Finepics

Absolutley

I work with Gold in my job and I can categorically back PT's claims here. I have also seen one of his watches and there is no doubt that it was solid gold. Actually Gold prices are going through the roof at the moment so they are a bit of a abrgain!!

The hands are very good. My only criticism is the second hands will not fit as the tube is too short to clear the dial. If you order make sure to ask for a longer tubed second hand (or use the existing one). The finish on the hands is very good and no scratches or marks anywhere (much better than standard). The really good news is they will allow you to get rid of the cannon pinion problem without having to change the pinion which is excellent news. I know this as I have just fitted some.

This is an automatic but you do need to wind it up before wearing it if you have not already done that. Wearing it then keeps the mainspring topped up. Usually choppy second hands are a result of poorly cut/meshing gears in the train. If the movt is keeping good time despite the problem then that is where my suspicions lie. Only way to really cure this is to get it exchanged

See if The Zigmeister replies to this. I remember asking a similar question with regard to the Arktos movt - if they were the same size as a valjoux (obviuos swap) and I'm sure he said they were different. At some point I will take the Arktos down and measure them if you dont get an answer soon. Actually I need to know how to remove the PAM rotating bezel to fix the damn NSEW permanently!!

I doubt it very much. Which dealer is going to go to all that trouble when they nearly all drop ship fom the wholesalers without touching them!! These are factory photos dished out to the sellers. I thought I recognised the name but never realised he was a dealer until now, don't get to hear much about his dealings.

Rob, it's very re-assuring to see the The Zigmeisterzumba name again. A little catching up to do I guess but you've not missed too much.

It does give further weight to the possibility that will be on general release sometime soon and I have certain information that would support that theory.

Check out this new version of the good ol 111 with the new thicker crown - does not look at all bad!! Obviously from the same stables as ours so when are our dealers going to get them? http://www.ioffer.com/i/Panerai-111-Thicke...ipping-10567274

It could be repeated but we are not sure yet how well these will go so we have decided that 75 is what we need for now. If the interest is sufficient over the next few days then we might up it to the 100 so we will see what happens. Of course a lot of you might also want them AR coating with the crystal so keep that in mind.

I wonder how much the gem one would be - couple a hundred bucks!! I have emailed my people again to ask for the full price based on 75 units and also asked if the tax will need paying if the order is shipped out of the UK. Will submit full order tomorrow.

And of course you could always upgrade it to a Swiss 7750

Thanks for all the praise you guys. Just bear in mind that there is an 8 week lead time on these unfortunately, so we will have a bit of a wait - but hell, whats a few weeks for perfection huh!!

Just spoken again on the phone to my man. He will credit any that are unusable due to being out of spec, but obviously would not credit for unsold lenses. He is specifying a tolerance limit of 0 / -.1 so that the upper tolerance is 0. This means that at the other end they will be .1 thinner so would still be useable and the difference unnoticeable. So there should not be any that are unuseable.

Just forwarded the PMs from Archi. It will need to be an evening for us in Europe I guess. Archi - are you east or west coast?

Well mine are cheaper but a longer wait, and I think the cost is still an issue. If we order 100 then the gross price is 10.75UK with the tax + .07 shipping plus the post out. So each crystal is 10.82 + 5.00 shipping all in UK Sterling. The tolerance problem is no longer an issue so in theory we are good to go. Archie just Pm'd me and I think he's on with my lot but we should have a new thread giving details coming up (once sssurfer's agreed).

Still can't get a good espresso here!!

Yeah, just like home but quieter.

Aha - there's a familiar face!!

As soon as we all agree I can initiate the order. Payment has to be made prior to delivery to me. I'm going to need 7 days to draw the money from pp into my bank account in order to pay them (unfortunately I don't have a credit card) so all payments would need to be in promptly. I will also need extra to cover the postage out so there would be a set fee to add to cover that (something like $7.50 or so). Also I would need the payments making in UK Sterling so that you will absorb the pp fees and not me!! - So - are we a goer

Yes it's the silver dial without the recessed subs. Just let me know if you need it. Some of these had very good movts - before all the trouble started, which seems to have been resolved again as the 212 movt is also very good.

I just need to remind you if we go with my people that there is this 8 week wait. It might be that they give an outside figure and deliver earlier (makes them look good). Are we beginning to think along the 100 quantity here. Any volunteers to start a new thread and take some numbers. The only problem I can see here is that all members know the retail price, and no-one will profit from this, so there is no room for error if we don't get a 100 orders. If we order and only sell 50 someones got to pay for that difference so how should we handle this.

If you are a regular customer of a particular dealer you might try asking. They can sometimes get the odd bit. I have a 188 7750 dial if thats any good but it's the older silver typs.

I'll happily go along with that. I will be in for 5 for myself and possibly more for customers. In my email to my company I did mention the US company offering to take back out of spec ones but I think the new design means the tolerances can be a lot finer as there is no sharp edge to maintain so less % of out of spec.