Chrono Avenger rep is in a whole different league. IMHO, still the closest out of the box Breitling rep. The best part is that the gen dials are widely available inexpensiveley and make it 99% with a relume. Also if you want to frankenwatch it, you can add true Swiss 7750 and I found that the date font on the stock ETA was far closer to the gen. Then again you end up with $500-600 into a rep. But it is one hell of a rep. And to this day the only Breitling rep I own.
Here are my guesses:
14k Franken Daytona $3,500 (few and far between)
18k cased Muller, Patek, VC, etc. all in the $1500-2000 range. Our trusted dealers have them
Watchmaster Vintage PAM's - $600-3,000
Swiss 7750 Navitimer GMT -$850-900
Pam 7753 Daylights (196, 188, 251, 250, Pandas) $650-700
Pam Swiss 212 $650
And soon to enter the fold: PAM 187 7753 and my guess is in excess of $800.
In NYC (IMHO) if the subdials end up in the wrong place it may as well be a day date chrono (i.e. worth $50-100) and no interest. AP Offshore chrono is one which I run into a lot and although no one is taking them off their wrists people who own one absolutely give your wrist that "solid glance". Now if you're a pimply faced sixteen year old it is irrelevant anyhow.
Without running sub-dial at 12 I am out too. I also suspect no one will pay $200 or more for the wrong sudials. Say hello to another $50 rep in that case.
For me - very simple. I have time intensive job, numerous kids and very little time. What this forum has allowed me to do is develop strong friendships with 3-4 wonderful people with a shared passion for horology (no, not whoreology ).
Jboy-
You can buy Asian 7750 for $200-250 now. However, the date is in the wrong place on the dial, too small and sunk low. Also you lose the functionality of the quickset date button on the side of the case. The 7753 movement puts the watch in a whole other league. I originally bought the Asian 7750 196 and then bought the subsequent 7753 version. If a 7753 version of an original movement PAM rep is available and you can afford it save your pennies. And yes it is a lot of pennies.
Have no fear. The PAM era is anything but over. We now are even getting certain versions of new models before PAM sells them (232, etc.). I don't have the time to do it but count how many new PAM models have come out in the last nine months. In fact new products beyond the standard 44mm and 45mm handwind variants haves accelerated. I do agree that this has been the year of non-Rolex reps - IWC, VC, AP, etc. It has been a great year with no slowdown in immediate sight.
I have had my 194 for a couple of days now. Bear in mind I am a fan of the subs and have owned a gen in the past. I am out of the country so I am not going to pretend that I will have pics anytime soon. Eddie's pics are a fair representation.
The only thing I find a little disappointing is the bezel and its mechanism. The markers are solidly attached. The finish is fairly good although the attachment on the bezel is a little rough on some markers. But this is true on the gen as well. On the markers themself the polished markers look good on the top of the bezel (I am guessing it is the same chrome over copper but that is a guess). The only downside is that the polished look disipates when the marker extends down the side of the bezel. In terms of the quality of the 60 click mechanism it doesn't rattle around but it is clanky. The bezels on all these sub reps vary dramatically. By comparison my favorite bezel mechanism is the one on the 187. The 87 is pretty good as well (60 click if I remember correctly). The 194 is not as good as that or the 187. On the other end of the scale the 243, IMHO, has a truly disappointing bezel mechanism (12 click and loose enough that it rattled around on my watch). The basic Asian 7750 24 bezel mechanism is fairly substantial in spite of the fact it is a 12 click mechanism. Ever wonder why you have minute markers on a 12 click bezel. It is interesting because you can basically identify the factory by the bezel mechanism on the various subs. The 194 is keeping great time and it is standard submersible rep quality as regards the lume. The date mag is similar to the other subs. It does require a date font upgrade.
Three gen models. Basic 92 with black hands, 186 (first gen GMT) silver hands 7750 based GMT movement - now discontinued, Northpole (blue dial and silver hands). Flaws: different casebacks on all 3 gens (not on reps), oversized GMT hand and bezel markers. I am not aware of one with properly elongated direction letters and diminuitive interim markers (both in terms of size or how they lay on the bezel). Don't get me wrong there are a couple of good versions but those are the flaws. I am waiting to see how the dial color comes out on the Northpole. A muted (and proper) blue would be cool.
I agree. That is a stunning piece. I wonder what movement it is. I would guess the new non-chrono version wil have to sell well in order for this to happen. The only thing is that it is 42mm versus the 46mm 01.
Same concept as when Wempe in the States has special pieces made for them. Wempe has done it with 3-4 watch manufacturers. Brilliant marketing - ridiculous price. I am sure they were originally sold at the same price as other comparable PAM models.