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This has been 8 months in the making, not long by some standards on this forum I know, but the longest for me. I've had some great help along the way, special mentions to Mel, mark_midlands, Elias and 951MAX. The original inspiration came from the movement that I picked up late last year. I know it's not gen but it's a beautiful thing and I couldn't see it mounted in anything else. The case is River's 6154 with a lot of reshaping. Because the stem was 0.9 and I couldn't find a replacement I decided to replace River's crown and tube with one from Athaya (his new bronze 8mm would look amazing here but he doesn't have it in 0.9mm) I drilled out the hole for the tube and wanted to raise the tube away from the case and solder it up like the old Rlx's , after many failed attempts mark stepped in and did an amazing job at soldering for me. Never one to let it be and despite Marks amazing job, I had already ordered the 'correct' solder and decided to add to what Mark had done and sand it back. The dial is one of V's amazing Rol's that I have lightly aged, it is so stunning that I can't bring myself to go nuts with it. The movement is still a little vague, as far as I can make out it's Swiss made and branded Nacar, and all I can find reference to is Turkish railroad pocket watches. I gave it a clean and filled the engraved text with red acrylic, it's the most accurate movement I've owned. Hands are Adrians, I had a spare set of cali hands that I'd stripped off the blue and had been heat treating but I decided to 'borrow' a double pencil minute hand from another set and treat it the same, it's a combination of heat, then egg in a bag, then lumed with the good old stuff AKA cornholio, topped off with a faux CP The strap I made along with Elias's nickel vintage knife edge brass buckle. I wanted it to have some vintage Rol feel the way it is stitched and it is soft as butter. On to the pics, I just re-finished my 6152/1 with an LP dial and new hands so that's crept in to some of the shots too I had some issues with the movement slowing, i think screwing the crown down may have worn away some solder that got on to the thread, I filed down the stem a fraction at a time and it seems to have worked. The crown is not pressing the stem against the movement now and when it's screwed down everything ticks along nicely. Oh and I decided while it was off that I would 'bronze' the crown too.....just becuzzzz here are somenew pics.

Hi guys, I recently acquired a supposedly OEM rubber strap from Panerisiti, but I have my doubts whether it is OEM as what is included is a replica buckle, probably from the Noob factory. I have included some pictures along with it. It would be helpful if anyone was to chime in, in identifying a gen OEM rubber strap to a NF rubber strap. I am having a difficult time here in identifying the strap itself, but the buckle is a rep to me. As you can see from the picts. (for the Buckle: the one on the most right is gen, the rest are reps) (For the straps, the one on the bottom is gen, top is uncertain if it is gen or rep) Any help would be appreciated, please chime in. I'd condense this to a Rep vs Gen pictorial after to help other members identify reps vs gens, so we won't get scammed or have a hard time telling the difference. Thanks

Hi RWG, since i just bought this awesome Di Stefano Strap, i just wanted to post some pictures of the Watch i got with it and the Strap. The original sales Thread is here: http://www.rwgforum.net/topic/161807-sold-panerai-416-h-fac-needs-attension/ I have never worn such a smooth and nice Strap, it is just gorgeous! The Buckle is unfinished Steel - just great! Many Thanks to the seller, devilseam and RWG for that smooth and super fast shipping & perfect Packing ! I just got it today and the fix was nice and easy as expected. Enjoy the pics with her sisters ;-) thanks for looking!

Hi mates, Anyone knows where to find this kind of straps: http://www.orientalwatchsite.com/forum/index.php?/topic/9042-fs-all-black-24mm-strap-for-panerai-nylon-canvas-leather-various-material/ especially the first one (black nylon) but would prefer with matching stitches. Please don't tell me to google it, or ask strapcode.com, I already did... I've searched on eBay too, but nothing interesting... Thanks for your help!

This has been 8 months in the making, not long by some standards on this forum I know, but the longest for me. I've had some great help along the way, special mentions to Mel, mark_midlands, Elias and 951MAX. The original inspiration came from the movement that I picked up late last year. I know it's not gen but it's a beautiful thing and I couldn't see it mounted in anything else. The case is River's 6154 with a lot of reshaping. Because the stem was 0.9 and I couldn't find a replacement I decided to replace River's crown and tube with one from Athaya (his new bronze 8mm would look amazing here but he doesn't have it in 0.9mm) I drilled out the hole for the tube and wanted to raise the tube away from the case and solder it up like the old Rlx's , after many failed attempts mark stepped in and did an amazing job at soldering for me. Never one to let it be and despite Marks amazing job, I had already ordered the 'correct' solder and decided to add to what Mark had done and sand it back. The dial is one of V's amazing Rol's that I have lightly aged, it is so stunning that I can't bring myself to go nuts with it. The movement is still a little vague, as far as I can make out it's Swiss made and branded Nacar, and all I can find reference to is Turkish railroad pocket watches. I gave it a clean and filled the engraved text with red acrylic, it's the most accurate movement I've owned. Hands are Adrians, I had a spare set of cali hands that I'd stripped off the blue and had been heat treating but I decided to 'borrow' a double pencil minute hand from another set and treat it the same, it's a combination of heat, then egg in a bag, then lumed with the good old stuff AKA cornholio, topped off with a faux CP The strap I made along with Elias's nickel vintage knife edge brass buckle. I wanted it to have some vintage Rol feel the way it is stitched and it is soft as butter. On to the pics, I just re-finished my 6152/1 with an LP dial and new hands so that's crept in to some of the shots too

I discovered Panerai reps not too long ago and as I was clicking through thousands of images, I noted that the models that stuck out the me were the Pre-Vs. I didn't know what they were at the time, but my eye latched onto their dials. The bold, rough etched numbers and contrasting printing. the white hands and non-matching dials. I had to have one...but I as I searched and discovered that the out of the box options were few and the best reps were all hand made by masters. I spent hours looking at all the builds by Projectologist and w0lf with dials by FGD and Southy, just to name a few of the greats and I figured what they hell, I'll give it a shot. So here's my first build... The 5218-203A I'm a sucker for seconds at 9 so I had to start there, also my collection was sorely lacking a PVD watch and while the shape isn't perfect for Pre-V, the PVD is, so I chose the DSN newborn case. What amazing quality, I'm in total awe of the DSN PVD case. Here's the recipe: DSN Newborn PVD Case DSN Crystal DSN double gasket, spring loaded crown DSN Crown guard Jakob Caseback DSN Dial FGD Hands with white-ish non aged lume Grimlock flattened and polished H3 canon pinion set Swiss 6497 Dirk Tan Strap First, let me say that without a light box, it's virtually impossible to photograph a non-AR watch....I will try to get some better pics later. This is easily my favorite watch I have ever owned and it's only going to get better when I get a new dial (I have been begging an expert to make me one, FGDs are too scarce;), if you know of one let me know!) Overall I love the DSN PVD, but it already has a few nicks and I've barely worn it. I'm not sure how tough it is. The Spring Loaded Crown is awesome and honestly the shape of the CG is really close. I take the comments about the lever being off. But seriously the only obvious tell is the back edge near the pin that should be curved and rounded off instead of flush with the rest of the CG body. Other than that, it's an amazingly accurate Pre-V CG. The slope and the thickness of the CG body is perfect to my untrained eye. Nice work Davidsen!!! Before you ask about the white, "non-matching" hands... I understand there was no "non-matching" 203/a's but I have seen a ton of pictures where the dial has aged, but the hands haven't. The DSN Hands match the dial but I like the pictures I have seen where the white pops out against the vintage numbers and indices. I took my inspiration from photos like this one Here is the DSN CG versus the Gen CG, the lever is far different. DSN's is too squared off with few contours, but the CG body is darn close. Nay-sayers...I scoff at you. I say, "that'll do" DSN Lever Gen Lever DSN Profile Gen Profile Another major comment is the lugs, of course. Everyone here knows about the lugs on the Pre-V. DSN's don't maintain the fat and short profile of the Pre-V case. They seem to be missing about 0.5mm off the top edge. Second... the downward angle seems to be too severe. This case looks like it has too much cushion shape. Maybe closer to the 6502 case? See below, at least I think the DSN case could be shaped into a good 6502. Hopefully we'll get a newborn--newborn case that fixes the lugs for Pre-V uses. Maybe davidsen can take a mold of the 111J? DSN 6502 PVD Profile About the Dial, the DSN is a very respectible effort. Where else for $50 can you get a milled brass dial, hand lumed and shaped with reasonable accuracy? This no Southy or FGD dial, but it's damn nice for the price and obviously not as rare. The major difference is the over all thickness of each marker. I swear if everything gained about 0.25mm they would get spot on GEN! the font on the printing seems to be correct as well!!! this dial seems to be so close lacking in a few seemingly minor details that really take away from it's gen feel. This is a huge opportunity here for DSN to send his sales through the roof. I adjusted the contrast here so you can see the true thickness of the markers... My build is run by an undecorated Swiss ETA 6497. This is actually, the exact movement that Panerai used in some of the PAM318. So it's technically GEN!!! You can't forget about the Dirk strap. This is a Dirk tan which is the original color that came with the 203a. If you've always wondered why a strap would cost $150-200, Do yourself a favor and try one out. You will quickly learn where the money goes. This is the most comfortable strap I have ever had. Last but not least is the Jakob Caseback. The DSN is really nice for the money, but I thought I'd try out the Jakob for my first build. I wasn't sure at first, but it has really grown on me The more pics I see, the more I realize the engraving is very close to gen, although I think he combines different elements of different gen casebacks making or kind of a mish-mash of different gen properties. For example on this 203a I think the serial number should be the smaller stamped style like DSN. Overall, I would say bravo to DSN for the amazing PVD work and look toward the future for hopefully a newborn---newborn case that fixes the lugs and dial. I love this watch. I Just have a few more tweaks to go to be done. I'm searching high and low for a good FGD 203a dial and also harassing Steph_Dexter to make me one;) Then with the hands, I was so excited to get the build together that I forgot to file down the bottom of the minute hand so it sits flush with my polished CP....Oh well, when I swap dials I'll fix that one. Thanks for reading guys. I'm stoked that I was able to learn a new skill. Hopefully my builds will be able to stand up to a few of yours some day soon!!! Next up... the 201a!

I learned that this master of Thailand does homage. He sent me a photo and offers to buy his watch. I previously did not know about it. first name: Siwa surname: phalasin Payout City: BANGKOK Payout country: THAILAND t-mail: dr.cocaine1@hotmail.com When you come across something with it? We need your feedback.

Hi there I was wondering if anyone could help me out am new to this? Am looking for a good rep panerai gmt. But don't really know where to start looking with all the links any help at all would be greatly appreciated.

Do you guys think this is real or fake? http://www.ebay.com/itm/PANERAI-Deployment-Deployant-Buckle-Clasp-24mm-Black-Alligator-Band-Strap-New-/321115165386?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ac3f492ca I know the price is to go to be true because the price for the cheapest deployment on ebay is about $250 and that would mean the strap is very discounted. But still, selling has great reviews and lots of them.

Hi guys, still a newbie in this forum. I cant seem to find anything about the PAM366 M "Fu" edition on this forum. Im thinking of getting it from Puretime, the price seems cheaper than the rest of the pams. Any suggestions or advice? Is it close to the gen? Thank you. I cant post a link to the product as i've stil got less than 5 posts, but if anyone is wondering it is the PAM 366M FU edition on Puretime.co (pam366-m-fu-11-noob-best-edition-on-black-leather-strap)

I just received my QC pics from DSN. This is the new PAM 114 he received in January. I love this watch but i know historically the white faced PAM's have been pretty poor in quality, no where near some of the new Noob versions. If any of you have any expertise on the matter, please let me know what you think of the pictures. Supposedly the specs on this watch are: 44mm steel case sapphir with ar asian swan neck 6497 plat movt superluemd dial and hands -Thanks 1.bmp 2.bmp 3.bmp 4.bmp 5.bmp 6.bmp 7.bmp

Does a superior PAM 176 exist?

I've been doing a lot of research and I think I have finally settled on my next/first replica purchase. What do you guys think about this Panerai? http://www.ttw888.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=37_49&products_id=8701

Friends and Experts I am pretty new to the REP market...just got my second rep from TT and awaiting the watch. First being - PAM 332 Limited edition expendables watch(a definite super-rep) and now waiting the Brietling Skyland Avenger Black Chrono(a very good rep). Just wanted to know which are the SUPER REPS available in the market today? Can someone please guide. Brand doesnt matter I know there are some very good Subs and some Pams around as a super rep. Anything else in Rolex, Brietling, Tag etc?

this is for a build i'm putting together at the moment, it started out as a finished River dial, I'm not re luming this one, just ageing what's there. Here's it is fitted, I've not polished this case much, I gave it some abuse then buffed it down. (please excuse the dust under the plexi, I'm just checking everything's running fine, I'll be giving it a proper clean. ) Then I moved on to an Athaya RP dial started with this then.........built up in to this cracked indices - crappy iphone pic Here are some 'proper' photographs, not sure if it's too red though now. a quick and dirty iphone lume shot, courtesy of Cornholio's vintage mix and a close up of the cracked indices

Im looking for someone to do some work on my Hublot BB and Panerai. They both keep stopping after about an hour. If anyone has any recommendations on a watch repair man please let me know.

Hey everyone! I just ordered a PAM111 v3 Noob from torobrovo. I have the QC pictures and wanted to see what the experts with eagle eyes on here spot. What do you guys think?

Trying to pick out a new GEN. I don't have many, I have an all black Uboat 53mm Chrono, and a DSSD. So I am looking to pick up something pretty versitile that I can mix in with some occasional wear for a few reps. The short list is: IWC Portuguese 7 Day (Silver dial with blue numerals) I have always like this watch, it is timeless, and the 7 day movement is a great achievement. Great dress watch that I could wear to work regularly but not something I can wear on the weekends. IWC Big Pilot I have always loved this watch and it again shares the 7 day movement. I was a little disappointed as it was a bit uncomfortable on the wrist. and is really a weekend watch and could occasionally wear it to work on casual days. JLC Master Compressor Extreme World Chrono. Big watch with nice presence can get away at work and on the weekend. I like the history of JLC, and the complication of the multitimezone function. Zenith El Primero Striking 10th. Great history, and a nice limited watch with cool 10th of a second big second hand chrono. A bit plain looking on the wrist though. Panerai 233. The ultimate modern Panerai in my oppinion, can dress up and down, love the 8 day movement and 12 hour GMT. Really looking for a watch that will not be repped well in the near future. Would love to know what the forum thinks???

Shot on Canon 5D mkII and mkIII's using either an 85mm f1.8 or 24-70mm f2.8L and a variety of canon Speedlites. All edited in Adobe Lightroom.

Hey all, Looking for a PAM 253 Regatta Flyback Chrono. Any suggestions on who has the best version out there? I found one on trustytime: PN253V1 (sorry, i can't post links yet) that looks good. Any thoughts on this? I'm new to the Panerai world. I recently bought a PAM 91 from perfectwatches and was very disappointed. Is there anything I should be looking for when it comes to this watch? Any input would help. Thanks in advance.

the watches currently in my everyday rotation: Pam 005 latest noob version , iwc 3717 with genuine calibre 79320 , genuine Longines Legend Diver. (photos taken with iphone 4s and shaky hands) * iwc has started the datechange , all centered normally. thanks for watching -miagi

Hello guys, I'd like to begin by introducing myself. I'm a watch lover, have owned a few gens (mostly Cartier) over the years, a newbie to the rep world, but am very intrigued by the quality of today's reps compared to gens. *Lengthy story below, bear with me* Here my first journey in this hobby begins: After closely examining and really studying up on good reps, trusted dealers, etc. I decided to make my first rep purchase from Trusty Time. I ordered a Hublot Ice Bang (I believe it was a V6 *noobie alert* with the platinum plated bridges and all) about a month ago now. About two or three days after ordering Andrew contacted me and let me know about the current situation with the factories, and the raids that seem to be plaguing them. He told me the Hublot factory was closed due to these raids and it could take 3-4 weeks for them to get my watch in stock and ready to ship. I told him this was no problem, I could wait. In the meantime, I had been looking at some PAMs and had read that the 111 M from Noob was a pretty good rep so I decided that while I waited for the Ice Bang I would order one of these to entertain myself with. Andrew confirmed it was in stock and a week after the order was placed he sent me QC pics, which I glanced over (noobie mistake) and approved, and then he sent it out. After waiting another two weeks for the delivery to arrive (held up an entire week in customs), I got the watch and absolutely loved it. However, upon further inspection I noticed that it was not an M Series like I had ordered, it was apparently an N, or so the case back reads. I loved the watch anyways, so despite having been sent the wrong Series (partly my fault, didn't notice the N serial in the QC pics) this didn't bother me much. I had read the Ns from Noob were great as well (perhaps better?). Anyways, having learned my lesson I decided that when the QC pics for the Ice Bang arrived I'd inspect them more carefully. They arrived a few hours ago, and I immediately noticed that the strap that it featured in the pics (gummy aligator) was not the one I'd asked for (I wanted the smooth rubber one) so no biggie, I informed Andrew and he said he'd change it. But then I noticed something that worried me. Now, remember I am very new to this so I may be terribly wrong about this but, I noticed that the ceramic case had a matte finish to it on the watch in the QC pics. Now to my understanding, the gen Ice Bang (numerals), be it with the tantalum or tungsten bezel has a kinda shiny/brushed black ceramic case, while the Ice Bang Evolution (stick markers) has the black matte case (like the All Black II). So I believe what I was looking at was kinda a rep hybrid featuring the Dial from the average Ice Bang (with numerals) inside the ceramic case of the Ice Bang Evolution (who's dial is supposed to be stick markers instead of numerals). Needless to say I informed Andrew. He then insisted that the case was correct, even after I sent him a stock QC picture from his website which I believe contradicted this. He then said that, that was the last watch left, that the factory had recently reopened for a couple of days and had been shut down again due to the raids, possibly for another two weeks. He said if I didn't want the watch he would offer me a refund. I took the refund. I may be new at this but my gut and a bit of research led me to believe that the watch wasn't right, not even in rep standards. I am awaiting the refund but I know Andrew is good for it. Well, now that I've told my story, my questions to the seasoned veterans on this board are as follows: 1. What do you make of the mix up with the PAM? 2. What do you think of the issue with the Hublot Ice Bang? 3. How much do you think the raids, lack of stock, etc. influenced the situation with both orders? 4. And most importantly, what trusted dealer can send me a proper Ice Bang V6 now? I've been looking forward to this watch for a month and am now completely lost as to how to get my hands on one.

Does anyone know if the new 2012 Panerai PAM00438 is ever going to be available as a replica?

Hey guys, I just received my Noob Factory PAM005 in the mail and I wanted to do a first impression review of this watch! As with my review of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo SS/SS White, I'm reviewing this rep not on the basis of accuracy compared to the gen, but just as a watch on its own. Two weeks previous, I booked my flight for an overseas trip to visit my mother. I thought to myself Hmmm, what watch should I wear while overseas? (It appears that I seem to purchase watches whenever there's an upcoming event in my life ). So I looked around for a while and decided to get a Panerai! I hopped onto Andrew's website and placed an order for a Noob 005. The Panerai 005 features a 44mm dial featuring sapphire crystal on a stainless steel case. At 15mm in thickness, this is not a small watch! With the leather strap in place, the watch weighs in at approximately 147.75 grams (or 5/16th of a pound). The watch is hefty and if my 6.5" wrist wasn't as flat as it is, I don't think I could wear this watch! As I wrote in my Royal Oak Jumbo review, I'm a big fan of simple faces and the 005 is not an exception. The dial is uncluttered with hands indicating hour and minutes, with a sub-dial at the 9 o'clock position with a small hand indicating seconds. The watch utilizes a Asian 6497 Unitas hand wind movement. I've noticed that this watch is loud relatively to my other reps. The 005 features a solid case back featuring Panerai's logo and engraved with other affects referencing Panerai's Italian roots (Firenze 1860! [Florence 1860]). When I ordered this watch, I assumed it would be engraved with an M serial however it actually came with an N serial. The Luminor Marina (along with several other lines of Panerai) are designed with a very unique crown guard. This crown guard is composed of brushed steel unlike the polished steel of the rest of the case front. The lume is one of the best features of this watch. It is bright with a green tint and this pictures does the brightness no justice. Like I said previously, I have a small wrist however I don't feel it looks odd since my wrist is flat (do I have chicken wrists o.0?). The screw bars are easily removable using a small slot-type screw driver which makes the watch easily wearing dressed up or dressed down. My 005 next to my Aviator World Cities. Final Thoughts: I'm beginning to understand why Paneristis are fans of the brand and I don't think this will be my last Panerai rep that I purchase. Before I go back to University in September, I will probably pick up a PAM 029 GMT I hope guys enjoyed my first impression review. Happy Collecting!