Mini-review of my PAM 243

[Pix]

Hi folks,

trying to review a PAM is for me about as difficult as reviewing a Rolex : whereas other rep brands might sometime be considered as close to perfect, Panerai replicas will always meet an expert who will be able to comment the lever's shape or the marker's curve

Despite this difficulty I made up my mind and decided to try to review in a pretty light and simple way my second Panerai (after the 112H I sold in the meantime) : I will comment as the PAM noob that I am and count on you, experts (you know who you are) to tell me what's good and wrong with my new toy.

So, let's start with some shots.

The 1950 case shape is something I discovered with this watch and I must say I prefer it to the standard case.

Besides it really perfectly fits the submarine theme...

Isn't the crown too thick ?

The only mod I'm able to do by my own : fix the lever

My favorite strap for PAMs : a perforated leather that looks like rubber.

Perfect for the 243. I wish it was thicker... and waterproof

Panerai designers seem to have injected some testosterone in the 243

And why not offering a house for that beast ? I was surprised how good the rep boxes are too.

If there's one brand for which people make a science of how the lume glowes, it's surely Panerai

Of course pictures mean nothing, but I find the lume excellent in the flesh.

Nothing to do with my 112H typical rep lume.

Here's the final wristshot

So...

How is it as a watch ?

When you choose the Submersible models, you expect to get a bulky watch... and that's what you get definitely.

It both looks and feel heavy, and the whole brushed look further develops the masculine aspect of the 243.

As mentionned the 1950 case shape is something unusual, at least for me, and I quickly prefered it to the "conventional" case. Same feeling for the thick crown and crownguard.

Add the bezel which looks like Captain Nemo's Nautilus' porthole, and you get a watch that reminds you of something between a weapon and a vessel. Despite it's chunky aspect, it still keeps a natural grace and balanced aspect thanks to the case shape. Not too much, not too few

As it seems to be a habit on PAM reps, the lever came loose but it was an easy fix. It's true that even without knowing the brand, a loose lever feels cheap. And one drop of Loctite will give it a new solid feel.

The 60 clicks rotating bezel is probably the weakpoint of this watch : it clicks and aligns well, but there is too much gap between 2 clicks : it can move 1 mm righ/left before clicking. I would not say that it's loose, as I describe as loose a bezel that will not hold its position. And that's not the case. I'm afraid there's no way to fix that.

The cyclop is obviously here for decoration only, as it magnifies absolutely nothing. Easy fix ?

The crystal is sapphire, is very slightly curved and has no AR at all. Not sure if I'm going for an aftermarket coating, as it seems it will be a bigger tell for those who know Panerai. Also, I'm not sure if the basic black/white of the dial will benefit a lot of such an operation, unlike watches with busy dials.

The lume ? For me it's very good out of the box. The 6/12 and main hands glow stronger than the markers, but these are however very bright as well after a long enough exposure to light. It's far better than my (former) 112H typical rep lume. The pearl also glowes strong but seem to have a small variation in its tint. Uneven application of the lume ? Nothing serious.

I did not open the case yet, but I suppose that a high-beat A7750 is the core of this piece. At least that's what I can hear...

The 243 came with a rubber strap, which I did not find to be specially well manufactured. I cannot say it's the cheap rubber that takes dust, but its softness and variations in the black colour made me unconvinced about its quality, especially compared with the good level of the rest of the watch. So I went for my favorite PAM strap, waiting to find a good rubber (branded or not).

I'm also glad that the canon pinion typical problems we see on 6497 based reps is not a topic here.

And how is it as a rep ?

That's where I need you

Here are the pictures from Panerai's website for comparison.

Well, I made my homeworks and did a search on this already pretty old rep. I understood there have been 2 versions of the 243, one having an engraved Helium valve, the other not. I'm not sure which is correct, as the official pictures show no marking at all. But TripleS explained me that this might have been a prototype and that the gen would have the marking.

Second tell, the SWISS MADE placement : I just noticed that it's not visible in my pictures, but the real placement should be under the 6, and both the pictures on Panerai's website and the rep have it at each side of the 6. If anyone had a link to an actual picture of the gen, I'd be pleased to raise the doubts and complete my comparison.

The cyclop is something disppointing as mentionned before : it does not change anything in the reading of the date, which must have a wrong datefont as well (too thin)

Other than that, I must say I can't see any obvious difference, which make me conclude that we have an accurate replication.

That's it folks

Hope you enjoyed and that this mini-review was useful. I'd love to update it with experts' remarks.

[Pix]

BTW, anyone has interesting links to good rubber straps (branded or not) ?

Thx

[Stephane]

Very nice "mini" review Pix, as usual.

Great pix too.

It's definitely not my cup of tea but it's been a great time reading your thread

Cheers

Stephane

[Pix]

Thx St

[Stephane]

Thx St

[TeeJay]

Awesome photos, amigo, the watch looks great I know what you mean about the rubber straps... I much prefer the OEM strap to the rep strap available, as, although the rep strap has a darker color, the OEM strap has a nicer texture and buttery softness, which the rep strap just does not capture. Nothing wrong with the rep straps in isolation, but once compared to the OEM, they're pretty lacklustre My suggestion, would be to try and track down an OEM dive strap, then modify the point where the buckle's tongue is placed, so it can be fitted to a deployant clasp That is an awesome combo for a such a watch, just be carefull if removing the deployant, as it might 'bite into' the rubber... I found that out to my cost

As for the watch itself, I think it looks awesome, and the lume is impressive, so that gets a big thumbs up from me

[Pix]

Thx TJ !

Here are some pictures of an actual 243 (not a prototype).

As mentionned the biggest tell is the placement of the T Swiss Made T.

But there's an other one : some kind of valves under the lugs : any idea what that is ? (outside of an immediate tell )

There's some kind of urgent need to flatten te pin that holds the lever...

???

The cyclop and datefont should be part of a mod

And the He valve which is marked

[TeeJay]

Thx TJ ! ???

You're most welcome, always good to read new reviews and see what's about I did have plans to write a comparitive review of my Cect P168+ and my Cect i32 HiPhone, but my wife accidentally threw the P168+ out with some garbage, so I could now only do a 'feature review' and use my existing photos of the P168+, rather than directly comparing the two phones... Oh well...

???

??? Indeed. Looks almost like a depressable gasget of some kind, but why would a lug require such a part??? The only thing I can think, is that it may simply be engraving as a kind of anti-counterfeit marking (which I'm sure it's likely not, but that's the only thing which springs to mind )

[Cucumber_Jones]

New strap pin release mechinsim.

[Pix]

Thx CJ, makes sense

This is also maybe why there's only one each side (total of 2)

That's a bit annoying indeed, is there any rep with such a system ?

@TJ : can't wait for your review of the next generation Micro-wave !

[cue003]

Where did that perforated leather strap come from? I want one of those.....

Thanks

Curtis

[Pix]

Hi Curtis,

I expected this question somehow

Until recently I had to answer "sorry, bought it on ebay and never found it again".

But yesterday I found one on a partner store from Panatime : http://www.nauticfishusa.com/24pedecale11.html

Its drawback is that it's not thick as I'd like.

Hope this helps

[sssurfer]

Hi mate,

congrats on your purchase -- and thanks for the review!

Also a special thanks for the heads up about those devices in the lugs, I was unaware about them.

You already know my opnion about this great watch and I have little to add here.

But -- wow, that lume is great!

About the date... pls would you post a pic of it?

I bet that the problem is the date font rather than the cyclops. In this case a Lello's DW might help.

I am also quite positive that that cyclops is a "recessed" cyclops. You may verify it by examining it with a loupe. If you can see sort of a double outline, or an unusually thick contour, then it is a recessed cyclops.

In this case, beware: replacing a recessed cyclops is a PITA. Almost impossible. The only one I know who was successful in disassembling and reassembling a sandwich crystal / recessed cyclops was Lello himself (on his 024, btw). I ruined a 104 by trying to do the same.

Floppy lever: did you really use Loctite? Not a recommended glue for that fix. Better using an elastic glue or silicon.

But no problem: just use a different glue when your lever becomes floppy again.

Oh well, I hate to focus just on such (minor) faults. All in all, it's a gourgeous watch. Congrats once again, wear it well!

[Watchmeister]

Enjoyable review. And I have very similar observations on mine. Basically an excellent rep. Slippage in the bezel is not a disaster but not great. It is very frustrating to see that they went to the trouble to use a sandwich crystal on this one but then cheaped out on the cyclops and relatives thicknesses on the two crystals. The crystal on the 199 does a far better job on magnification. Unfortunately it obviously does not fit.The engraved He valve is correct as I have seen 3 genuines. I also must say I never noticed the strap changing system either. But then again the first year of the 243 series was the I series and as far as I know the new strap changing system was introduced in the J series. So your rep with no serial number is accurate.

[Pix]

Coool

@TripleS :

- here's a shot of the cyclop. There's no magnification, and if any it's unnoticeable

- I could not see which kind of cyclop it is, as when I try to see it from the side, I'm disturbed by the crystal distortion ; BTW, could someone tell me the advantage of a sandwich crystal ?

- I used Loctite indeed for the lever fix (Super Glue 3) : I first tried with some silicone (the one you use for your batchroom), but the results were not good, as it still moved. I find the Loctite perfect. Of course, you have to carefully clean all excess of glue. And remember, Loctite is not a definitive fix, you can remove it, as it will break if you push the pin out of its place.

Actually I did the same for my former 112, and it was still holding well when I sold it, after 1 year.

I used a very small indirect drop (applied with toothpick) in the lever pinhole.

I'm looking for a rubber strap (which does not take dust), not necessarily Panerai branded (not sure if they're good). I find the Seiko rubber a good alternative. But could not find one neutralized.

Any link ?

[sssurfer]

Pix, I can confirm your cyclops recessed even on the pic only.

You are right, that cyclops is less than sufficient, both the cyclops AND the datewheel may be subject to improvements.

And also kruzer is absolutely right as usual: what a shame to take the hassle to go for a recessed cyclops, just to then fall with a weak cyclops!

Double shame, the date on other submersibles I saw in past times was excellent, thanks to a good recessed cyclops and a good DW font.

A good recessed cyclops is a wonderful thing as it gives two benefits:

1. It increases the distance between the cyclops and the date window, so that the magnifying effect by the cyclops gets enhanced.

2. It leaves more room for the hands.

As a matter of fact, many genuine models have a recessed cyclops -- the submersibles among them.

On the other hand, a recessed cyclops brings issues to the manufacturer about getting a hole of the perfect size and shape in the inner layer of the sandwich crystal, where the cyclops sits.

That is why it's really a shame that, after getting those issues sorted out, the maker used a less-than-perfect cyclops.

As I said, replacing a recessed cyclops is a task for the bold and the brave only.

But you could get a 50% improvement by using a better DW -- Lello's if possible, else DSN's.

[Pix]

Good to know and I'll leave my hands off the thing.

Well Lello DW will cost me more than 30% of the price, so I'll happily live with what I have here as, even with these flaws, it's an incredible watch.

[Toadtorrent]

Thanks for the nice read! I was just at the AD looking at this and thought I would get more info on it. Very nice!