Ferrari Granturismo Chrono FER006 Review

[anton]

Letely I've been in a buying frenzy with watches. It could be that the holiday season is coming up, happier developments have come into my life, a bonus from work, or maybe even a combination of the three. Rather than be like your average and run down to my local AD to go apes**t over watches (okay, I admit I did purchase one gen), I took a trip downtown to see my regular dealer and saw what he had in stock.

Prior to that, I woke up in the middle of the night saying to myself, "I need a gold watch"; and this is what I picked up:

Those who recognized it from TTK's pictures will know it as the Ferrari 008, the Granturismo Chronograph. It's rose gold in color and its' diameter is 45mm, about 61mm from lug to lug. It comes equipped with an Asian 7750 in a bicompax configuration, with seconds @ 9 and minutes @ 3.

Here's a closeup shot of the dial:

As you can see, the crystal is coated a pretty heavy coating of AR (think HBB) and on both sides. The dial sports a "Clous de Paris" pattern, virtually invisible from most distances except close-up. The subdials give you a visual effect of them bring recessed, but they are in fact flat on the dial; it's the dial rings that are raised. Dial printing is superb, with no notice of apparent inconsistency or "print bleeding".

Side Profiles:

I don't know what else to say other than the pictures explain it themselves. You can see that attention is paid to the aesthetic function to the watch, from the lines to the patterns, shapes and finish of the screwdown pushers. I am glad to say that I was fortunate to own a Panerai rep where the lug screws don't need to be replaced as they are flush with both case ends.

Caseback:

Deployant Buckle:

Again, attention to detail is displayed here. Compared to your standard Rep buckle, the fonts finally look correct in the "OFFICINE PANERAI" and I like how the rear of the buckle has a hexagonal pattern. The manufacturer could have easily left that out without complaint from any of the buyers.

The wath comes standard with a black croc strap with white stiching and a red underside. The ferrari insignia is stamped into another patch then sewn onto the strap. It looks great. Only the test of time will tell how well they hold up.

Flaws:

I would say that this particular model belongs in the elite group of the "SupeReps" (I know it's Super Reps) because the watch in itself doesn't have a glaring flaw unless one studies it. I could have sworn I was wearing the real thing, until:

Obviously, this should be made of solid 18kt gold. Since the rep is only plated, it doesn't have the heft that the gen has. But might I add, however that the manufacturer DOES have the correct tint down.

The caseback is missing some numbers, like actual reference numbers and series production run. I knew the numbers on my caseback looked familiar, since they also come from the caseback of the Panerai 212/253!

The gen buckle should have the stallion engraved, not the insignia. The only evidence I have to support my claim is what is shown on Panerai's website. Until then, go with what you got!

And last, but not least:

If it's rose gold, then why is "STAINLESS STEEL" on the buckle?!?!?!

A simple answer would be that the manufaurer pulled the buckle from the parts bin and plated it.

Overall impressions:

This is one serious timepiece. It's finely crafted and superbly constructed. It is compared to be almost flawless when putting it up against other PAM reps and it well deserves to be. Sure, you may have your little flaws here and there, but it's a rep, right? You kind of expect that kind of thing. On the other hand, it IS one of the most accurate and best "out of the box" reps I have EVER seen.

Who do I have to blame as the cause for me giving in to the gold supply? Two people: JFreeman420 and Flavor_Flav.

[jkpadget2]

Great Review, I have been sitting on the fence about this one, but now Im leaning towards purchasing it.

[mezzanine]

Very impressive watch. I'm not much for gold, but if I was, this would probably be near the top of the list. Especially with the really strong AR- I feel with large crystal diameter watches that it's a necessity.

[Watchmeister]

Looks great. Wear it well.

[rolli]

this gold ferrari is on my list too.

rolli

[dluddy]

It's a looker - enjoy

[hambone]

Nice review Anton and that is a fantastic watch you have, a super rep for sure. This one has also been on 'the list' and your review was most helpful.

[anton]

Here is a picture of the underside of the buckle; truly a marked improvement in this industry where most stampings on the frontside can be seen on the backside:

[Watchmeister]

Beautiful watch but it is too funny. They can get the perlage on the underside of the buckle correct but can't get rid of "stainless".

[coolfire]

Great pics, anton!

TTK mentioned that this model is PVD'd RG... I'm very tempted to get one too... But where I live, it's really humid, and I'm not confident of the RG holding up... nevertheless, a beautiful horse...