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Hey J, I may be back down in SD early summer time, we can do a side by side. Mine should be arriving this week, but from all my research, i'm pretty sure it's very good. I LOVED my 196 7753, but wanted to start over and my search for the 188 was coming up short. Enjoy it, you're the one that got me all revved up to get one!

Hey Jermaine, Super nice catch, I've been craving that 188 since it's the only white dial PAM I want...gorgeous. And Carlsbad is an amazing guy, never dealt with him but he's the kind of member that makes RWG ...RWG. Found a deal on a Gen 188 which I grabbed, but I would have easily preferred yours for the deal of the year so far. Congrats J, and wear it well. Couldn't free up any free time to hook up in San Diego and grab a beer as I had hoped...and admire your 188...we drove back a little later than expected from Ensenada and Rosarito Beach, Mexico on Sun night...and now I'm about to hop on a flight back to San Francisco. P.S. Love the strap.

Wow, it's moments and contributions like this that remind me why I love RWG more than any other forum. Our members are true watch enthusiasts and we have a real passion for watches. Anyone can join a Rolex, Breitling, Panerai, etc forum(I have, and go often to check on things), but to me RWG is home. This is where my enjoyment of watches comes full tilt. Thanks for the wonderful contribution!

Awesome Dluddy, I have been holding off on sending my case ONLY because I want it to come out solid on the first try. A Big UPS to the member who took one for the team and sent the case in. I really like Rolli's as well, I think if this one comes out good, we'll be running like lemmings to get the PVD!

Awesome Kruz, you are always the early bird on these amazing finds! I kept my EL 127 too, fully modded by Rob on a oem black calf strap. We really do have the best watch enthusiasts on this forum, more so than on the gen forums.

Nice pickup, that's a CLASSIC. Your logic makes total sense, you can enjoy that watch for 5 more years and sell it for the same price if not more than what you paid for. Enjoy it!

Hey Ssurfer, I know I have 2 cyclops coming from you, is that the best cyclops for the 063? I sold off my extra original Chieftang cyclops except for 1(always hold onto one, you never know I learned), and I also have 2 more of Brian's cyclops coming once the AR issue gets resolved. I have 2 power reserves I'm sending out to The Zigmeister as well, a 27 and 28 so trying to make the best choices since they're all available to me.

Undecided yet, we have a couple excellent options. I may go with a referral from Theo, but Rolli's and Ki's look solid as well. I'll PM you before I send it out, waiting for my cyclops and datewheel to show up so that I can send it up to The Zigmeister. The crappy thing is will the PVD come out MUCH darker since it already has the "PVD" look...obviously going to bead blast away since we need to utilize the same case due to the movement size, otherwise I would be sending out a SS case out for the PVD.

you'll be fine, i travel with 2-4 watches wherever i go, customs will not give you any hassles...just make sure any stickers are removed

Timezone is awesome for buying gens, so is Paneristi if you're looking at PAMs. I've even bought several from ebay from reputable dealers. If you choose your purchasing carefully and buy gently preowned, you can't lose since many times you can wear the watch for 6 months, a few years, and sell it for roughly what you paid for. That's what many Timezone members do, and this was one of the reasons why I started moving away from reps. Online retailers can save you alot of money also if you work with good ones, I bought a Breitling Skyland SS awhile back for almost $1000 off the MSRP. http://www.authenticwatches.com/. Bonus is if you live out of state, NO SALES TAX. ADs are able to work deals also, not always on the hot brands, but with solid brands like Omega, Cartier, etc...you should be able to knock 15-30% off.

I'm down for 1, maybe 2...does anyone have one to comment on? also i'm assuming it will fit the other movement.

Just getting back into town, WOW...thanks for all the effort Marco, you answered so many possible scenarios with your trial and error. so basically, you are SOL unless you have a Jimmy Fu case... I guess I'll have to have my finish removed, bead blasted, then PVDed

That's what I was afraid of, I was planning on just sending out another SS case set. I actually asked the ioffer supplier and he confirmed this, that the angle of the stem would not fit so all of us that have the pretreated 28 cases will need to bead blast, polish, then PVD...I'm okay with this, since this will be my ONLY PVD model I want this baby perfect. It's great to hear everyone chiming in because, as a collective, we can gather all the information and make the best decision. dave

I would take a dozen+ myself. doing a replica CG ala Jimmy Fu would do very well also...since you're thinking about taking on a project.

I just got my 028 and of course the "PVD" looks awful but the dial and movement is why i bought this! If i sent out the case for beadblasting and gen PVD, will the PVD cover up the current dark grey/black color or will it just make the new PVD darker than it should be because it's already starting with a dark oolor. If that's the case, maybe I should source a replacement SS Case. Do any of our experts here now if the movement will fit a standard rep case, and which case would be most accurate. Excited about getting this project rolling!

dani, you forgot your lello datewheel!

Looking for some verification on the processes offered, CORRECTION TiAN or TiC being the one I want as well...the correct dark grey. Please also note that I am not putting together a PVD group run as I've received a couple PMs already. This is just a fact finding mission for any and all of us planning on doing a PVD project.

Rolli seems to be the consensus with all the PMs i've received so far.

Hey fellow Pamaholics, I know several of us have pending PVD projects, I recently got a chance to jump all over a PAM 028-2892 power reserve as did other lucky members. After cyclops, lello datewheel, tritium lume, and gen crown mods...all we need is the best PVD. I had contemplated earlier this year getting a gen 000 and sending it out for PVD, but didn't due to the cost of the gen and worrying about whether i would like the final product. Now that I have a 028 that DEMANDS a proper PVD treatment, any thoughts and who to approach? Thorsten has a great guy in EU, I know Ajoesmith has run some PVD projects, and Rolli comes up as another great possible contact. I'm not trying to set up a group PVD, but maybe collectively, we can narrow down our searches and send them down to get PVDed. Thanks in advance. dave

Congrats V, I'm sure his small wrists will grow into a full sized PAM sooner than you think!

Wow, an active debate with good points on both sides. I just wanted to drop a quick 411 on a trip to China...i'll see if I can have afternoon tea with Joshua or Andrew next time I'm there to even things out! 2:00 am PST, I must still be on HK time. Theo, yes I'm hoping things are moving along with our dial swaps! for your FYI, Ssurfer has the cyclops that you need if you contact him...and it looks like i'll have a 028 also since I bought one from that ioffer guy when I saw the thread upon my return on Sat. are you sending yours out for PVD...if so, let me know who you're going through!

So sorry for your loss Maciek god bless dave

hey thom, good to see you're around, haven't seen you for awhile yes, i've been on TZ looking for the AP ROO rubberclads, they've been ranging from $13.5-14.5 for average condition BUT they are holding their values. this is one of the reasons why i started concentrating again on gens because i can enjoy my gens for a year, couple of years, and still resell them for roughly the price that i paid...this is especially true if you buy used, you won't lose. angus is NOT part of the cartel, one of the "cartel" members isn't a fan of angus and has made efforts to impede his business. i have no issues with the cartel per se, they are good dealers that provide a good service, i just don't like the idea of collusion that goes on...and i would prefer the extra effort to put out the best, not a series of generation after generation sucking us in. and i've never been one of these anti cartel guys, just making a comment after thinking about things when i was in hong kong, i was really hoping to see some deals, but almost ALL dealers didn't budge on price...could be a dollar weakness issue, but i think it has more to do with the influx of new BIG money in asia...they don't need to come down in price anymore like in the past. when you look at the amount of high end watches that are offered, it's staggering...but hong kong is a hub for not only HK, but China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore...they have plenty of buyers with slick new credit cards or deep pockets with cash. the only selling point they were pitching to me was no tax, which is great...but in the US, i can buy from a dealer from out of state, and get the same deal, just pay for $60 next day shipping. this is one of the frustrating issues is that i love my local ADs, but i still purchase from out of state often because the tax saving is too significant.

For me it isn't about the lower price, Angus' price might be identical...for me it's about customer service and who I like to direct my purchasing to. My issue is when a couple dealers get together to tell a factory NOT to sell to other dealers, only to them so that they can set the price. When a couple dealers decide for everyone that the quality is sufficient, when it could be better from the beginning. Also when a group gets together knowing that they can sell an inferior product now, make improvements along the way and get everyone that bough generation 1 version 2, then upgrade to version 3 from version 2, etc. I know there have been countless threads that I really never paid much attention to, but when i hear that the cartel tells the factories not to sell to another dealer, they're [censored]ing with competition and free trade to the detriment and liabilities of the customer which is...all of us. But that is why we have choices and where we decide to put our spending dollars, euros, etc towards. We all have choice who to buy from, I prefer to buy from someone who offers excellent customer service and is always trying to provide a great service and better products. I run my own business and know that my clients have options when they do business with me. It's not price, it's the quality product and service you extend. I received this from my first and favorite dealer Eddie Lee, now that he's retired, Angus is filling in quite nicely. dave P.S. To answer questions about reps in China...YES, they are everywhere. You can't walk around TST without someone whispering "copywatch, copywatch...". i spent many days on a previous trip looking at rep watches in hong kong, in the markets, in Shenzhen(Lowu complex), Beijing...but the truth is you are just going to come across garbage. i spent hours with what i felt was a dealer who had better stuff, constantly show me items that i wasn't looking for...granted, i was only looking for swiss Pams, Breitlings, IWCs, but when they were able to get me the quality standards we're used to, the pricing was good, but not remarkable. the best will be "hidden" in other watch cases that they will bring out, or brought over by runners...but overall a waste of time. we get the Cream of the Crop here without wading through the BS, that's why alot of us take our community for granted since once we found our home base, we hit pay dirt and can always get the best of the best. imagine if we didn't have RWG, or some of the other forums, what options would we have? how nice is it to say I want a Ceramic HBB, a swiss Breitling Super Ocean, a Swiss 111h, a IWC 3717 etc and get it? send it out for a Chieftang Double AR, a The Zigmeister superlume? who out there in the real world that we live in have these options? i purchased 3 gen PAMs and a gen Breitling Skyland this year because I was getting bored with my reps, but the truth is, i'm re-engergized about seeking out the best and building up my collection again. i know i have taken things for granted and that's why i appreciate and value our forum so much. you really can't do much better out there on your own, we're truly lucky to have our dealers.

Thanks Warren, it's awesome traveling but I LOVE COMING HOME! and even though i've been keeping up with some emails, I have around 900 to wade through, my first stop once i opened my Macbook was RWG...I guess this is my home that I missed while I was out. dave p.s. excited about the AP ROO secs @ 12:00 too...i've been spending way to much time looking at the trading corner on Timezone for one and I think I'll hold off for now and wait for Angus to offer this!