NO other dealers do. He offers only a limited selection of automatic movement PAMs. He has a section here at RWG. Why not take a look and see what he's offering?

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showforum=72

And the AR coating is on the inside, so trying ANYTHING from the outside won't work.

You'll have to pop the crystal out of the case. I've heard from Jack at IWW that automobile *polish* (not wax, polish has a mild abrasive in it) will remove AR coatings.

What do you mean by "...is this legit?"

Oh, and his website shows that watch as out of stock, FYI.

$1K? Wow...

You could buy a nice used SMP for that. Heck, there's a Breitling Chrono Avenger white dial on WUS right now for ~$1400, I think. Oh, well, I was saying the same thing when folks were buying $1K HBBs.

The movement, while again a noticeable improvement over standard rep kit, still isn't there, either.

Am I the only one that would have trouble paying ~$650 USD for an A6497 powered rep? Seriously? The dial is an improvement, yes, but it still needs work (fonts).

Ugh! That CG lever is about 5 miles away from the side of the case!!!!

Since you get no brand name juice wearing the (9k!!!) panerai version of this 6497 powered watch, I'd take this over gen panerai any day of the week.

PAM249s sell for more like $11K.

In addition to not having $11K, I think the 47mm case is too big for me, so this is a win-win.

You said it, Demon. RZA is crazy-talented.

Currently listening to John Mayer Trio. For any blues fans out there, give this a listen. John isn't all pop music bubblegum. He's a watch guy, to boot!

So, my gen purchase for this year was the first to arrive. My gen RWC 1938A!

Let me just say that the quality of the case/bezel/crown/lugs of this watch is on par with the gen PAM210 I used to own. If this watch had come with a 6497-2 nicely finished by SOPROD, I wouldn't feel the need to buy another gen PAM Radiomir, actually. The lume on this watch doesn't stand up to the gen Panerai lume, but that's not a quality at the top of my priority list, honestly. Lume needs to be good, but doesn't have to be amazing for me to enjoy the piece.

The biggest physical differences between this watch and gen/rep Panerai Radiomir are the very domed sapphire crystal on this watch and the aggressively downturned wire lugs. Both of these are quite different from the Panerai Rad. The wire lugs are different from the gen Panerai in another way. There is a center section to the lug assembly that has threaded "female" connections on both ends. The wires on each side screw into this threaded center section to form one rigid assembly. While this feature makes it a little more work to change straps, I think I prefer it to the Panerai system where the lug assembly is only two pieces - one side male and the other female - that simply slide together.

Another difference between this watch and Panerai Rads is that the crown is NOT a screw down model. This makes winding the movement and setting the time slightly less of a chore, though it does so at the expense of a much lower WR rating (50m instead of 300m). But, let's be honest, who out there is actually swimming or diving with their Rad? Luminors, yes, but Radiomirs? Not likely.

So, all in all, I'm very pleased with this purchase and I feel it is money well spent. If you get the opportunity to grab one of these 2nd hand at a good price, like I did, I would recommend you do it.

Here are the mediocre pics. One of these days I will get a tripod and build a simple lightbox....

Seller's pic

Look at that domed crystal!