Preface
This is a start of my review of the week article. I will try my best to write at least 1 replica watch review per week from now onwards
Please take note that the watches are obtained with my own money (no sponsorship, etc.), unless otherwise stated.
I hope you will find this review useful. Without further ado, let's start with this week review of Panerai Luminor North Pole GMT PAM252.
About the watch
The genuine:
This watch is a limited production run of 500 pieces in the year 2006 (I series) by Officine Panerai. It is to commemorate a successful North Pole expedition by Mike Horn. Like many other Panerai watches, this watch has become one of the collectible watches in modern Panerai history. The genuine is powered by OP Cal. VIII which basically is an ETA7750 with date and GMT complication.
The replica:
This watch was released many months ago. Prototype pictures emerged as early as after Chinese New Year last year (after HBB craze). At this point of time, PAM186 GMT was the more popular choice among rep buyers. There exists another version of this replica PAM252GMT which uses the same case as old PAM186 GMT with a much pronounced electric blue dial. From what I can see, the older version is not really good and has many flaws as compared to the genuine article. In other words, this is the best and most recent PAM252GMT you can find on the market. It's powered by Asian 7750 hi beat rate with GMT and date complications too.
Technical Details on the Replica:
Watch name: Officine Panerai Luminor North Pole GMT PAM252
Diameter: ~44mm
Movement: Asian 7750 28,800 bph + settable 24 hours GMT function
Case: Stainless Steel brushed, solid caseback.
Crown: Stainless Steel polished
CG: Stainless Steel brushed
Crystal: Sapphire with single sided AR coating. Cyclop is also AR coated.
Dial: Dark Cobalt Blue, matte
Bezel: Brushed with polished NSWE markers, 60 clicks
Strap: Rubber
Clasp: Deployant buckle
Based on the specification, the watch looks really not bad. In terms of functionality, it works like as it should be.
The main attraction of this watch is ,in my opinion, the dial. It has really an attractive dark matte blue colour. I have read someone called it "cobalt blue" which I have to agree. Sometimes it looks very dark and you can mistake it as dark grey/black colour. I can attest to this claim that the watch comes indeed with dark blue dial, a very attractive one. Although the AR coating is not very strong on this model, it helps to reduce reflection on the dial and datewheel. It's definitely a big improvement as compared to old PAM186GMT replica or old PAM252GMT replica.
The datewheel has a black background and correct bold white numbers on it. The magnification looks very good on this model, something that can't be found out of the box in older version of this model. The readability of this watch is very good. It has uncluttered design despite the presence of extra GMT hands. Surprisingly, I like the contrast much better than let say on PAM089. The silver hands go well together with the dark blue dial. The presence of C3 coloured lume blends very well too. However, the lume is as expected. It has standard replica lume (i.e.: average). It's brighter than the older PAM186GMT replica and some other Panerai reps but this is nowhere near the genuine C3 Superluminova.
The bezel has a solid 60 clicks. It centres properly and doesn't wobble. The cut of bezel teeth as well as the markers are done very well.
Crown guard and crown aren't that bad either. The crown is pretty well made on this piece. The CG is also good. However, you can notice that there is a little bit of gap at the end of the tip of half moon shaped CG, joining the CG and the case. It's not a huge problem and can be fixed with sanding it. The edge of the crown guard is cut very well. Sharp but won't cause injury. It doesn't dig into the skin too
The case and the caseback are also very well made on this piece. It's infact one of the best around in rep Panerai world. Engraving is very nice on the caseback and pretty accurate to the genuine. I have seen the genuine caseback, the polished part is very accurate but the BB number should be located just above the serial number (I009/500), not beside it. It doesn't have spelling mistake anymore like in the case of old PAM252/186 (Cape Arcticooky). Here it has correct polished and brushed parts as well as correct spelling (Cape Arctichesky).
The strap is not bad at all. It is of different quality than old replica Panerai rubber strap. This one doesn't attract dust and softer than the old rep rubber strap. The deployant locks the strap perfectly and pretty easy to operate too. This is a Panerai model which I think looks best on rubber strap, so I will leave it as it is.
Conclusion
In terms of price/performance of this watch, it is close to unbeatable. The movement is so far so good, winds pretty smoothly with accuracy of +10 secs a day when worn on the wrist. The watch is totally well replicated. Very minimal flaws, I must say. Wearing it on the wrist generates quite a lot of presence. Well, it's gotta do with Panerai, I think It's very comfortable on the wrist too. You can tell that this is an "expensive" watch even without knowing the brand. I can highly recommend you to get this watch (before it gets discontinued ). You never know...
Eyecandy
This is a start of my review of the week article. I will try my best to write at least 1 replica watch review per week from now onwards
Please take note that the watches are obtained with my own money (no sponsorship, etc.), unless otherwise stated.I hope you will find this review useful. Without further ado, let's start with this week review of Panerai Luminor North Pole GMT PAM252.
About the watch
The genuine:
This watch is a limited production run of 500 pieces in the year 2006 (I series) by Officine Panerai. It is to commemorate a successful North Pole expedition by Mike Horn. Like many other Panerai watches, this watch has become one of the collectible watches in modern Panerai history. The genuine is powered by OP Cal. VIII which basically is an ETA7750 with date and GMT complication.
The replica:
This watch was released many months ago. Prototype pictures emerged as early as after Chinese New Year last year (after HBB craze). At this point of time, PAM186 GMT was the more popular choice among rep buyers. There exists another version of this replica PAM252GMT which uses the same case as old PAM186 GMT with a much pronounced electric blue dial. From what I can see, the older version is not really good and has many flaws as compared to the genuine article. In other words, this is the best and most recent PAM252GMT you can find on the market. It's powered by Asian 7750 hi beat rate with GMT and date complications too.
Technical Details on the Replica:
Watch name: Officine Panerai Luminor North Pole GMT PAM252
Diameter: ~44mm
Movement: Asian 7750 28,800 bph + settable 24 hours GMT function
Case: Stainless Steel brushed, solid caseback.
Crown: Stainless Steel polished
CG: Stainless Steel brushed
Crystal: Sapphire with single sided AR coating. Cyclop is also AR coated.
Dial: Dark Cobalt Blue, matte
Bezel: Brushed with polished NSWE markers, 60 clicks
Strap: Rubber
Clasp: Deployant buckle
Based on the specification, the watch looks really not bad. In terms of functionality, it works like as it should be.
The main attraction of this watch is ,in my opinion, the dial. It has really an attractive dark matte blue colour. I have read someone called it "cobalt blue" which I have to agree. Sometimes it looks very dark and you can mistake it as dark grey/black colour. I can attest to this claim that the watch comes indeed with dark blue dial, a very attractive one. Although the AR coating is not very strong on this model, it helps to reduce reflection on the dial and datewheel. It's definitely a big improvement as compared to old PAM186GMT replica or old PAM252GMT replica.
The datewheel has a black background and correct bold white numbers on it. The magnification looks very good on this model, something that can't be found out of the box in older version of this model. The readability of this watch is very good. It has uncluttered design despite the presence of extra GMT hands. Surprisingly, I like the contrast much better than let say on PAM089. The silver hands go well together with the dark blue dial. The presence of C3 coloured lume blends very well too. However, the lume is as expected. It has standard replica lume (i.e.: average). It's brighter than the older PAM186GMT replica and some other Panerai reps but this is nowhere near the genuine C3 Superluminova.
The bezel has a solid 60 clicks. It centres properly and doesn't wobble. The cut of bezel teeth as well as the markers are done very well.
Crown guard and crown aren't that bad either. The crown is pretty well made on this piece. The CG is also good. However, you can notice that there is a little bit of gap at the end of the tip of half moon shaped CG, joining the CG and the case. It's not a huge problem and can be fixed with sanding it. The edge of the crown guard is cut very well. Sharp but won't cause injury. It doesn't dig into the skin too
The case and the caseback are also very well made on this piece. It's infact one of the best around in rep Panerai world. Engraving is very nice on the caseback and pretty accurate to the genuine. I have seen the genuine caseback, the polished part is very accurate but the BB number should be located just above the serial number (I009/500), not beside it. It doesn't have spelling mistake anymore like in the case of old PAM252/186 (Cape Arcticooky). Here it has correct polished and brushed parts as well as correct spelling (Cape Arctichesky).
The strap is not bad at all. It is of different quality than old replica Panerai rubber strap. This one doesn't attract dust and softer than the old rep rubber strap. The deployant locks the strap perfectly and pretty easy to operate too. This is a Panerai model which I think looks best on rubber strap, so I will leave it as it is.
Conclusion
In terms of price/performance of this watch, it is close to unbeatable. The movement is so far so good, winds pretty smoothly with accuracy of +10 secs a day when worn on the wrist. The watch is totally well replicated. Very minimal flaws, I must say. Wearing it on the wrist generates quite a lot of presence. Well, it's gotta do with Panerai, I think
It's very comfortable on the wrist too. You can tell that this is an "expensive" watch even without knowing the brand. I can highly recommend you to get this watch (before it gets discontinued ). You never know...Eyecandy
