Watchmeister

Absolutely right. I am wearing one as I write this.

Ziggy- I am so sorry to hear this. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

I thought the Heritage is another watch where two different versions came out and at two different price points.

What is interesting is that the overall rep industry is getting more competitive not less. HBB factories puts out Skyland v1. BCE factory puts out Skyland v2. Dealers being stuck with inferior version 2 are forced to buy new dials and then lower the price. SFSO factory is a different factory. MBK product being outdone by other factories, etc. So the manufacturers have figured out that there is money in them thar hills. And although dealers may buy gens in order to produce high end reps the factories are increasingly giving very limited exclusives (month or less) rather than the original Honpo 3-4 months. For all of our bitching about dealers (any of them) they have lost power and not gained it with respect to the manufacturers. Manufacturers are now demanding larger runs than any one or two dealers can soak up. And on top of that we are increasingly seeing multiple factories making reps of the same watch. Skyland is only the beginning. I suspect there will be more coming. So whether it is A and J, Angus or anyone else the game is getting bigger and riskier. IMHO, we are now beginning to see prices going down.

I lost one as well. Bu mine was hanging my wrist out the window at 80mph. So, anyone else have one?

Ken had nothing to do with Honpo. He was simply a guy who lived in Florida and traveled to Japan frequently. I used to speak with him from time to time. What he did was his business. Honpo has never had interest shipping outside of Japan. And I know they are still highly regarded by Rep collectors in Japan even after their forced move of operations offshore.

There are five other manufacturers who make a very similar bracelet and frankly much better. I also prefer the mixed media bracelets. I have one bracelet PAM and it looks like that is as many as I will ever have. Then again the budget ain't going to allow more than that anyhow. Taking a second look it seems they have cheaped out and gotten rid of the pins going up the length of the bracelet so if you want to adjust for a small wrist you are going back to the AD. What a conspiracy. The AD gets an extra charge. Then again it will make it cheaper for the rep manufacturers to get it right.

Unfortunately all the 24A reps I have seen have a brushed bezel so it will require polishing. What I should add is that this particular rep has the best 12 click bezel action I have ever felt on a PAM rep. It actually matches the gen perfectly. But to make a 24 "perfect" - ) you will have to remove the hour marker surrounds and relume to tritium. In truth the 24 D is going to be easier. And if you can ever source a case back for a later 24 (j or later) that model actually comes with a lumed dial and the surrounds.

Wow! Gentlemen (and in this case I don't use that term lightly - ) much thanks for a most generous and welcome gesture.

Even I can guess that particular person.

T- Congrats. Those movements are amazing. Someone someday is going to have one stunning watch.

It depends which model PAM 24 you have. Some did come as standard crystals and I do love Chief's cyclops for certain models. My solution for the state of the art 24A is gen crown and Jimmy CG on the case and Lello datewheel plus sandwich crystal found on the newer ones.: And if you have any doubts - Rep versus gen:

Doc- I probably got mine from the same seller as Tak. They do show up on ebay though. If by some miracle you have a blue one I have a spare gen blue dial. But you need to have the blue inner bezel. And they do often go cheap. I think I paid less than $30 for each.

Lani- Welcome to the wonderful world of organizing a group buy.You go out the thousands and then pray. I have not been paying attention to this one so I have no idea what you are doing but best of luck with it. I still have quite a few cyclops and a few of those gen crowns. But if I wait long enough they should be worth bazillions.

T- Thanks for the tip. I will probably try option 3.

Takashi- I am with you. Mine with Swiss movement and gen dial - But I do have to ask - were you able to tighten the bezel. Mine is acceptable but still a little loose relative to the gen.

B- I do think that is the best solution. Alternatively I end up "painting" in and then clear coating the entire dial in order to make the surface consistent. That is what Ziggy ended up doing on the Marine Militare in the Panerai forum as I had managed to chip the paint. It also depends how noticeable and the location of the scratch.

D- Came out beautifully. Wear it well.

Yes - many folks do. You have to separate the person with 2-3 watches (typical work, dress and sport) from those with a larger number. When you get to a half dozen or more most people do rotate unless they are buying for investment and putting it in the vault. The most rampant rotaters I have seen are those who focus on a brand - Rolex, Breguet, Patek, etc. Those guys are flaunting it all the time.

You left out the ti Chrono Avenger (albeit not new). Still my favorite and a classic. I am hoping that they someday do the PVD Skyland. I love that one.

I don't know about Pre-V but yes on A and B.

Yes it is a gen 616 and keeping unbelievably good time. The strap is actually not a GSD but a Tootall which came with the watch. It is very nice and comfy and I think his prices are very reasonable.

Thanks for the kind comments. The strap is gen and for whatever reason they come up relatively frequently and with a little patience you can pick one up well below $200. The only thing is that it is more of a pain in the neck to take-off than a tang or deployant.

Couple of pics of my latest happy combo. Nothing new - just never put the two together.

I was fortunate enough to buy a wonderful VDBroucke piece a few months ago. It was beautiful and one of the few vintage movements I have owned that kept perfect "cable box" time. Then I was dumb enough to drop it onto the pavement. Dial paint chipped and crown broke off. So off to Ziggy for a refresher including dial repair and refinishing, yellowing of a fabulous plexi which an esteemed member was kind of enough to send me and even a little case banging up. So here is my VBD-Ziggified Marine Miitare :