plaifender

The movement in the 286/213 and 253/212 (for that matter) are not completely panerai's "own" movements. Unlike some of the more impressive power reserve models etc that panerai makes the OPXVIII series is still based on a Valjoux 7750 movement with a few extra parts for the flyback or rattrapante function. Nothing particularly special though. But yes.. the movement is a give away if you're familiar with panerai and its 7750 variants. More than anything the fit and finish of the movement is probably the biggest tell, but not even then is it that much of a tell unles you've got someone looking VERY closely at your watch. Let's not forget that most of our movements are not much larger than the diameter of a quarter!

Any news as to why Mary was removed?

It's a super rep because its one of the FIRST super-reps. Although parts are not completely interchangeable.. it was a great watch that came right before the big "1:1 copy" craze. It was also one of the first watches to offer completely unique serial numbers. Somewhere on here there's a thread of about 20 or 30 of us comparing numbers to see if they really are unique! Turns out they are Great watch in general. Biggest problem is the crown stripping. Which is what has happened to mine Maybe I need to order a new one from Mary!

sooo jealous! amazing!

Welcome to the forum.. Pointless question though.... First of all because plenty of lists already exist out there.. just use the search function

forget the gen bezel insert.. you need a gen crystal I opted for the gen crystal after the necessary tube and crown mod.. I'll be replacing dial and hands at some point.. Easiest and most affordable watch to mod with gen parts Great write up! -The other Ryan...

easy fix. I'm guessing the stem simply wasn't engaged in the movement. About a 3 minutes job for a noob... you probably shouldn't have sent it back.... if the next one has low power reserve (god forbid it gets seized by customs on its second time around) or something worse, then you'll really regret having sent it back! They probably won't replace anything for you though to be honest. They'll probably, remove the crown gauard, take off the caseback and reset the stem.. (the 3 minute fix i was talking about earlier) Here's to another month of waiting...

This is awesome! Great shots. A comparison to the previous model before it might have caught me a bit more up to date.. but I can't complain.. that was an excellent post. One thing... Are you sure the caseback is Titanium.. The first 6 versions of this watch never had a titanium back like the gen.. simply painted grey to look like titanium.. can you or anyone else, chime in and let me know if the version you have has a titanium back? cheers!

i just love this watch... finally finishing up my master's degree this month.. I'll have som freaking time on my hands for the first time in over a year and a half! (for those of you that may or may not have been wondering.. why the hell i dropped off.. I think my total post count for the last year has been close to 30... ) When i get back in the rep game this spring.. this looks like an attractive project to get into that is, unless i can skip the project part and buy it off some poor sap that wants to get rid of his

you're correct captain swoop.. it's not the only give aways, but with those crappy photos its the most obvious!

Great purchase Jkay! looks great! Always nice to see vet members like you with a new piece

Big E and BigCrown (i think that's who was heading up a simultaneous project when mine was in the works), gave an explanation of the difference between making domed sapphire and domed mineral crystal, and the fabrication process is drastically different. The know how should definitely be there.. but I think the factories would have to find it economically viable to create. At this point I guess there's not enough buzz on the forums about this issue.... If there were, I there were, I think we'd have seen one at least 3-5 years when these regattas started gaining popularity. To be honest.. i think they just like making us wait..

oops.. Thread update... This project has fallen through! (about 9 months ago officially). Factory was not trustworthy and could not return my sample crystal that was supplied to create the prototype. Someone said that Taka was planning on fabricating a sapphire version of this crystal... I'll probably just go that route if that's true.

I still see that the poster has not changed the stupid incorrect title of this post!!!!!!!!! (sorry.. i'm frustrated working on my thesis atthe library.. decided to take a break and check rwg.. and this is the first thing i find...)

Welcome aboard!

GREAT REVIEW! thanks for your hard work!

I bet his paypal is frozen or something..

Not sure why the 177 is being called poorly made. I have a 177M and the fit and finish seems superb to me. The again, i´m no PAM-head like some of these guys.

paypal

Is this true? If so, where'd you hear that?? This is HUGE news.. as it would signify a range of accurate Royal Oak Chronos! (NOT to be confused with the already near-perfect Royal oak OFFSHORE chronos).

Bienvenue! start researching!!

Welcome.. We need pics.. You started off on the wrong foot by saying that you would have never bought this watch on the internet. The fact is, that by buying on the internet.. we can be a lot more nit-picky about things that you would probably never notice in real life because of the great macro shots our dealers send us before buying. Buying from trusted dealers here is a MUCH better option that buying from some "shop in saigon". As far as you know.. the watch you have might be a 150usd watch here on the forum.. In which case you possibly could have paid nearly 3 times to much for it.. Anyways.. enough negativity on my part. Post some pictures of your watch and let the experts chime in. We will most definitely need a picture of the movement. 5 minutes in 3 hours sounds like more than an adjustment problem, so you might need to send it somewhere to get serviced. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy new year! -Fender

thanks farmer. Unfortunately, it was very short lived. Like Condemore.. I sold mine shortly after acquiring it. It's a BEAUTIFUL watch, but leaves SOO MUCH to be desired if you have experience with any of the newer AP ROOs. The quality was just not there. It looked stunning.. but felt fake. Very hard to describe. That, combined with the fact that the original is so very different, really turned me off. Not to mention that I had to return it and wait 4 or 5 months for a replacement from Torobravo aka LACENTA (horrible experience). This watch is now enjoying a new home with a great member.

thats 12 or 13 pages of posts!... haha game on.. it might be well after christmas before a "winner"is declared!

Maxman is correct.. There are several hybrid versions of both though swiss and asian versions though... The SOSF is scarce these days. Not probable that most dealers will have them in stock. It's one of my favorite watches though!