sgtguk Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 Hi all, About to pull the trigger on a Pam029, I love the look of the watch and from reading the boards it seems to be a great replication. I'm more into wearing my watches as they are out of the box without carrying out loads of mods, well not as yet anyway ! So my question is which movement should I go for the 'Swiss eta' or the A-2836? At first I thought it was easy for the extra $70 go Swiss but after reading some of the conflicting comments re Gmt hand movement etc etc compared to Gen I'm confused! I'm a noob here but especially with Pams, it's a brand that I really like the look of and have a couple already but I am no expert, which movement should I go for? Thanks for any help you can give! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txcollector Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 I see no reason to go with the ETA. The GMT modification is Chinese so your movement would be at best hybrid. I have the A-2836 and I'm very happy with it. The confusion you're seeing about the GMT behavior is because the GMT module is not consistent. In some cases the GMT hand is not 100% aligned with the hour, in some cases the GMT hand doesn't jump to the next hour when you set via crown (like it should). That's a QC problem that plagues both the hybrid and the Asian. I was lucky and my Asian one works perfectly. Some folks have the Swiss and the GMT hand doesn't jump. Some have the Asian and the GMT hand is not aligned. I don't think this is a big deal but make sure you get good QC pics to see the hand alignment. That's all you can do now (unless your dealer is willing to send you a video or a guarantee you have a module that works as it should). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 I agree with TX. SInce there is no true 2836 GMT movement. The so called Swiss is really a chinese creation anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 I would be more focused on getting a movement where the GMT hand jumps rather than Swiss or Asian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gusete Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 Wouldn't that mean that at least the swiss part of the mechanism is of better quality? I am thinking of buying this watch but I'm getting confused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txcollector Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 Wouldn't that mean that at least the swiss part of the mechanism is of better quality? I am thinking of buying this watch but I'm getting confused. I don't think it makes a difference since one of the main components will only be Chinese. Make sure the watch you're buying works correctly before pulling the trigger. The GMT hand should "jump" (think like when you are changing the date) in 1hr increments when you set via the crown. That's what you want to make sure it does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gusete Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 Good advice also from your first answer! I will try to contact the vendor see if they can provide that info. I will try with pure times Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgtguk Posted January 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2012 Thanks guys for the great clear advice! it's really appreciated and has saved me some $ ! Will get on to the dealer now to get it ordered (A-2836) and post some pics when it comes Have a great day ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howiestt Posted January 8, 2012 Report Share Posted January 8, 2012 had to send mine back to Josh due to it not holding a charge for more than 2 hours...i got the asian one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klocklind1 Posted January 8, 2012 Report Share Posted January 8, 2012 The "only" asian parts in this swiss eta version is just TWO gears( wheels!) that is making it to an GMT movement, ( I know as I have taking my swiss eta apart already !) so I would say it is way more swiss than asian:) And the swiss eta in this pam029M is a NEW swiss eta ( a lot of times the swiss etas are used ones!) and that is VERY rare to get those days. But the asian can work for years without problem also:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gusete Posted January 8, 2012 Report Share Posted January 8, 2012 (edited) Hello, I am still waiting for my 029 and was very intrigued by you having it already teared down. Some people say that the swiss one GMT hand does not jump from one hour to the next. Are the Chinese modules from the swiss ones different than the ones applied to the asian ones? Seems kind of weird that the asian one jumps like the original watch, as opposed to the swiss one, being only 2 little changes that I suppose both share. Can you please tell a bit more of what you think from opening the watch and if a jumping GMT hand module is possible in combination with the swiss machinery? Many thanks! Edited January 8, 2012 by gusete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgtguk Posted January 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 Got my Qc pics yesterday, approved them can't wait to get it now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfovco Posted January 10, 2012 Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 So it seems like it makes more sense to get an Asian movt version and put that $70 saved towards the initial service? And then hope it will run for many years? My main deal is to make sure I can get years and years out of the movement cause I keep my reps. And since this model is so accurate to the gen and so great looking it's kind of must have no matter how you look at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klocklind1 Posted January 11, 2012 Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 So it seems like it makes more sense to get an Asian movt version and put that $70 saved towards the initial service? And then hope it will run for many years? My main deal is to make sure I can get years and years out of the movement cause I keep my reps. And since this model is so accurate to the gen and so great looking it's kind of must have no matter how you look at it. I totally agree, go for the swiss eta if You really likes it:) I have send my swiss 029M for service:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klocklind1 Posted January 11, 2012 Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 Hello, I am still waiting for my 029 and was very intrigued by you having it already teared down. Some people say that the swiss one GMT hand does not jump from one hour to the next. Are the Chinese modules from the swiss ones different than the ones applied to the asian ones? Seems kind of weird that the asian one jumps like the original watch, as opposed to the swiss one, being only 2 little changes that I suppose both share. Can you please tell a bit more of what you think from opening the watch and if a jumping GMT hand module is possible in combination with the swiss machinery? Many thanks! The GMT hands jumps like the date does as the GMT hand is conected to the date mechanism by two gears (wheels!) . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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