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You need a new camera mate hahaha great to see this coming along

Big discussion on RG over this. We have honkytonkman confirming that these are repped made in a close factory run of 500 pieces. Still trying to verify but to me that would sound more likely than genuine factory 2nds. Still a very high quality rep, best I've seen before

I appreciate people who take the time to start aftermarket parts projects like yourself FGD. I've always wanted to, started it, then stopped cause they're too much work, so big ups to you. For me, writing a review is a hobby, at least its on something I love, these same skills get used at work for much more boring activities.

Hey all, this is for Singapore based RWGers only I'm sorry. Basically, I've got two similar tubes of diamond paste as shown in this thread. Needed it to polish out a scratch in my sapphire crystal and now I'm a happy camper with A LOT more paste left over. So basically, offering a pass around for the tubes. One tube is 1.5micron, the other is 0.5micron. Basically, all those who want it, post here, I'll maintain the list on who needs it next, then PM me your address for the first guy and I'll send it out. When done, send it out to the next in the list and if there is no more, just send it back to me. So let me know if anyone wants them, if not, they'll just collect dust in my tool box. This will be offered on the other two forums two, with the master list shown on all.

hackR: What I can't understand is DSN. He perfects his dial, then suddenly a new batch arrives with a whole slew of issues. Why can't he keep them consistent? How hard is that? Some variance is expected maybe in the finishing, but not in the complete method in which the dial is constructed! Whatever it is, this dial is a keeper, one of the best from DSN in a long time. Yes its too thin, but on the wrist, it passes off fine. st4: Thanks mate. Definitely not one of your usual suspects. I'm slowly getting turned off open caseback PAMs with all the flaws in the movements, even though I've got 2 stunning examples myself, moving towards all closed caseback. However, this Ti one, its a tricky piece, I may get a bare caseback from DSN and see if I can get it engraved somewhere.

Forgot about the notch, remembered before I did the review, forgot to put it in, thanks for mentioning it. I felt the same way about the thickness of the case, but wasn't 100% due to the angles of the photos, the lugs did look shorter, but I didn't comment. Thanks for confirming.

Good question, I always used them interchangeably....

I really don't like the fact we can't edit our posts. I understand why but still don't like it. Anyhow, wanted to make a change, another flaw I've spotted for the caseback 1) Gen engraving is larger in font size. The model number look accurate though 2) Logo engraving is too small and sits further up. You can notice that the "centre" of the caseback is on the leg of the down arrow. DSN has it on the head of the arrow

I am writing this review with a bit of trepidation as I know this is the grail watch for many a risti, and many a geek. Also, there is a wealth of information on this piece on the forums and I only just recently stumbled onto its charm, so please be gentle with me if I miss out the 0.5mm difference in lug shape, or 0.25mm difference in numeral drift :undecided: Anyhow, this is going to be the stock 5218-201A latest version from DSN versus the Gen. As many know, the 201a needs to be upgraded bit by bit and I'll delve into what I know the mods are later on. Front 1) LUMINOR PANERAI, though correct font, correct color, correct sharpness, seems a half size too large 2) Same for the logo 3) CG is incorrect profile, much too small/thin as compared to the thick lugs and shape of the gen 4) CG pin is protruding and rounded (candidate for a polish) 5) Crown is too thin (bevelled too much as I'll show later) 6) Shape of 6 is incorrect closer to the bottom. The gen has a squarish shape to it at the base 7) The 9 suffers the same issue as the 6 just inverted The 2 doesn't have the small hook/clump at the tip as the gen, though the tail and sharpness of the cut in looks good No AR on the crystal which is accurate. Crown Copied from my 040 review As you can see, DSN's SS crown suffer from having the correct thickness but too much bevel on the edges giving them a visually thinner appearance and rounded edges CG side 1) Incredibly thin. A good 1~1.5mm missing. No curved upper portion, not thick like gen. Better off polishing this and making it an A-F series CG 2) Bezel base is too thick and doesn't have the rounded edges like the gen 3) Crystal is too thin, doesn't poke up above the bezel Profile side 1) Notice the bezel base again, much clearer here 2) DSNs screws are much too large. Gen like in that both sides are screwed in, but too large. Unconfirmed, but someone mentioned the gen is 1.6mm whereas DSN is 1.8mm Other than that, I can't comment on the lug profile. It looks decent. Perhaps a bit short, but the downward slop looks continuous almost, the base looks right and there doesn't seem too much of an angle either. Please correct me if I'm wrong Back 1) Gen engraving is larger in font size. The model number look accurate though 2) Logo engraving is too small and sits further up. You can notice that the "centre" of the caseback is on the leg of the down arrow. DSN has it on the head of the arrow Also, many have commented that DSN's caseback is too thin by 1~2mm as compared to gen. As I don't have any shots for comparison, do note this. Lume DSN 201a on left, DSN 040 on right. 1sec exposure, 2min interval. No PS effects added. Technically, a vintage 201a shouldn't be glowing at all But it still is pretty to see Conclusion Dial I must say the engraved dials though are stunning in person to see. I'm still mesmerized by it and love it more than my sandwich 111I. Upgrade options Dial first, only 1 option. FishGoDeep on RWG, aka FGD makes some. Couple of versions out and the few I've seen look stunning. Definitely more accurate than DSNs. None are being made at the moment but scuttlebutt is a new batch may appear in May/Apr 2010 Crown: Multiple options. T48 stainless steel (discontinued). Opalow is making new ones. Some older crowns emerge now and then like Palps etc. So you take your pick. CG: Multiple options. Gen G~current series CG is accurate. V or LH are the next two best CGs to get, as close to gen as possible. Seadbo ain't a bad option, though mildly thinner than the gen, but not noticeably. Torobravo as well has one out. Caseback: There's a thread on RG of a custom caseback project going on. Better engraving with a thicker caseback is promised. Only option currently available unless you do it yourself My conclusion? I'm going to be modding the hell out of this piece. Got the crown, CG on the way, awaiting an FGD run should it occur. I needed a base in my collection, and now that I have this piece, I can understand why it's known as the "Grail" for many ristis. The Logo has a special place in any collection and you should go get one.

I can't be the only one getting watches now can I I got the black J12 33mm sometime ago from PWC, the white I just got from Josh. Word of warning, the PWC uses Mineral glass, just buffed out some scratches. Aint sure about the Josh one but probably the same. I personally prefer the lustre of the black one, always felt white ceramic looked cheap. Though I prefer the white's dial and bezel, pops more I feel.

I blame milesd for this review. If not for his stunning pictures here of the 040, I would never have gone and ordered one. Background, DSN has a new dial, :undecided: , doesn't he always? Whatever it is, it looks stunning, a huge step up from his previous attempts recently, but, with DSN, get'em while it lasts and before he changes again! The 040 is a vintage Titanium cased, black dial, solid caseback, manual wind 44mm Luminor Marina watch. The first commercially available Titanium cased watch from Panerai, so basically the grandfather of today's 177. As with all my reviews, just follow the numbers Front 1) The first thing that strikes you is that though the shade and shape of the numbers is bang on, the size is off. The gen has thicker numbers and indices 2) The printing is fantastic, though a little thin. Also, for the very first time, DSN is using an off colored white on his dial, but this is wrong for this model, it should be pure white. Oh, and the A bar looks accurate too 3) T SWISS T, some have complained about this, not as big an issue for me, the gen has a flat top and bottom T SWISS T, DSN's are rounded. But size and sharpness wise, perfect 4) CG Pin hole is off, bit too far out and small. First DSN CG that I've had where by it doesn't suffer from a floppy lever. But I'll pop the pin to give it a matte finish 5) Not so visible here, but the lever tip is very thick on the gen. DSNs have a continuous thin taper. 6) Not shown, but the crystal has AR. The gen due to it being a B series didn't. Panerai only started using AR on their D series PAMs onwards. However, DSN's AR has improved significantly. Very mild bluish tint and amazing to look at. CG Side 1) DSNs CG is thicker than the GEN?! Its a tell, but for me a good one. I rather have a thick CG than a thin one. 2) The crystal sticks out a hair's breadth more over the bezel on the gen as compared to DSNs Case Profile 1) Profile of lugs is close, but wrong. DSN's lugs have a distinct hump to them 2) DSN's lugs also have rounded edges versus the sharper ones on the edge, very pronounced the sanding here 3) The bezel base is also 0.5mm thicker than the gen, only noticeable here, and definitely not as bad as his older 240 case. Crown This is the first whereby I can honestly say I have no desire or need to really swap out the DSNs crown. 1st is a gen 040 crown (measurement is based off an LH crown). As you can see, the bevel between the gen and DSN's is close. Hardly any extreme bevel as seen on the stainless steel DSN crown taken from his 201a. Even when the crown is physically thicker, the bevel makes it look visually thinner. For me, this is good enough and I won't be ordering a T48 Ti crown to replace it. Back This is where all the disappoints come. :mad: 1) Much thicker engraving 2) Wrong OP number, should be 6510 3) The 040 was only ever released as a B series. It was a "special edition" of a sorts 4) Only 200 units were ever released as well. Lume DSN201a on left, 040 on the right. 1sec exposure, 2mins interval, only cropping done in PS. I will admit, this 040 is the least bright of all my PAMs. That said, this is meant to be a tritium dialed 040 that was released in 1998. So I would expect the glow to be more muted. (Lets not discuss the accuracy of a torched 201a ) Further to that, you can see the numbers have a lovely yellow tint to them, giving them a great patina, including the hands, which adds to the character of the watch for me. So I'll gladly sacrifice a bit of lume power for this added vintageness. My thoughts Titanium watches have very rarely been my thing. I can't handle the extreme lightness of the case, plus the dullness sometimes gets to me. However, I'm enjoying the vintage expect of this piece. The dial is wholely accurate with minor flaws that most people won't be able to call out, the most obvious being the size of the numerals. The crown is fine to me. The crown guard, the most obvious tell on Ti models is accurate, thicker than gen and perfect profile. The only big tell is the caseback. Two options, don't take it off, don't show it to a paneristi or just enjoy. I'll just enjoy it. Most people won't remember the exact specifics anyhow One thing to note, Ti scratches easily, I wore it one and you can see a scratch already today...:mad: Add to that, I've found with Ti watches, the movement is louder. I can hear the 040 quite clearly, but not any of my other 6497s. With the casebacks off, they are of equal loudness. So one thing to consider as well. Overall, a lovely piece from DSN and with this new dial, a real stunner

Any reason why the 6 is glowing much brighter than the rest? Did you flash that more? But lovely piece, love the hobnail dials on the Regettas

Thanks Red, amazing what a little Canon P&S (Ixus80IS) and some post processing in PS can do

haha, collecting and modding is the fun. Then taking pretty pictures But wearing it too. I've had it happen to me whereby the watch had wound down, and I did not notice for a good 4hrs even though I know for a fact I stared at the watch at least 4 times during the day. I was just staring at it and not reading the time. haha, I hope you achieve your dream then my friend. Welcome to RWG. Which watch is your favorite? haha, not as impressive. The ones I love are already on the watches, though I have two incoming I'm excited about. One Sead vintage leather strap, and an Ostrich Leg 27/24 nicotine brown from Vanilla Gorilla for the 232. I do have a Pantast 26mm for the MM20 and a lovely maroon Albut6 as well. Thanks for the comments. Don't worry, you'll get a tonne of pictures tomorrow when the review for the 040 goes up. The 111E is one of the better movements I've seen for sure. Taken from my sales thread over at RG I also took some macro shots of it here

yeah, the sammies are stunning, but I'm really captivated by the 201a dial, the depth of each number is mesmirising to look at. you'll see more shots in the review

Nope. That 082 was my very first PAM many years ago...gawd, almost 3 years ago now. That my friend, is a fantastic 040 which is amazingly accurate except for some small things that I'll point out in a review

This is the evolution of Panerai of my collection as I see it Shown here in their glory; Franken DSN/Cartel 232 on Bob brown Gen RXW MM20 on SC 27/24 double hatchet DSN 5218-201a on Gunny lookalike vintage strap DSN 040C on Panatime Loco Horse Suede Angus Ultimate 111E on Gorilla Lambo Black LH 111I on SC Legend II Reviews on the 040 and the 201a will be up over the weekend Whatever it is, its an inspiring sight to see all these beautiful pieces laid out like that

What's wrong with that dial? A rep sausage dial is lightyears ahead of any sandwich rep dial out there (except LH). Do not change that dial at all. Get it relumed by Vacc or The Zigmeister. Get a new Canon pin for the hands (both the modders can do that work for you for an extra cost) Next thing would be to get potentially a Toro Bravo crown guard (dealer on RG) which should be better than the current one you have, or if the pregnant hump isn't a big deal, get one from DSN which is slightly thicker than the current rep ones, but sans the hump. Caseback, there was a recent release of shoddy Ti manual wind PAMs, but the caseback was of an earlier G/F series, can't remember, that would make it more accurate than you H series. Crown looks decent, but seems a little far from the side of the case. Also due to the photo being so close, its hard to tell with the fisheye effect. You could potentially upgrade it to a T48 Ti crown, before he runs out of stock. That dial, even with its flaws in printing, is a good dial. Keep it, just get it lumed. OEM base dials are pretty rare, especially for sausage, can't remember ever seeing one to be honest.

For auto and chrono crown guards, now that's another area of discussion Some differences there and yes the auto crowns have changed through the series. I unfortunately do not have have dimensions of gen CGs, though I have two very excellent rep CGs in front of me, which I should measure at some point and draw up in CAD, especially since I'm selling one of them off. Top: LH Pre-V/H~K series manual wind CG Bottom: Angus Ultimate A-F series CG

You'd be surprised, but there is a demand for A-F series crownguards too. Look at how fast Jimmy Fu CGs go the minute they come up for sale. Yes, most people are looking for Pre-V or H-K series CGs because that's what most people own these days, and I for one am sourcing a Pre-V CG, but if you want to corner the market

DSN (davidsen) or Puretime would be your bets for a 309. Havent seen any reviews on the Puretime/Cartel 309, but there are a couple of reviews on the 309 from DSN, which looks pretty decent except for the standard rep flaws in the case.

One thing to clarify. Which series gen CG are you looking for and that you have? A-F was one style, flat, polished and thin. Pre-V and H~K manual winds are another style, thick, curved top hump.

Actually just saw that hont is selling a very decent PAM005 for $90 with accurate logo dial. May be something for you to consider instead of the more elusive PAM 000

No good 000 reps to be found either. Cons: Nearly all have incorrect logo application Wrong CG Bad crown Incorrect caseback OP number

Was just staring at my 111s today and decided to see how my lil P&S camera would do on macro...not too bad for an IXUS80IS I reckon. Some playing around in PS for levels. 6497 with stamped Panerai bridges (E~G series OP XI movement) - From an Angus Ultimate 111E 6497 with Cotes De Geneve engraved bridges (H~K series OP XI movement) - From Little Hero "L" series 111I