thewightstuff

the quality of these are good for non OEM crown tubes

maybe he meant to type 1655 to show that it would fit the old GMT

except that as far as my limited knowledge of 1665 goes (im a 55xx man myself) the 1665 doesnt share the same part no for the bezel as the 5512 and 5513. the inside edge of the insert on the 1665 reaches the start of the superdome curve on every gen 1665 ive seen and theres no way my gen 5512 bezel would do this on one of the massive tropic 39s though i stand to be corrected if there some other jigery pokery at work here and they are the same after all

edited to say, pipped by the power of the photo lol the short answer is the the superdome has a large curvature across the top when viewed in profile, tending towards a section of a ball, the regular is flat though does have a slight curve across the top. the difference is very pronounced when you see them. what price are you being offered it at. that would probably identify which one right away. a gen superdome is hard to get having been discontinued some time ago while the regular tropic 39 is readily available and what rolex use at the moment. one point of note, i assume its for a rep. if so make sure you have the much thicker SD bezel before fitting this. if not the larger crystal is going to stick up so far it will look ridiculous IMHO. youd be much better served getting a replacement tropic 19 from the sub to fit. generic ones can be had for $10 or less and when used with the sub proportioned bezel used on many reps looks much more correct together.

a gen vintage tube in good condition is going to cost more than your whole watch while being pretty much at the very bottom of the list of things that give away a rep vintage IMHO. i dont know of a source that makes copy ones to OEM spec but i have to imagine that there must be some out there. hopefully ubi has access to this sort of info as it will save you a lot of trouble. if anyone will know he will

looks good to me though unless you have the older tube this wont fit i dont think. is this not for the version without the external o-ring? the modern tube, 24-7030 that is fitted to all vintages when they visit rolex service is the newer version with the additional rubber ring on the outside as mentioned by ubi. getting an older tube is VERY difficult. crowns are easy. the modern design is correct on the vintages as rolex change them out and its a much improved system with respect to keeping what should be outside outside your watch

ive had good success with clear nail varnish on the back. strong enough to hold down but allows the insert to be easily removed if needed. i suppose any colour would work too if you have a particular preference

i think what TVT was saying was that the debate regarding whether it was still hot or not and the one concerning brand longevity are not the same thing. as i said before, im seeing PAMs all over the place for sale just now which can only show one thing. many people are getting out which would suggest many are feeling that they arent too hot anymore. when you look at the small numbers produced, the plethora of used models everywhere is even more stark. interestingly prices are down too on used quite a bit. one of the many reasons i pulled a buying of a radiomir. i love the vintage models and the 1950 but im not feeling the brand like i once did. ref longevity, im sure they arent going to disappear though it will be interesting to see where they do go.

me too, have patience young vaccum

feel free to PM me when they arrive and let me know your thoughts

its supply and demand. with these parts in ever decreasing supplies its only going to get worse. ive seen some scary prices for gen parts. original 93150 bracelets are more than the cost of a few rep watches and a nice mint rivetted bracelet is going to cost you seriously more. when you think that these are, by relative sense, easily available it doesnt take too much to see that theres going to be issues with rare parts that people are fighting over to keep original spec. IMHO a major factor is the prevelance of reps these days. there such a market now and its just multiplying the difficulties expontentially. rep owners are guzzling up all the ancilliary parts to get theirs closer to the real deal making in tough on everyone, gen owners included. just look at bezel inserts, scarce to find good ones now when they used to be plentiful. any coincidence that all those reps are after a decent bezel as stage one of improvements theres literature going for more than whole watches did new these days. the one god send is that the readily available triplock is the current replacement for these. sticking this onto your watch will both make it pass slightly more muster and not force you to get a bank loan. adding these NOS parts to a rep doesnt make any sense when its costing 5 or 6 times the total watch price. when its a gen vintage and you want to keep originality at all costs it becomes a tougher call. my own opinion is that if its crown and theres guards then its not worth it, especially when the later crown and tube combo offers improved engineering.

mickey, thanks for the link. unfortunately i was snoozing and missed it..doh, my gen 5512 could do with a new pearl to fill its hole up. ill keep my eyes peeled though. nice job on the insert though. its very nice indeed and looks good. bet it felt satisfying FYI, if you want to keep the insert in there with something more than a snap fit, i use some clear nail varnish on the underside. holds it great and is easily broken to allow the insert to be removed. using glue is scary, theres always the chance its not going to let it go when you need it to.

tvt, agree entirely. i knew we were pretty much saying the same thing as you point out, alot has to do with where you make the distinction regarding their making. i was taking the broader sense that anything that came out of there should be credited to them incl the many divers watches with crown levers that are clearly also of the panerai design. my own thoughts were that this was however somewhat of a stretch from a technical point of view given the outsourcing of all the components in many cases whether it be rolex, angelus or any other manufacturer. also agree ref the distinction in the way the topic is turning. as you say, it was " is panerai hot" my own thoughts are that im somewhat conflicted. the short answer is no, im seeing a huge sell off amongst WIS however im also seeing much more mainstream exposure in TV shows, commercials and magazines which would tend to suggest that interest amongst the otherwise unknowing, at the moment, public is bound to increase all i can say is that short of a vintage pam project i want to make with a cortebert movement, my interest in panerai has somewhat peaked and my vintage rolex is back on my wrist once more

i dont want to get into an argument over this, especially since in many ways we are saying the same thing however im not sure where you get your idea that the divers watches they made and are famous for didnt take place. while the article you posted was a nice summary it was for certain not extensive or complete. many similar articles on other brands make no mention of certain issues however this doesnt mean they ceased to exist. there was an issue of 700 "kampfschwimmers" for german use and a issue of similar watches for the italians though i dont know exact numbers on this. while i agree that the quantities produced were indeed small and that their history prior and concurrently was definately that of making guages and tools of all sorts, there was certainly more than a handfull of watches produced and they were in much more general use than is suggested. i would liken the modern equivelant as being somewhat like CWC. these are military issue now to the British navy and rm though at the moment theres little fuss about or with them. today they are simply a functional tool with no sense of anything else. no ones paying much attention to quantities made or released and theres no history or romanticised involvement. much like panerai in their day.

looks nice,just out of interest. where did you find the gen dot?

i'd agree regarding sticking with the white version. these watches are rare and expensive in the flesh with the red being even more so. while your watch is entirely a personal choice it would make sense to avoid something thats going to attract suspiscion too much. for me, owning a gen 5512 and about to add a 5513, the one issue with rep vintages are that the dials look, well, new. even from far away. theres issues with font, crowns etc etc however even before this you can spot pretty easily that its not a couple of decades old from rather a large distance.

just out of interest. what was the cost for the dial work and what models did you get done? i would be interested in sticking in a 5513 dial however i can get a gen replacement for $3-400 in original spec so was curious to see if it would be worth it.

just to pick up on your article above. while a nice review of the company and times, its hardly a thorough indication of quantities produced. theres no mention of divers watches for which they are technically most famous amongst watch lovers and these were definately produced in fairly big numbers, for panerai atleast lol.

edited to say that you posted above while i was typing lol my understanding was that panerai had continued in some form until the richemont buyout and that things just ramped up after that. i agree with what you are saying though regarding history and longevity. i have certain reservations about many watch brands relating to lack of inhouse movements and use of ETA bases within, especially when you get an interest in all areas and see the quality of reps with essentially the same internals with drasticaly different prices. call rolex what you like but the caliber 1570 in my sub is a piece of engineering greatness and for me the best part of the watch. no rep can get this no matter how identical they get. can it be said about this with panerai or many others. my own thought is no and for me this is a big part of any watches indentity your point ref where panerai will be in 10 years is interesting and infact this very thought actually just made me pause on a purchase of a radiomir this week. whether things will change when they get their inhouse movement up and running i dont know. it should certainly give them some status to match their pricing however in a historical context, im not sure where this puts them given they have no history of making their own movements using rolex and then angelus when rolex took exception to their movements being used in axis forces watches. i see many pams for sale, disproportionately large amounts when you look at production figures and this does give me some concern ref long term value. while one should never buy a watch as in investment, having it loose alot of value is a concern none the less. the vintage pams commanding upwards of 30k curiously werent even 1/10th that several years ago. thats a big jump and would make me worried if id just bought thats for sure. as you say, large watches are in vogue just now and no doubt fuelling prices and demand however that being said, large watches have always been around and will do so i feel. i think we are seeing just now, a crest of a wave against cold digital products. its evident elsewhere and not just watches. people realising accuracy never before imagined in many things isnt worth the lack of character and attachment that comes aswell. this crest will surely fall off but i dont think it will go back the other way and things will hold somewhat. i think one of the things effecting panerai also is that its somewhat a victim of its own success. the exclusivity and lack of public awareness was what drew many to the brand when viewed with its military history. its now gaining greater recognition, being seen everywhere from TV to magazine covers etc and this kills the very thing that drew many in. the feeling i get is that a large majority are getting out and going elsewhere, often it seems back to established brands such as rolex but with vintage models. i know i sold my gen pam 111 (actually replacing with a rep) and choked on getting a modern radiomir this week. my gen 5512 rolex hasnt been off my wrist for the last few months and im looking at a 5513 or military tudor sub to add alongside. a while back all i could talk about was panerai

tvt, i know you were probably paraphrasing however i think you will find that they made more than 30 watches during the war. there was an issue of 700 issued to german divers who were trained by the italians for starters and are often seen now as the kampfschwimmer models. ontop of that there were the models issued to the italian divers and the navy received panerai watches for some time over many years. the egyptian navy also had a special model of panerai issued. in all actuality its this military "tool" spec and lineage that makes them so desirable to watch afficionados. look at the interest and prices around rolex 5517 military issues and other pocket watches. its something thats not restricted to simply watches but theres a bit of romantic history around such timepieces and companies that can be quite alluring. sure panerai are trading on this, just like breguet do with their older french heritage. it certainly makes for more interesting reading than a modern desire to just make an efficient and quality watch. thats dull

just fyi, its 3.0mm x 0.3mm pitch theres drawings posted up in The Zigmeisters forum i sent showing the pitches etc for various tubes. while i doubt the difference of 0.05 would make much odds, ive had great success with a fine thread pitch size of 0.35mm, just wanted to let you know both to stop the misinformation and incase anyone was bothered about being exact

1.2mm some use 1.3mm also to give more clearance

nope, still on original tritium which is pretty yellow looking and uneven across the surface. its shrunk back a little revealing the white markers underneath around the very edges. its the same as in the pics at the top but just the light is different, and the glass less scuffed i did toy with the idea of changing out the dial for one in more the condition they would have been in new but id miss the one thats in tbh

thats a nice watch virgil, thanks for putting up the pics. i didnt know that they had ever offered a gilt dial on these too, id just assumed it was only 5513. theres never much info around on 5512s somehow. i guess their being rarer means they are always just passed in mention when giving history of the subs etc. apparently there were 7 different dial version on the 5512s though i dont know what they were. i do know that not all showed SCOC on the dial even though the movement inside was certified. apparently these were the only non dates ever to feature chrono cert. yes it had the tropic 19 superdome fitted. nanuq, i sure did replace it with another dome. i love them though i actually have a more flat topped in it at the moment. put it in as it was all i could get while i waited on some more domes coming and it works well with a black NATO, actually better than it ever looked with the domed glass in. strange but true, however im keeping it in until i get bored on the strap and want to put the bracelet back on at which point ill swap crystals again nanuq, forgot to add. dont you have a great 5513 or is my memory playing tricks?