Visit to the Panerai Boutique Today.

[cls]

It's nice to see the gens occasionally and get some new perspective on the details. I had them show me a 111 , and a 005 , and took some time browsing at the displays. A few impressions:

The dial fonts are not the same from model to model or dial to dial. The font is basically the same (the A does vary a bit,) but the spacing, the weight, and especially the size varies quite a bit.

The new crown guard with the roller is SMOOTH. The lever is not floppy, but it's not tight either. The watch can be easily wound with the cg lever closed.

The crowns are frequently not so thick. I think the idea that the crowns have to be extra thick comes from the canal street reps of a few years ago and this has been long ago fixed with any quality rep. The crowns are, however, perfectly machined. There is almost no bevel on the edges and they are very sharp and clean.

The fonts on the movements are generally smaller than on the rep, and much cleaner.

Overall, the watch has a very high level of finish and although not everything is discernable at first glance, they just feel more polished. But hey, they have to justify the extra $4k or so somehow.

[deltatahoe]

interesting observations cls -- it's always fun to feel the real thing (and helpful in making purchasing decisions - both rep and gen).

deltatahoe

[lanikai]

interesting observations cls -- it's always fun to feel the real thing (and helpful in making purchasing decisions - both rep and gen).

deltatahoe

Thanks Delta for the observations ... nothing like "in person" visuals.... what really impressed me was not only the very clean lines the last time i visited TIME WERKS .. which is Ben Bridge .... the cyclops was of such excellent quality i could clearly see the font from a meter away .. that to me was amazing.... i wonder what that optical would cost ala carte ... so the $$$ is not all for the name brand...

thanks again....

Edited August 4, 2007 by lanikai

[sssurfer]

Thanks for sharing, cls! Very interesting.

[subzero1]

Yes, the gens have sharper lines on the case (while still having curves and slopes). Only the recent DSN cases match this aspect, the standard rep cases do not. Gens also have better/clearer crystals and better quality AR. Dial printing is sharper, crown is sharper and more polished, these all small details that add up to give a better overall feel to the watch. It's the difference between seeing a rep on a wrist and thinking "wow, that's a cool watch", and seeing a gen and thinking, "wow, that's a NICE watch". The latest DSN's will get you closer to that quality feel, but even they are not quite at that level. Quite close, but still just short.

If you really want an eye opener, compare the rep 212 to the gen 212, the gap is much larger than on the 111 or 005, the 212 gen is amazing in it's overall level of fit and finish and feel of quality.