Pam 089 mods in progress

[Jurgenk]

Just thought I'd share some pictures of this project

First the original watch as it arrived from River, with a missing minute tick at 9 pm but otherwise pretty nice for stock:

Principle flaws being the dial, the crownguard pin, the relatively thin datefont and weaker cyclops, and the misproportioned minute hand and GMT hand

Then after a new updated dial from Andrew and a lello datewheel:

Notice that the 6 mm date bubble is insufficient to bring out the potential of the lello datewheel

Then after a filing down of the crownguard pin:

These fixes seemed to make the other flaws (oversize GMT hand, smallish minute hand) stand out more than even before.

Murphy's law of rep modding I guess. So the saga continues:

Then after a replacement with DSN's superlumed updated 089 hand set, and single AR'd sapphire with 7 mm cyclops:

The date bubble on DSN's crystal helps bring out lello's DW better, and reduces the poor visibility due to sunken datewheel from GMT mod. Finally I have a GMT hand that does not look like clown shoes!

And of course the gen for comparison:

My crown is 2mm on this stock rep, luckily, so I don't think I will be replacing it, and otherwise I think this is the end of the line for this watch. The sunken date wheel is noticeable but much better with DSN's cyclops and beautiful crystal. His hands are better than previous issues, and in fairness, I have seen some gen PAM 7750 based GMT watches with hands more similar to his than the squared off minute hand base of this particular gen. So I am calling this a 97.5% rep, at least when viewed straight on. I don't think I'll go with DSN's dial as the stock from Andrew and others is currently not that bad...

[RWG Technical]

Well done and well documented.

It would have been nice to reduce your efforts and have the correct parts all at once so you didn't have to keep taking it apart, but I guess that is the life of reps and doing upgrades.

Thanks for sharing.

RG

[dluddy]

Looks great. Nicely done

[Jurgenk]

Thanks for the compliments!

Thx The ZigmeisterZumba-- in the words of Michael Meyers, "we're not worthy!"

I could go a step further and save a lot more trouble by getting all the parts from DSN at once, and letting him put them together and send me a finished watch. I would have saved about $100 and about 3 months of waiting, but hey, where's the fun in that?

The 7750 did not enjoy being pulled apart repeatedly... But on the plus side, I now have a better understanding of the 7750 engine sans the chrono modules. It's a lot simpler without all that extra junk.

[beefy6969]

Hi Jurgenk,

Can you confirm that all of the 089 Pams sold now by many dealers are the new version?

They all should have better dial, hands, cyclops, and a tick at 9 o'clock now correct?

And the only difference with these & the DSN version is that David superlume his?

[Jurgenk]

My understanding is that the new "ultimate" 088 has upgraded hands, datefont, cyclops but still recessed/small datewheel window, and average rep lume.

I haven't seen any offering of an "ultimate" 089 at the moment.

My info is that DSN's offering is the best out of the box 089 you can get still, but you can use his parts with a stock 089 like I have to get a hybrid.

Edited October 31, 2008 by Jurgenk

[scoobs1971]

My info is that DSN's offering is the best out of the box 089 you can get still, but you can use his parts with a stock 089 like I have to get a hybrid.

Looks great!

So the DSN dial fits a standard rep case 1:1 or did you have to cut the dial to make it fit?

[ifly65]

Nice mods. I am starting to see the addiction to reps. Its all about making them as accurate as possible...will it show up? will it be in one piece? how can I make it better? I dont even know how to take the crown post off of a watch yet. I used to fly RC helicopters...now watches.

[archibald]

My understanding is that the new "ultimate" 088 has upgraded hands, datefont, cyclops but still recessed/small datewheel window, and average rep lume.

My info is that DSN's offering is the best out of the box 089 you can get still, but you can use his parts with a stock 089 like I have to get a hybrid.

Excellent job!!

I'm working on an 089 franken (gen dial and hands). Some random thoughts:

You have to use the DSN case because it's the only one that says titanium. It needs to be rebrushed to the more aggressive OEM specs.

The ultimate hands look spot on to the gen hands

I'm using one of kruzers gen Ti crowns, which I hope will work w/ a 1.2 to .9 adapter

I hope the PAM 36 rep CG I paid through the nose for will fir the DSN case, since the DSN guard has typical DSN workmanship, which is to say awful. Anyone done this swap?

I can't decide whether or not to use the DSN movement w/ lello DW and DSN xtal w/ a watchmen cyclops or buy an ultimate 88, swap out the movement and xtal (and sell an unultimate 88 to recoup part of the cost).

I don't understand why the GMT mod would create a gap, since it's my understanding there are no transfer gears or a top plate that usually create the gap. If there is a gap on my project I'll be seriously bummed.

Just as a note: the rep 089 dial is excellent. Aside from the A's and the subdial printing there wouldn't be a hell of a lot of difference between a franken and a well-lumed rep.

Congrats on the 89. With the ultimate hand fix and excellent dial, this could be one of the most accurate GMT reps avaliable, W/ a few simple mods right up there w/ the honpo 29. The added bonus is that it also provides a little variety from the glut of polished steel/black dial PAMs we all have in our collections.

[jetzeus]

Question...how did you file down the crown guard lever pin? Just got an 089 nd would like to do the same thing.

Thanks!...JET

[Jurgenk]

@archibald

the River 089 caseback that I have says titanium but has no serial number, alas. The pursuit of perfection with your hybrid parts is admirable. Do you have a source of ultimate 088 hands short of buying an ultimate 088? I would worry about 036 compatibility with a true DSN case. My information however is that recent DSN cases are equivalent to standard rep cases so you may be okay.

@jetzeus

push out the crown guard pin from the caseback side every so slightly so that it sticks up in the front. Protect the rest of the CG with some tape. Get 400 grit sandpaper and flatten the top of the pin. Then tape the top surface of that pin and push it back down just so that it sits below the surface of the CG to creat contrast.

Good luck

[jetzeus]

@archibald

the River 089 caseback that I have says titanium but has no serial number, alas. The pursuit of perfection with your hybrid parts is admirable. Do you have a source of ultimate 088 hands short of buying an ultimate 088? I would worry about 036 compatibility with a true DSN case. My information however is that recent DSN cases are equivalent to standard rep cases so you may be okay.

@jetzeus

push out the crown guard pin from the caseback side every so slightly so that it sticks up in the front. Protect the rest of the CG with some tape. Get 400 grit sandpaper and flatten the top of the pin. Then tape the top surface of that pin and push it back down just so that it sits below the surface of the CG to creat contrast.

Good luck

Thanks Jurgen! I'll give it a try! I'll post some pics too!

[scoobs1971]

@JurgenK: Does the DSN dial fit a standard rep case 1:1 or did you have to cut the dial to make it fit?

[Jurgenk]

scoobs

the dial is a stock rep dial here

DSN's dial is interchangeable into this case

DSN's dial is superlumed and has different placement of the L SWISS MADE L

both styles are correct for different PAM series

hope that helps

[scoobs1971]

DSN's dial is interchangeable into this case

Thnx!