poretl

Interesting. I was wondering, what's the best way to find one of these in our area? We should create a rep-friendly watchsmith locator which will enable to search by country and zip code. But seriously, how does one approach a watchsmith with a rep in their hands if they don't already know one who handles rep watches?

that's the thing. So even the comparison test fails (in case you happen to have the gen one and put them side by side). With watches you compare them, you 'memorize' how a real watch looks like, if yuo cannot do a side by side comparison, and there you are. You got your answer. But as you said, not with straps.

pretty cool, isn't it?

Did the ultimate version come out yet? Or is it still in preparation? In this comparison the 312 looks fantastic. If they fix all the problems that were mentioned in this thread it will be THE watch. Also, somewhere in this thread it was mentioned that a P900 mvt replication was in the pipeline. What's the status of that?

oh, I would never bet a penny on a guess that a strap is or is not OEM unless a strap is of terrible quality and claims to be OEM. So I have no conviction if that's where you're getting at. You're right there are many kinds of the gold strap and what is also true is that not all straps of the same kind have to be identical. There seems to be no consistency really. Very hard, or rather impossible, to be 100% sure. The only true test is the quality test. If the quality is bad then it's not OEM. Not the other way around. But again, if someone sells you a top quality strap, that looks like OEM and claims to be OEM then WTF cares if it is or is not truly OEM.

the strap looks bad. If the watch is good enough to justify it you could go for the real strap. About $160 you can get one. The tunnel strap is perfect for this watch. Somewhere between a shiny leather and a sporty rubder strap which is in accordance with the brushed case and polished bezel. Good luck with fixing it/getting a new one. It would be nice if there was a V2. V3 etc so you could call it an upgrade, not just a replacement or my broken watch.

You may need to buy a new one but I didn't see them put a lot of effort replicating this watch. Probably because you can't fake the movement and the p resrve. But I like the watch. The next best thing to this one is the 320 in my opinion http://www.1-pc8838.com/pn320l01-320l-1950-days-ssle-asian-7750-p-10133.html But this one you can spot immediately once you turn it over. The power reserve is on the back. Anyone can tell. But it's not like the others you can't tell if yuo are experienced. But the everything else on the 320 besides the mvt is very good.

some of the trusted dealres seem to have it on their websites: http://www.yourtrustytime.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=37_51&products_id=3431&zenid=428dba27a420db82ef155241bacf417a http://www.puretimewatch.com/product/pam233-pvd-lite/ http://www.1-pc8838.com/pn23301-days-ssru-black-asian-p-5206.html http://www.kuvarsitwatch.com/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=31076 You may want to drop them an email asking them if they can get parts. They may not even have the watch. Who knows. By the way, how do you like the watch? This is probably (I mean the gen one) one of the best Pan watches. It's just awesome. You know who wears it? http://rolexblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/panerai-coolness-gavin-newsom-mayor-of.html I mean as a rep, how's the quality? Does the power reserve work?

When did you get it from?

Also before you pay any amount for an OEM strap, used or new, make sure you are not overpaying relative to what a brand new, 100% OEM, costs straight from the manufacturer or an AD. For example when you are buying a used supposedly OEM strap from an unknown source there are 2 factors to be taken into acccount. How much life there's left in it and the uncertainty. So it has to be discounted accordingly. You keep something like this as a source of reference: http://www.paneristi.com/straps/Strap%20Price%20lists%202009/Strap_price_2009_list_page1.jpg http://www.paneristi.com/straps/Strap%20Price%20lists%202009/Strap_price_2009_list_page2.jpg http://www.paneristi.com/straps/Strap%20Price%20lists%202009/Strap_price_2009_list_page3.jpg http://www.paneristi.com/straps/Strap%20Price%20lists%202009/Strap_price_2009_list_page4.jpg http://www.paneristi.com/straps/Strap%20Price%20lists%202009/Strap_price_2009_list_page5.jpg http://www.paneristi.com/straps/Strap%20Price%20lists%202009/Strap_price_2009_list_page6.jpg

the pass is hktan lower case

Here's also one (OEM) with the white stitches to compare with the above (VERY likely non-OEM)

this one's a gen one

Of course we don't know if it's a rep either. Maybe the strap itself does not claim it's an OEM. We have to see the back side. Maybe it's an aftermarket one and it's being sold as such.

but in any case, if you end up getting a rep that it's impossible for you to tell if it's gen or rep (same quality, real leather, detailed craftmanship, exact markings etc) then where's the problem really? There is a problem in that you overpaid for nothing but is it really for nothing? No. Aren't we overpaying anyways, rep or real, when they pay $10 000 for a watch and $500 for a strap? You bet we are. I would say the REAL problem is if you paid the OEM price and got a garbage quality rep and you don't know because you have no experience with real quality straps so in your eyes the bad strap looks ok. So while it may happen to a complete novice, after a few straps' experience this is that much less likely to happen.

great post about straps. I think this one is NOT gen (I mean OEM):

That's the 177, right? I tried it this watch on, the gen that is, and it looks amazing! Especially with the OEM strap that comes with it. It looks similar to the one in your picture, brown croc. The titanium is very impressive on the wrist and it's lightweight too for everyday use.

so what you mean is that 18.8, if the watch has the small seconds, is enough and the minimum acceptable when is has the large seconds is 28.8 in order for the seconds to look smooth? So the 21.6 will nto do much in that respect but it will keep time better? Will it at least do that?

probably you should spend your money getting a quality strap instead of getting an OEM strap. You can pay for an OEM strap (you are paying just for that) but you won't really know if what you got is OEM or not. It can be a very good quality rep and then try to prove that it's not OEM. If you are good you may have your doubts but you'll never be 100% sure. I'm sure as we speak there are tons of rep straps being sold as OEM to people who understand straps and they don's even know. Thing is there are so many people who make excellent straps, who understand straps inside out, who are attempted every day to slap all the Pan markings on them and be able to make another easy $150 on top of that. If you think about it, on Paneristi and eBay and other places there are so many OEM brand new straps being sold with their bags and everything, where on Earth exactly do they come from? If people hate the OEM straps so much and they all want to sell them and but the aftermarket ones why do they keep buying them? Wasn't it the other day that here n this very forum they uncovered this eBay listing for a rep strap that was being sold as OEM? And of all things, what did they think was not right in th whole picture? THE BAG!!! So there you have it.

I'm wondering if all manufactures are doing a wet test. But that's a good point. The fact that PAnerai are doing it, after a watch has successfully passed the dry test, it means that there is still a possibility that when put in the water it will not be as waterproof as the dry test suggests. So you are right to have your reservations to throw it in the water even if they told you it's waterproof. At least not yet. Maybe you should enjoy it for a week or so before you get waters involved. This way, if it gets drowned you'll say "well, it's not waterproof after all but at least I thought it was waterproof for a week".

this 187 watch is fr ing awesome! The strap doesn't collect dust or anything, does it? There are some very nasty rubber straps out there. Like if you get a bath tissue and rub it against it does it leave anything behind? As far as waterproof, what's the difference between dry test and test in the water. I mean they are 2 totally diffent things but isn't dry test performed to see it the watch can be put in the water? I thought this is how manufacturers test their watches before they sell them as waterproof. No? Unless there is the gen way of dry testing (which means something) and the testing in the rep world which means nothing.

that's true. And if you bump into someone who knows Panerai then you're screwed because either they'll assume immediately it's a FAKO and turn the other way or they'll be excited and they'll go ahead and ask more. Oh is that the XXXX super limited edition? Where did you get it from? How much? WOW! Can I touch it?...What do you do? Oh, you work at Subway. (I'm not saying you or anyone works at Subway but you get the idea). So sticking to the cheaper and more common watches I think is a better policy.

http://www.1-pc8838.com/index.php

I like your 187 a lot. Did it come waterproof tested and how do you like the quality of the rubber strap?