OnkleFester Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 Hi Everyone, A few days ago I revieved a PAM 127 from a very reputable dealer who all would know. I thought at the time I had done my homework on this one by reading all that I could about this great rep. Well after I got the watch I read even more and it has only sowed some doubts in my head as to the product recieved and the product described. The PAM 127 was the best this dealer had to offer....it's the one with the Swan Neck regulator and sapphire crystal. It was added to his site on 5-31-06. From reading a post from another very reputable dealer I have ascertained that a PAM 127 w/ a case number of E0117 is as correct as correct can be and does have a sapphire crystal on both front and back. However, the watch I recieved has a case number of E0581 which the other dealer claimed had defects ie. mineral glass. crystal not properly domed, and wrong case markings. Also I noticed that "OFFICINE PANERAI" is not centered on the crown. Can anyone help a paranoid newbie out with this? I would like an expert opinion BEFORE I take it up with the dealer who by the way I found to be very reponsive. Thanks Guys! Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris5264 Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 I’m no expert but I would say you have a nice watch if these are your worst problems. Try to focus on what you like about it and then see if these things really matter... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnkleFester Posted September 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 Hi Everyone, A few days ago I revieved a PAM 127 from a very reputable dealer who all would know. I thought at the time I had done my homework on this one by reading all that I could about this great rep. Well after I got the watch I read even more and it has only sowed some doubts in my head as to the product recieved and the product described. The PAM 127 was the best this dealer had to offer....it's the one with the Swan Neck regulator and sapphire crystal. It was added to his site on 5-31-06. From reading a post from another very reputable dealer I have ascertained that a PAM 127 w/ a case number of E0117 is as correct as correct can be and does have a sapphire crystal on both front and back. However, the watch I recieved has a case number of E0581 which the other dealer claimed had defects ie. mineral glass. crystal not properly domed, and wrong case markings. Also I noticed that "OFFICINE PANERAI" is not centered on the crown. Can anyone help a paranoid newbie out with this? I would like an expert opinion BEFORE I take it up with the dealer who by the way I found to be very reponsive. Thanks Guys! Bruce Don't get me wrong I love the watch I would just like to make sure I got what I paid for, mainly sapphire front and back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLCoolRS Posted September 16, 2006 Report Share Posted September 16, 2006 Don't get me wrong I love the watch I would just like to make sure I got what I paid for, mainly sapphire front and back This was posted on another forum by someone else... very good info: *************************************************** This thread question keeps popping up ... THERE ARE "SAPPHIRE" crystals out there that are not exactly what they seem. You can spot them by they way they explode when scratched. They are not 100% Mineral Glass, but nor are they 100% Sapphire ... Think about it, how does a SAPPHIRE crystal get scratched? The wholebenefit behind Sapphire is the 9 out of 10 Hardness rating, so when Sapphire scratches, there has to be a reason .... [physics: a thin hard coating will scratch due to the softer subsurface base] The CONCEPT SAPPHIRE, (ALL SAPPHIRE IS MAN MADE when it comes to CRYSTALS) is not EASY to dome, but Mineral Glass is and it's heaps cheaper to process it this way. ) SO, you process a quick and easy MINERAL dome CORE and then .... DLC coat it with a SAPPHIRE outer layer ... COOL, you get a cheap Crystal that looks and feels in all respects SAPPHIRE! Downside: The coating appears to put a huge amount of stress on the core material. Think of the analogy of a balloon skin blown up. If the thin coat Sapphire is compromised, ( gets scratched, chipped ) these stresses which appear to be dynamic with eventually cause a catastrophic failure and the crystal shatters in result. These are USUALLY marketed as "SYNTHIZED SAPPHIRE" which is an oxymoron as all Sapphire crystals are synthetic, so this marketing term means more than it implies. It means the Crystal is not 100% Sapphire, through and through. DAVIDSEN Crystals are 100% Sapphire and AR coated. No cheap core, no shattering behaviour. The Quality and LOOK of them is far better than anything you will see out there as well. Your dial will look 10X better and you watch will visibly look better with the replacement crystal. *************************************************** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwai02 Posted September 16, 2006 Report Share Posted September 16, 2006 The myth of 117 = sapphire was busted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted September 16, 2006 Report Share Posted September 16, 2006 I have that same watch 0581 case 127, and apart from it having one of the newer suspect movement it is great, im no expert put the glass looks feels and behaves like saphire, it keeps great time and has even been swimming, i got this one from Andrew so if you have the smae as me you should be happy with it, the one thing i did not understand from you post was "Also I noticed that "OFFICINE PANERAI" is not centered on the crown" what do you mean???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted September 16, 2006 Report Share Posted September 16, 2006 I had thought the conclusion was that not all 117's were sapphire but that the "fourth generation" which had that case number were the only ones that had true sapphire crystals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnkleFester Posted September 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2006 (edited) I had thought the conclusion was that not all 117's were sapphire but that the "fourth generation" which had that case number were the only ones that had true sapphire crystals. On the back of the watch were the serial number is I noticed that on quite a few other 127s the words "OFFICINE PANERAI" were aligned or centered on the crown guard. I was just wondering if that was something or nothing at all. Edited September 16, 2006 by OnkleFester Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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