PAM 028 ... ETA2892-2 ..input

[lanikai]

the PAM 028 w/ETA 2892-2

thank you chieftang for the reply on the cyclops .. and the lead on the date wheel although i have no response as of yet ... ssurfer if you are reading this and with your wealth of information on the PAM's ... any obvious flaws not counting the mag and date wheel? sounds backwards but unless i can get a decent wheel w/font for this i would rather not spend the money ... because without the DW it is ... even with the ETA movement tooo obvious ... it is a good looking pc. though ... but like i said without the wheel ... noo sense spending that kind of cash ... thoughts on this?????

[sssurfer]

ssurfer if you are reading this... any obvious flaws not counting the mag and date wheel?

Hi,

for your own health:

stay away from the 028.

There are 3 other obvious flaws apart those you said:

1) the crown is thin as usual on reps two years ago;

2) the PVD coating is too shining, as it is applied on a brushed case rather than a beadblasted case;

3) if you open the watch, the "OFFICINE PANERAI" engraving on the rotor is misspelled, reading "OFFICNE PANERAI".

Archibal also pointed out that the "A" in "PANERAI" on the dial is not 100%. I seem unable to spot any difference, but I have no gen to make a side-by-side comparison and I know that archibald is completely reliable, so I trust his word.

In the end, the 028 is a long long way to go along. You need a new crown, new beadblasting+PVD treatment, new datewheel, new cyclops, and possibly a new engraving on the rotor (or a whole new rotor, I am also considering this option). The "A" (if it really is unperfect) is completely out of chance of fixing it because of the hobnail dial.

Furthermore, none of the current cyclopses (either watchmen's or chieftang's) fits perfectly, as the 2892-A2 has an added small lens on the date window that makes them overpowered. So you need either to remove that lens (as kruzer00 did, I seem to remember) or to make a brand new cyclops with your own hand (as I did).

About the datewheel: Lello should be able to make correct 2892-A2 datewheels, provided there is demand enough for them.

But I doubt there will ever be demand enough.

On this watch I already spent waay more than 1000 bucks ('original' watch + moddings), and I still have to fix the rotor.

And I consider myself lucky from having been able to arrive to this point.

It's not by chance that, as far as I know, there are only two 028 reps this level around: kruzer00's and mine.

On the other hand, a good-modded 028 would likely make for one of the rarest reps around, possibly the rarest (even rarer than the famous 047 w/ russian movement -- about 4 pieces around). When I wear my 028 it's not a bad feeling to think that I am the only one wearing it on this side of the planet. In this sense it is even rarer than the gen...

BTW, the gen sells at about 10,000 - 13,000 USD on auctions when he surfaces out (not 80,000 as, e.g., a 203). So you should consider that a full modded 028 rep -- provided there will ever exist one -- would cost about 10% of the gen. That is about the same percentage than cheaper models (e.g., a full modded 111 is likely to cost about 400 USD vs about 4500 of the gen).

Now it's up to you.

[lanikai]

Hi,

for your own health:

stay away from the 028.

There are 3 other obvious flaws apart those you said:

1) the crown is thin as usual on reps two years ago;

2) the PVD coating is too shining, as it is applied on a brushed case rather than a beadblasted case;

3) if you open the watch, the "OFFICINE PANERAI" engraving on the rotor is misspelled, reading "OFFICNE PANERAI".

Archibal also pointed out that the "A" in "PANERAI" on the dial is not 100%. I seem unable to spot any difference, but I have no gen to make a side-by-side comparison and I know that archibald is completely reliable, so I trust his word.

In the end, the 028 is a long long way to go along. You need a new crown, new beadblasting+PVD treatment, new datewheel, new cyclops, and possibly a new engraving on the rotor (or a whole new rotor, I am also considering this option). The "A" (if it really is unperfect) is completely out of chance of fixing it because of the hobnail dial.

Furthermore, none of the current cyclopses (either watchmen's or chieftang's) fits perfectly, as the 2892-A2 has an added small lens on the date window that makes them overpowered. So you need either to remove that lens (as kruzer00 did, I seem to remember) or to make a brand new cyclops with your own hand (as I did).

About the datewheel: Lello should be able to make correct 2892-A2 datewheels, provided there is demand enough for them.

But I doubt there will ever be demand enough.

On this watch I already spent waay more than 1000 bucks ('original' watch + moddings), and I still have to fix the rotor.

And I consider myself lucky from having been able to arrive to this point.

It's not by chance that, as far as I know, there are only two 028 reps this level around: kruzer00's and mine.

On the other hand, a good-modded 028 would likely make for one of the rarest reps around, possibly the rarest (even rarer than the famous 047 w/ russian movement -- about 4 pieces around). When I wear my 028 it's not a bad feeling to think that I am the only one wearing it on this side of the planet. In this sense it is even rarer than the gen...

BTW, the gen sells at about 10,000 - 13,000 USD on auctions when he surfaces out (not 80,000 as, e.g., a 203). So you should consider that a full modded 028 rep -- provided there will ever exist one -- would cost about 10% of the gen. That is about the same percentage than cheaper models (e.g., a full modded 111 is likely to cost about 400 USD vs about 4500 of the gen).

Now it's up to you.

Thanks sssufer ... looks like you saved me a lot of frustration ... i guess everyones fantasy is that all parts could be had and changed ... then voila ... perfect rep ... i would have to work backwards and that is still no guarantee that it would work out .. oh well back to the drawing board..

[sssurfer]

Thanks sssufer ... looks like you saved me a lot of frustration ... i guess everyones fantasy is that all parts could be had and changed ... then voila ... perfect rep ... i would have to work backwards and that is still no guarantee that it would work out .. oh well back to the drawing board..

You are welcome.

If you are looking for a the easiest rep to mod, naturally they are the base models.

If you want something more complex (e.g. I absolutely need seconds and date) and where you only need to improve the date and cyclops to come to 99.9%, I have a feeling that 2893 (GMT) models are your best choice. Chieftang cyclops provides excellent results on them, and even if Finepics is MIA with his 2893 datewheel, I know for sure that Lello still has a few 2893 datewheels available.

[HauteHippie]

It's a good thing we have trusty sssurfer who knows the ins and outs of these models. I had forgotten about the small lens that increases the mag of my cyclops on the 2892... But, yes, I do now recall the beast, and someone has been able to remove it to achieve appropriate results.

[lanikai]

You are welcome.

If you are looking for a the easiest rep to mod, naturally they are the base models.

If you want something more complex (e.g. I absolutely need seconds and date) and where you only need to improve the date and cyclops to come to 99.9%, I have a feeling that 2893 (GMT) models are your best choice. Chieftang cyclops provides excellent results on them, and even if Finepics is MIA with his 2893 datewheel, I know for sure that Lello still has a few 2893 datewheels available.

Thanks again sssufer ... u saved me a lot of time ... and money .. yes i am going for the GMT's but i want to secure the mag and the date wheel first.. Lello said he has some so as soon as he is up to it i am sure he will get back to me....

recieved my 199 today ... the date wheel is better but still not as thick as gen ... solution is to get genuine ... yeh right ... takes the fun out of the hunt .... the watch kept stopping though at the 5 marker on the ss .. took off the back and thought the mainspring was no good .. after messing with it for half the day it started running ok ... i will have to wait and see though .. i have a spare movement that will replace the one in their if it acts up again... had to change the cg... tooo tight .. could that interfere with the mechanics? .. everytime i pushed in the cg the ss stopped at the 5 marker.. anyway life far from perfect ... the mag is OK and that's all, just OK, and like i said the date wheel is still lacking some steroids in the font .. but it's better than anything else out of the box i guess

[lanikai]

It's a good thing we have trusty sssurfer who knows the ins and outs of these models. I had forgotten about the small lens that increases the mag of my cyclops on the 2892... But, yes, I do now recall the beast, and someone has been able to remove it to achieve appropriate results.

u are right about sssurfer ... anchoring the RWG ... i will get with u for the cyclops soon chieftang ... i was busy playing with my "upgraded" 199 that wouldn't run out of the box ... but the dealer is a great guy and alway's makes good on his product ..so i am not that stressed .. on a scale from 1 to 10 maybe a 6... thanks again guy's i will be in touch... want to get the parts before the watch ... make any sense???????????

[sssurfer]

Thanks guys for your kind words, you make me blush.

@lanikai: I am no watchsmith, but... if it is definitely confirmed that your watch stops at 5 o'clock when the lever is pressed and it runs when the lever is open or loose, then yes, there is a chance that the stem may be a little too longer. Stopping always at the same hour suggests that there is some mechanical impediment somewhere, and as at 5 o'clock there is nothing that can interfere with the movement of the hands (neither the small second hand nor the cyclops), perhaps a long stem might get a little warped by the lever's pressure and interfere with the movement somehow.

Just, in this case, acting on the CG or the lever is not a good solution. If this is the case, the fix is shortening the stem a little -- by filing it on its crown end after emoving it out from the crown.

With a stem replacement ready at hand.

@chieftang: you are absolutely right. I seem to remember that the fellow who removed the small lens out of the 2892-A2 was kruzer00. Anyway, it's a very good thing that your cyclopses perform so impressively on 2893 models rather than on 2892s, being the 2893 waaaaay more widely spreaded across the boards.

[lanikai]

Thanks guys for your kind words, you make me blush.

@lanikai: I am no watchsmith, but... if it is definitely confirmed that your watch stops at 5 o'clock when the lever is pressed and it runs when the lever is open or loose, then yes, there is a chance that the stem may be a little too longer. Stopping always at the same hour suggests that there is some mechanical impediment somewhere, and as at 5 o'clock there is nothing that can interfere with the movement of the hands (neither the small second hand nor the cyclops), perhaps a long stem might get a little warped by the lever's pressure and interfere with the movement somehow.

Just, in this case, acting on the CG or the lever is not a good solution. If this is the case, the fix is shortening the stem a little -- by filing it on its crown end after emoving it out from the crown.

With a stem replacement ready at hand.

@chieftang: you are absolutely right. I seem to remember that the fellow who removed the small lens out of the 2892-A2 was kruzer00. Anyway, it's a very good thing that your cyclopses perform so impressively on 2893 models rather than on 2892s, being the 2893 waaaaay more widely spreaded across the boards.

Thankk you guy's i wil monitor the movement over the next 24 hours .. i have a spare movement so the parts are not the problem ...anyone see the 199 with "correct " ..font and mag .. it is better but not totally correct .. but it's still better than the ones they had on before .. thanks again sssufer and chieftng ... Lello got in touch ... made my morning ..

[red]

SSSurfer has been immensely helpful as I approach the 028 project. I understand its a huge undertaking, but it's my favorite PAM. I might have the 10 grand to buy the gen in the future, but for now I will try my best to mod it.

BTW SSSurger- Were you able to re-do the PVD? I am also meaning to contact you about the cyclops, I got the datewheel from Mark about a week ago.

[sssurfer]

SSSurger- Were you able to re-do the PVD?

I had it PVD re-coated by palpatine.

At that time he was offering beadblasting and PVD recoating by the same company making PVD treatment for the gens, so it was supposed to be exactly gen-like.

But the company had changed the treatment a little between 1999 and 2006, so it actually came out a little too black.

Or maybe it's me that I am a little too picky.

Not a great issue anyway, as PVD treatments differ quite a bit on different instances.

The closest-with-the-gen PVD treatment I heard was that from Finepics. But that option is not available anymore.