lfovco

Very nice collection. I really like that PVD.

Could you say a bit what in the end made you choose this model over the 088?

Great shots! And both pieces look great. The finish on 243 looks better then I thought it would be.

That looks totally amazing. Makes me think how awesome 390 would look inside the PVD case!!

Yes, that's the gap that much too big. 390 and quite few other recent base models from N and H factories have that issue as well. You just have to live with that. Otherwise the reps are good.

Just to put things in perspective. Buyers of Genuine Panerais, especially the Gmt 3xx series had the movements die within weeks... then they had to wait 5-6 months to get their watches back. And in many cases see them die again. That's a $12K watch. Many Gen buyers had their base models being 40-50 seconds off a day, waited 2-3 months to get them back just to see they are going over a minute fast every day. How much does that suck? So the service we get with reps and exchanges is really quite good. And for the noobs on the forum, don't worry, trusted dealers will not scam you, they run a business with a goal to make us come back and buy more watches.

Here is a good thread about 88 GMT which almost the same, I don't think there is a rep of 161. The only thing that really stands out to me is a shape of the lever's tip, it does not match the gen, besides that it's a really nice looking piece.

Nice, if you do then 390 is a really nice one to get and I think most accurate as well. My next one is going to be Patek Nautilus :-) blue SS.

Independent shops don't want to be associated with reps so even if they will be willing to work on a rep, they will not "advertise" it. It's hit or miss. Servicing Panerai 6497 rep will cost you less then what you paid for it. Not sure what are latest prices, it's been quite a while since I serviced mine. You can get many references from members here where to send your watch. I sent mine to Zigmeister a couple times and I will again in the future, great service. You can PM him and ask for price list.

I wonder if eventually prices for 390 will fall below MSRP like with most base Pam's. With an exception of the really old ones of course. Last night I looked at list prices that dated back to 2001. Pretty crazy how high the prices went up in the past 10 years.

I think the key is to have it serviced, properly oiled, etc. Cause the rep movements are not put together in a proper way, then have the service person adjust it. After that you can re-adjust yourself. I don't know how far the lever needs to be pushed, I never tried but it would be nice to know. I used to keep much more tracks as far as how fast or late my reps were but not in a while. I have definitely noticed that with the simple movements like 6497, they need to be adjusted every year.

I have never seen Panerai straps made smaller then their standard size. They are too long for me, I always have to have them custom made. I guess even if I buy a Gen I could never use the straps. By the way, going back to 390. More I look at it and all the tiny, tiny details I see that this turns out to be very likely the closest to the Gen model ever made. I would also recommend this strap for 390 http://www.manifattu...cat/50/idart/76 I have 2 of them, the first one I ordered back in 2005 when they first released that strap model, it is holding up really, really well. Their quality is amazing. They still smell brand new :-) The leather they use is top notch quality. When I compared these with my friend's Gen staps, the Gen straps just felt cheap... again this is my personal opinion but I'm really picky as well. Of course there is many other amazing strap makers to choose from.

You get used to its size really quickly and then you realize it is hard to wear anything smaller, at least for a while. -8s/24h is not bad at all, you should be very happy. That accuracy will degrade with time since those movements are not serviced and oiled properly. If you decide that this piece is really a keeper you should have it serviced. My 6497 movement which is Swiss was serviced in 2005 and then in 2009. I got steady -3s/24h, after 3 years it's down to -9s/24h. 6497 accuracy degrades quicker then some other movements, for instance my Genuine Omega was +1s/24h for few years, degraded to +6s/24h within 7 years, now after 11 years with no service it's down to +30s/24h which mean I need to finally service it. In general good thing about 6497 movements is that they are cheapest to service.

Which is why I think it may be good time to look for a mint base Gen like 112. I'll see what kind of deal I can manage to get. I want to have at least 1 Gen.

Projectologist & Watchmeister, thank you for the suggestion and the info!!! I never thought that would be a best way to get a nice deal but it does make sense to me.

Thanks for the info, I would not mind picking one up in that price range for sure. I should look around then. I keep checking paneristi site but I haven't really found any other places. Do you have any suggestions where should I look? Thanks a lot!

That's ver cool to see them both side by side, especially shot together. So many tiny differences but it is pretty crazy how far the reps have "matured" up to this point. I still like the Genuine much better, it's really all about the attention to details, quality of materials and finishing, and many other things. As a matter of fact I was just looking at super mint, like new Gen 112M, $4350, which I guess is not super bad from $5700 MSRP. That's around 24% off the MSRP... but the reps are sooo close...

It measures up really well. The main issue with the new one is how much the tip of the lever stick out away from the case, look at pics 1 and 2 to compare. In the Gen the part of the lever that meets the CG is pretty much almost touching the case 1/4mm away from the case, while the rep is close to 2mm away which is huge. Look how it sticks out away from the case. Your EL although does not have an accurate shape of the lever's tip, it is sitting nicely against the case. I'd like to note that Panerai has been messing around with that design quite a bit throughout the years and you'll notice some historic models have levers much closer to the case then the others. But that was never the case with 127. Your other 2 pieces look really nice.

Very nice, they really look best on the light tan straps.

I decided that I will put mine up for sale, it is too heavy for me so I don't wear it much, it is an awesome rep though.

Great, good time to start looking for cool strap for it, a nice high quality strap is going to make a HUGE difference. My wrist is exactly 6" so I get custom made 110/65 but for your 6.75" that would be too small. I found that lighter brown or even a bit darker brown works really well with Titanium. I'm thinking of having a new one made: http://gunnystraps.blogspot.com/ looks like bunch of killer choices.

I would not expect it to last nearly as long as Gen. The lume on mine was strong but I did not pay attention how long it lasted. I don't think that is that important though, there are other things much more important that should be improved first, like the CG lever.

That's a bummer they want to do it with 320. If you could get it with 000 at a decent discount then yeah, you could resell it and keep the 390. Yes 320 movements had quite few issues, many people had to wait for 5-6 months to get them back fixed just to watch them break again, a nightmare. In-house movement are so new for Panerai, who knows how they will behave long term. I was bashing on the base prices with 6497, ha... but in the end those movements are extremely reliable and you don't have to send them out to get serviced.

Yes, in person the color of the dial and fonts is looking really good, you can only represent it in a photo if you color correct it on a properly calibrated monitor but even then, all consumer monitors are way incorrect so everyone looking at them will see something different. But like everyone who got one says, in person 390 rep look amazing, I like how the dial changes color from indoor to outdoor. Indoor looks more light black/dark grey almost with a very slight hint of brown color, but if you go outside you get a nice pure light brown.

Now way... imagine you want to buy a car you like, but in order to get it you have to buy another one, ha... That rep is amazing. The Gen is really not worth it and the inflated prices for all base models with $100 movements are a joke.