Watchmeister

I bought the gen dial as much out of curiousity as any other reason. As rep dials go this one is really good - not perfect of course. The shape, location and bezel of the hour markers is excellent although the hour marker bezels appear a tad "tinny" relative to the gen. The 6, 12 and 9 appear very close in terms of font but perhaps a little thicker on the rep. But I can't be sure as the rep dial is the orange one and it is certainly possible that those numbers are a little thicker when they went to orange. If you are staring at the two dials at the same time what does jump out at you first is the Omega logo. It is a little misshapen and a little too "chromy" like the bezel markers on the rep of course. On the rep dial it looks like the logo has been pasted on. On the gen it is a little less shiny and seems to be more "embedded" into the dial. The date window is good but not perfect. The slightly different bevel makes the gen window appear to be bigger but it takes some staring at both at the same time to conclude that.I had bought only one dial as a test. I don't think I would spend the money on a gen dial for the other. They are excellent reps. And I did meander by an AD and look at a PO with the other one on my wrist. Not to try and fool the AD but just to get a sense of the differences. I do have to say that the AR that came on the rep is really not bad relative to the gen. I will get them double AR at some point I think but it is not blatantly obvious. Apologies for the words rather than pictures but I am no Ansel Adams. :laugh: On the gen lume versus relume it is is unbelievably good as one would expect. Ziggy managed to fill in the markers and hands perfectly without "spilling over" as can happen with less competent folks. I have no idea what color it is on both but the color matches up perfectly to the gen. The luminosity is also every bit as good. In fact Ziggy's might be a tad better based on looking at the dials with a full charge and after 1 and 2 hours. I don't know if it is scientifically true but it may be due there being a tad more lume on the markers on the rep. If you throw on a 10x loupe it still looks incredibly good. You will see a difference on how the "top" of the lumed marker bathtubs is formed. Although Ziggy's is beautiful and is smooth with no divets, Omega, like most manufacturers, is spraying its lume mechanically and so it is perfectly flat. Ziggy has mentioned many times that this will always be an issue. But IMHO, reluming the rep dial is a must.

Oh, you mean "Bush" twins. :laugh:

Now would that still be twins? :laugh:

Here are the twins. Added a couple of gen parts. :smile: Really not much else to say except that luming is an art and Ziggy is an artist. One has the gen dial and the other has a Ziggy relume. Lume coloring and consistency is perfect and the glow is every bit as good. Thanks again for another fun project.

I did buy from Eddie. And at that particular time his mineral crystals had AR coat and his sapphire version did not have AR. I ended up getting the single sided coating from Chief. I had not heard of the newer version other than the subsequent Davidsen ones. Is this one Davidsen?

Without knowing who the dealer is, how does this one compare with the original Eddie Lee "Best Fiddy" with sapphire of a couple of years ago? Your post is timely as I just picked up an SC Legend strap and it has renewed my interest in the Fiddy. I am wearing it for the first time in a year or more as I write this post.

I love buckles. My favorites are Pre-V double Logos (sewn-in), Pre-V Dirks's (more primitive version of contemporary OEM logos), Xa Mas limited edition double non-PAM logo(sewn-in) and the Legend SC skull buckles (screw in). I just got a Legend strap for my Fiddy and the buckle on that one is kick-ass. I will post pics later.

Assuming the case is not too thin (I am not familiar with B&R) you are likely to require a custom movement spacer and milling to match so you would have to find someone who does casework.

Looking good. But how do you decide which one to wear?

Looking forward to the pictures.

I vote fake. Let's start with bezel markers. triangular marker at 12 is too rounded on sides and lacking lume in the lume recess. Then the hour markers are too rounded and do not sit as distinctly on the case. My guess is second gen 7750 or new inferior 7753 rep. Also, the blue on "1000" does not look right either. The easiest way to answer question is to ask for a picture with the he valve in it. And you have to love the certificate of authenticity from Monoco Jewelers. Someone should teach them how to spell Monaco.

I don't think he was calling you out if that means accusing you of wearing a fake. I get comments like that all the time wearing PAM gens and reps, People are beginning to recognize Panerai as tey have increased their advertising and they are becoming more popular.

We already are.

Rolli- The project looks fantastic. Congrats on a fabulous project. That coating matches up beautifully with the gen. You are a true artisan. Wear it well.

George who is the dealer "grg" on one of the other forums (repgeek or RWC) was the original carrier of MBW after Maria slowed down. I don;t know whether he has them in stock. Try him and make sure you get one with pins rather than screws on the bracelet where it meets the case. Also be aware that the gen on this particular model does not have a second hand so depending on how obsessed you are you may want to eliminate it.

The case tube is certainly big enough. The Jimmy Case tube is substantially bigger than the standard rep case tube. You have to have the right gaskets though.

If it counts to less than 30 it is the hour chrono subdial.

Well, so far the answer is a resounding no. High end watch sales are better than ever at higher prices than ever - at least as regards new watches. On the second hand side the majority of high end non-limited edition used watches are selling at 60% or less of the original sales price. This has been the case for many years. I agree that the minute gen manufacturers conclude that reps are really making a dent either in terms of sales or in overall brand reputation they go to larger effort to battle the reps. You can battle them two ways. You can go after the manufacturers/dealers to try and slow the flow or you can improve or change your watches to make them more difficult to replicate. It is no accident that Rolex leads the charge against reps as it is the most repped watch. And now they have gone one step further and changed (for the worse) a number of new models. It is also no surprise that Panerai is moving toward higher end original movement and more difficult to reproduce models and features. Finally, we do have a warped perspective about the number of high end reps being sold around the majority of the world.

Same question which is why I am wondering if it is more of a function of the dial than the hands.

Here is my first generation rep with gen dial. I reset mine to the same time as what is on the genuine pics and those hand sizes look very close (at least in terms of length on main hour and minute hands as well as the chrono seconds hand. What am I missing? Does it have more to do with the rep dial and its marker and sub-dial placement? Although as I look at it I have to remember that the watches are shot at an angle and so it may be deceiving.

The seller sells an odd combo of "homage" watches (read as reps without the brand name) and weird branded watches - Marathon, O&W. God only know where he sources these items.

It was inevitable that PAM interest would slow down Factor that in with an inability to get the most basic ETA movements in steady supply and time does not bode well for decent PAM reps. The interesting question is whether the rep manufacturers will bother to try and rep the new $20,000 models. The funny thing is I never had a lot of interest in the historic handwinds. The lousy crown guard with no aftermarket alternative has always turned me off to them. Now I guess no one will ever get those "A"'s right. I will give in on the ti's though. The genuine ti crowns fit handwinds and 7750's.

There is virtually no watch that I am satisfied with out of the box and my favorite rep changes over time. My first great reps were the Honpo 2892/3's and the first gen Chrono Avenger. A couple of years later they are the ones I wear the most having not worn them for an extended period of time. It is always the dream of creating the next great rep that drives me to the next project - whether it is a Swiss HBB or 7753 187. Out of the box, my favorite rep would be the Pilot 3717.

Springbars? Blasphemy! Personally, I view an occasional scratch as the price we pay for your strap changing vanity. I do use Teejay's methodology and make sure I have the correct sized screwdriver.

Well I learned something on this one. I was under the impression that you needed to cement in the crystal into the bezel on a Jimmy to insure a water tight seal (with or without the teflon ring).