www_watch Posted June 20, 2006 Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 Paid a little visit to the local "High-End" dealer in my city today to buy a genuine oversized tan calf strap for my newly acquired 111H from Precious Time. A little bit "window shopping" to get started.... very exciting as always. They have simply everything from the big brands. Panerai, IWC, Rolex Patek, Omega, AP..... you name it. The windows are nicely decorated with very interesting watches. Planet Oceans in all versions. Normal size, 45mm, black, orange. GMT Master II black, red-black, Pepsi, YM´s in all the available sizes, Sea-Dweller, No-Date Sub and TT-Daytonas. Only two Panerais. A PAM125 Power Reserve and a PAM159 GMT. After I had seen enough, I went towards the entrance. Some "muscle man" in a fine black suit opened the door and I got in. One of the guys came up to me and asked what he could do for me. I told him what I wanted and he disappeared to see if they had the right thing in stock. I took a look around and thought by myself: "Wow.... smells like the big money in here...." After a few minutes - I had already taken a seat and was enjoying a nice cup of espresso that I was offered by a nice lady - he returned and unfortunately they only had the normal 115/75 sized straps in stock. "Of course we can order it for you. It won´t take long, normally 5-7 days" Hehe... the watch made it faster from PT to my place than this strap will..... After filling out the order form he asked if there would be anything else he could do. I said "yes, do you have anything from Panerai in 40mm size. I´m looking for something for my girlfriend" Man..... good luck that she wasn´t there with me.... otherwise this thing might have ended with me spending money like crazy... "Of course!" he said "I´ll be back in a minute" He came back with a PAM051, white dial and titanium/steel bracelet. This watch is so cute. It´s looking much smaller than a 44mm. But for a watch looking that small it´s heavy as hell.... Price tag: 4600 Euros. Okaaaaay..... I took a closer look at it. Very thin crown. If you have a 051 rep don´t care about the crown. It´s good as it is. Totally different story with the bracelet. I don´t think that the rep industry will ever manage to make a bracelet of that quality. Such a perfect, smooth finish yet built like a tank. Gorgeous! The date mag is also far beyond everything that can be found on reps. Big, bold and sharp. "Do you want to try it on? So you could see the difference to a 44mm model like the one you are wearing" he woke me up from my dream..... "No, thank you very much" I would have loved to but I didn´t dare to take my 111 off and have it on the table in front of him. Maybe he wouldn´t have noticed even then that it is a rep. But it was something else. I suddenly was feeling somewhat uncomfortable inside this shop. I thanked him, grabbed my order receipt and left. Back on the street I felt like an idiot..... "How can you go in there with a rep and let them show you watches for several grands...." There´s a world of replicas and a world of genuines. We love both of them, don´t we? I still want a really nice PO and a PAM212 rep. And I want to go on a nice summer vacation in august. But for christmas this year I´m gonna get me a genuine PAM. I want to take part in BOTH worlds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
700club Posted June 20, 2006 Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 great story thank you for sharing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
700club Posted June 20, 2006 Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 BTW dont feel like an idiot. they are just watches nothing more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yt74 Posted June 20, 2006 Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 Cool story! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehtolcad Posted June 20, 2006 Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 it has been said a thousand times, but it is so interesting to see how well you are treated while wearing a nice watch. and if you think that the panerai virus has a hold of you, you really don't know what it truly means until you handle the real deal. cool story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www_watch Posted June 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 and if you think that the panerai virus has a hold of you, you really don't know what it truly means until you handle the real deal. cool story. That´s it! Exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossanti Posted June 20, 2006 Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 nice story ..I dont have the grand to part on the other world ..the gen world.. but congrats to you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infinitime Posted June 20, 2006 Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 Great story...thanks for sharing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fitmic Posted June 20, 2006 Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 Cool story! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chronus Posted June 20, 2006 Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 Great story.. though I don't think I can pay the thousands for essentially a hand-wind $70 movement.... the new in-house movement is a different story though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willith Posted June 20, 2006 Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 Very cool story. At least you had a nice espresso, but you overpaid for the strap. You should have gotten yourself a nice strap from BOB or one of our dealers here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadog13 Posted June 20, 2006 Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 nice story....but i would never go in a watch store and looking on the gens while wearing a rep... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r11co Posted June 20, 2006 Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 it has been said a thousand times, but it is so interesting to see how well you are treated while wearing a nice watch. Like Duuhhh - he's in a watch shop and they smell money.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www_watch Posted June 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 but you overpaid for the strap. You should have gotten yourself a nice strap from BOB or one of our dealers here. Hmm... IMO it´s ok. And it is not THAT expensive either. I wanted a gen strap and that´s what I´ll get. I like the looks of it and the feel. I´m not really into these extra-thick straps. At least not for the 111. Maybe on a future 212.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craytonic Posted June 20, 2006 Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 The gen straps are worth it if that is what you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stac Posted June 20, 2006 Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 I've been in love with watches since I was 10 years old. Years ago when I was broke I loved my shitty reps and my plated Sieko's...today things are much different for me, much much different financially. I've got lot's of Rolie reps (my favorite) and genuine's. It does not matter to me if I'm wearing a genuine gold submariner or a modded stainless sub from Joshua. Actually, when you look at the whole picture, anyone with cash can walk into a Rolex dealer and buy a watch...all you need is cash. I think my reps are more interesting...to me anyway. It's cloak and dagger stuff. I have some friends that are extremly wealthy, some are watch nuts like me. One of them has two Lambo's and he is bugging me for a stainless rep (from Joshua) so go figure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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