PAMman

The crystal is in the bezel and the whole dial movement unit has to come out through the front due to the dial size.

If I didn't already have a 027 with The Zigmeister at the moment (for tritium colour lume, Lello datewheel, Ssurfer cyclops, gen crown, JF crownguard & correct seconds hand) I would go for one of these. It will really need the same mods + Rolli PVD but will be a real cracker then. I just love the hobnail 'T' dial.

I think that you shouldn't get involved youself as 1) you may get caught, or 2) you may hate yourself for being less than ethical. However I think you should pass this info on to us so that we can make a killing and buy more watches for you to drool over. Fell free to PM with the info, LOL.

They were once upon a time, not sure if they still do. VirginiaWatchFan posted a pic a while back of the "inside" of his gen Zero. Let me see if I can dig that up...

The pic has been moved, evidently, but it was originally posted on 'Risti. If memory serves me, it is a no-swan-neck movement with something other than the grafitti decoration in the Zero and Fiver. I can't remember what the decoration of the bridges looked like, though.

This is what the OP I/II movements look like, for anyone interested. Pics courtesy of VirginiaWatchFan:

I'll see if I can dig up a 000/005 movement photo from 'Risti...

The 000/005 movements don't have the PANERAI engraving but are CdG striped on the original 'square' ETA shaped bridges - similar to the preA but a different pattern.

Does anyone use 'Window Washer'? This program will make it mighty hard / ?impossible? to retrieve anything that had been deleted using its 'Wash with bleach' option.

Guys please let me know as I can also post a scan of the pic of the paper work from my PAM AD, You guys are making me stress now! i wish I had consulted with you all before paying the AD to authenticate it.

Here is another shot:

I'm not sure if you're being serious Asad - after all you posted a pic of this watch in your gen Panerai photo competition thread and called it a 'Teaser'. If you're still teasing that's fine but if you have bought this as a gen, I'm truly sorry but it's a fake / replica. (In my book, a fake is part of a fraud, where something is being sold as a gen, but a replica is an honest and open copy). Post Vendome Panerai did not EVER use an R with a straight leg like this.

If you are being serious and have been a victim lets see the caseback and movement. The movement should have the original style ETA bridges, no swanneck and CdG stripes, but the stripes are not the same as the decorated movements that are generally available. My gen 005 is at the Panerai Service centre at the moment but I can take pics of the movement when it returns.

Reps are for fun and not for scams.

Asad, you might want to look over some of the entries...some don't look so kosher.

Well he can start with his own 'Teaser'.

So, Asad, you going to tell us how you fixed the "A's"?

On edit: never mind...thanks to the super-sharpen feature in photoshop CS3, I see how you did it.

Does this mean that they are fixed in Photoshop only and not on the actual dial?

I have thought of trying a micro piece of black dry-transfer lettering (Letraset) in a triangular shape to fill the inside of the A down to the crossbar level, thus removing the crossbar altogether, then applying a new crossbar in white Letraset on top of the black. I doubt if the modification would be visible to the naked eye as the black on black would be undetectable, particularly as it would be framed by the white of the A.

The base 002 dial is the obvious candidate for this project because there are only 2 As and no other flaws, but these are so scarce that its a risky experiment.

Hmmmm, there is something "different" about that crown.

Here's my gen 002 for comparison...

Asad's 000 watch is a rep. The crown is wrong and so is the crownguard but the biggest flaw in the rep 000 dail is the 'R' which has a straight front leg instead of the correct gen / normal rep 'R'. However the rep 000 dial is the only logo dial to get the logo correct and the print quality is really good, but then it's let down by the incorrect 'R'. Another case of 'one step forwards, two steps back'.

If only the talents that produce the top-class, relatively complicated dials, such as the Steelfish, Slevin etc, got involved in rep Panerais then we would get proper dials.

Just to clarify - some of DSN's dials are the correct gen / normal rep size.

I have the Asian 'Noob' Yachtmaster and I didn't really think that I would like it, but I do. So far the movement has been fine but I am not a big fan of Asian movements. If it dies what's the options? Is there a good quality replacement readily available? I also have a new ETA 2892 and a set of ETA fit Yachtie hands - any prospect of fitting it in here?

Well to start he text is quite ways off the LOGO also is too thick which makes it not clear.

Here is my GEN for comparison:

Thanks

GEN, my ass. Asad, you really are winding us up. Can we have a tutorial on fixing the 'A's please, although, to be honest, I think that you have 'over corrected' this one?

Nice one. I bought one of the 'old-school' reps, with the correct HE valve placement etc, and loved it so much that I bought the same gen. My rep got a lot of wear time (and it really is an excellent replica) but now the gen has taken over to the extent that the rep will be sold as soon as I can get myself organised.

Wear it well - I know how you love it and I don't think that it's possible to get the good rep anymore.

Very poor logo and the whole dial printing looks very unsharp.

They certainly both look great, congrats. It's very difficult to rate 'PVD' from pics and I don't own a genuine A series example but I have a local friend who has a gen 4A. For what it's worth your 09 looks closer to his genuine 4A, at least from your pics but it's difficult to argue with the gen crown. I don't know if the finish on the A&B series handwids was the same as the autos but looking back through a library of photos that I've collected the autos seem to be darker. This may simply be the pics though.

Wow, that's seriously impressive Simon. Is it fair to say that you have more than a passing interest in Panerais?

If that's a regular rep 002 dial how were the As modified to correct the droopy crossbars? Please do tell.

Yes, as far as I know this is DSN's first generation 010 dial which was the best dial that he ever produced (with considerable input from at least one forum member). Lovely dial and you should value it highly as it's no longer available.

Subconsciously passing a rep off as a gen??? Nice one, I never thought of that, but if 'subconsciously passing a rep off as a gen' includes the manner in which we wear and treat our watches, then I accept that I don't treat my reps any differently to my genuine watches. I have about 20 - 25 watches altogether, including a couple of gen Panerai, 4 or 5 gen Omega, B&R chrono, Zenith, Heuer etc etc and rep Pannies, rep Breitling and rep IWC etc. I don't try to 'present' my watches or pass them off in any way - I simply wear a selection of different watches on a regular basis and treat them all the same. The few people who recognise them as being 'up market' probably consider that they are all genuine, and at least half of them are, and some reps are on genuine OEM straps etc so that's understandable. However, the biggest factor here probably is that I live in Ireland, where I have never knowingly seen a replica watch in the wild, apart from the ubiquitous Polex and blingy TAG that you buy on the beach in Majorca. Therefore the local perception is that any Rolex (outside of the property industry that I work in, Doctor / Dentist etc) is fake until proved otherwise and TAGs are dodgy watches for dodgy people regardless. Everything else is accepted at face value by the very small minority who even notice in the first place.

There is one IT guy who works in the same building as I do and he regularly wears an Omega Seamaster chrono which he had battered about quite a bit. Given his IT background, familiarity with the Web etc I suspected that his watch may be a rep, particularly as he treats it like is was a Casio, but we got chatting about watches and he tried on my gen B&R while I inspected his Omega. It's the real deal and he passes it off as a disposable, so I'm not sure what 'passing a watch off as a gen' really amounts to.

Having seen the genuine parts compared to the rep ones, I would offer this:

Hands I have not noted any difference or only a slight difference between gen and rep

Crown and tube is a must in my view, too many faulty defective crowns, better to replace for practical reasons

Dial, there is a difference, is it enough to warrent the cost??

Bezel, slight difference, but as with the dial, is it worth it.

Lume on the dial and hands is quite good out of the box, Super Lume does take it up one level but most are quite good as delivered.

I have always been more into the practical part of upgrades, crowns, movement quality, etc, and the lume, since I really get a kick out of the glow that SL provides.

RG

I'm 100% with Rob on this one. The UPO is one of those watches that I feel is good enough to not justify the expense of modifying, except for replacing the crown & tube when necessary. Chuck a whole lot of money at it and you still have a rep, just one which has cost far too much and really doesn't look that much better. The Steelfish is the same - too good already to justify the expense.

Bet you its a Gen dial, the numerals and indexes seem to be reccessed. The rep painted 002/112 dials do not have this feauture.

The genuine 'painted' dials (that's the L SWISS L dials of the B to G series) are actually of a sandwich construction, with the top layer being paper thin. Depending on the lighting this is either, a) not noticable at all with the dial appearing to be flat with applied paint, or, the numbers appear to be recessed into the dial. I believe that the A series 'T' dials were engraved into the dial surface but the L dials were a sandwich with the numbers and indicies cut out. The reason that I can be sure of this is due to a 111F that I previously owned. The top layer of the dial began to curl up in the sharp inner corner on top of the horizontal bar of the 2 of 12. At first I thought that there was dust on the dial but when I inspected it under a loup it was clearly the black layer lifting up in this sharp pointy corner.

Jimmy Fu's unbranded dials have recessed markers stamped into the dial surface and are marked L SWISS L. Is this one of those now completed with custom printing and a custom lume job? The markers on this 009 seem to be sharper than Jimmy's but a lume job may sort that out.

As I said earlier....if this is a new rep dial I want one....I want one regardless of what it is.

I know that Asad posted this as a teaser. Maybe it

Without having a gen in my hand to compare I would accept this dial as being genuine. If it's not a genuine item then, at least from these photos, it's clearly the best rep dial ever. The crossbars of the As are correct and the PAN E RAI spacing is as per the gen - a bit cockeyed but not as bad as the rep. Mind you the rep 'painted' 002/112 dial is probably the best of the rep dials and would be very easy to correct for a new run.

If this is a rep dial I want one, and if it turns out to be Davidsen's I will be the first to admit that he has finally got it right.

Now that just looks perfect. Details please, particularly that dial.

I have learnt some things being on holiday, since (re-)discovering watches/rep watches:

Most people in this world don't know what on earth Panerai is. I needn't have worried about taking my PAM reps at all.

Welcome home Victoria. Yeah, you're right, most people look at my Panerais and seem to think that I must have poor eyesight when I need such a great big brute of a watch that has obviously been designed for the visually impaired, with a crown that can be easily operated by arthritis sufferers. Out of sheer politeness no-one ever comments at all.

Must be one of the first reps to use genuine white gold. LOL