capt_cope Posted October 19, 2007 Report Share Posted October 19, 2007 Right, so I picked up a 90 recently with a busted stem (fixed with a little help from my dear friend Dacron 5 min epoxy ) and while it's a great looking watch, the case and CG are ridiculously cheap looking and feeling next to even my Asian 111 from Andrew. Now I already tried swapping the parts, and nothing fits (the 90's got a larger crystal, differently spaced holes for the cg, and a different threading on the case back.) So does anyone know of a good way to fix this up? Or am I going to have to take matters into my own hands (meaning my hands, holding a dremel, file, and sandpaper?) Oh yeah and this stupid button for quick-set date makes me want to shoot whoever thought of it. I'll take good old slow date before I take another hole in a pam case, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sssurfer Posted October 19, 2007 Report Share Posted October 19, 2007 I am surprised that your crystal is larger than others. It should rather be smaller, i.e. 34.93mm diameter instead of 35.5mm. What diameter is yours, exactly? (further advice depending on the answer). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt_cope Posted October 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2007 35.9918 mm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sssurfer Posted October 19, 2007 Report Share Posted October 19, 2007 35.9918 mm. Argh. Your 090 looks quite different from mine. Ok, as far as I know the case of Silix' 027 is the only case without a quick date pusher that is able to accept a caseback as large as the 090's. So your best option is to get the Silix' 027 (80 USD), and replace its movement+dial and caseback with those from your 090. Most likely you will also need to remove the 027 original cyclops and reposition it (or replace it with the cyclops from your 090) in the correct position for the 090 dial. This is as the 090's Seagull 2530 movement has its date window placed a little more outwards than the Asian 21J movement that comes in Silix' 027. You might also need to file down the 090 dial a little in order to make it fit into the 027 case, but that is easier than filing or dremeling anything else. Warning: I can't be sure that Silix' 027 case is better than your 090 case. But you will surely get rid of the quick date pusher that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulw Posted October 19, 2007 Report Share Posted October 19, 2007 I'm having the same issue with my 090 so this is of interest to me. Aslo, I'm wondering whether a DSN Crystal would fit the 027 case, or even the original 090 case? On this Crystal I plan to instal a Chieftang Cyclops. I like the 090 but want Saphire and to be rid of the date changer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt_cope Posted October 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2007 I'll have to look into it. Does anyone who owns a 27 from sillix happen to know if the cg holes are the same as other pams? Is there a "general" size for that? That and the date pusher are the two HUGE problems with this watch. The dial looks pretty nice from what I can see, but this case is just laughable. One of those "decent rep, terrible watch" kinda watches. My 111 was a terrible rep, but an excellent watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sssurfer Posted October 19, 2007 Report Share Posted October 19, 2007 Also, I'm wondering whether a DSN Crystal would fit the 027 case, or even the original 090 case? Just ask Davidsen for the diameter of his crystal. But most PAMs have a 35.5mm diameter crystal, while capt_cope's 090 is almost 36mm, my 090 is less than 35mm, and my 027 is less than 35mm too. 0.1-0.2mm tolerances may be acceptable thanks to the teflon gasket on which the crystal sits, but 0.3+mm are too much. On this Crystal I plan to instal a Chieftang Cyclops. Be warned that a Chieftang cyclops might result a little overpowered on a 090, given the additional small lens on the ST-2530 date window. The main problem with the 090's date is not magnification, it is its datewheel bad font. Member Lello is considering to make improved datewheels for this movement. If he gets interest enough he might go on with this project. But so far he got too few subscriptions. Btw, if you are paulw also on RWI, your interest has been booked already. Does anyone who owns a 27 from sillix happen to know if the cg holes are the same as other pams? Is there a "general" size for that? Unfortunately, there is no general size for that. The CG holes in the Silix' 027 are of the small type: thin screws, and short distance between them (13.5mm). But why are you interested in them? Do you plan to transplant your 090's CG on the Silix's case? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt_cope Posted October 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2007 Oh heck no. This cg is the ugliest, cheapest looking/feeling one I've ever seen. It's got sharp corners and a tiny pin. It's really the biggest flaw on the watch. (Maybe it's just me, but something like that I can spot on someone's wrist, date-font, the shape of the A in Panerai, those things I can't see on a moving wrist, so they aren't terribly important to me.) I'm close to drilling out the hole and fitting a larger pin, and I'm real close to griding on the cg itself to make it more appealing. If I could get away with it I'd find a way to fit the 111 cg on it, it's already a far better shape, and has the right pin, but alas the holes don't line up, and the cases have a different curve. Surprisingly the crown is pretty nice. too few teeth, but very good bevels on the side of the teeth, gives it the impression of being quite fat, much like the gen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulw Posted October 20, 2007 Report Share Posted October 20, 2007 Thanks for your help ssurfer, may I ask were you sourced your 090, does it have Saphire? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sssurfer Posted October 20, 2007 Report Share Posted October 20, 2007 Thanks for your help ssurfer, may I ask were you sourced your 090, does it have Saphire? You are welcome. I seem to remember that I got my 090 from TTK (I can't verify it as it happened during the lost months in RWG I). Unfortunately no, it does not have sapphire. Just sent you a PM about the 090 datewheel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt_cope Posted October 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 Thanks for the answers SS. I think I'm going to end up botching this together using some hand tools Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sssurfer Posted October 21, 2007 Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 Thanks for the answers SS. I think I'm going to end up botching this together using some hand tools Best wishes, capt. Let us know how this comes out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt_cope Posted October 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 Best wishes, capt. Let us know how this comes out. HA HA! Success! Alright it's not perfect... yet. But belive me it's damn close. I got to thinking "man you're so damn good at everything chances are you can whip that 111cg into shape and fit it onto that 90 case." so I took out my needle files, a tube of flitz, and some auto body sandpaper (1000 and 1200 grit) and voila. In the time from my last post to now, I've managed to enlarge one of the screw holes (the one UNDER the lever, to hide my nefarious activity) polish the brushed cg, and trim the cg to fit the case. Now I've got the big, fat, flat, flush pin in my cg, and it's polished. I need a bit more trimming to get the cg completely flush, but it's close enough you wouldn't notice until I hand it to you. Just thought I'd update you all before I take it apart and keep filing the cg. just a side note: whatever pot metal these cg are made of, it files like brass and aluminum. Which is great if you use hand tools, and it polishes up incredibly easy. But if you try a dremel ... be CAREFUL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sssurfer Posted October 21, 2007 Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 Congrats, please show us some pics when you are done! Are you going to keep the CG fixed to the case by one screw only? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted October 21, 2007 Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 Late to the thread and I may have missed something but has anyone found a case which works with the original movement spacer and doesn't have the side button to adjust the date? I would live with having to "manually" set the date to get rid of the button. If it exists I would contribute a couple of datewheels to the Lello project. I tried one case but it didn't work in terms of movement spacer or proper height with the the case tube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajoesmith Posted October 21, 2007 Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 Late to the thread and I may have missed something but has anyone found a case which works with the original movement spacer and doesn't have the side button to adjust the date? I would live with having to "manually" set the date to get rid of the button. If it exists I would contribute a couple of datewheels to the Lello project. I tried one case but it didn't work in terms of movement spacer or proper height with the the case tube. Me too I tried a PAM 63 case and it didnt work due to the height with the case tube. Id also love to get a proper case but i think the PAM 90 case is slightly thicker than other PAM cases due to the movement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sssurfer Posted October 21, 2007 Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 I'll try a few different cases as soon as I'll get my 090 dial back (currently on reluming). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted October 21, 2007 Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 Sssurfer- That would be great. I always wondered if one of the brushed case Asian 21j's would work. Actually if you have any Asian 21j case I can always order a couple from one of the dealers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sssurfer Posted October 21, 2007 Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 Stay assured I'll let you know, W. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajoesmith Posted October 21, 2007 Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 sssurfer, If you have any 7750 movement panerais, its case might work as i think its thicker than the ETA 2836 movement case that i tried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt_cope Posted October 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 Another update: I made a boo boo: I stripped the threads on the cg screws. But being that it's a cheap watch (and I can pry it off if need be, had to once allready) I epoxied the cg on. Looks real good now, better than I expected. Since this is turning into a frankenstein, I figured... what the heck, why not go balls to the wall? I'm currently testing some different solders to see which one polishes up most like the case material. Guess where I'm going yet? If you answered "why cope you're going to fill in that ugly hole in the side of the case!" you're right. More to follow once/if I find a good match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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