panerai153

I took my 063 out of my watchbox in my safe yesterday and immediately the crystal fogged. I put it in a sealed jar with some dissicant material immediately with the crown all the way out. unfortunately this morning it looks about the same. I took the back off a little while ago, and there is definitely water inside. Not like it was running out, but droplets on the caseback as well as fog on the crystal. I put it back in the dissicant jar with the back off, but I'm pretty worried about permanent damage. It's running, but I don't know for how long. Anyone have any further suggestions. I would pack it up and send it up to The Zigmeister but he's still off and all I get is an automated response from his email server. i don't have the skills or the tools to tear it down. I'm sure the movement will need to be serviced and relubricated at the least. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. thanks

Not only are the Chinese movements better, there are several other alternatives to ETA. Ocean 7 is already using the Sellita movements, others are using myiota and some Soprod. So it's not going to be the end of the world if ETA stops selling movements. What it may end up being is a really bad business decision for ETA, as they are probably geared up to produce X number of movements. If all the smaller watch companies start using other movemednts, it will seriously cut into the total numbers that ETA produces every year. I think Nicholas Hayek was a business genius. He took Swatch from a obscure plastic "throwaway" watch company to a mega billion dollar watch conglomerate, but he was obsessed with the idea that he could control the watch industry by controlling the movements. He should have learned a lesson from the Hunt brothers from Texas who thought they could corner and control the Silver market a couple of decades ago.What he failed to grasp was one of the most common tenents of business, When there is a need, someone will step up and fill that need. Obviously, the Chinese as well as others are prepared to do just that.

That was the price of the strap plus deployant. they came together as a package. I'm seeing unmarked "PAM" style deployants selling on Ebay for around 100 USD, so maybe 66.00 for the strap and buckle wasn't so bad after all. As for the dust, I suppose it does collect, but before the photos, I had it on almost all day, and I had been sanding a mirror frame, and had sanding dust everywhere. I blew off the dust as best I could, and wiped the watch down, but didn't wipe or wash the band. I'm surprised the PAM guys over on Paneristi haven't gotten this guy's auctions taken down, if he's selling fake straps as genuine. Boy, his packaging looks very good. I compared it with a known genuine rubber strap package and his looks identical. At any rate. I really like the watch, and the strap is super comfortable, and I'm not a big fan of rubber straps.This one will do me just fine. I can't see spending 250-300 USD for a genuine deployant buckle and then another 120.00 USD for a strap to put on a 320.00 USD watch! Only downside, the crown guard lever is not as tight as I would like. I plan to replace the crown with a "t" t48 and it is deeper dished, is that correct? Will that make the lever looser, because if it is any looser, it will not be secure. What is the fix for this problem? can you source replacement levers that have a little more depth to the bottom "foot", or would you have to replace the entire crown guard? Thanks

My DSN 024A arrived today, and I have to say, while not being and expert on what's right and what's wrong with the PAM's of today, I am pretty impressed with this watch. The case construction fit and finish are all very nice. the CG lever closes snugly, although I would be a bit happier if it was a little tighter. I've only had it for about 8-10 hours, so it's a little too early to tell what the accuracy will be. I picked up a rubber strap and deployant buckle on Ebay,supposed to be genuine, but I don't know. the strap was sealed in a package from Officine Panerai, same exact color lettering and wording as one shown on one of the genuine PAM forums. So possibly it's genuine. I do know it's much softer than the one that came with the watch. I have some photos, so all you PAM experts let me know if I got my 66.00 USD worth for the strap and deployant. Another thing, As soon as I got it home, I put it in my waterproof tester, and it passed at 3 atm.Now that certainly doesn't mean that I can use it on my next 60-75 ft. dive. What it does however, is give me a little peacer of mind that it is safe for hand washing and running through a heavy rainstorm. Here are some photos taken today

So what you're saying is you can either finance another car for 66 months, or lease that same car for 36 months, is that correct? You would be starting out with a new vehicle, not the one you have now. I believe that there are several factors to weigh in the lease vs purchase of a car. One very important consideration is the number of miles per year. If you have no problems staying under the maximum allowed miles, then a lease may be OK. If you put a lot of miles on a car, the mileage penalty can be pretty Draconian. Also your leased car will be under warranty the entire length of the lease. Your purchased vehicle will be out of warranty for 2+ years, if you drive it until it's paid for. Some folks used to say, stay away from leases because you never build up any equity in the vehicle. the problem with that theory is that if you decide to trade after 3 years, the car will likely not be worth any more than what's owed on it, so that theory doesn't hold water unless your purchase length is the same as your lease length, both 36 months in your case. If that were the case, at the end of 36 months you can walk away from the lease and you are basically back at zero, if you purchase, you own the car with some value still in it. You just came off a lease deal, how satisfied were you with the lease terms? I never leased a vehicle, because for many years, I put too many miles on a car each year to make a lease feasible, but I know it has become very popular. My son has a large farming operation, and they lease almost all their equipment. In his case, it's a direct write off instead of a depreciation, which in the case of some farm equipment the depreciation schedule is 5-10 years. they lease for 2 years, always have pretty new equipment, and it's always in warranty. Yours is a hard question, because every individuals situation is different. A lease may be ideal for some folks and a costly trap for others. Depends on what you want to do and feel comfortable with.

That's a great looking watch. Mine is sitting in our local post office, will pick it up tomorrow and post some photos. Just got in a genuine rubber strap and deployant I won on Ebay. It's going on the 24A. I will probably wear it for a few days and then it's off to The Zigmeister for a relume crown change and movement service. I've been wanting a good example of the PAM submersible for a looong time!!

Congratulations to you and your beautiful bride. may you have many years of marital bliss.

I believe that one positive with the BK DSSD, it will be inspected by BK and you will be getting one that is as close to perfect that he can get. With most of the others they get watches from the manufacturer, and they ship them on to the customers.I didn't realize VAC was building DSSD's, but his would also be inspected, and probably waterproofed, lume upgraded and serviced,or at least you would have that option.

Beautiful watch and a great,great modding job. Incidently, if you or anyone is interested in a truly nice james bond strap which has the correct buckle as well as the cloth keeper, look up a Watch U Seek forum member "aliasrichmond" he sells the straps in 18,20 and 22mm sizes.Go here to see photos

Beautiful watch. i'm curious as to who did the seal/pressure test. I just tested my PAM 063, and it leaks like a seive around the crown. Of course it's not a submersible, but I would like for it to be water resistant enough to feel comfortable washing my hands.

siesta, I think the problem is lots of folks were trying to do the impossible. the Rolex GMT /2893-2 is a difficult if not impossible build. possibly if you were able to source the longer canon pins that are available, but not standard, it would be possible. As far as PAMs, i would guess that the basic problem is a lot of the cases were never designed to fit a 2893-2. the nice thing about the old Eddie Lee cases was the cases were designed for the 2893-2 and when they were no longer available they started using the 2836-2's, Unfortunately, those old watches are pretty rare.Eddie Lee's prices were on the high end for reps back in 2005-06, and I would imagine that not a lot were sold to start with. Thus the rarity. I may be wrong, but the old Eddie Lee 029's and 063's should all be usable as a 2893-2 recipient. having said that, I don't know at what point the cases changed, different manufacturer., etc. Probably the ones that are proving impossible to use with the 2893-2's are newer models that just aren't compatible with the 2893-2 movement.

W, that's a great watch. Ubi is truly a magician and a great guy as well. Wear it well. Save that box, you may be able to send it back for a "refill" in the future!!

The Zigmeister is "closed" until August 23rd or so.Emails are being "auto responded" He will be back up and running after August 23rd according to his PM message. no one is getting through to him until then.

That is a great watch. I believe the old school Eddie Lee's are the best around.Too bad he's gone and those are scarce as hen's teeth!! I had one of these as well as an 063 with the 2893-2 movements, sold both, and unfortunately, not very long afterward the 2893-2's became unavailable and the rest is history. The mods you did make this one as close to the genuine that you can have. And it's got the same motor as the genuine.

Personally, I would stick with the Swiss movement or an asian 2836. I believe that there have been quite a lot of problems with the Rolex replica movenment.I've never had one so i can't say from personal experience. most of the dealers are selling them at a premium, and they aren't worth paying extra for. If you open the back, anyone who is knowledgable about Rolex movements will not be fooled by the Rolex "clone". Another factor, any decent watchsmith can fix an ETA movement and the parts are available (At least for now, but who knows for how long) On the other hand with the Rolex Clone, parts may be difficult to source, and watchmakers aren't going to be interested in trying to repair a watch that parts are not readily available for.

I would suggest you get in touch with HKTan, he used to hang out on paneristi.com. He can build you a strap from anything your heart desires. Personally, I would go for a Black gator (you can get the small scales which won't look out of place on a smaller dress watch. i have one on a gen. IWC Calatrava and it really makes for a very elegant and understated dress watch.

much to my dismay, while trying to get the bracelet off my GMT IIC this afternoon, the end link on one side split. It looks like they are one solid piece, but obviously they are three pieces that seem to be glued together. I may try using some epoxy to glue this one back together, but failiong that I need to find another endlink. IF anyone has one lying around, i will be more than happy to pay you for it + postage to me. thanks

I have to agree, the GMT IIC is a pretty darn good rep right out the box. I tried to make it something that it wasn't i.e Genuine ETA 2893-2 movement that wasn't worth the compromise. Everyone i believe who has tried it even the few that have been sucessful with the transplant will say "never again". I ended up wit ha genuine crown/tube, relume and that's all. Crystal project and movement project went by the wayside.I'm happy with it just the way it is. It's accurate, nice looking and serves it's purpose very nicely. I'm not trying to fool anyone. I've had more genuine Rolexes than reps over the years. I bought them for me, not to impress anyone.Started with an Air king in about 1966, and bought my first Sub in either 1968 or 69. All I remember is it was 500.00 Dollars brand new with all the boxes,papers, etc from Hausmann's Jewelers in New Orleans. Back in the old days, I was pretty hard on watches, and the Rolex subs and SD's held up no matter how rough you treated them. Over the years I've gotten away from them and tried other brands, but I always seem to come back.

Here is where you need to look PAM Crowns You can get all the info you need if you read this thread. You need a T48 .09mm S/S Crown. RWG member t can fix you up.

Don't even have photos any more, I don't think, but i had 2 Eddie Lee PAM GMT's 029 and 063 with the ETA 2893-2 movements. bBoth had made the trip up north to The Zigmeister for re-luming amd better crowns (Can't remember who i got the crowns from, long time and many watches ago!!) Right after I sold them the they stopped putting 2893-2's in reps. As far as genuine goes, lots! I regret selling my 1680, 1665, UN GMT +- Big date, and the list goes on. The 1680 and 1665 were probably 30 years or more ago, when they were still current models.I was too stupid to know any better back then. Boy, isn't hindsight great.

Congratulations!! And as Freddy said, wear something simple ,elegant and understated. Remember, this is the brides big day, and if you want to have a big night after, don't upstage the bride!!

Scotty, The watch I'm looking at wouldn't have some of the problems you stated, as it is not a chrono, it uses the A7750 I suspect as it is a seconds at 9 model. This is the original 7750 configuration is it not?

I'm pretty keen on a DSN PAM submersible. Actually, I have been looking for a really good rep of the submersible for quite a long time. All of the previous that I saw were pretty weak copies. From what i'm reading, it looks like the DSN models are pretty good and with a minimum of modding, they will be really good. I'm torn between the 024A and the 024D. my question is from looking at the photos,are the weaknesses and strengths basically the same? In other words will a date wheel change, a better crown and possibly a jakob caseback solve the problems of both of them are there problems that one has that the other one doesn't? It's been a long time since I had any PAMS, and I'm just getting back into them, so any help from all of you PAM experts would be appreciated thanks

Thanks very much guys. I appreciate the input. Your info makes my decision very easy. buy the A7750 version, and use the 300+ USD saved to do the necressary mods, including a movement service.