archibald

Andrew, can you clarify whether this watch is 42.5mm with the crown or without?

Aside from the movement issues described above--there is a related thickness issue you can see in the side view in those pics. I can't remember what the exact thickness difference is, but it is noticeable to anyone who has a Daytona.

LOL! MSNBC reprints a story from The Onion--CNN Did the same thing a couple of years ago.

Born and raised @ 63rd & California...but sadly out in DC--I'll be there in spirit, though.

The ebay crown guards (he lists them under "crown bridges") are functionally a little better than the rep guards, but since they're not a cosmetic improvement they're not worth the 54 bucks plus whatever it would cost you to have it PVD'd to match your 004. I think Finepics can do a fix involving a rubber gasket--might want to check w/ him.

@admin I don't know admin, I think IKEA is the Invicta of furniture--way overpriced, even though it's cheap. Same stuff they sell at Wal-Mart. I know the Wal-Mart stuff doesn't say, "Designer: Olaf Bjorenssjen" but it's the same pressed sawdust crap, and without the Dieter from SNL marketing schtick. If you like actaul modern design, pick up a copy of Dwell magazing and order the knockoffs advertised in the back--about 20% more than IKEA but they're the furniture versions of our reps: actual designs by first-rate designers made out of quality materials and built by actual craftspeople and CNC machines in China. IKEA's meatballs are kick ass, especially with thet red (lingonberry?) jelly and those little cardamom biscuits-- and dirt cheap. Like 2 bucks a pound for the meatballs. @jetsons No [censored]--the stuff they're saying are "real" are reps. The "knockoffs" they're [censored] about are reps of reps. We paid, like 40 bucks for a Florence Knoll licenced end table at a resale shop 'cause they have no resale value--the new ones are way overpriced and the genuine ones are obscene, for people who buy genuine Panerai.

I'd gow w/ the IWC for two reasons: Dealer reputation and a slight edge in accuracy. But really it comes down to preference. Which watch do you like better?

joe, I don't know for sure but the OEM I saw at Tourneau definitely is not C3--much whiter than Panerai. My guess is C1. I like the idea of mixing and matching pieces onto the Asian dial--the price is definitely right on the asian version. Which date window is more accurately sized? If the Asian is too small it's a tough call--The question is, which is a more visible flaw, the date window size or the markers? I don't want to make that call---but it looks like we're going to have to make it for the time being until version 6 comes out!

LOL! Your posts make me think fondly about my Lit Crit major days! Translated into English, the problem is this: As long as there is a huge gap between quality and price, as there is with every item that commands a high price primarily because of its brand name, knock-offs will exist. Unless we're going to completely revamp both human nature and the economy of the planet earth, they will always exist. Watches, furniture, bags---doesn't matter. My laptop currently rests on a genuine george nakashima coffee table (probably now worth more than all my watches combined, but when we bought it before mid century modern furniture was red hot, just plain too-expensive) which is worth every penny of my insurance premium. Why? Can't be repped. One of a kind. My ass currently rests on a knock off of an expensive italian sofa which cost 8 cents on the dollar of the gen. Why? The only thing about the Sofa that makes the genl cost $15000 is the name written on the bottom, not it's workmanship or materials. You don't need to be Henry Louis Gates to figure out why Panerai reps exist or why the folks over at Paneristi.com panic every time they see the letters R-E-P.

The Zigmeister, can you (or anyone else who has seen a Davidsen dial) comment on the printing? It's difficult to tell on the pics but it looks like the printing on all of his dials are as crisp, bold, or straight as the dials that come on our reps. Also, does anyone know if the "A" crossbar on the Pre-A OEM dials is as "high" as the current ones, or if they are "low" like the A crossbars on our reps?

Artisan does good work, as long as you are a very patient person. They take a long time to get back to you after your nitial contact, a long time to answer any questions you may have, and a long time to do the work.

If the cases are brushed, that's the difference. OEM Panerai brushing is always more aggressive than the brushing on the reps. An easy fix, though.

Wow. i wonder if King has an even newer version w/ correct case--42.5 w/o crown and the He valve position like that means she must. Is the logo applied or painted? If it's painted, we anal retentives will have to take the logo off the chines version and put it on that one. is there a way to remove the painted logo w/o removing the paint on the dial.

i would imagine GAF are VC's GAF equivalents, as VC is owned by Richemont.

I see it both ways and this is a tough call--you want to use "outing" this guy as some muscle to get your monry back, but on the other hand, cutting that kind of deal enables him to rip others off until he gets a bad rep. I hope the PM's to the mods are what they appear to be, since putting him on notice might do the trick.

I have an gen brown dial, which on the python band, gets more cool watches than any other watch aside aside from my Crazy Hours. It also tranforms into a very slick dress watch when you put it on croc.

....and is my personal co-holy-grail along w/ the Muller--but sadly, unless the rep makers decide to rep the El Primero (which they should do if they can, if anything, just to put in Chinese branded watches) we will never see a decent rep of this.

Normally I think PVD is for Mall-Ninjas, but that one is a very very bad ass PVD project--The sandwich base dial and the h seried guard make it work. Does it have a solid back? If so, that will be hard to find in H series. I wish one of our aftermarket guys would make custom solid backs in Ti and SS--I bet the modders and frankenbuilders among us would make it VERY worth their whiles since solid backs would make about 20 models possible to build.

Welcome back and thanks for your effort, Palpatine! Beleive me, we all know how hard these projects are... Will the new batch be sold at the same price--$35?

Wow. Where to start? Re: 14K "looks nothing like 18k." That's the point, of course, and I agree. OEM is 18K. 14K looks like 14K. Good 18K plate looks like 18K. 14K solid does probably last longer, although I've never had an issue w/ a high quality gold plated watch fading or chipping. If folks are having trouble w/ your 18k plate looking authentic, try one of EL's TW best TT watches. Re: $100 bucks in gold in an OEM TT band--Better get out the old calculator, especially if you're going to buy anthing else made out of gold. Take a look at KenMc's post in the following thread--even the crappy, thin 14k bracelets sold on ebay have about $300 bucks worth of 14K gold in them. Someone tests and weighs a "14k" bracelet.

What did you think you were going to get for $170? If the bracelet mid-links and clasp were made from 14k gold to Rolex specs the gold value alone would be close to $400. IMO, a solid 14K bracelet is a waste of money because it looks less real than a high quality 18k plated bracelt.

You can never avoid the salty fine. It's just part of the mechanism: For most Italians the salty fine is paid by contacting your source in the DOGANE e POLIZIA, informing them about your purchase and forwarding a bribe of 59 lire or it's equivalent in zeppole. If you send the zeppole please do not put salt on them, since "salty fine" is just a euphemism.

There's a Paneristi at the local high end watch store out here--a real ninny--who says he works part time to fund his panerai habit. About 6 months ago he outed me on a 168 about fifteen seconds after I absentmindedly walked into the store w/o taking it off first--came from halfway accross the store to do it. A couple sundays ago I walked in wearing my gen Master Hometime and I guarantee he recognized me since he immediately stared for about 20 seconds at my wrist. The funny thing was after about five minutes I realized something odd: He was wearing a 183 and there was no way he was going to give me a decent look at it---boy, that wrist didn't stay still for 3 seconds. I guarantee it was a rep. I'm not going to get a guy fired, no matter how big of a goober he is so after looking at a few watches, I just winked at him and said, "nice 183" and walked out.

If that is the latest version it still has the following "big" flaws: 1) Alignment pins still visable 2) Sunburst on gears not as refined as OEM 3) "Officine Panerai" text too big IMO the ultimate decorated H series movement would be created by having someone put a swans neck on the CN movement (which uses more accurate "foil" plates instead of poorly decorated bridges), bevel the plates, polishthe brass gears, and put a more subtle sunburst pattern on the winding gears. Would I actually pay to have extensive work to the back of my watch? Nope, because anyonw who knows what an OEM movement looks like will still be able to call you out in 1/2 a second, and anyone who doesn';t know what an OEM movement should look like won't be able to tell yours is not real anyway. But if it would make you happy, you already have a swans neck watch, you can do the work yourself, and a CN movement can be sourced for less than 50 bucks decent price, why not?

Does anyone know whether the 50's date font is, in fact, the correct Swiss721 font or whatever it is Panerai uses?