lfovco Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 I received my 390 from Joshua today. The shipping was quick. Good service etc. My first impression is that 390 looks really, really nice, I mean super nice. The dial is in fact a nice brown color, gold color on the hands is actually really nice, a subtle in a way that I like versus in your face pimp gold. The color of the lume looks really nice. The high beat movt. sounds great. This is a really nice dress watch or any occasion watch for sure. Over all it is a very nice rep and I like pretty much everything about it with an exception if the CG lever. I see that the quality of levers must have not improved since 2005. It feels nothing like gen, it does not apply enough pressure on the crown. I mean it is enough to wear around, not that bad but not nearly what it should be. Lever is still flimsy, does not have rubber gasket around the pin. In comparison I have an after market modded CG and lever on my 2005 Eddy Lee 111, I got the CG/lever set from Jimmy Fu back in 2006. That CG and lever is awesome and still better then what's on the 390. You'll notice on my lame iphone picture that the crown on my 111 is actually too thick, thicker then genuine, it was first Lello crown release from 2005 or 2006 which I actually like cause if it more friendly when it comes to winding the watch, much more so then 390. Over all I highly recommend 390, it does truly look awesome. The lever will be annoying for owners of Genuine Panerais or those who have really good after market sets like my 111, but it's not a deal breaker. And I guess all reps have levers like that. Crappy iPhone photo at my desk at work. I will do a nice photoshoot with DSLR camera when I have some time. http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/r598/lfovco/390.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltatahoe Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 thanks for the review; looking forward to seeing more pics deltatahoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asf Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Looks nice! I can't wait to see more too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfovco Posted January 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 (edited) Sure deal, I will post more pictures. For now all I can say that I was just comparing all the small details to these shots: http://panerai.watch...2818/ti-740333/ and the rep truly looks spot on. The flaws are so microscopic that they are not worth mentioning, and I am picky in general. You can easily parade around with that 390 at an AD, just don't let them play with the CG lever :-) Edited January 23, 2012 by lfovco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miagi Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 congrats on the new watch! looks awesome! so the next days will be filled with 390 goodies popping up on the board i thought that they had got a hang on the levers... my 328 lever is tight and good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfovco Posted January 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 (edited) Does a pin in your 328's lever have a rubber gasket around it? 390 does not have one but it sticks against the crown ok, there is of course enough pressure there for it to stay in place but it's not where then gen is and it is not any different from what you would buy back in 2005. 328 has also different lever design so maybe those are made better. Edited January 23, 2012 by lfovco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
relaxman Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Mine Is sitting in my mail box.. Shame about the wobbly lever. They seem to be hit or miss. My 005k had a loose lever until I had it fixed, 088 is perfect and my 360 has very little play in it. Still a great looking watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfovco Posted January 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 This 390 has what you describe as little play in it, it's not super wobbly and it sits against the case well enough. What is the best way to go about fixing the tightness of the lever? Is that something The Zigmeister could do, since I was planning to have it serviced anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
relaxman Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 I would contact Katt. He fixed mine and serviced mine as well.. Great guy, great price and fast service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfovco Posted January 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Sweet, thank you!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poretl Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 The 111 looks waay better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfovco Posted January 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Haha, Vintage Eddie Lee. They go for $4000 these days. The 111 looks waay better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormTooper4 Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 You can actually see the difference in the dial colour now , I am warming to this albeit slowly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfovco Posted January 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Yes it is definitely nice lighter brown color. It looks really nice. You could never tell that from dealers pics, my picture sucks due to the setup but the light brown with that lume color truly looks nice. You can actually see the difference in the dial colour now , I am warming to this albeit slowly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poretl Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Haha, Vintage Eddie Lee. They go for $4000 these days. I don't know what it is, who made it and how much or how little they go for but I like what I see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfovco Posted January 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Cool, glad to hear that. I should actually do pictorial review of this one one day cause it is a vintage rep. Early 2005 model, F series, Swiss 6497 that has been running as accurately as Gen, super nice chunky crown. Funny thing is that that crown actually feels better in your fingers while you wind the watch then the Gen 111's. I am not kidding. and the really nice J.Fu crown guard that feels and works exactly like gen, even has a rubber gasket around the pin. Now, it is not super accurate to the gen but it is an awesome vintage rep ;-) Now, you cannot kill those old Eddie Lee movements, I even have 2 extra spare ones from him that have been laying around for years. The cases were really good too and you cannot source them anymore. Still 390 is a quite different watch, I try not to compare them really. I only did shoot 390 next to it to show the difference in the color of the dial. I don't know what it is, who made it and how much or how little they go for but I like what I see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poretl Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 (edited) oh,it's good you posted the picture to show the color difference on the rep dials because here's one with the gens side by side (390 Vs 000). Very similar: Edited January 24, 2012 by poretl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfovco Posted January 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 My picture does not show it well due to bad desk light but in person the Rep looks just like that Gen, plus/minus how light affects the color. 390 Rep is definitely done well as far as colors accuracy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Looks great. Thanks for the quick review Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justaguy88 Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Is the color of the lume too yellow compared to the gen? I saw some other pictures that made it seem that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfovco Posted January 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 I don't think it would be 100% the same but it is so super close. I honestly cannot tell the difference when I look at shots taken in neutral light, it really looks like the pics of the gen under the link I posted above. This rep is really close to Gen. Yes we can pick high res shots all day long and find that the lume is 5% off, but once you wear it or even stare at it in your hand without a Gen to compare you really cannot tell. The only issue I would point out are the fact the CP is not flat, but that also takes some staring to really see in real life versus high res shots. Even the shape of the lever is super close to gen, you can really only see that is a bit different in high res shots. That's it. I cannot really complain about how it looks but rather how some parts are still made cheap. Crown and lever are still way behind the Gen's as far as materials and build quality, they feel really fake. Crown Guard is pretty nice. Case is super nice, even screws are well made. So really the only negative thing is quality of the materials used for the crown and lever. Is the color of the lume too yellow compared to the gen? I saw some other pictures that made it seem that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poretl Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 I don't think it would be 100% the same but it is so super close. I honestly cannot tell the difference when I look at shots taken in neutral light, it really looks like the pics of the gen under the link I posted above. This rep is really close to Gen. Yes we can pick high res shots all day long and find that the lume is 5% off, but once you wear it or even stare at it in your hand without a Gen to compare you really cannot tell. The only issue I would point out are the fact the CP is not flat, but that also takes some staring to really see in real life versus high res shots. Even the shape of the lever is super close to gen, you can really only see that is a bit different in high res shots. That's it. I cannot really complain about how it looks but rather how some parts are still made cheap. Crown and lever are still way behind the Gen's as far as materials and build quality, they feel really fake. Crown Guard is pretty nice. Case is super nice, even screws are well made. So really the only negative thing is quality of the materials used for the crown and lever. maybe the factories should focus on that then. They should take this feedback seriously and work in that direction. I'm sure if they put their mind to it they can achieves great results. They have achieved great results in all other departments from what I understand... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfovco Posted January 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 (edited) Here are some better shots. I don't have a proper lights setup to shoot at night at home, so this is not color accurate, but you get to see the details. I also shot it again with 2005 Eddie Lee 111. http://s1173.photobucket.com/albums/r598/lfovco/ Edited January 24, 2012 by lfovco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfovco Posted January 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 (edited) Hopefully they do. I'm pointing that that build quality of crown and lever purposely since I have not seen anyone talking about that. Every rep I touched that some of my friends got has the same issue. And it's not only about lever being less or more loose sometimes, it is about the materials being used. Not sure what it is but feels nothing like Gen while the case and everything else is really nice. There are other reps that are built really well, for instance I have a IWC Ingenieur rep, bought it back in 2006. That thing is solid as a tank, cannot complain about it at all, it has been running really well and the case, or crown does not feel cheap or fake at all. maybe the factories should focus on that then. They should take this feedback seriously and work in that direction. I'm sure if they put their mind to it they can achieves great results. They have achieved great results in all other departments from what I understand... Edited January 24, 2012 by lfovco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormTooper4 Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Dont get me wrong its an awesome watch , I just wonder why no one has ever got the lume application right ? Interesting you put it with an L Swiss L dial as these have the same type of lume as 390. I dont know what its called so I will say Flat Sausage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.