New PAM177 From Andrew!

[wadawalnut]

Hello world! I just received my first rep, so I thought I would write my first review. Thanks to everyone in this community, you have helped very much in learning about watches and how to go about buying a good rep. I really appreciate it.

 

To start, I would like to apologize for the awful quality of these photos. They do not by any means do this watch justice.

 

 

Before I received this watch, I had the opportunity to visit a Panerai AD. The gens looked so crisp and refined, and I anticipated to be a little let-down by the rep based on the pics that I saw online. However, immediately after unboxing the watch, I was amazed at how beautiful it was. The one difference that I noticed compared to the gen was the color of the font on the dial, everything else looks pretty excellent. I'm sure there are other flaws, but to me, this rep is great.

 

This is an H-Factory PAM177 that i bought from Andrew for $238 USD before tax and shipping. In total, it came to about $326 CAD, which includes all taxes, exchange rates, shipping, and paypal fees. Originally, I wanted to buy the Noob edition, but I couldn't find it on Andrew's site. I heard Noob is better, but this H-Factory version also cost $50 USD less than the Noob version, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm very happy with my decision, because like I said there isn't much that could have been done to this watch to make me appreciate it more.

 

Besides the color of the font, the dial to me looks very accurate. Even if not everything is 100% exact (although I think everything is pretty damn close), I cannot tell the difference without having a gen right next to it. The titanium case is awesome and looks beautiful. I heard H-Factory CG's aren't supposed to be very good, but I don't know much about the details of the real CG so it doesn't bother me and certainly doesn't look out of place. I was worried the lever on the CG wouldn't open and close properly or something, but it opens and closes very nicely and seems to be of pretty high quality. 

 

 

I was a little worried that I would not like the feel of the titanium when I bought this watch. I chose this one over the PAM111 because I prefer the brushed look to the 'flashy' polished SS on the 111, even though I was worried that the 177 would be a little dull. I was also worried about the titanium being too light, which would make it feel cheap. Also, I read about a few complaints of the movement being extremely loud on the 177. Firstly, the finish and allure of the titanium is excellent. It is much shinier than it looks in these photos, though obviously nowhere near as shiny as the 111. It is the exact finish that I was after. This is my first rep, so my description of the weight of this watch may not be too helpful. This watch does not by any means feel cheap. To be honest, compared to my SS Fossil, I can barely feel a difference in weight. The 177 doesn't feel heavy, and it's a pleasure to wear on the wrist, but to me it certainly doesn't feel light enough to say that it feels cheap. Concerning the loudness of the movement, I haven't noticed the movement being loud. This is my first 6497 movement, so I don't really have anything to compare it to. I actually wish it was a little louder! I love the sound that this movement makes, it sounds really amazing, unfortunately I can't really hear it unless I hold my watch up to my head, or if I'm in a very quiet room.

 

 

One of my favorite parts about this watch is how excellent the movement looks. It looks absolutely incredible, whenever I take my watch off or put it back on (which isn't really very often  ) I make sure to gaze at the movement for a while. It's very nicely finished, and although the words "Officine Panerai" are apparently a decal on the movement, you wouldn't know, and I think it looks pretty good. Since this is my first manual wind watch, I was a little uncomfortable winding it at first, but now that I'm used to it, winding is a pleasure. Winding makes a satisfactory ticking noise and feels nice and solid. 

 

 

The rubber strap is very nice as well. At first, the rubber was very 'tough' and I had a lot of trouble getting my watch on or off, but now I'm used to it and it's worked in a bit, so it's no longer a hassle. The rubber strap is very sturdy and looks very nice too.

 

The two things that I really wasn't pleased with about this watch were the AR and the lume. The AR really isn't very good, as I am constantly noticing reflections on it. It usually isn't too much of a problem though. The lume on this watch isn't very bright and doesn't last very long. It has a very yellow-ish color, and it only lasts about a half hour from what I can tell. If re-luming isn't expensive and I can find someone near me that can re-lume it, I think I'll get that done.

 

Overall, I am very pleased with the purchase of this watch, and I am very impressed with it. 

 

I also have to mention how great this whole transaction went with Andrew. Trusty Time was the only site that I could pay by credit card with without a problem, so I was originally forced to buy from that site. I originally wanted to buy from Pure-Time, because they had the Noob 177 and they have a great reputation, but my credit card didn't work there. The transaction with Andrew couldn't have been any smoother. He is very kind, responded to emails very quickly, and the whole process went by very fast and very well. Shipping to Montreal took 15 days, but it was also shipped during Christmas and New Years so I would expect it to be a little quicker for other purchases. I definitely recommend Andrew to anyone that is looking for a good TD, because my experience could not have been any better. Everything was done very professionally, which made me happy and a little more comfortable with the purchase.

 

Once again, sorry for the bad pictures!

[997 s]

Thx for the "review"

[StormTooper4]

Great post walnut top effort and thanks for sharing your enthusiasm . I reckon you'll be needing to try it with another strap soon enough.

I've put my 55 on a MF1942 because they can come with a titanium buckle.

http://www.manifatturefirenze.it/home.php/sel/3/rootcat/1/idart/75

I look forward to hearing about your other purchases.

ST4