wjlamp

Been collecting for awhile now and I have always wanted to get a panerai just never got around to it, im beggining to like them more and more...any suggestions as to what should be my first? I like the 111, the 005, what are some others?

Thanks in advance~

Just feel the Blackseal.....

FEED the Troll

Panerai's on Ladies are great ... it..it's.... just the shock of the sttrraaapp ... just wonder where they find these PINK crocodiles ... what do you say to a Pink croc..?? ....You tell me you have the heart to kill a Pink croc.. I think not.

No one kills Pinkies. Crocs or panthers As the mighty Clouseau said..." I know that you knew that" ......................... Pink Trolls ???

Classy watch deserves a classy strap. Europelli Shell Cordovan Black with Titanium Stitch suits me perfectly fine

Europelli

Thanks cats and dluddy.Your answers and photos are a good guide for the topic.

By the way, I've got this sneakin' suspicion that, either there aren't many Radiomir owners in here,or my questions are ignored big time.Anyways

thanks again.

Hi

just got a Radiomir (44 mm)Black Seal. Strap is a generic, relatively poor quality leather job.

Any suggestions about the best thickness strap ,that can be fitted on it, without looking funny?

I plan to make my own, having access to a multitude of materials,ranging from leather to rubber

Thanks

I NEVER going back to "Ken" anymore. They provide a lot of good OEM strap for Panerai, AP, IWC in very good price. But I won't purchase anything from there anymore!!!

Very nice strap, on a nic watch ,but... Raymond...

Why on earth,let this Ken - man,ruin your party.It would have been easier,for you , to BEG him, please Mr Ken ,take the strap off the watch, give him a fiver for his effort,and a wet towel to wipe the dirt off his hands, after touching a dreaded rep.

Wouldn't it ?

Ah those Kens......do they know something that we don't, poor rep users !!!

Thanks a lot.

I saw it in this forum, in full detail ,a great pic by TWP, and blimey,I'm in love

That was THE definitive answer that I was expecting by the forum.With all the pros and con for the subject.

I will take the plunge,since I like the piece lots.

Thanks once more

Hi,

does anybody know,if the Silix Regatta PAM 253 ,is worthy of purchase ? Any experience with the piece or the seller would be very helpfull

Thanks

Cosmic, custy,jubbly

I've answered this very question on three forums, as honestly as I could: but too frequently and in depth to repeat, Wjlamp, forgive me. Just to say that for other guys here, it's a kind of challenge -- a Franken project. It gives them satisfaction to make them look as close to gen as possible.

For me, it's very simple. I want people to think I have a gen Panerai on my wrist. This is why I started with a fantasy Mini-Fiddy, and ended up at Davidsens, 2 months later. Soon, I'll be into modding them.

Yes, I know. I'm unique and alone in all of the 3 forums I frequent, because I have yet to hear one person say it as baldly, and as boldly as I have.

So now you know, yes?

Same reasons, different routes.

After all, "all routes" lead to Firenze. No?

since I'm getting pickier about authenticity,

Why bother so much about look alike authenticity and gens. A replica watch is only a replica .Why don't you just enjoy it,with the add ons that make you feel good? ( wondering)...

Check out the new watch incursore are talking about at the Xe Flottiglia MAS:

http://www.xamas.com/

Too small to threaten Panerai

The "grace" that Panerai (well most of them ) watches have, is waaaaaay beyond ,leathery macho designs.If one fails to see the beauty of the design .......

Much thanks to tutima (if I remember correctly) for a fabulous Le Spezia strap

Very nice piece, superb dial !!!!

I can see ,that the strap is a 2 mm smaller than fitting exactly between the lugs.Doesn't it bother you?

Let me know of ideas!

Or you can find someone willing to sell you a spare case. I happen to have two laying around that i am willing to part with.

Hi,

Can you please tell.if the cases are complete? I mean front crystal and back cover, et all ?

If so how much it will cost me to persuade you to part with one of them?

Oh and I am in EEC.

Thanks

I agree with you and see your point. But I honestly think that part of the reason we hold these watch brands so close and dear to us, is their exclusivity. I can't know for sure, but i'm sure if every 4th person on the street was wearing a panerai, chopard, or Audemars Piguet in the world, i wouldn't have the same desire to own the watches I do. There's something special about being unique and setting yourself apart from others... Unfortunately in order to make exclusivity.. the prices of any given product has to be relatively high. That being said.. just my 2cents

Thanks for paying attention to my post.My point is ,that some things are better done than said.

You are right about the exclusivity factor,but consider this: The clever marketing and the enormous lines and quantities produced,by the SEIKOS,ORIENTS,

CITIZENS,CASIOS of this world, were a massive blow to the art of watchmaking. The decade of 1970t o 1980.was the years of glitter. The Japan industries

were desperate,in their quest for growth and conquer. The watches became a symbol of status,along with many others products,(cars).

The fact that turn everything upside down was the opening of the European markets ,under EEC rules and the end of the Luxury taxes that were imposed until then on watches and others products that were "a luxury" to the population of Europe.

The Swiss watchmaking community was too "small" a player in the field of free market. As you may know, the rest is history. Ask 1000 future watch buyers

and ,process the answers.The 95 percent would be Seiko, Citizen, Casio, Orient,and so on.Sometimes you'll get an answer like Timex Longines,Bulova,and

the glitzy folks will say DG,Camel,etc. Designer,life style watches with no value, other than the face one.

That 's for the part of your post ,that every 4 th person in the street will have a panerai etc.

I am afraid, no matter what, that the dice are cast,for a great many of small scale producers that took the untimely decision to remain .well "small ",and

play the exclusivity game.

Either you are in a market for healthy business and profit,or made a declaration that you are a hobbyist,filling you spare time and that's that

After reading all previous reviews on the Ultimate 092 (incl. one by taiji at RWI http://www.replica-watch.info/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29738 which inspired me to pull this trigger), my order of this baby finally arrived!

Never a dull moment with this watch.

From the excitement and the hunt to find one,voila ownership.

Mine, is from a brick and mortar shop ,that specializes in reps and not so reps (private, club like relationship that deals only after a kind of vocal registration).

I have mine for 10 days almost. Price circa $190.

First impressions:

1 The watch functions flawlessly.[ +5 seconds per 24 hours, (can be fixed, if craziness will get the best part of me)]

2.Innards,after inspection,are ETA clone,of good quality

3.Lume 's ok,though not perfect

The back though generally same as yours ,has different topography.( different maker ,maybe)

Minor(major? quibbles ):

1.The letters on the bezel scratch with tenacity that equals that of a wild cat.

2.After polishing the metal?parts with a cream and a soft poly cloth.(took out a lot of black sheen ,the bezel is more shinier than the rest ( found out why).

3.Practicing my favourite sport ,banging the watch on various obstacles, while walking,in the house,came upon a door,that shouldn't be there in the first place,and crashed it . Poor door, I thought, I have to fix the scratch with some paste or stucco and mend it ,before my wife find it . Yes....?

No sir, the door was there, solid and shiny, as a good mannered white painted door, must be. Then what???? ,I wondered .The noise from the banging was still echoing to my ears. My left hand went,by itself,mind you,and oooh!!!,something was flatter than usual. The itch that was expected to be there ,was gone,vanished through the thin air.

To cut a long, painful , story sort, A LETTER was missing. The E of the East was somewhere on the floor (found it an hour later).

But that is not all. Do you remember,what I said earlier about the more shiny bezel,after the polishing?

Here it comes...... The base of the letter is PLASTIC maybe ,with plated SS upon it. The gap is white ,the glue perhaps.

FYI, I will try to glue it ,the E, with some sort of magic.The thing is to small and the gap is ,oh,so tiny,OR , take the remaining letters OFF and paint the gaps with a silver or black enamel,thus personalizing the beast,no end. BLACK ARKTOS

One thing 's for sure.I won't return the watch.The seller is only selling after all.No?

Truly Yours. ( Ah, Panerai,even reps can drive you nuts)

PS On Saturday I will have the Radiomir BLACK SEAL. Hopin' that good rep Lord ,up in heavens will show his Grace to me ,I'll buy it

My PAM127 (fiddy), fully modded by Finepics on a HKTan custom made strap.

Great watch, and some nice pics.

But it's not for me,this or any other domed watch.

I keep bumping my hand to various obstacles ,walls chairs etc.and its life cycle is going to be very limited. So ,I stay away.

Enjoy it.

I like watches and i'm having fun. Thats it. I see no reason to make a mountain out of a mole hill. There were fake watches long before I purchased one and there will be fake watches long after as well.

Hopefully all of our governments have much better things to do then worry about poor 'ol Rolex and Panerai. $10,000 for a watch? C'mon, who's fooling who here.

Not only 10000 whatevers. How about triple and quad figures.Or ten times that.Go to some elegant sites and you'll see.

But as you said that's not the point.A simple plastic waterproof wonder shows time equally well,but dress it in gold or platinum and suddenly you have a top

seller.

Think the way ,that a gold watch owner,looks at a steel one,even from the same stable.Disgusted, is merely a word

Dear wjlamp .... customs brokers are our friends ... or at least mine... I had a heart to heart if you will, with customs officials and the out come was...'to protect yourself .. use a customs broker"..

At the beggining of your post i was going to ask you if you are just trying to gather information from this forum ...

but you are correct in saying that no one knows the law better than a customs broker... knows how to circumvent the law's gray areas... and that what it is all about..

so, don't take the critics soo seriously ... everyone is an authority (tech to listen to.. sssurfer, kruzer,chieftang,and a list of others)... especially here...LOL.. don't you know it's forums like these that ..."Decide the Fate of The Civilized World" .. on a daily and nightly basis>>>>LOL>>>> some even get calls at all hours from the Leaders of their countries asking... no.... pleading for advise on how to save the Planet...

Just yesterday George..... let's just say G.B. so he will stay anonymous tried to get in touch with several members asking for leads on what strap he should wear to luncheon with the British PM ... that's when we asked VB to headline a strap review so the world leaders stop bothering us all when we're trying to sleep..

most watch nuts don't play with a full deck... even if you combined all the decks of all the members you still could not come up with a full deck..

I think this forum just thrives on controversy...... but it would be really boring ... if everone had the same view point.,. ask me how MY weekend was on the forum ..... NAAHHHH better not

but we are all in this for one thing... .... we love watches ... not for profit...because we all need regulating and oiling from time to time.. .. some run slow... some run fast... some don't run at all

now if you said you were with customs... see how many members post anything to that..

Peace ..Love...LIVE STRONG AND WEAR IT WELL ....LANIKAI

Tks for getting it Lanikai

Yes indeed, a Customs Broker isn't a Customs Official.Don't be surprised that the majority of the people are ignorant of the difference.

Even in my "Lower East Side "social class,a class that faces watches ,and cars ,as tools and toys, ('s good to keep it in mind),they don't know it,well,most of them.

Just to clarify the situ,it's the same as a Judge against a private Lawyer relationship,in the court of Law....

On the other hand, returning to our theme,nobody said a bloody word about" pushing" the brand firms, in order to "downgrade' and produce cheaper

products (watches)

No comments appear in my asking for a $ 500 genuine Panerai.Breitling,Breguet,Lacroix,Omega,IWC Tag,and the list goes on no end...

But it is mid summer and it seems that most of the rep buyers are on vacation to exotic places, "After the Sunset",where a rep Panerai can stir questions

like the one that gov't FBI agent asked, ex James Bond " ooh nice watch,how much does it cost,a fortune ? " or something like that .Anyways...

To watch companies worldwide

A clever man can and must snap it out of thin air.

Make a wise use of your name and resources. Watch lovers are tired of buying faceless designs.Make your products

available to a wider market .The replica market is booming.If you don't do it ,there are many willing copiers out there,that can make it for you and get

the money that is lawfully yours.Don't be so cocky and say " there is no way to make a $ 500 Pan,Rol,Breit etc. It can be done,It is happening and you are loosing money.

Oh, and have no fear that you will become household words.Those seats are already taken

Of course everyone can share his thought in this forum.

@ wjlamp i have a legal backround and i know what i'm talking about.

I even have to appear in court soon to explain why i bought i Panerai for 80 euro's via the internet.

In some cases customs allow you to import , if you have it on you as they say ( meaning in your pocket hands or what ever ) when you enter the country.

Of course in that case the number of reps is limited ( 3 pieces in my case ).

If you buy via the internet or get your watch shipped into the country via the post FEDEX etc. it's ILLEGAL

Please don't try to confince people that they are not breaking the law , we are talking about

Patents , copyrights , trademarks and brand infringement

Cats

Well,excuzzzzzze me....., but I am not preaching.

And If I had the powers to hypnotize and convince even a simple soul that reads some lines in an Internet forum,then ,bless my souL..

For your information ,my profession is... ta,da ...customs broker,and I'm doing it for the best part of the last 26 years.I can tell that I know and practice the law and

all the tools of my trade.Legal and illegal is an open debate ,Pandora's box ,as Lalikai quite rightly said.

The brand names that lean on laws, in order to protect themselves are practicing accordingly. I can assure you that the majority simply do not give a camel's hair about it.

On the other hand if you buy online ,you are not in danger from the customs law enforcement only.The most dangerous part of an Internet deal is Fraud.

Just think,that if someone gives no second thoughts in the danger,of selling illegal products,he couldn't care less if you part with your 80 whatevers and send you an empty carton.

Please be kind and read carefully my post,again.You will be pleasantly surprised,in, that we are saying the same thing,only differently

Good discussion .... enjoy the debate..

Thanks ... Lanikai

You got the point Lanikai. Good discussion...enjoy the ,healthy productive ,I could add,debate.

In an open forum we can exchange, well and not so well thought opinions,but not bad mannered comments.

As for the friend who said " Ballsy ",what ? As an owner of thirty time pieces ,give or take one, I am not newbie,and I do have some

officially stamped products (watches ),but for me aren't status .( Maybe again, my social class is a little "lower east side'" and they

are unaware of what a good watch means.)

For me, watches are grown boys and girl's toys. You know, toying with the idea of buying a ......or a .......(where's that exclamation mark ...ah. ,found it!!!!!

For the "Axioms" quote ....: thats not a math class,it's simply fun.

Hmm, sounds like a NATO or military strap? I am wearing one here with the Radiomir base, 210.

No it's not either. It is a 24mm ,cheap,just $ 35 strap sold officially by Locman. It is a very interesting alternative to leather and bracelet. You see some manufacturers got the message and trying to cater for the needs of the man in the street

But then you guys have hairier arms than me!

...I think.

Yes it is,it's true

Oh, and our buying of replicas does hurt the brand owner. How many sales has Rolex lost because someone thought their friends would assume it's a fake so they bought a different brand instead?

No,no and no.

Our buying ,hurts our pocket.By purchasing silly things we loose hard earned money.

If someone fears that his genuine watch will be taken as a fake,he has no right to have the money to buy the real thing (sic).After all

what's the point of buying something, just for make it a moving exhibition advertising item for his surroundings It is oxymoron.

You buy and use something for your pleasure .Nothing more nothing less. If you (not you literally) get pleasure from showing off

you don't deserve ,need a Rolex,or something equivalent.

Who told you that Rolex doesn't like their name to be on the lips of some potential buyers,even ones that don't eventually buy

the watch ,because of the fear of being ridiculed.Somebody else with more brains than brawn will buy it. No?

Hi,

I read various quotes about the hobby.Mainly, about being legal ,illegal or simply indifferent,the collecting buying or selling replica watches.

From the user's(buyer's)point of view,I can see nothing illegal,or damaging to the name of a firm.One buys an item

with full knowledge (pricewise,placewise)that it is a replica.It is not the same.That does it. Why do you think

replicas are 99.999 accurate to the original? Is it difficult for a producer to make it ,like it is?

Do not think so. The laws are clear.Only an 100 percent identical item falls into the letter of the law.

And this act, is a wholly different thing.

From the makers point of view,its a little bit different. Lets say for example Panerai..

They are manufacturing watches,and their selling target is a group of people with an "x" level of income and buying habits.

They are aware of the marketing potential of their products,and their aim is to attract,a portion of the market pie to them.

How many can fork out, $ 3000 ,to buy,just a watch?,Let us not better say ,a tenner or some other OTT prices ? I kid you not .

One (1) in 10000 (ten thou).,or 9000, but that's unimportant.

Our lovely Panerai knows it very, very well and produces them, just hoping that their marketeers,will do something better

than their last fiscal period,in selling the goodies.

If they target to sell ,lets say 5000 pieces, they will be happy to reach an 80 percent of that number,cover the expenses and make

a nice profit,for living and keep being in bussines.

With these in hand ,they don't give the slightest thought for the replica that is going to the hand of a layman or woman

in the street,for a sum of $ 100 to $ 500.They are not their market.It's like bringing coal to Newcastle,or selling ice cubes to Groenland.

The guy or girl that pays this money will NEVER buy a genuine product,simply because he,she thinks that its price is out of

reach.( if you want A watch just, for the time of it ,buy a plastic wonder for $ 10 and get on with it.)

In fact ,since they are aware,of the existence of that kind of market,they can exploit the possibility of controlling it,and get some

(lots of)nourishment from it. Just take a look at what the sports marketeers do.They sell REPLICAS,of their products.They are proud of it and they are labeling them ,for what they are.Replicas.

Why on earth it's legal for them and not for the Panerais of this world.(Don't say that they sell their name..read on)

A lesser,than the high end movement,can be used into a watch,for example, with fully respectable results.

And a non sandwich dial will do just fine.Same goes for the bezels and sapphires.

They are doing it after all,and they are making a range.

An image cautious maker,produces one thing,a statement product,and says that is that.If you like it buy it.

By ranging, you "diversify" into a market, aiming at price groups.

Me wants an Arktos,you a Radiomir gold,he a Marina,she a Luminor,etc.,etc.

Me wants to pay $200 for it ,you $ 500 ,and so on

If a no name manufacturer can do it,why don't they? They can reply,saying that it will tarnish the otherwise brilliant image

of the company.Come on guys,you are in the market for making monies not drawing images.

On the other hand the maker of a replica without the written permission of the name owner is illegal.There is no doubt about it.

But let them worry about it. If it is dangerous to them, let them name the watches "anonymous" If I Like it I'll buy it.

I swapped the straps on my big PAMs this morning. This was the result. As always, comments appreciated.

click for 1280px wide version

Very nice straps.But not for a black dial. I don't have the same taste for colors,perhaps.

My idea for black dials is black straps,for a finer accord to color aesthetics,or bright shiny colors ( inca yellow,race green, flame red,

orange reddish etc) , for a more adventurous presentation.

On the contrary, with a white or shades of it, dial,well,anything goes.You can even have a white one(though a little bit of an ice (s)creamer.

Maybe a sandy colored strap will do fine ,but then, you have to add the color of the markings, into the equation.

Yet again it's only a matter of differrent taste. If it ok with the wearer,who gives a d... , eh?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder