Good afternoon everyone!
I will continue my consideration of the reps of the past 2020.
Now it's pam692's turn, for the perfect photos of which, I traditionally thank
dadog13 .
This time I will try to be a little more concise, and I will not cut the photos to keep the original format. Hopefully this will make it easier to read and not hurt to find a specific element of discussion in the full-size photos.
The topic is relevant, primarily due to the fact that, in accordance with the discussion:
https://forum.replica-watch.info/for...rep-2020/page4, pam692 received the "audience sympathy ".
I have already covered in the thread
https://forum.replica-watch.info/for...ut-pam1663-vsf
my favorite pam1663, and thanks to
tlander13 in the thread:
https: //forum.replica-watch .info / forum / panerai / 9751256-pams-1xxx-luminor-1950-caseset-vsf-vs-gen-comparison
we saw enough information about pam1312, which is now, in my opinion, the most accurate rep panerai (For comparison, a topic about an earlier form pam1312 and comparing it to ZF:
https://forum.replica-watch.info/for...ote-pics-heavy ) which in general removes the need for my review of both this model and the neighboring 1950 44mm luminors.
But, the combination of titanium, 47mm, submersible case and blue dial is the magic that made this model very popular, both gen and rep.
Let me remind you the main thing about the model itself:
- It's submersible 47mm
- “It's made from BMG tech, a special alloy of panerai's best marketing know-how, which was probably considered at some point as an alternative to titanium.
- It has a new 1950 submersible case, because it carries a p.9010 on board.
- It has a unique glossy blue dial that has no analogues on other models.
- Due to the material used, the case has some specifics, which we will consider in more detail later, but at least screw rods, instead of the quick change system traditionally used on titanium submersibles.
- So far, in addition to pam692, only pam799 (also has a 2019 rep from VSF) has this material in the case.
To begin with, according to the prevailing narrative principle, we update the situation with gen in order to understand what we want to expect from reps.
Basically, we have 3 variants of the gen model:
- Pre-production.
- Initial view 2017-2019
- 2019 - up to now
Now, in a little more detail about how they looked and how they differed.
1.2017 pre-production.
Before the release, as always, hand-drawn renders, some samples, and a watch for the journalists' review were presented.
They were all slightly different, and in general, this does not matter much, because this is the case with all releases, but nevertheless, I will attach a photo of one (conventional phrase, I know how many were made) of the sample, the existence of which turned out to be quite important :
In fact, if you rummage around the net, you can find a number of different sets of photos of these watches, which cannot be recognized by a slightly different shape of the bezel, markers and dial fonts, but these watches were not sold by AD.
2. 2017-2019 first generation.
Released in 2017 in the T series, the first pam692 appeared in the hands of the owners only in 2018, and then the whole chronology moved a little for half a year a year, in relation to the production series and sale dates.
But the fact is that this is already the actual appearance of gen, which we meet in life, and compare with our reps, regardless of the version.
In general, the model was greeted by fans cheerfully, because the stories about the new material were incomprehensible, but interesting, and everyone wanted to get a pam1305 with a blue dial, which, moreover, does not scratch (as expected, otherwise why is new material needed?), Besides pam371 with a blue dial was not so widespread, but the color attracted.
By the way, you can pay attention to some differences from that pre-production sample.
Photo:
3.From 2019 to today.
Oddly enough, but already in the U series, panerai decided to make a change to a rather fresh model, and, outwardly, not very significant.
On the one hand, they logically carry it out in accordance with the general design of most models of the line, both 47 and 42 mm submersibles, but at the same time, over time, it becomes known about many cases of breakage of cases made of their "unique" material, mainly on the bezel and lugs, but in some cases, cracks appeared along the midcase.
In all cases, the owners argued that these were not the consequences of the impact, but the spontaneous occurrence of cracks, which theorists subsequently associated with the internal forces of the alloy, but the fact remains. Fortunately, such breakdowns were recognized as warranties.
Here are some examples that you definitely won't see on a titanium watch:
Therefore, it is believed that apart from everything, panerai changed the material specification in the new series to avoid such problems.
True, we see a new case number, in the absence of external differences, but nothing concrete about the change in the composition, and how this will help to avoid a breakdown, they did not report, however, they did not forget to understand the RP.
Anyway, outside of marketing and accompanying conspiracy, we have the following changes:
- The text of the dial was changed from the original one, to the analogous one on pam1305, for example:
It was:
Became:
In general, it looks, perhaps, a little more aesthetically pleasing, but it seems that many wanted to keep the BMG logo on the dial, which gave some peculiarity to this watch, however, what is done is done.
- Changing the case number.
We switched from OP7108 to OP7256. What lies behind this is not known for certain, but if the rep factories start to reissue a new series, this should definitely be taken into account.
Left "was" right "became":
- The design of the caseback has changed, the engraving "SUBMERSIBLE" is now slightly smaller in size and is located on the plate, and the two points on the outer circle between the two inscriptions are gone. (I will not add a photo, as seen from the previous example)
- Presumably, changes in the composition of the material, in order to prevent the appearance of cracks.(No comments)
- The increase in RP, which is typical of the above changes, is clearly worth the increase from 9,900 euros to 12,900.
In any case, no matter how we react to the changes, this is the appearance of pam692, as it is produced and sold today.
Photo:
Now that we finally know the basic gen variations, we can talk about the reps available.
We currently have two pam692 factories.
This is the 2017 XF, right in front of the GEN model and the 2020 VSF, which is the main topic of discussion.
Original thread of discussion on XF release:
https://forum.replica-watch.info/for...mg-tech-is-out
https://forum.replica-watch.info/for...tanium-pam-692
And a thread of discussion on the 2020 VSF release:
https://forum.replica-watch.info/for...92-new-release
Now let's take a closer look at what has happened, what has changed, for better or worse.
4. REP XF (T series) 2017.
Photo:
Disadvantages:
- The material of the watch is titanium, not BMG.
- The tip of the CG lever is visibly irregular.
- The crown is thinner than gen.
- The second hand is too dark and too glossy.
- The part of the dial's inscriptions, which is made in blue, is also too dark, the paint is the same as for the second hand.
- Bezel pearls are greenish and not flat enough.
- Too thick walls of pearl glass on the bezel.
- Bezel shape by the angle of inclination.
- Markers 15, 30, 45 are too bold.
- The bezel rounds and markers stick out slightly higher and are not flat enough.
- Minor flaws in the shape of the case.
Overall impression:
I will deliberately not demonstrate all the shortcomings, because they can be isolated from survey photos, and it can take a very long time to detail in words.
Of course, at the time of release, it was very good, and the main achievement was, of course, the creation of a beautiful glossy dial, which, unlike the case, is not repeated in other models.
It was believed that his tone was not entirely correct, but I could not have said that without parallel comparison.
As befits in those years, there was a variant with A7750 and ST2555 with decorative plates, the shape of the case was quite good, as always, with minor flaws, but difficult to catch without a parallel comparison.
The model as a whole continued the best traditions of the submersibles V6F, in a new design.
The material did not correspond to GEN (but no one knew what to expect from the real BMG TECH), the incorrect proportion of the BMG inscription on the dial, in accordance with the promo sample and the typical bezel errors of that time, were not something that killed this model ...
However, the difficult situation with the GEN brerd and the small recession in REP panerai at that time clearly did not give a large volume of sales, and this is a watch that we do not often see at the moment, despite the fact that at some points (looking ahead), they are slightly superior to the next version from the VSF factory.
5. REP VSF (T series) 2020.
Overview photos:
Improvements:
(Not entirely successful wording, because the watch is mostly made from scratch)
- Clone p.9000 with some gen functions and the correct position of the balance wheel (despite the solid caseback)
- Completely new bezel with all elements, more like gen in every detail. The pearl has become white and flat with less glossy effect, and also made the walls of the glass thinner, and in the end it is difficult to distinguish from gen. They finally drowned a little (though not enough) the bezel rounds and markers, and also made them flatter, reduce the width of the circular chamfer. Also, their font has become thinner. The bezel is almost perfect when viewed in profile, and the top and bottom bevels are proportional. The opinion of experienced guys is interesting, but it seems to be the best 47mm submersible bezel I've seen.
Markers:
Pearl:
Bezel shape, height of markers and rounds, width of chamfers at the top and bottom:
- According to some sources, the thickness has decreased by 0.5 mm., From 16.5 to 16 mm, with a gen thickness of 15 mm.
Some photos to evaluate the shape of the pillow and lugs:
- The color of the second hand and dial fonts is lighter and closer to gen.
Disadvantages:
Old:
- The case is not BMG, but titanium. (Which, as before, may even be better, given the questions about its performance)
- The inscription "BMG - TECH" on the dial is larger than necessary. (It is strange and a shame that this was inherited)
New:
- The bevels on the vertical sides of the CG cut are slightly rounded. This is a bit frustrating considering that the very tip of the CG lever has become more believable. It's a shame that VSF doesn't make this fillet sufficient on models where it needs to be, and creates it where it doesn't. This has already had its effect in the PAM799, and here it is repeated in exactly the same form. Although, what I did not take into account in the last list, they still took off the crown thicker, and that pleases.
- There are slices based on CG, but they are much less pronounced than on GEN, and even less than on XF, which makes CG much worse. Yes, they have improved REG. T.M., the tip of the lever, but the more obvious elements that are visible from the front and are quite solvable, for some reason are simply incomplete. (You can see the photo above)
- The fish-eye effect appeared, as on the old 47mm submersibles in the p.9000 case. To be honest, I have always been tolerant of this, because I like this effect. There is a feeling of a really thick crystal, as befits a brutal model, but this is not correct. And the majority does not accept this either. This is noticeable, and again pure degradation, compared to the XF.
In conclusion, I will add a few additional photos of different places on the dial:
The conclusion I can draw is this:
VSF obviously wanted to simply reissue the PAM682 as a P.9000 clone imitating the P.9010 and made a new watch with the minimum number of elements.
It seems to me that the dial of the dial has remained the same, maybe someone who has 2 in their hands will correct me.
I'm not sure if anything is still the same.
Yes, we still have drawbacks that we see either on all reps, or on VSF models, case props, not as sharp and precise angles as gen, marker rings, lume structure ... but that's all we can all live with, and that's okay.
The problem is that having achieved a very good quality bezel, which gave out most often, at least for me, almost any submersible 42 / 47mm, regardless of material and age, they just lost the CG edges. We can say that this is also a trifle, but for this trifle, in the first place, most preferred to take the noob, not the HF, speaking of the 44mm bettarini. It's just laziness in the absence of competition.
Can't correct the text of the watch face? Looking for a crystal without a fish-eye effect?
This is all that separates an insanely high-quality and beautiful watch from a superrep, even despite the discrepancy between the gen model's material.
And the intonation could have been different if we hadn't seen better. But this is not a disadvantage, it is a loss.
Honestly, I don't want my intonation to sound pissemistic or critical. This is due solely to the frustration that they did so much, and by missing a little, made the watch a little less accurate, albeit extremely attractive.
However, we live in 2021 and buy what the factories give and what TD sells.
And so I guess it really is one of the top models, and probably one of the best 47mm subs, which is difficult to compete with due to the unique dial.
And also, the model that the majority voted for last year.
Farewell, a couple of photos from the FB page of a famous modder that will prove that this is the PANERAI you must get if you want something special.
Thanks to everyone who paid attention and read.