Lovecraft

My little project moves on, ever so slowly - partly because I have a lot of work and partly because the tools take a long time to get here.

This time, it's the HE-valve: It's not drilled through - there is no screw or anything else on the other side. It would seem it's glued on (or stuck on the case by some other means). I can't move it in any direction. Granted, it's water proofed for sure, but I'd still like to stick my gen on there. I was planning on being able to "use" it (ie being able to screw it) but I'm thinking I'll just chop the gen valve in half and epoxy it. Probably have to drill it away, and hopefully without hurting the case.

Has anyone who did a He-valve swap seen this before? I'd like to get some input before I start drilling away on the HE-valve.

There were requirements? And I passed? Yay!

All joking aside - that sucks. If you still want in, show them your review and they will let you in for sure.

I will! Thanks for the input!

I think it looks good. If there is really a smudge just ask the dealer to wipe away the smudge before sending.

I'll ask them to. Thanks

I converted the images and just made a seperate thread, if you want to check it out. However mine is the N-factory, is yours the H?

http://www.rwg.cc/to...n-noob-qc-pics/

Yes it's the H-factory 111N. A lot of people seem to prefer the N-factory version, but all the comparisons I could find that paint the N-factory version in a much better light are the older rep updates. I can't see that much of a difference myself in these, and my usual dealer didn't have the N-factory one so I went with H-factory. I hope I'll be happy anyway and that it's not a huge difference in quality.

As far as I can see your watch looks fine as well - but I'm a complete noob when it comes to Panerai so get a second or third opinion

No expert, but own a 111 and that looks very nice to me. CG and pin sits nice and flush and your movement looks very well adjusted. Don't know if it's the angle, but is there some kind of smudge under the caseback on the crown side?

Hmm, right. Didn't see that. Unless it's permanent I could open it up and fix it myself though. I guess I can try to get the beat error lower as well.

I just received QC pics of my 111N today as well. I can't attach them but i could forward the e-mail with the images imbedded if you want to compare.

Sure, go ahead!

Well, that's where the value is for me anyway - but not for everyone. There's a lot of people on these forums that send their watches to someone else to do the complete mod. The value for them lies elsewhere.

Another thing about a rep - franken or not - is that I'll wear it without being too worried. When I owned a Speedmaster a few years back I was always worried I'd scratch it or lose it.

And yes, no matter if you are buying gen or rep - there's always a new update of the series around the corner.

I don't know all that much about Panerais - and this is my first, so I'd appreciate some help with the pics. Also, I've never seen QC pics with a beat error as high as 0.5...

I just started out, but to me it gives me an excuse to tinker with the watch and movement. I also get some satisfaction from that part of it will be assembled by me. It's also flexible in that I can add something now, and another thing in 6 months if I'd like. To me, it's worth it right now because of the three things above. If I had to send it away to someone else I might maybe get a thing like the tube and crown since I had problems with mine. But I'd never pay for someone else to do a complete franken. The value in it to me is that I get to do it myself.

Thanks!

Well, it's fairly important with accuracy but I do think the Panerai movements are beautiful. Is it so off that it's disturbing? Most of the time it will be facing down as well. Hmm... Maybe it would be possible to buy a solid CB on top?

I was planning on getting the rubber strap and getting an extra leather strap anyway. Haven't decided on if I want a deployment clap or not.

I'm getting my first Panerai and I've decided on a 111. Right now I'm leaning towards this:

http://www.yourtrustytime.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=37_49&products_id=9172

I also saw this:

http://www.yourtrustytime.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=37_49&products_id=7704

I don't really know much about Panerais - yet, and I don't know the letter differences in the 111. Do any of you have any opinions of what I should get or what I should avoid? Is the first link/watch a solid choice?

Thanks

Yeah, bezel looks odd but it could just be the angle. The pearl is a bit off center like Mike said. Hopefully it will all look great when they send the new batch with pictures

It seemed Andrew would have preferred to have it shipped back, but I explained I wasn't too keen on it and now he's sending me a new movement Service? Yeah, I'd say so.

I'll keep the old one as a project to see if I can fix it by learning how to service it. This is by far the best solution for me

It's THE watch I want. And I guess I could afford it, BUT I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing and tearing on it. I most definitely wouldn't have the balls to open it up.. It's really beautiful though. If I had one I'd almost be tempted to wear it upside down some days to just look at the movement

The teaser picture: did you get it right now? I wish I had the money to get one too, it's a beauty alright

Oh, and the PO from Trusty: It looks great. I hope you will be very happy with it

I asked and he said right away I could send it back for repair. Still, mailing it back will be quite expensive and if they deem my insult to their tube to be too much I'm possibly stuck with repair costs and shipment back. Apart from sending it back, I can see two other options: rebate on another buy or I get to buy a new movement from him at a rebated price. Don't know if he likes those options though.

Yes, I screwed the tube right back in. I did a fairly clean job with the filing so the crown even screws on properly. I still think they will have issues with the fact that there is a notch in the tube though, but in all honesty I've tried to fix everything as far as I could myself without returning it. Ie ordering a new gen tube, crown, stem and half-link myself. I actually have a Sea-gull with proper movement coming in. I found one cheap on eBay and thought I could use it to play around a bit and learn how to service it. I COULD just use that one, but then I'd be stuck with the original non-working movement.

It's lagging behind a bit, not hugely though. I guess it could be fun to figure out how to service the movement, but at the same time it's a pretty huge deal and it's just one thing too many that's not working with this watch. As fun and interesting as it is to learn this stuff, it's also a bit irritating.

Well, it would be reasonable I guess, but I have filed a notch in the tube in order to unscrew it. Don't know how willing they would be to send me a new one and take that one back

So, I've had some problems with the movement since I got the watch. I thought that the energy reserve was a bit on the short side and the winding is very hard and slow. It's gotten progressively worse and now the watch seems to barely have more energy reserve than 6-7 hours and the winding has become ridiculously hard to where I can barely wind it up.

Is it the keyless problem people say are common for POs? Is it something I can fix myself or should I just send it back? I don't mind trying to fix it myself if it isn't overly difficult.

Progressing ever so slowly - most of the tools I need are still missing. Three weeks for some of the things. Annoying, but at least I get the time to do some research.

Used a file to make a notch in the outer part of the case tube. I then unscrewed it with a screwdriver - it loosened easily. The inner part of the tube is slightly larger than the gen, and the threads are different so I will still have to epoxy it. The extra threads should give it decent retention.

(sorry for the poor picture quality)

Haven't arrived yet - it's stuck in customs at the moment. Going to call them today and see if I can sort it out - if not I guess I just have to pay up. Either way it should be here next week.

Couldn't you just use a whole/full link instead of two half links? Not sure I understand...

I ordered a gen. But if you are looking for "a few" I'm guessing that isn't a viable option. Why do you need more than one though?

Oh, and ironically enough (considering all the stuff I've ordered from Hong Kong and Shenzhen), my package from Cousins got stuck in customs. I just got a letter saying that they want to open it and inspect it.

Indeed. I wish I could, but since it's threaded on the inside as well I won't be able to knock it out. I just hope they used a fairly weak threadlocker - if so, unscrewing it probably won't be that hard. Really hope I won't have to drill it away; it's the last resort.