Jimmyzfu

[stagfan]

Excuse me for this question. What is the difference of standard PAMs with Jimmyzfu parts?

Thanks again...

[Watchmeister]

Cases have slightly different lugs, bezels are a little closer in proportion and case tube is larger than on reps (but accurate to a specific gen), original sapphire crystals are to spec on thickness, crown guards are correctly sized and come with a sleeve to give the lever an action more consistent with gen. But all his parts are based on one particular watch and as such are not necessarily right for later series models. Unfortunately, it got so frustrating dealing with his suppliers that he stopped making the parts. Some reps are very close on quality on those items.

[PAMman]

Jimmy Fu is a respected Paneristi and he had an idea to produce his 'own' watch similar to a Panerai. Consequently he had 200 cases, bezels, plain display casebacks and crownguards manufactured using his D series 001 as a pattern. These parts were 1:1 copies of the genuine Panerai 44mm models and remain the only rep case with the correct shaped lugs and case profile for the Vendome (Swiss) series of watches. The normal rep case is closer in profileand lug shape to the preV case such as the 5218/201A logo watch, although it has threaded lugs like the later production watches. A small number of preV watches had threaded lugs so it may be an accurate copy of one of those.

As an interesting aside, amongst the first decent Panerai reps were the 005 models which had a very accurate copy of the 5218/201A caseback. This caseback carries the 0348 serial number, which belongs to 'Mr Yellow'. It would be interesting to know if he was a willing participant in the first generation rep production, as I understand he's from that part of the world also.

[Guest avitt]

JF cases also have a finish that is superior to the average rep case. This is most easily observed on the back of the case, which lacks the commonly found machine marks around the lugs.

[archibald]

JF cases also have a finish that is superior to the average rep case. This is most easily observed on the back of the case, which lacks the commonly found machine marks around the lugs.

Jimmy Parts are a fine (and sadly rare and expensive anymore) investment for any PAM rep collector. The descriptions above are dead on accurate--here are a few differences between Jimmy parts and gen:

--the difference in finish between a jimmy guard and a gen guard is about as much as the difference in finish between a rep guard and a jimmy guard--which is to say noticeable to a hard core collector, but minimal on the wrist.

--There is some variation in Jimmy cases and CG's For example: comparing 3 Jimmy cases side by side w/ a gen E series 086 as I type this, the Jimmy lugs are .25mm to .88mm farther apart--@ .88mm there is a noticeable gap between strap and inside of the lugs. Comparing 2 Jimmy CG's there is a noticeable gap between lever and CG "body" on one and a too-short pin on the other.

--some of Jimmy's crystals are glass--he was ripped off by is supplier who swapped glass for sapphire midway through production.

Also...a couple hints: The fastest way to tell the difference between a jimmy case and a rep case is to look for a indentation between the lugs. If your case has it it's a rep case. A rep crystal can be made to fit a jimmy case, but you'll have to glue it.

[ravishingrick]

A rep crystal can be made to fit a jimmy case, but you'll have to glue it.

You can get a rep crystal to fit a jimmy case perfectly, but you need a jimmy bezel and a jimmy teflon retaining crystal ring that originally came with his crystals. The ring that comes with the rep can not hold the crystal to the case. Because of its thinness the crystal will simply fall out if you hold the watch upside down. The jimmy teflon retaining ring is much ticker the the one that comes with the rep. I used a jimmy teflon ring, bezel and case with a rep crystal. They fit to perfection, but you need a crystal press and allot of patience, nerve and skill to press the crystal straight down. It takes allot of pressure, my watchsmith chickend out on a previous 111H project because he was afraid of smashing the crystal... So I did it myself this time... Result perfection....

Here is an example of a jimmy configuration with rep crystal...

Also for the other readers an example of a jimmy case with jimmy crown guard and palp crown...

[kye_lin]

Jimmy Fu is a respected Paneristi and he had an idea to produce his 'own' watch similar to a Panerai. Consequently he had 200 cases, bezels, plain display casebacks and crownguards manufactured using his D series 001 as a pattern. These parts were 1:1 copies of the genuine Panerai 44mm models and remain the only rep case with the correct shaped lugs and case profile for the Vendome (Swiss) series of watches. The normal rep case is closer in profileand lug shape to the preV case such as the 5218/201A logo watch, although it has threaded lugs like the later production watches. A small number of preV watches had threaded lugs so it may be an accurate copy of one of those.

As an interesting aside, amongst the first decent Panerai reps were the 005 models which had a very accurate copy of the 5218/201A caseback. This caseback carries the 0348 serial number, which belongs to 'Mr Yellow'. It would be interesting to know if he was a willing participant in the first generation rep production, as I understand he's from that part of the world also.

Do you mean that the current rep cases are more similar to the PreV cases, in shape and measurements?? Thanks.

[PAMman]

Do you mean that the current rep cases are more similar to the PreV cases, in shape and measurements?? Thanks.

Yes.

However, most of the preV cases did not have threaded lugs and used a solid threaded bar / tube with a short screw through both lugs instead. It needed 2 screwdrivers to remove and was very fiddly, but had the advantage of any damaged threads being in the removable bar which could be replaced easily.

BTW there is a comparison shot showing the different profiles of the preV and later cases on one of the Paneristi or ViaPaneristi Archive sections.

As far as the rep crystal fitting Jimmy's case is concerned I fully agree that it fits perfectly if you are using his bezel and teflon ring. That's what I have in my franken, with a gen tritium dial, gen tritium hands, gen crown & stem, gen CG & screws with a Jimmy Fu case & bezel. It all fits together 100% correctly and feels like my gen 005 - SWEET.

Edited October 8, 2007 by PAMman

[babola]

As mentioned above, while so called "jimmyfu" case set is probably the nicest 44mm Luminor rep case you can get these days, it varies in quality, finish and fit from case to case, CG to CG, and it's far from being a 'perfect rep case' - the term many noobs use these days when refering to a particular case.

Also, the lack of prominent cut between the lugs is not only a feature that came on Jimmy's cases and gen pre-E Series 44mm Luminor cases - old-school Pam repo cases from late 2005/early 2006 also come without it, I myself own 3 of the starndard (not JimmyFu) rep cases from that period, 2 S/S and one PVD, with thicker sapphire without A/R - the cases are perfect, and currently housing my 001,002 and 009 B-series, solid casebacks.

These old rep cases are extremely 1:1 with both JimmyFu and Gen cases of the pre-E series (pre 2002) era, and are keepers

FYI, Panerai introduced cut between the lugs on their recent series, and the current standard rep cases match it to a tee. That said, I'm not a big fan of standard 44mm Luminor rep cases since the dimensions have slightly changed some 9 months ago, and the case is now slightly wider and not visualy that close to gen any more.

As Pamman mentioned above, JimmyFu's cases have their place, but if you're after a perfect 'historic' match for the later gen PAMs (elongated lugs, no cut between the lugs, A/R on xtal)...it ain't exactly perfect

cheers,

babola

Edited October 8, 2007 by babola

[PAMman]

In one of the above posts I mentioned an article that compared the older preVendome cases with the more modern Swiss cases.

Here's a link (replace the hxxt with http) hxxp://www.paneristi.com/archives/casedifferences/index.html

If you compare one of the normal rep cases it should be obvious that it is closer to the 5218/201A case than the more modern PAM88. Not only are the lugs different but the overall shape of the case is different. The rep has higher corners and is less curved overall. Jimmy Fu's is the same as the main casing of the PAM88, which is compared in the photo, but don't forget that the autos have a different profile bezel to the handwound watches