177M arrived, opinions on 2 concerns please

[Bish]

Hi Guys - Received my 177M (first ever rep purchase) from well known dealer on here. Want to first of all make it clear I am extremely happy with ALL my dealing with these guys so far, they have been extremely helpful and responsive and I am sure they will sort this out for me.

The watch is an H Fac 177M v2 with an upgraded high beat plat plated movement.

My two points of concern are:

Is this gap between the crown guard and main body acceptable - by that I mean are all M versions like that and is it an after market mod that one had to get done or do people have zero gaps here with there watches?

Also, rather odd but very visible scratching on the "officine Panerai" engravings (or stickers whatever they are) on the bridge. I cant dig this I'm afraid.

What do you guys think?

 

[audace]

The 'gap' is GOOD. In fact, there are MANY people wanting to have this 'gap'. Most gen pams have such gaps to expose the hexagonal stem, while some of them don't. So it's not entirely a tell (unless the guy looking at it is very familiar with which pams have and which pams don't). In any case, it's GOOD to have that gap. I think it improves the watch aesthetically-wise.

As for the scratch, perhaps check with your dealer on alternatives? Like say he send you a "P" sticker to paste it on it or something like that

 

[joegrimm]

the crown guard issue can easily be fixed by yourself using some sand paper to smooth off a bit of material until its nice and flat.

the scratch on the movement i wouldn't accept. noticeable and annoying to look at. have you contacted the TD you purchased it from?

 

[timefollower1]

writing on the bridges are painted on so its more than likely a smudge of the paint crown guard also shouldnt have that gap have you checked that both crownguard screws are done up tight which dealer was this from i would mail them with your concerns did thay send you QC pictures when you brought the watch

 

[joegrimm]

The 'gap' is GOOD. In fact, there are MANY people wanting to have this 'gap'. Most gen pams have such gaps to expose the hexagonal stem, while some of them don't. So it's not entirely a tell (unless the guy looking at it is very familiar with which pams have and which pams don't). In any case, it's GOOD to have that gap. I think it improves the watch aesthetically-wise.

Wrong... i think your looking at a different gap. look at the pic properly with the red circled around the gap hes talking about... has nothing to do with the stem. its not sitting flush with the case and thats definately not the look everybody wants.

 

[Bish]

the crown guard issue can easily be fixed by yourself using some sand paper to smooth off a bit of material until its nice and flat.

the scratch on the movement i wouldn't accept. noticeable and annoying to look at. have you contacted the TD you purchased it from?

Thanks for taking a look guys.

Joegrimm - I'm a newbie to all of this and the thought of taking some sandpaper to my watch without really knowing what Im doing is a bit frightening.

Unless I've misread you comments, wouldnt sanding either the casing or the crown guard introduce a bigger gap bewteen the two? taking metal away leaves a bigger gap - I was thinking trying to tighten the screw to see if they marry up closer together? - thoughts.

and yes, I have emailed dealer, waiting on a response - Glad you agree, I purchsed the upgraded movement for asthetic purposes as the open caseback really shows it off nice.

thx

writing on the bridges are painted on so its more than likely a smudge of the paint crown guard also shouldnt have that gap have you checked that both crownguard screws are done up tight which dealer was this from i would mail them with your concerns did thay send you QC pictures when you brought the watch

Definitely scratching and not smudged paint. I purchased from Angus at PT and yes did get QC pics from Doris - they looked good but didnt show this gap. I didnt get QC pics of the movement - apart from it running on the TimeGraph machine showing 21,600bpm.

 

[joegrimm]

dont sand the case.... try tightening the cg screws, if that doesnt pull the cg closer then its because the cg base has a slight curve to it. Thats why its not sitting flush. remove a bit of material at a time and try the fit until its perfect.

 

[Bish]

Wrong... i think your looking at a different gap. look at the pic properly with the red circled around the gap hes talking about... has nothing to do with the stem. its not sitting flush with the case and thats definately not the look everybody wants.

Spot on, the gap with the red circle is my concern. I had the feeling this gap isnt the envy of every Panerai owner! That first response threw me a little but thanks for putting me straight.

 

[Wiz]

The gasp and the scratching are not acceptable imo.

But you may have a problem getting the seller to take care of these for free if he provided QC pics, that the issues could be seen on the pics, and you validated the pics.

 

[madcatlancelot]

The CG screw might be just loose, you can try to tighten this up a bit but do not use too much force. If the screw doesn't lock and just turns, either the CG screw has damaged thread or the case has damaged thread.

 

[Bish]

Just to update this thread:

My dealer has contacted me, very apologetic and has offered to replace the watch and pop in a new movement.

My thinking is all these probelms seem to be related to a movement swap - who ever did it didnt appear to take great care (crown guard gap, screw head damage, scratch on bridge and case ring marks) My dealer has also agreed to personally inspect the watch too before re shipping.

I'm perfectly happy with the dealer, his service has been excellent and will defo buy from them/recomend them.

Thanks to you guys for all your help.