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I hope I don't offend anyone with this thread. I'm sure it's all been said before but I couldn't find it all in one place and figured why not ask. I confess that my one and only deep and true watch love is the Panerai. Not the contemporary, the (neo)vintage. Alas, the gens are so far out of reach it's hilarious. Just ordered a pre-A 004 (Rolli dial, grimlock case ... awesome) and having previously owned a Rolli dialed 036 (pretty sweet) I thought I'd start a little side project and see about building a 201a logo, the "ultimate PAM" (imo). So, my question is: What is the state of the art? I'd love to hear the opinions but please refrain from pointing to parts that are literally unobtainable unless Mars and Jupiter line up and I stand in a pentagram (JimmyFu?). Dial: Well, Rolli obviously. He says there will be a new batch end of the year and if it's anything like the last, that's going in. Hands: Rolli / FGD? (Do they have the brass edge?) Case: Absolutely no clue CG: dito Crown: none whatsoever. The crown needs to be fat I believe? Do I just need a lot of luck to score one? Movement: Well, slow-beat Unitas ... Should be obtainable CB: Jacob (How do I contact him? I need a new one for my 004 in any case.) Crystal: I've been hearing DSN has good sapphire crystals nowadays. Are these the right shape? That should be it I believe. I am not so much worried about cost on this one, it's supposed to be a labour of love. No need to overdo it either. Let's hear what you've got! d PS: If anyone is selling any good parts / unfinished 201a projects, shoot me a PM!

Hello boys, I thought two and half years ago that this would be my last LOGO build. I don't build unless I can improve on the previous version. However, a few days ago, I took delivery of Rolli's latest 201/A dial. You can tell from the techniques and finishes used that no expense was spared. It took a lot of effort, persistence, and attention to detail; very impressive. I'm especially glad, that there are motivated guys out there that push the envelope on our beloved PreV models. Here are a few photos of the dial. They're all same/similar angles but different focus points to highlight the features that impressed me the most:

Hiya, After some much needed downtime, the thought of building another logo seemed like would be a nice start for 2013. I also had a couple of new ideas that I couldn't wait to try on my next iteration of this build. It's still in progress and the log pics won't be very good because I work at night and photography is definitely not a priority for me. But hopefully they will give you an idea of things to try or ask your favorite modder to implement on your next PreV build. I won't bore you with the details of the case shaping that you have seen many times before; if not you can pull them up here. One of the things I wanted to try was making a correct PreV-look handstack. Only the top of the genuine PreV hand is painted while the edge and a the inside of the hand tube are exposed brass. This is also essential for the "grimy pinion" as the oxidized minute hand tube reflects off the mirror polished cannon at the edge where the cannon pinion is slightly convex and sits a hair beneath the hand hub. This watch is also going to sport a genuine bezel, you can see how much thicker the OEM gasket is by comparison. Caseback had also been a gripe of mine since none of the aftermarket makers bothered with proper facet and lip finish. For this build I will be using a DW caseback, its engraving needs to be color-filled by enamel, but it's a small price to pay for having a nice and thick profile. Polishing of the lip and facets. Since there have been no backplates for FGD dials for the last two years, rather than destroying a sandwich dial (which are almost never the right diameter BTW and still need to get turned) I made my own from sheet brass. I'm now working on the crown guard, full fit and finish so stay tuned!