HammerTime

@Kruzer, Thanks for the kind remarks, your contributions are well respected here. I believe the GEN has no texture ( no concentric rings) on the sub-seconds dial (all the good photos of the GEN show no rings). This REP is also a textureless sub-seceonds dial. @Kye_lin, The dealer I used is from ioffer.com and goes by the name "shir". - HammerTime

Introduction Since its announcement as a replica, I had always wanted a PAM00252 North Pole GMT to add to my collection of replica and genuine watches. However, virtually all the replica 252s suffered from glaring deficiencies, namely the dial color and the GMT hand. Some replicas 252s, such as the ones offererd by the “cartel” dealers (Andrew of Trustytime and Josh of Perfectclones) have 252s with a black dial (the GEN is dark blue). In addition, other replica 252s have a GMT hand which is entirely too large (Compare photos below of 'Genuine' and 'Other rep'). So when I discovered a dealer selling what appeared to be an accurate replica I ordered and with great anticipation received a PAM00252 North Pole GMT. Delivery and First Impressions The watch arrived in good condition via UPS and looked stunning. I’m really not into the whole leather strap swapping thing (see my signature below) and believe rugged sports watches look best with bracelets so I specified the watch with a brushed metal band. However it arrived with a mixed polished and brushed band. At first I was tempted to swap the brushed band off my 087 but my girlfriends felt the brushed bezel and contrasting polished cardinal markers (they are white gold on the GEN) went well with the existing band. I agreed and retained it. My PAM 252 PAM 252 Specific Observations The next aspect I examined was the dial color. It is a dark cobalt blue and very close to the color of the gen dial I’ve seen in photos. Depending upon the lighting and viewing angle, the dial color may appear lighter or darker (sometimes almost black). It is a much darker blue than the blue found on replica PAM00087s and in my opinion more ‘classy’. High marks for accuracy here. PAM 252 and PAM 087 I then turned my attention to the dreaded GMT hand. How rep manufacturers can get this so wrong on other 252 reps is beyond me. How hard is it to make an accurate hand? Fortunately the hand on this rep is much smaller and closer to GEN (compare photos of other reps and this one). I still think the hand is a tad bit larger than GEN but it is the closest to GEN I’ve yet seen. Good marks. The GMT hand is set independently of the hour and minute hands, just like the GEN. GEN PAM 252 OTHER PAM 252 Rep Along with the back of the new PAM00229 Firenze, the back of the 252 is the most ornate in the PAM catalog and the back on this rep is very accurate. Note how the polar ice cap is POLISHED ( it’s so shiny you can see the reflection of my weathered wooden deck) and not satin or brushed as on lesser reps. The case back has accurate makings and a faux serial number indicating “I” series or 2006. I give excellent marks for the case back. Back General Rep Observations The movement in this watch is a new high beat 7750 which at first seem to keep good time. Over the course of a week however, it picked up nearly 2 minutes. My local watchmaker adjusted it to +/- 1 second per day and it has hummed along fine since. I did have some difficulty getting the GMT hand to sync with the hour hand though. It would not line up with the indices on the GMT dial when the hour hand was lined up with an hour on the dial. After monkeying around with it for a while I was able to synchronize it with the hour hand. The movement winds smoothly and with good feel. The crown guard and lever on this sample were not the best I have seen. The main issues were the guard’s ill fit to the case and a lever that wasn’t flush with the crown guard. I was able to mitigate this deficiency with the judicious application of sandpaper and Dremel tool in the appropriate places (the photos shown are before I modded the crown guard and lever). The crown itself is thinner than found on my 087 and 202, but that is the case with the GEN versions of these watches too. Compared to my PAM00202 and PAM00087, the bezel on the 252 is rather loose and oh-so slightly off alignment. When I asked the selling dealer about the looseness, he replied that all GEN Arktos family watches (PAM00092, PAM00186 and PAM00252) have loose bezels. As I don’t have a GEN version of these watches I cannot verify this. It certainly isn’t loose enough to rotate on its own or rattle when the watch is shaken. The crystal is sapphire (as far as I can tell) verified by the water and tap tests and is double AR coated (I’m not sure this is accurate as many late model PAMs are just single AR coated). Furthermore, the magnifier and date font is dead on. Hopefully other automatic PAMs will utilize this Cyclops. Lume is definitely better than standard rep lume, though I’m not sure it is up to Super Luminova standards. After a 20 second exposure to light, the dial glows brightly but only for a short time. The dealer said the dial and hands had been coated with Super Luminova but I’ll need to perform longer and more controlled tests to confirm this. Final Thoughts and Conclusion This new PAM 252 rep is the best I have yet seen. While still suffering from some classical rep deficiencies, its faithful dial color, GMT hand and accurate case back make it the most accurate PAM 252 I’m aware of. In addition it is, in my opinion, the best-looking PAM rep in my collection, followed by the Angus 127, the 202 and the 087. Price: $320 Shipping: $30 Regards HammerTime

Sorry about that dadog13. Check this out though... http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=chijumpman23

Dude that watch has ZERO bids and I'll be surprised if it gets any. Also, I'm with rodwc on this one...even if I could afford it I wouldn't buy it. That color and style combination is not my cup of tea.

Try a PAM 087 with a steel bracelet for a different look (like mine below. Note correct thick crown and bezel alignment). I just received a PAM 252 with the correct dark blue dial color and smaller more GEN like GMT hand. See the review here: http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=65722 HammerTime

I've never been a fan of ANY Panerai PVD (or dark-cased model) and a Radiomir/Black Seal in this style would have very parochial appeal...in my opinion. HammerTime

As regards metal bracelets, I prefer them to straps. Particularly the all brushed style especially on a sub like my 087. I personally believe all the incessant "strap swapping" and obsessing over "which strap looks best with ...." is a bit too metrosexual or girlie for my tastes... not that there's anything wrong with that ( as Jerry Seinfield would say) HammerTime

He is asking $255

Hello fellow forum members, By chance, I found a dealer that claims he as a 47mm blue face submersible just like the PAM 087. I am pretty familiar with PAMs but i don't know everything...so maybe you guys can help me out. My understanding is the GEN PAM 087 has a blue face and is "only" 44mm. Was there ever a GEN 47mm watch like this with blue face? He says it has a bezel just like the PAM 202 but a blue face, small seconds and date window like the PAM 087. It is powered by a "swiss" 7750 movement. Sounds like a fantasy watch to me, but I'm tempted to buy it because the PAM 087 is nice looking at 44mm and probably even more so at 47mm. Also if it is a fantasy watch it would be a unique watch. Plus I could review it for forum members. PAM experts please chime in. HammerTime

Does the -2 model have the swan neck and DAGGER pin regulator?

I recently had TWO PAM 202s for comparison: One from Joshua and one from another dealer. Quality was similar, but both had the bezel alignment problem (indices do not line up perfectly with dial markers). The PAM 202 has a smaller bezel width than the PAM 187 and hence a bigger dial and viewing window. Also the PAM 187 can suffer from the recessed date wheel problem and bezel markers falling out (I believe many of them are just pressed in). Both are very heavy! My PAM 202 is my daily wearer and all my girlfriends think it is the best looking PAM I own. Finally, You may want to PM rolli as I believe he owns both of these watches. HammerTime

Hello TWP, I've been trying to close a deal on one of these watches for the last few days now. Can you PM me with details so we can conclude the transaction. Thanks! HammerTime