PAMman

From the photos it would appear that this is an Asain 6497 and in my limited experience with this movement this is a very common fault. If the screw and gear are still there (and unless you have removed the caseback they must be) then it is a simple job to replace the gear wheel on its square shaft and replace the screw. However, to prevent a repeat of this a spot of jewellers 'loctite' is needed and it would be advisable to do both gear wheels at the same time. This is a DIY job for all but the most hamfisted so shouldn't cost too much at a watchsmiths. BTW, this was causing the 'popping' all along because the small wheel was disengaging and riding over the top of the larger when you were winding. If you wound the watch 'face down' it would have wound normally as gravity would have held the gears in line with each other. I think that there is an inherent design fault with this movement, partly caused by the exaggerated bevel on the gear wheels which reduces the width of the mating surfaces and encourages one to ride onto the top of the other. Just my 2 cents worth.

Congratulations, that looks excellent. That 'blasted' case would be a great basis for a sterile watch if you added a 'no-name' dial, such as Jimmy Fu's unsigned base dial.

Kostas, that looks excellent. Well done my friend - wear it in good health. You have a PM.

Thanks, I'll try him.

I have tried seaching but I can't find a post from one of the dealers who told us that he ahd bought a batch of 036s to convert to 177Hs bacause the titanium cases were no longer available. Can anyone remember who that was, because I need a 036 tobacco dial? If anyone can help please PM me. Thanks.

Boy am I glad that I collect both rep and gen Panerai rather than Rolex. This is just much too difficult for a simple lad like me. BTW, having a couple of gen Omegas I have always thought that Rolex bracelets feel like fakes, even the new examples in the ADs.

Get a 111 or 112 with the 'painted' dial rather than the sandwich or better still try to get a 001 or 002 which is the same with the solid caseback. These are the classic historics and closest to the gen.

Excellent looking strap. I prefer leather straps on all my reps, with the exception of my IWCs, because the bracelets are never quite up to the gen quality. Apart from the IWC bracelets the closest to the gen has been my 'old school' Bond SMP.

For those of us who are also regulars on the 'Risti forum, Hammer will be familiar as one of the best known members, particularly since his unfortunate accident last year. He has a great collection of historic pieces and is considered, by many, as an authority on the history of the brand. He recently showed off his special 'project' watch and it was greatly admired. Check out this thread and see who provided the series of detailed photos - posted as 'Anonymous' but with the Login 'tourby'. Is the most prominent 'Risti also an RWG member???? That looks like a Jimmy Fu caseback and crownguard (now brushed), probably a Jimmy Fu case too. hxxp://www.network54.com/Forum/353391/thread/1203395921/I+am+in+love+with+that+Hammer+skeleton+watch.++Have+I+missed+specific+details+on +it-%26gt%3B%26gt%3B%26gt%3B

Congratulation on a good move. I have the gen black SMP and it really is a classic watch. It's is without a doubt one of my 'keepers'.

The current version available from Angela on iOffer (at least the balck SMP which I got) has the correctly positioned HE valve, pins in bracelet, good quality case etc but has a poor crystal.

Excellent. It looks really good. Congratulations on your 'original'. BTW, you've got a PM.

My major gripe is the inaccurate dials; The droopy As on almost all models, The awful logo on the 005, Good logo on the 000 but wrong R as well as wrong A, Poor lume, No T dial 001 or 002. Other issues are resolvable but shouldn't arise in the first instance; Poor crown detail / thickness, Poor crownguard engineering.

I think that what's causing you some uneasiness, and initially me too, is the apparent 'droopy' As with the tell-tale low crossbars. However, unless it's a rep dial which we have never seen before, I think that this is caused by compression of the photos. However, I doubt if any genuine seller would sell a gen at that price. There's something not right about the 'sale' but I'm confident that the pictures are of a gen 027. The buyer might end up with something else, or nothing at all.

The pictures are both for legit watches without any doubt. The gen dials have the PR scale recessed into the dial and the dge of the recess window is clearly visible in both cases. Additionally, the rep is the T dial with the tighter dial layout - these are both L dials which have the leaf PR hand and the sweep secs hand is the correct length. The watches pictured are OK.

The movement shown in Picture 1 is the original OP Xl movement which looks identical to the original OP X movement. The difference is that the OP Xl displays hours, minutes and seconds while the OP X has only hours and minutes. However from the back they both look exactly the same. The decoration shown in Picture 1 is the original pattern of the repeated PANERAI which was a feature of the OP Xl & OP X for the series E, F and G only. The series designations change in the spring of each year following the Basel exhibition. The second picture is the OP Xl / OP X movement with the H and later style of decoration which remains current in the J series that will roll over to the K series in April 2008. Prior to the OP Xl & OP X movements was the OPll (Luminor Marina with secs) and OPl ( base / Luminor without secs) for series A, B, C and D. These had the original ETA shaped plates and no swan neck regulator but had the same PANERAI engraved decoration as the original OP Xl & OP X. The preA movements were also OP ll and OP l but these had CdG stripes similar to the current OP Xl and OP X and it should be noted that all series of the 000 and 005 do not have the fancy bridges and swan neck regulator but have OP l and OP ll with similar (but differently orientated) CdG decoration to the preA.

You would need to post a picture of the inner end of the crown, where the stem screws in. From the pic that you have posted it looks like the sprung section is there but fully depressed.

Quote from the advert: THESE ARE "GENUINE" OEM TOP QUALITY STRAP SCREWS AND TUBES MADE TO FIT THE 44mm PANERAI WITH 24mm STRAP. THIS IS AN AFTER MARKET ITEM. They are aftermarket, therefore non OEM.

The text on the dial is too large and not bold enough and the logo is too large overall. If the logo was reduced to the correct size the line thickness would also reduce accordingly and would be OK. However the text font is too tall and the line thickness too fine. These problems could be sorted in a fresh print run but the basic problem is the incorrect shape of the 6 & 9 - the rest of the engraving is accurate with the 2 & 3 being spot-on. It's a good start but shouldn't be in production at this stage. With the resources that Davidsen has at his disposal he should persevere and get it right.

For a carbon fiber box check out Rainer on 'Risti. hxxp://www.network54.com/Forum/353393/thread/1201994963/last-1201994963/F-S++++Rainer%27s+EXCLUSIVE+WATCH+BOXES

Yes, these are genuine and are the same that Kruzer has offered in a group-buy at a much better price. However, apart from the Ti crown, they fit the auto stems only so are no good for the handwind watches. A significant number of members have upgraded their 027, 029, 063 etc using these crowns.

Cape Cod won't remove deep scratches and using a Dremel should be your last resort. Try Timezone and some of the other watch fora/forums and there is regularly an ad from'watchbandrenew' which provides a hierarchy of polishing pads that can be used to remove deep scratches then, via a series of steps, get back to a fine polished finish. I haven't used this method but I know of others who have had good results.

It's a Swiss ETA with Asian foil Panerai style dceorations added. Functionally it's 100% Swiss and, IMO, in a solid caseback watch is the best option.

Davidsen's dial is not accurate as the font is grey in comparison to the genuine. AFAIK EL's is an accurate dial, as is most of the reps. Indeed the 1950 dial is probably the most accurate rep Panerai dial, with the exception of DSN's. I have one of the first generation from River, with a sapphire crystal and the Swiss Unitas style bridges. The crystal is slightly too flat in comparison to my friend's gen but I don't have any other rep to compare. The case and dial are 'spot-on' and I've never noticed anything wrong with the hands. Some of DSN's have a secs hand that is too long. Interestingly the CG on the gen Fiddy has a looser lever than regular PAMs and is not significantly different to the rep. While I have a rep Fiddy I never wear it and it is on my list to sell for that reason. I've tried to love it but I can't so it's got to go.

Sorry, at present there's no source for a rep, post G series crownguard, AFAIK. If Davidsen has sent you a Panny with a bad CG ask him to replace it.