fishgodeep

Oh my days .....what an awesome build. These 201/A builds are just getting better and better! Great piece and hope you enjoy for a long time to come. Best FGD

Great Stuff J - glad they arrived at long last and you're pleased with them ! Enjoy for a long time to come. Best FGD

Quite outstanding - probably the best I have seen - everything looks so good. Thanks for sharing and hope they bring you lots of joy. FGD

Great projects - glad we could be of assistance FGD

Very nice - an all time classic and beautiful attention to details - Enjoy ! FGD

Pretty much the cream of the crop It's got me hungering to re-build my entire collection already , that case set is a beauty!! Enjoy it and thanks for your support and sharing these pics! FGD

Good choice - Enjoy and Welcome to The Club

The colour combination looks excellent - I prefer the one on the right . Nice Job ! S

It does look mint - especially like that case body and lugs - far more wearable than the old 183 black seal I have ....very tempted ! Enjoy yours guys S

A very classy looking watch with some classy modifications! FGD

Looks great S ...and you beat me to it ...mine is still awaiting assembly ! All the best FGD

It's a very distinctive looking model - but like others 47mm is too big for my tastes ....

not feeling it Kitchen utensil is very appropriate S

Yes PAM 40 B series has a black dial , or you can go for PAM 61 with Tobacco brown dial

Absolutely awesome build , nothing like upgrading the grails to bring joy to the soul Enjoy J. S

Look awesome - great skills and choice of parts - Congrats

203/A , 205/A , Pre-A 001/004 ....and maybe a sneaky 218/A just for the hell of it Only the CG eludes me now ....

Nice strap Pete ....and nice price too - thanks for the heads up - S

Thanks J ...and I hope your build brings you a lot of pleasure !

Sweet - case looks great BTW Cheers FGD

Encyclopedic knowledge Pete ....thanks a lot for sharing It's always been my understanding that the pre-cartier Panerai we're made and finished by hand in small batches. They had limited resources and funding so they kind of muddled through and "made do" in some instances. Everything you've stated above explains quite eloquently some of the reasons why we see so many differences in photographs of the same models/ year. That lack of consistency and control would go against the Swiss Watchmaking ethos , but IS the charm that makes these simple 6497 based watches so sought after by purists. On these 002A dials Rolli and I did consider tritium but beyond sourcing old exit signs from Ebay and harvesting the paint we couldn't find a way to obtain enough for 20 dials (and more for future). Then there is the problem of finding someone would could accurately apply the tritium lume and to ensure the right colour quite a lot of experimentation would have had to be done mixing with other pigments or medium. That's what you've got to love about this hobby , always something new to discover and the challenge to reproduce that comes with it ! All the best FGD

Me too Mir !- you can pick a gen up for around £4K GBP - all be it used , same with B or C series 002/001 - which could mean a repeat source for 6502-6520 case sets , CG's case backs etc . We can hope FGD

Nice build - love the dial re-lume and the glossy finish. Cheers FGD

Look excellent Mir - cant wait to see the straps they meet ! Cheers FGD

SD - I know how this feels .....it sucks Keep the faith though and try not to burn too much money All the best FGD