Watchmeister

That little submarine on the dial kills me. What were they thinking? - Panerai that is.

I am still intrigued by the Deep Sea. Can't wait to see one in real life. I will also be curious to see how it sells and whether the core 37mm/40mm Rolex buyers will step up for a very different (and bigger ) watch.

Well, here are a couple of new theories. The dial isn't going into a watch. Either someone just wanted a spare or wants it to put it in a frame and put it on the wall as art.

Good to see you over here. You got me whupped in terms of longevity over at TRC. I would think of this transition as simply a continuation of a long and happy existence under the roof of T.

Weclome. Keep reading and go get your feet wet.

Lewis- Very nice to see you here. There are any number of folks who either collect both gens and reps or only gens. The common denominator is a want to increase WISdom. Many folks are refugees from the gen forums or have just found our little forum an interesting place to acquire additional information. And as you have already learned, reps can be a lot of fun and it is a lot less painful to screw up an experiment on a rep than a gen. - Kruz

A big welcome. Glad to see you made the transfer over here. And yes, we would all love to see some pics.

I haven't seen Stafane's watch but if it is lume lume retains the original color much longer. For that and longevity of glow lume is a far superior material. The only benefit of tritium is that there is always a faint glow even without "charging" until it dies - which in spite of a claimed half life of 12-13 years seems to lose its glow even faster. On my PAM's, my 03 and 23 dial have no glow. My 170 which is an F so only a few years old is already fading. And on tritium it can age dramatically differently based on a number of factors - varnish or not (some watches even have varnish on the hands or dial but not the other), exposure to light and even whether the hands or dial have sat outside of a watch for an extended of time. The other thing is that the surrounds can have a dramatic difference. I have never figured out whether it is chemistry or reflection though on that. My guess is chemistry. The markers on my dial with metal surrounds look dramtically different than markers that are sitting openly on the dial. In spite of all its flaws I do love tritium.

JoJo- That is a stunning watch. Wow! Although you have many stunning vintages this is probably my favorite. By the way I got your message. I will ring you up later today. But wear that bad boy well. It is a true keeper.

That is the only positive side to the Credit Crunch. I can't read the whole article but even the article is artificially optimistic. Who pays 4,500 (pounds?) for a submersible? Don't bother with new items. You can readily buy a 1000m 87 for $5,000 these days. Another forum member put out a WTB for one and got 26 responses from the various risti forums. So I subscribe to the theory that we will see the real savings is in the secondary market. I am definitely seeing prices going down for all but a few items on TZ and Watchnet. I suspect the next 18 months will be a good time to pick up that gen you have always lusted after. In the case of Panerai the secondary market has always been much stronger than many other brands. But I see prices in the secondary market falling as well.

Wow! I am getting close to giving in. This is looking excellent.

Oh bollocks!

You mean the gasket that keeps water and dust out? Just teasing B. Which gasket? If it is the one immediately below the pate of the crown it shouldn't cause any gap unless there is no case tube and it is acting as the only seal between the stem and the movement - in which case I would keep it.

When you say gap I assume you are referring to the gap between the casetube and the crown. There should be none other than the natural lip of the crown. But there always is that lip to lock the crown into the case tube.

Have a great day. You're not getting older - you're getting better.

I love these phrases like "sabotage" this or "retaliate that". I prefer to think of it as commerce. It is a little tougher on the membership as you have to pay closer attention to different factories and versions and that is one of many reasons why an "honest" forum is all the more critical. It can save some expensive mistakes. But it has been this way ever since multiple factories made the same watch. I am just grateful that there is a new rep which appears to be a good one and it has not continued the $600 plus trend. As for the eternal question as to what percentage of sales we are we will never have an answer. And it also depends what the question is and what watch it is. There is no question in my mind that the complexity of watches being replicated and the associated costs (including buying the gen, additional tooling, etc.) have raised the bar and as a result the manufacturers are requiring larger runs, setting up some of their own distribution, marketing directly to dealers and exerting some pricing power because reps are more differentiated. What is relevant is that it appears that all dealers are trying in their own way to respond to forum concerns. Although the prices are often higher than we would like watches we could never imagine being accurately repped are and the general market continues to grow - all good things for our sport.

Wonderful project. Wear that one well.

If you are in EU you will need a suggestion from someone over there. In the U.S. I do the same as Lani - USPS Priority. And I have never lost one.

I agree. I did it a while ago on a Radiomir and it does look funny. If you put it next to a gen it is a clear tell. The funny thing is the aftermarket double AR is better but somehow is not in keeping with PAM's.

Really nothing else to say. Wear them well.

It can fit multiple movements because ultimately it is the same chrono module and as such the original base movement irrespective of who is making it will alter it (if required) to ensure the module will fit. Jacques ain't making multiple chrono-modules. And he is selling a heck of a lot more units to the eta based watchmakers than AP.

I am with T. I am not a fan of open casebacks as the rep movements are good but not that good. I didn't know they never got the logo dial correct. That is actually shocking. I would go 02 with the caseback from Davidsen.

Thanks for an excellent review. I don't really need another $500 paperweight. I was curious whether you would feel a lot better about the movement if the E gear were in fact jeweled. If I read your review correctly there are two critical problems. The first relates to the minutes of the chrono which is seldom used but the second relates to the lack of a jewel on the running seconds gear which is bound to have a problem since it is running whenever the watch is running.

Unbelievable! He lives... Gran - Good to see you back.

And for all you guys who were bitching about "all I got was a kick in the ass" - I wasn't talking about you. My original post referred to rich kids. Or if you were rich at the time than your parents were simply cheapskates.