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So there has been much talk about all the new OTB reps and we have been really spoilt with the influx of some great OTB reps and although there are still many flaws with these overall they are very good especially when compared with what we had on offer last year.... It is forums such as RWG and importantly individual members behind the scenes who have helped to push the factories in the right direction and advise them on what we as collectors are seeking... I am sure many of you dont realise just what does go on behind these scenes to the benefit of us all and in turn the financial benefits to the dealers and the factories.. But it is important we dont become complacent about what we have now and continue to press on with expecting more from our dealers and or from those that are part of the modding scene... I am talking about guys that produce aftermarket parts for our benefit... We have been lucky enough to see the release of the sausage dials recently which I am sure most will agree is the epitome of the Panerai... We all crave the best we can with our PAMs and the dial is no exception... recently we have seen great emphasis on the case shapes and CGs plus the crystals and with a certain amount of success... however IMHO the dials still need to be improved as these are probably the one area of these OTB reps that still haven’t been as good OTB as the other parts that have been redesigned and produced to meet our higher expectations. I wanted in this thread to draw your attention to what we should be looking for from our dials generally and that if we can’t get these from the factories then we can expect them to appear over time from other sources.. Here are some gen 360 dials showing the indices and the bath tub effect we need to see in the reps, it is interesting that even in these pics you cannot see that the 360 typeface is NOT white but rather a vintage lume colour or maybe better described as a coffee colour... The problem stems initially from the materials and processes used by the factories... basically OEM dials are brass which are milled or pressed, depending on the quantity to be produced as OP only use the a coinage tool for the larger runs such as 200 upwards wheras on the smaller numbers they use the milling process. The way to tell these is that on the stamped dials the edges of the indices are rounded whereas the milled dials are sharper edged. So once this is done the brass surface is polished and then glass bead blasted after this it receives a galvanic black surface after that it receives a thin layer of Zapon varnish then it is pad pressed with the typeface and then it is lumed with a mix of RCTritec etc and varnish ... this is done after as the Berlac paint used for the typeface will not stick/adhere to the galvanic finish. As some of you may know this is how Vendome removed the old PreV typeface from the PreV dials and redid them with the Vendome type face for the PreA dials. Now there are some variations in terms of the process of these applications which can give slightly different looks to the dials but the overall material and finish is something that all rep dials lack. The rep dials are generally made of aluminium which is stamped then painted, pad pressed and lumed ... So the depth of the indices can never be achieved nor can the edges of the indices and in addition the way the lume sits in the indices. Then the finish of the dial cannot be achieved because firstly the aluminium cannot be polished or glass bead blasted as per the gen and in turn receive the galvanic coat, all these OEM processes are what gives the dials the unique finish that they have and so far has never been replicated... now I know this process is expensive but I am sure with the initiative of the factories there is a viable way of achieving the OEM look or certainly improving it in the same way they have with other parts. Below are some more pics to highlight the points I am trying to make. This is an overview of the dials and I hope I aint bored you too much and you managed to read this through I have tried to do this as concisely as possible without going into the true detail of these PAM dials and boring the pants off everyone. Another current topic is the luming issues of the 360 and other suasage dials but especially the 360 so do have a look out for Part 2 of this thread where I will raise the issues regarding rep lume on the sausage dials and highlight the inherent flaws in the processes and final product I hope This info and pics has been produced from discussions with other members with the aim to produce an OEM spec dial of which I am sure many have heard of ... on the bush telegraph