mrnixon

Thanks for your answer. I have always thought it was the risk of the arms falling off the pin that was the reason for changing. Nice to learn something new.

Without being an expert, I would still have prefered a Swiss movement. He has other versions for the same price which have Swiss movements. My impresson though, based on reading this forum, is that he seems to have a very good reputation for high quality.

What is the advantage of changing pins? Is it just estetics so that it looks more similar to the original, or are there any practical improvements also? As far as I have understood it is only Davidsen selling Pam with a longer canon pin?

I am new to the world of reps and have only bought one, a pam 111 but will probably buy a few more in the future. But are you serious when you say that 80% of all reps have a problem requiring a watch smith to be repaired? Does that mean that I can only expect 1 out of 5 watches to work reasonably well when I order them?

I am not an expert,m but if I am buying a rep watch with for example a Swiss ETA/Unita 6497, isnt it then the same movement as in other regular Swiss brands using the same movement such as Tissot, Panerai etc given they have not modified it of course? I have just bought my first rep watch, a Pam 111, and one of the logics behind my choice was its simplicity. There are so many nice reps but then I thought that the more complex it gets (screw crown, moving bezel, chrono, etc) , the more can go wrong and it is I guess also rather complicated to have it repaired due to lack of spare parts and the fact that some watchmakers dont want to deal with fakes. So I thought I should go for one on which almost nothing can go wrong and which has a simple (manual non chrono) and rock solid Swiss movement. I then ended up with two watches on my short list, the Pam 111 (or base but I prefer with second arm) and a IWC FJ Jones. From my limited experince I thought not much can go wrong on a watch like that, especially not the IWC since it uses regular spring bars. I got my watch last week and it works perfectly and keeps time as good as my gen Rolexes. I must say I am very impressed with the quality and I dont see that anything can be broken or worn out on this watch. My only concern is that one day I will have to get new screws replacing the screwed spring bars but I guess that will not be needed for many many years considering how robust they seem to be. The ETA 6497 seems to be a very simple movement can probably be repaired by any watchmaker using standard parts.

I am planning to modify a rep Pam I bought recently. I have boght an unbranded model with a swiss 6497 movement and I am very happy with it so far. See link for pictures, it is the same but mine is stainless steel. http://cgi.ebay.com/UNITAS-ETA-6497-WATCH-...1QQcmdZViewItem I am planning to do three modifications in order to give it a more vintage feeling. I have been inspired by a model I have seen which was referred to as 1940. [url=http://s16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/puretime/WATCHES/PANERAI/1940/?action=view¤t=DSCN0103.jpg]http://s16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/pure...

What kind of movement does it have? Is it Swiss made or Chinese?

Do you mean temporarily, or has he closed down for good? I was planning to buy a 111h and brass arms from him. I got the impression his Pams were the best quality available if I am not concerned with some minor flaws regarding font size etc.

Looks very good. I have a similar project in mind. It would be nice if you want to post some more pictures and also let us know how you did to get this aged look at the dial. Also, have you considered to give the arms some kind of matching "aging treatment"?

Very nice. What "brand" is it? I have seen that Davidsen has one, is it his model? Also, could you describe how you made your dial look more vintage with the sugar and coffee mix? It looks very nice.

I have also been looking at Davidsens vintage watches and really like them. I have one concern, and that is the screw down crown. Isnt it a risk that you wear it out rather quickly since you have to unscrew it and screw it every day as it is a manual movement?

Congratulations. I have also ordered one but had it sent to a friend of mine since I am currently working abroad. The watch has arrived but my friend is totally disinterested in watches so I have not been able to get any feed back from him. It would be nice if you could give some vomments on your first impression. After I ordered the watch I learned about this canon pin issue (ie at swiss etas the pin is a bit short) but on the pictuers in the auction it looks like it goes all the way up.

Thanks Kruzer and Vacuum for your answers. So the problem with the pin being to short is that the arms can fall of I guess? Do you know if there are any other dealers apart from Davidsen who are taking care of this issue. The reason I am asking is that I am not very handy so I cannot fix this myself I dont know any watchmaker who can help me, so I would defenitely prefer to buy one that is ready to use from the beginning without modifications. The one I am thinking about is either a 177H from Davidsen or one of his vintage models of Marina Militare with plastic crystal which looks like the old ones. A beautiful watch.

I have a question about the pin (pin fix). If I have understood it correctly it is that the pin a bit too short? Does that mean the arms can fall of? Why dont they fix it from the beginning? Is it correct that only Davidsens models are modified so they dont have this problem? Thanka

Azgjav, Some of your panerai pictures showed dials and other deteails looking "aged" and old. It looks really nice. How were you able to get that patina? Thanks

Sorry I dont want to sound negative but on the picture the lenght of the arms are not correct. The hour arm is to short. At a gen the hour arm goes just to the inside of the numbers and the minute arm reaches the out side of the numbers. See for example this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-IWC-Ingenieur-Auto...1QQcmdZViewItem

Thanks Joshua for a very detailed description. I am not so concerned with the minor estetical differences between a gen and a rep, but rather the quality of the watch, so my main goal is to get a watch that does not break, the crystal does not crack etc. Based on my preferences, would you recomend Davidsen if I want a watch of good quality which will last for a long time? Also I would like to ask you, where can I find Davidsen? I keep reading his name but I have not seen any link or other way of contacting him. thanks Ulf

I like the strap, it is very suitable for that type of watch. It certainly not elegant, but it looks really cool in a vintage looking diving watch with its "function over form looks". Congratulations. About your 127, did you buy one of those Best available 127 and from that you made all the modifications. The reason I am asking is that I am looking for a best quality possible 127, but I dont have time nor knowledge to modify my self.

I liked tvts detailed and informing message. As I started the thread with the issue dealing with quality (problems) I guees it was my fault that the thread gets a bit problem focused, as it will be the nature of the the whole issue. Of course it is nicer to only talk about the nice stuff, but at least for me I was very informing to also see the down side.

Now it gets a bit OT, but must say I am very impressed with the quality of the vintage Rolexes (the ones with 15XX caliber). I have been collecting vintage sport rolexes for 15 years (have had all of them appart from the Daytonas) You are right that the bracelet of the Rolex from the 60's and 70's are a bit weak, like almost all other brands from that time. But the movement is simply fantastic. I have for example a GMT Master from 1966, which still keeps time within the chronometer requirements. The same with my vintage Explorer 2 (the old one with big orange 24h hand). I dont expect a rep to be that fantastic (would of course be fantastic if it is), but if it could stay in decent shape for a longer period of time I would be happy. But as some previously pointed out above, a good swiss movement is probably not the weakest link so if one is just a bit careful with outer parts I might last the same?

Thanks By-Tor, TVT, Kanerich Devedander Crystalcranium and Cornerstone Your comments are very useful as I have no idea what to expect from the buying process (I for example did not expect that one has to service a newly bought watch) or weak points of a replica or the general quality levels. To R Tracy and Pugwash who did not like the topic. I appologize if my initial question sparked anger. As I am new here, I did not know that quality issues were a bit sensitive and were to be avoided. I just wanted to learn to know more about that expect of a replica. The nice part of the reps, ie their design etc I can judge myself from look at gen or pictures, but the quality is almost impossible to judge from a picture so then at least I appreciate to hear comments from people with more experience.

Thanks tvt for your and very informing answer. Although it is of course nice to read the potential problems, I aggree with you, it is better to go in to this with open eayes and to know what to expect. My logic was that a Pam would be a perfect rep watch since I get the impression that there are not so many things that can go wrong, no bezel, no screw crown, no link etc. So I guess there is not much to worry about on a pam appart from the spring bar and the fact that the saphire crystal seems to explode sometimes. Do you know if all/most of the dealers are selling watches from the same manufacturers, or if all the ones mentioned here are responsible for their own watches and involved in the production, quality control etc.

Thanks a lot for your answer. It was something like your reply I was hoping to read. I guess on a rep Panerai not much can go wrong? The crown/closing mechanism is so simple I guess it should last for ever? Since I never go swimming with my watches it does not matter so much if they are water proof or not. I have been collecting genuine watches for a long time, mainly vintage Rolex sports models so I am rather familiar with being careful with my watches. Thanks again for your answer. I guess I will go for one of those beautiful Pam 1950 then.

Now, the issue I wanted to discuss was not so much 80 usd up or down on the Tissots. But just to avoid misunderstandings here is roughly what one can get in terms of tissot for 300 usd: http://cgi.ebay.com/New-TISSOT-Watch-PRS-5...1QQcmdZViewItem What I am interested in is to get a really good replica, which will require no modifications or other problems and I am also willing to pay a little more for that. The one with asian movements are around 185 usd but since I got the impression that Swiss Etas are of better quality and I dont know how to modify, repair etc I think it is a good idea for me to pay the 100 extra for a Swiss movement: http://www.trustytime.com/index.php?main_p...products_id=578 I am not an expert on reps so maybe I have been looking at the wrong places but at Trustys the best panerais are 300 usd. I also get the impression that Andrew at Trusty is a very reliable and respected seller, which I also think it is important considering risks with internet trading in general. So then, can I have pretty much the same expectations on a replica as I can on the tissot? I guess a tissot should last for 10-15 years if I give it a couple of services. Can I expect something like that for a good replica also? If not, what would you say are the weak sides of buying a replica?

Sure, I can show you where you can get an automatic Tissot in a similar price range as for example a Pam 1950. http://cgi.ebay.com/TISSOT-SEASTAR-1000-AU...1QQcmdZViewItem I have personally no experience from Tissot, but I guess they offer fairly good value for money. The one in the link for example (I just spent 30 seconds on Ebay, so I am sure you can find better offers if you do more research), costs 385 usd and then you get saphire crystal, a fully working bezel, screw down crown, safety clasp and 300 m water resistance and 2 years warranty. It does not state movement but I guess it is one of the cheaper ETAs. But my main point was not to discuss details of the lower prized swiss brands, I was more interested in it as a reference when asking for your views of how much can I expect from a good quality replica. Maybe I should also then specify a little more about the replica. What I am thinking about is a good quality replica based one a swiss movement without any functions appart maybe from date. Ie not chronograph functions etc. My impression is that you have to pay around 300 usd for the better Rolex, Panerai, AP reps. So my question is, can I expect similar quality from for example the top of the line Panerai or Rolex rep as from a Tissot? Or are the reps better? If I can expect less, in what areas, lower finish, lower quality movement? etc Very thankful for comments from people who are more experienced on this matter. U