PAMman

Totally fantastic Simon. Your collection will stand up to any scrutiny and pass with flying colours. Congrats.

And just to complete the circle, the G series & later CG is virtually identical to the original preVendome CG e.g. the 5218/201A etc.

Can we buy a bunch of Skyland datewheels as a group buy. Does anyone have a cozy relationship with a dealer who may facilitate us?

Avoid this guy like the plague. His service is totally rubbish. I bought a bezel insert from him and got the wrong one sent twice. When I asked for a refund he threatened me with negative feedback on ebay.

Yes, the only difference between the F111 and G111 is the crownguard. The G series was the last series to use the 'painted', non-sandwich dial and also the last series to use the older style (PANERAIPANERAI) movement engraving. Therefore, apart from the appropriate caseback engraving the only difference is the larger, brushed CG on the G series, while the F sries still had the same smaller, polished CG, used since the preA series.

I also have an LM7 on a (Lonestar) mesh - it's a great watch. Did you know that you can still buy an Omega dial for the original Ploprof from Watchco? I wonder if anyone has tried fitting one of those to a LM7?

I understand the desire to get a genuine or at least a top quality Ti case. In my experience the Ti cases aren't too bad - probably just as good as most of the SS cases - but I do agree that the CGs leave a lot to be desired. At the moment I have a good Ti case complete with a solid caseback and reasonably good CG. I also have a genuine Ti crown and a used Jimmy Fu SS CG. I am contemplating getting the JF CG beadblasted with aluminium oxide (aluminum if you're on the wrong side of the Atlantic) to achieve a Ti appearance. This would give me a really accurate basis for a good Ti rep. Incidentally, I used to have a gen F116 which I never should have sold. The CG on that watch was not as precise as my gen SS PAMs - I assumed that the Ti, being softer than SS, had worn around the pin assembly allowing it to become loose.

I would suggest that the IWC 3717 is very, very accurate. If you feel that you need a greater level of accuracy then I really doubt if you should be buying a rep. ETA datewheels, a custom double AR and a The Zigmeister modded dial /genuine dial (in that order) will make it visually indistinguishable from a gen, but you will be doing this more for yourself than for anyone else's benefit. A Swiss 7750 or a genuine IWC movement won't be visible but will raise the quality factor to gen levels. Plenty of opportunity to improve or fine-tune a product which really is top-rate straight from the box.

A 116 is one of the nicest historic PAMs and relatively rare. Buy it but don't part it out - that's just criminal.

From a UK gen watch forum: Check out this thread relating to the most hideous, battery powered, fake 'Panerai'. The seller must be the biggest numpty on the 'Bay. http://www.tz-uk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=97825&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

A genuine caseback (if it fits ) would be great. I have one in my parts box so it feels like I ought to buy one of these just to try it out. If ever a watch needed to be 'aged' and rapidly gain some serious patina this is the one. An Omega 1171 or a mesh would look good but these also really suit a simple black Nato strap.

Yes,there's a tri-compax version - I googled it just now and this is a pic of the exact watch that I picked up http://sometimeago.itsens.nl/staext/GetImages.php?type=default&prefix=1254004747 I haven't removed the movement from the case yet as I have been wearing it for a few weeks to check how it winds and runs. The case is small in comparison to the Speedy and variations of this Seastar must have been available for a few years as it comes with both the 321 and 861/1861 versions of the Lemania base movements. I had an automatic search for 'seastar chronograph' and 'lemania' on Ebay and they crop up fairly often. There are also some Hamilton chronos with the same movements. I'll take a few pics of the collected bits and pieces together with the donor watch as a 'before' and then follow up with the 'after' when it gets completed. I'm sure that a 321 will pop up sometime - comes to he who waits etc. Sod's Law, a 321 will appear immediately after I get this one serviced and assembled.

I have just gathered together all the bits for my own franken - a gen case (came complete with a display back which I sold for almost the same as I paid for the complete package, so case with hesalite crystal / crown / pushers cost £45GBP net), NOS 321 dial & caseback (Watchco via Ebay £140GBP), movement holder, dust cover, hands, clamps etc (Cousins UK £70 - 80GBP), Lemania movement from a Tissot Seastar chrono (Ebay £80GBP). The whole thing will cost about £300 - £350 + cost of a movement service, although it's running fine and keeping excellent time. To complete the 321 franken I already have a NOS 1171 bracelet with the correct curved ends. Apart from the movement being signed Tissot rather than Omega, and having a silver rather than gold finish this will be 100% accurate to the nicest version of the gen. The 1960's 321 Speedy has longer, finer dial markers and a polished silver logo instead of painted and it has a delicately shaped center chrono secs hand. Subtly different from the current watch but just nicer and more delicate IMO. At £350 it will be about 25% of the price of a scruffy gen 321 - not bad I think. After all, the genuine Omega parts & Tissot / Lemania movement will always hold their value anyhow. The case was probably a service replacement because it doesn't have a serial number on the 7 o'clock lug, but this is correct for the earlier 321 movement. The movement is well hidden underneath the solid pre-moon style caseback and dust cover, but Tissot and Omega historically had close associations so it's as close as I can get without a genuine Omega 321. If a 321 movement ever turns up at the right price they can be swapped over. The big choice is......do I get the new, replacement (Luminova) dial and hands relumed to an 'aged tritium' appearance or leave them alone?? What do you think?

Not wishing to highjack this thread but can anyone confirm the hand size (fit) of the Speedy Moonwatch sub-dial hands - are they the same as the ETA 7750?

The Daily Mirror is probably the biggest tabloid newspaper in the UK so no fears there. I wasn't suggesting that they were the same price as reps but costing similar to the amount invested in many modded reps. The quality and finish of these is top class, particularly the bracelets.

Just a heads up for genuine Porsche Design quartz chronos & auto day / dates at modded rep prices. These must be bargains. http://www.mirrorreaderoffers.co.uk/item-FF-GR147/porsche-design-flat-six-p%E2%80%996320-quartz-chronograph/

Does the genuine (3,6,9) Navitimer use the 7753 or a specially modified 7750? I thought that it wasn't the 7753, but the 7750 modified - if that's right then a gen dial probably would have the date window in marginally the wrong position. I got so fed up waiting for an accurate Navi rep that I bought a gen 'Old Navitimer' (6,9,12). Now I am going to post my Swiss 7750/Gen dial rep for sale to help pay for it.

OK will do, though it may not be before the weekend.

A genuine leather or rubber strap will fit your rep without any problem but be careful if you intend to go for a genuine bracelet. I have a couple of Navitimer reps and a genuine 'Old Navitimer' as well as a genuine Aviastar. The Aviastar is on a leather strap (tang buckle) while the gen Navi has a bracelet - these are interchangable as the basic cases are the same. However, my rep Navi bracelet won't fit the Aviastar. In the first instance the rep bracelet is too wide to fit into the gen's lugs and a visual comparison of the springbar holes suggests that the rep bracelet wouldn't fit snuggly against the case of the gen, even if I reduced the width of the rep bracelet to let it in. While the rep Navitimer is a nice watch in its own right it hasn't 100% accurate dimensions. I don't think that it is good enough to justify the expense of a genuine bracelet. I actually wear mine on either a genuine leather or rubber strap which suits it very well - the rubber is particularly good.

Dunno, but I have a genuine Fortis Fleiger (black dial 40mm) that I would sell at a 'rep-type' price of

As many will know I am not Rollie fan - the clue to my main interest is in the name - but I have friend who is a total Rolex nut. He speaks very highly of this guy......hxxp://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=95351&highlight=parts Apologies if he is already well known to the Rollie enthusiasts here but I just thought that this may be useful to some.

With your range of dials, Simon, and the gen dials that have been popping up lately, together with the SS / PVD / Ti versions of most dial variations the list is indeed endless. I would certainly pay a premium for individually numbered casebacks for preA1, 9B, 10D etc and I am sure that I am not alone in this. Anyone who has built a gen-dial franken or a top quality rep around one of your exceptional dials would almost certainly feel the same. A bespoke caseback with correct numbering would raise these watches to the top level.

That really looks great - which movement is in these?

Interesting - I have a gen caseback for one of these in my parts box. If it fits it would be a major improvement.

Very, very NICE. I am really keen on selected Breitlings, particularly Navitimers. If only we could get an accurate rep of the Old Navitimer so that we drop a Swiss 7750 in there. I like them so much that I have just bought a gen, so my rep 'Old Navitimer' will probably go on the block (gen dial, Swiss 7750, correct ETA-fit hands etc)