Watchmeister

I have asked the seller. Have not heard anything back though. I have made this mistake more than once though. Unfortunately, pictures of hands are worthless. It all depends on how and in what light they are shot. I agree they are probably tritium. And yes I will try and buy them. But there have been some crazy prices. One of the things that is so frustrating about buying T hands is that they never match up. Dials and hands don't have to but mismatched hands look odd (IMHO). In order to put together a good set of matched T hands (same color and glow) it often requires mixing and matching from different sets. Age, varnish, exposure to light and handling all have major impacts on hand condition.

23 is A and B series. Identical numbers in each year to the 29 and some are luminor and others tritium just like 29.

I must fess up that I am the owner of the 23 dial. Folks have seen the pictures. The question is whether those hands are lume or tritium. I am already long a spare set of lume hands. If tritium that is another story. Anyone have a guess? This Franken stuff is killing me. FGD- Yeah, I saw that crown and the funny thing is the seller was also selling a set of Marina hands. And those went for less than what you pay an AD.

Am I right in saying that the inferior version has a clear caseback and the newer one has a solid engraved one?

I think Chief's original single-sided AR looks great on the Fiddy. I have compared the gen to a rep coated with that coating. They both are very close to colorless. On the gen it seems like they were trying to achieve some improvement in visibility while maintaining the vintage look. Then again, maybe I am overthinking this.

After

You are right V. But the funny thing is I have owned two subs one series apart. One was bluish purple tint and the next was crystal clear.

2D's and 112's definitely. Well known fact that Panerai has used any number of AR coating services. Coatings can even vary within the same year on the same model. Heck even their dials vary within the same model and year. Look at the Fiddy - 2-3 different dials. Now the infamous "rep blue" has never been on a gen PAM. But plenty of purple hue around.

Great strap. It looks like a must have. Looks like I will be trolling around risti.

Can't wait to see the pics.

I always knew there had to be some good use for all that Rubbermaid my Wife has in the cabinets. How big a tub do you use? Because I am guessing I am now the proud owner of a light tent. What kind of lights do folks use?

Take a tent (preferably a Coleman) and put a light in it. Seriously, how do you make a light tent?

More importantly, has the person done any work for you or have you seen his work elsewhere?

jcmiro- There is no substitute for Ziggy. However having another trusted watchsmith would be a good thing. Ziggy is one of very few people in the world who are a combination of skilled and caring watchsmith, true artist and honest. And yes, I believe there is no one who is better qualified for the wide variety of services which folks here are looking for. He is the only person I have come upon who I trust to work on very valuable gen vintage pieces never mind the reps. He is a wonderful friend and does all of my work. But Ziggy cannot do it all for everyone and acknowledges it. Needless to say, the toughest part is finding someone who is really skilled at a wide variety of services or only does what he is good at. I have no problem with someone who is good at movement repair or overhaul only, knows it and only offers those services. I also respect the artisan who is good at aesthetically modding a watch - but the person doing the work has to be able to assemble or disassemble the watch as well. That way people know they are getting good work done. Most traditional watchsmiths who are very competent with movements have little interest in aesthetics like lume or case mods. Lume and dial work is usually a freestanding skill. Further many watchsmiths are not willing to work with many of the movements that come in reps. So I would start with the question of work he has done for you in the past. What has he done? Have you been happy, etc. On pricing, Ziggy is more than fair and his prices are readily available so you might compare them to what the watchsmith normally charges. No one is looking for a substitute for Ziggy as there isn't one. But there certainly is room for another valued watchsmith. What I don't want to see is a lot of folks rushing in until there is a broader comfort with any provider here. Historically, most people offering watch work here have either been incompetent or self-destructed. That doesn't mean that someone else can't be successful. But you would need to proceed slowly. And lastly, I think would change the title. There is no substitute for Ziggy.

Not if people keep paying $275 for each.

Afraid what would happen? That nobody would notice?

Well, Ziggy has done at least 2 for me. I don't know how many variants of "old cases" there are though and it doesn't mean they all work. One of mine had irresolvable problems but I had assumed it was doe to someone else's botched attempts. I had thought there was one factory which did the original Asian low beat 7750 and then the first generation 7753. The second factory came out with the inferior version but with the better 7750 movement and only after the first factory stopped making them. I believe the actual case itself has the same measurements and location of crown and pusher holes on both new and old. The dial sits at the same height as well. So unless one version has a very shallow caseback they should work (assuming the spacer is as previously discussed and the dateset button is functional).

F- I have refit a couple and as far as I know the issue is not the case. It is the movement spacer, chrono pushers and potentially the date set button. The movement spacer came in 2 flavors - one with built-in chrono pusher extenders and one without. The implication being that you need to look at the chrono pushers. You can't get the pusher extenders out so you need to have the shorter pusher "stems" for it to work with that spacer and visa versa. Also the date set button does work but you need to make sure there is a hole in the spacer. The 7750 spacers I have seen don't have it and that is why the button will not move. The 7753 spacers do. -Kruz

Jay- Yeah, I know, I know. The 36 AR drives me crazy but I am only taking this apart once and I still need to get the casetube made for that perfect fit with the gen crown. I am also still trying to figure out how to "brassify" those jewel holes. As I suspect you know, I got a couple of projects ahead of that one.

R- Mine are MX 00072B N's and I paid about the same. -Kruz

Really nothing else to say. Wear it well.

I received my crowns today. With a jimmy case and tube they fits perfectly. So maybe they are worth $276.00

When you have a correct decorated movement and true 18k solid gold case this is like comparing apples and oranges. That price on the FM is an excellent price.

Nice to see everyone contributing their ideas. The age old adage of 20% of the population footing the bill for everyone else is true everywhere in life. Look at the country you live in. Now if we could get 20% to contribute we wouldn't even be having this conversation. In any case I do hope that those who can afford it and spend time here will contribute.

Well now I know why he didn't respond. I bid him half and thought I was nuts.