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Hi guys! Today I’ll be reviewing the Panerai PAM177 on the rubber strap. I want to preface this review by saying that this is only my second review on this forum. I’m a relative newbie when it comes to reps, but I have been a lover of fine watches for many many years. Being new to this there may be things I fail to cover or simply do not know, so please don’t hesitate to ask me other questions. And I am always open to suggestions on how to make my reviews better and more valuable to others. Background: I am new to Panerai’s. It has only been in the past few months that I’ve gained an appreciation for their simple but elegant beauty. Some of the things I looked for in picking out this watch were a sandwich dial face with superlume, a small seconds hand, and an exhibition back. I really like the PAM-386M as well and I will probably end up purchasing that one down the road. I have never seen the gen of this watch (or any other Panerai for that matter) in person, so my only comparison to the real thing is through photos and YouTube videos. The Dealer: I purchased this watch from Andrew at Trusty Time. He has been outstanding to work with and I plan on leaving a thorough review of my experience with him on his section of this forum later today. Please check it out if you plan to purchase from him. Here is the link to the watch I purchased: http://www.yourtrustytime.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=37_49&products_id=8784 This is the detailed description of the watch copied from the website: PN177NRU1 - Pam 177 N TI/RU Black Asia 6497 21600bph H Factory Best!!! Pam 177 N Series Upgraded!!!... Platinum Plated Bridges/Dagger Swan Neck Regulator Movement!!!!..... Made with a Genuine as Sample... Original C1 + C3 Super Luminova on Dial ..The Best 1 : 1 Pam to Date .. Swiss Quality Colourless AR Coating ...No Mods Needed.. All Parts Directly interchangeable with the Genuine. Immediate Delivery!!!!! MOVEMENT: Asian 6497 Manual Handwind Movement, Platinum Plated Cortes de Geneve Decoration on Bridges, Correct Shape Dagger Swan Neck Regulator, 17J, 21600bph CASE DIAMETER: 44mm THICKNESS: 15mm DIAL COLOR: Black Dial, Black Subdials, Numeral/Stick Hour Markers, Original C1+C3 Super Luminova Applied on Markers and Needles CASE MATERIAL: Full Solid Titanium Case 1:1 (Same color tone as genuine) BRACELET: Rubber (Antidust Quality) strap with Pre V Titanium Buckle FRONT GLASS: Sapphire Crystal Colourless AR Coated as per the Genuine. Done by Vendor who does for Swiss Genuine Brands BACK GLASS: Sapphire Display Case Back, Individual N Series Serial NXXX/800 nos and Matching Individual BB nos , Every Serial Number is Individual Engraved with Individual Scan Film, Not by Running Computer Program CLASP TYPE: Titanium Tang Buckle OTHER REMARKS: Water Resistant, No Recess Central Pinion, Polished Head flushed Lug Screw, Flush Polished Head Lever Pin, Notch for Bezel Prying at 5:00 Ordering/Shipping: I ordered this watch (along with a Rolex DSSD reviewed elsewhere) on Jan 13th through Andrew’s website. I received a confirmation email immediately. I received QC photos on Jan 15th. The watch arrived on Jan 28th but it had spent a full 5 days in the possession of customs at JFK, so taking out that delay the order-to-receipt time was 10 days which I consider to be excellent processing time from China to the US. The watches came well packaged. Each had a rubber bezel/case guard, was wrapped in thin plastic sheet, then folded up in a lot of bubble wrap and placed inside a thick Styrofoam box. The Styrofoam box was shipped in a standard cardboard box. You could drop this package off a 10 story building and the watches would be fine. The watches came well packaged. Each had a rubber bezel/case guard, was wrapped in thin plastic sheet, then folded up in a lot of bubble wrap and placed inside a thick Styrofoam box. The Styrofoam box was shipped in a standard cardboard box. You could drop this package off a 10 story building and the watches would be fine. First Impression: Talking the watch out, I carefully cut away the plastic film and removed the rubber bezel guard. I was amazed at how nice this watch looked in my hand. The quality of the appearance, and the fit-and-finish of this watch was way better than website photos or QC pictures could represent. This is a gorgeous watch, especially the movement, and I am extremely pleased with this purchase as my first PAM. Here are some photos: Further Investigation: The Crown - The first rep I purchased had a serious issue with the crown and the stem not engaging the movement correctly, so I had to send it back. So the first thing I did was to pull the crown out and test it. Unlocking the crown with the lever proved to be a good first impression of the quality of this watch. The lever was tight, but not overly tight. I pulled it out and wound the watch. The winding of the movement had a nice resistance to it with an almost inaudible vibrating sound as the watch is wound. It has the feel of quality. I then pulled the crown out to the first click which had a solid tactile snap to it. The hands turned smoothly without any play when adjusting the time. The Case – I absolutely love titanium. I couldn’t have enough titanium parts on my mountain bike when I raced them in my 20’s. They were strong and light, but I also loved the color and texture of the metal itself. This case is made of titanium and has a high-quality look to it. The one thing I will admit is that fingerprints and smudges are harder to wipe off than on stainless steel. The case is nicely machined. All the lines are precise and sharp. The crown guard looks solidly constructed as well. The screws that hold the crown guard to the case look to be high quality stainless steel (maybe I’m wrong about the SS part, they could be polished titanium). There are screwed in bolts that hold the straps in place vice the normal spring bars. I also like this feature a lot. The Crystal – The crystal looks very nice and has a nicely colored AR coating. There are some Panerai’s that have a big rounded looking domed crystal. Some people may like that look, but I purposely avoided it on this purchase. I don’t like how much they distort the face (particularly the numbers) when viewed from off-angles. I can see how this may be something that some people find interesting, and maybe someday I will too, but this watch has a relatively flat crystal. The crystal seats uniformly around the entire front of the case’s bezel. The Face – The face of this watch is very nice looking. As with most Panerai’s, it is very simple. I cannot speak to the accuracy of the fonts, but the quality is excellent. Everything is crisp and clear. It has numbers at the 12, 3 and 6 o’clock positions and a small sweeping seconds hand at the 9 o’clock position. Every other hour has a simple hash mark at the hour marker. One of the specs for my search in this Panerai purchase was the sandwich dial. For the newbies out there like me, this just means that instead of having one face with the numbers lumed onto it, this watch has two separate faces sandwiched together with the numbers cut out and the lume in between. The lume on this watch is outstanding. It glows extremely bright (much brighter than it looks in my photo) and lasts for a couple of hours. Here's my attempt at a lume shot (I need to get better at these): The Strap – The watch I bought has the rubber strap with “Officine” on the bottom part and “Panerai” on the top part. The strap seems very tough, but also flexible. I have a rep Bell & Ross that has a rubber strap that is very stiff and wants to push the watch away from the wrist. This strap fits nicely and comfortably right out of the box. The buckle is also machined from titanium. It is nice looking but the edges are a little too sharp. Normally sharp edges would be a plus, but these seem just a tad too sharp and catch on the strap a little more than it should. It has a nicely engraved “Panerai” on the top. I’ve seen a photo of a titanium Panerai on the forum that had a nice black suede strap with black stitching. I plan on buying one to alternate with the rubber strap on this watch because it looked so nice. If anyone knows where I can find a good deal on one please let me know! The Movement – This is where this watch really shines in my opinion. I love looking at a nice movement through a crystal exhibition case back. I started off looking for an automatic Panerai, but once I saw the look of this manual wind 6497, I changed my mind. The photos on the website and the QC pics do not do this movement justice at all. I was concerned that the movement would look cheap in person, but it does not. It looks very nice and I couldn’t be happier. My only complaint is that under extremely close scrutiny, you can just make out some fingerprints on the bridge. I plan to remove the back and clean these off very carefully with a q-tip and tiny amount of alcohol. I don’t plan on touching any other surface, but if this is not recommended, someone please let me know how I should go about this. You can see for yourself the beauty of this watch's movement in the photos. Trust me when I say that it looks better than even these photos make it look. There was an option for an 18,800BPH version of the movement that was $70USD cheaper, but I was told the 21,600BPH movement that I chose was more reliable in the long run. I doubt you could tell much of a difference in the beat rate between the two, being that the seconds hand is so small, but I didn’t want to skimp and purchase what might be a lesser movement. I chose the 21,600 movement, but in all likelyhood, the 18,800BPH movement would have been just fine. I will say it swings around so smoothly that you cannot see any beating of the seconds hand. The watch back has the words “OFFICINE PANERAI – BB1446039 – OP 6725 – TITANIUM – (OP LOGO) – (PAM FISH) 300m - N106/800” nicely engraved on the edge. The engravings are relatively deep and very sharp. The back crystal looks nice as well. The Fit – I have exactly a 7” wrist. I’m not sure how that fits in to the world-wide average, but I feel my wrist is average to slightly below average. The watch looks very well proportioned on the wrist to me. Unlike some of the larger Panerai’s, this 44mm looks just about right. Some of you with smaller wrists may shy away from the bigger watches, but I think this one is a nice compromise. It’s a large watch with a lot of presence, but it does not look awkward or out of place on my 7” wrist. Conclusion: I spent $288USD on this watch. I’ve found the gen selling for around $6700 online. Panerai is not as well known a brand to the general public as other watches, so I doubt most people will even know what it is much less whether it is rep or gen. But something I do believe is that anyone looking at it will recognize it as a beautiful watch. I would not hesitate to take it off and show someone the movement either. Overall the fit-and-finish of this watch are outstanding and well above my expectations. I am very happy with this purchase, and very happy with my experience so far with Andrew at Trusty Time (www.yourtrustytime.com). Again, if there’s anything in my review that wasn’t clear or if you have any additional questions I can answer, don’t hesitate to ask… I hope you’ve enjoyed this review and have found it helpful!