reficul Posted July 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 would not advise you to remove ar from inside of crystal ... Do it from the outside .... check with the tech guy's REGARDING CRYSTAL PRESSURE ....( I used a vise grip pliers on my fiddy ... could not find a case back opener...LOL) sssurfer ..watchmeister ... delta ... flav.. The Zigmeister ... chieftang.. et all ...LIVE STRONG WEAR IT WELL I see, I will be extra careful with I try to remove the AR then. Thanks a million for that advice! I never thought of that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sssurfer Posted July 20, 2007 Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 well, I will need to redo the case so that the CG appears to be sitting away from the case more. Currently, you cannot really see the "flat" side of the CG before the curvy side of it. Secondly, I will need to remove the irritating AR from the crystal. The gen AR is sooo subtle that you almost can't see any AR at all. Thirdly, I will do a final finish touchup on the crown surface as the finishing currently appears a little too rough. I will also need to redo the inside of the CG lever too. And finally, I will remove those fingerprints on the gears, swan neck regulator and the movement bridges.... And maybe some little touch up here and there.... Wow, you are heading to really ultimating an ultimate! Congrats, don't miss to let us know your results. would not advise you to remove ar from inside of crystal ... Do it from the outside .... check with the tech guy's REGARDING CRYSTAL PRESSURE ....( I used a vise grip pliers on my fiddy ... could not find a case back opener...LOL) lanikai, are you telling that you have been able to remove a crystal by pulling it from the outside, instead of pushing it from the inside after opening the case and removing the movement? Also thanks for the aluminium mag tip. I thought that only diamond abrasive past would be able to work on sapphire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanikai Posted July 20, 2007 Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 (edited) Wow, you are heading to really ultimating an ultimate! Congrats, don't miss to let us know your results. lanikai, are you telling that you have been able to remove a crystal by pulling it from the outside, instead of pushing it from the inside after opening the case and removing the movement? Also thanks for the aluminium mag tip. I thought that only diamond abrasive past would be able to work on sapphire. OOPsss .... wrong choice of semantics on my part ... I interpreted the removal of the crystal as: removing it to remove the AR coating on a double sided AR coated sapphire .. on the inside... i was saying it would be better to remove it from the outside of the crystal .. leave the coating on the inside alone Yes the polished used to polish .. billet aluminum .. found a lot on Harley customs ... it was a nice suprise to see the scratch come out of the crystal ... it had the Ar coating on it and that's how i found out you could use that to remove part of the coating .. it was a pretty deep scratch.... on the metal, if you want to get out fine scratches a undershirt and the mag polish will do ... deep scratches .. you can use Jewelers rouge with a dremel.. then use the mag polish with a dremel and finish with a soft cloth and the mag polish .. 3 steps ..like with Gold polishing Edited July 20, 2007 by lanikai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babola Posted July 21, 2007 Report Share Posted July 21, 2007 (edited) And oh, Babola, what strap is that in your Fiddy as shown in your avatar? Looks really neat! I am hunting for a vintage looking tan strap for mine. It's BoB's Vintage Light-brown Buffalo, extra vintage-ized and darkened by normal wear and tear Am a self confessed Fiddy-freak, it's been on my wrist for some 90% of weekends Not sure if these are still available, I bought it some 2 yrs ago. cheers, babola Edited July 21, 2007 by babola Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sssurfer Posted July 21, 2007 Report Share Posted July 21, 2007 OOPsss .... wrong choice of semantics on my part ... I interpreted the removal of the crystal as: removing it to remove the AR coating on a double sided AR coated sapphire .. on the inside... i was saying it would be better to remove it from the outside of the crystal .. leave the coating on the inside alone Ah, now I understand. Apologies, it was because of my poor English. Just, I also missed to correctly understand what you said as I was (and I am) assuming that Davidsen's AR is inner-side only. Yes the polished used to polish .. billet aluminum .. found a lot on Harley customs ... it was a nice suprise to see the scratch come out of the crystal ... it had the Ar coating on it and that's how i found out you could use that to remove part of the coating .. it was a pretty deep scratch.... on the metal, if you want to get out fine scratches a undershirt and the mag polish will do ... deep scratches .. you can use Jewelers rouge with a dremel.. then use the mag polish with a dremel and finish with a soft cloth and the mag polish .. 3 steps ..like with Gold polishing Good to know and thanks again for the tip! I may add that I too verified that a polishing paste, petroleum/nafta based, was the most effective way to remove the usual AR coat. Cape Cod cloths are almost alike that. Naturally they are not effective on removing deep scratches from metal, and they are safe on sapphire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanikai Posted July 21, 2007 Report Share Posted July 21, 2007 (edited) Ah, now I understand. Apologies, it was because of my poor English. Just, I also missed to correctly understand what you said as I was (and I am) assuming that Davidsen's AR is inner-side only. Good to know and thanks again for the tip! I may add that I too verified that a polishing paste, petroleum/nafta based, was the most effective way to remove the usual AR coat. Cape Cod cloths are almost alike that. Naturally they are not effective on removing deep scratches from metal, and they are safe on sapphire. Exactly sssurfer ..... most polishes contain petrolium by-products.. what is different about the aluminium paste is it resembles the jewelers polish in that it is for a metal that is already highly polished ... that process means sanding the aluminum down in different grades of grit in the paper ... same thing with Stainless Steel ... you would think the makers would not go so over board in their AR's ... it is really nice when in sunlight but far from looking like the genuine crystal And again it is not poor English because I do not speak Italian.. or German ... still working on American English... not the Queens English, so everyone outside of USA is one up on us .. Edited July 21, 2007 by lanikai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbrad Posted July 21, 2007 Report Share Posted July 21, 2007 - Congrats!! It's a beauty! I have just got mine also, I like it a lot. I have to do a comp b/w it and my highly modded Fiddy (this one) - for some observations: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reficul Posted July 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 Thats a wonderful piece! May I ask if your dial fonts (LUMINOR PANERAI 1950) is the correct ivory color? Mine appears a little too dark and dull. I have Davidsen to send me another in fact. Here is the long awaited pics of unmodded mine with comparison to a 217: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sssurfer Posted July 22, 2007 Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 Here is the long awaited pics of unmodded mine with comparison to a 217: Thanks for the great pics! I seem to recognize that the most evident difference between our reps and the gen is the deepness of the dial black... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted July 22, 2007 Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 What i dont see between the rep and gen is where the other $8000 went to on the gen, Reficul, now you have a good rep would you say that you get value for money on the gen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reficul Posted July 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 What i dont see between the rep and gen is where the other $8000 went to on the gen, Reficul, now you have a good rep would you say that you get value for money on the gen? LOL.... no way that I would think that my 217 was worth that money! LOL And why did I buy it? nah, it was from a trade, for my other vintages and I did earn a little from that as the trade value was pretty low on the 217. Anyway, I will sell this 217 soon when the price is right in future. Will enjoy it in the meantime. Bottom line is, keep your rep. Its no point getting the gen IMHO, an opinion from someone who LOVES Panerai and someone who HAS a gen. LOL.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reficul Posted July 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 Thanks for the great pics! I seem to recognize that the most evident difference between our reps and the gen is the deepness of the dial black... I think it might be due to the dumb AR on the crystal and the thickness of the crystal. Actually, for the gen, it looks as though it is AR-less. You really need to bring the watch to a certain angle and peer and SCRUTINIZE real hard to see a tiny glimpse of it. So, if yours is spotting the mineral version, it looks very close to the gen in fact! And with the non-exploding crystal (by DSN), the centre of the crystal for the rep loooks a little too heavy weighted in the center. Guess its DSN's method to prevent the self-ingnited explosion. (LOL) Well, maybe its a technology that Panerai has with this special domed sapphire xtal that rep is unable to do currently? I really have no idea. *shrugs* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evildee Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 (edited) Thats a wonderful piece! May I ask if your dial fonts (LUMINOR PANERAI 1950) is the correct ivory color? Mine appears a little too dark and dull. I have Davidsen to send me another in fact. Here is the long awaited pics of unmodded mine with comparison to a 217: It is not the correct color and I am only judging from real fiddy pictures. Also if you notice the "1" at the 12 is not correct either. Also, the matte finish on the dial is too matte and the top sandwich is too thin. Luckily I bought a replacement dial back when I ordered the watch 4 months ago that will correct these flaws. Edited July 23, 2007 by evildee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reficul Posted July 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 It is not the correct color and I am only judging from real fiddy pictures. Also if you notice the "1" at the 12 is not correct either. Also, the matte finish on the dial is too matte and the top sandwich is too thin. Luckily I bought a replacement dial back when I ordered the watch 4 months ago that will correct these flaws. Hello Evildee, That is absolutely correct. Can point me to the right person or place to get this dial? If you can, please PM me. Thank you again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 Thanks Reficul, A nice honest answer, i hope you make a good deal when you trade on or sell the 217. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sssurfer Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 Correcting the "1" in the "12" should not be too hard... just a steady hand and a tiny file... As for the sapphire, I read that there are different (and differently expensive) ways to grow a synthetic sapphire... The sapphire on our reps is -- naturally -- the less expensive, and it is characterized by a rose tone when looked at proper angles... The most expensive is absolutely crystal-clear... and a perfect design might make it less inclined to explode even if thinner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reficul Posted July 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 Correcting the "1" in the "12" should not be too hard... just a steady hand and a tiny file... As for the sapphire, I read that there are different (and differently expensive) ways to grow a synthetic sapphire... The sapphire on our reps is -- naturally -- the less expensive, and it is characterized by a rose tone when looked at proper angles... The most expensive is absolutely crystal-clear... and a perfect design might make it less inclined to explode even if thinner. I agree with you. I actually managed to strip the AR yesterday.... Alot of hard work as I tried a few methods and one of the method actually leave a small scratch in the crystal! No kidding! Not as tough as I thought... I will post some pictures on the process of the AR stripping in another post to help others who might be interested to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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