Ceramic PAMS (Help Please)

[bigwigmc]

Hello knowledgeable people of RWI, I've been lurking around for a while now, and think I'm fairly close to pulling the trigger on my first watch. I've read a lot of the stickies (I think) and the SuperRep List, but the terminology and navigation is still confusing to me. I know a lot of PAMS are considered super reps, but I don't believe seeing any ceramic ones on the list. I really do like the look of the PAM438 and the PAM441, so I was wondering if anyone has any comments on the quality of those reps, or other watches I should consider.

Thanks in advance for any and all advice you fine folks can give me, the forum has been a colossal help already.

PS, I did ask this in the new members section as well, but no one seemed to see it over there, so I thought I'd try my luck over in this section of the forum. If that is against the forum rules, I do apologize.

 

[nalomb]

The 438 is one of the coolest out of the box PAMs you can get your hands on -- quality is awesome and you'll likely be surprised. The reason the 438/441 aren't on the Super Rep list is the old movement which had an incorrect balance wheel position. Unless you're flaunting it around and letting everyone get their peeps on the back of the watch, no one will ever see that. Go for it!

 

[Thewatchwolf]

Pam508 all the way

 

[preppyr6]

Ive owned the PAM441, the PAM386, and the PAM505. VSF is the factory to go with for these models...I owned another 386 from a different factory, and the latest VSFs are just top quality in comparison. 441 I personally consider super-rep eligible. The 386 is on par quality-wise, but its not a super-rep because technically Panerai never released it (it was announced, but not released). The 505 is also fantastic for a Rad, and its one of my favorite pieces...I just cant personally compare to the gen since I only saw the gen once in funny lighting

TLDR - go with VSF for a ceramic PAM, you can't go wrong

 

[bigwigmc]

Thank you all for your advice, I think I'm going to go with a 438 from the VSF factory. Now just to decide on a TD it really is a time consuming hobby

 

[michelesanctis]

Just to bear in mind is that VSF not only makes great quality watches, but their P9001 has the correct position of balance wheel and with GMT movements almost the same as genuine working (slow date, 12-hour GMT). I have the same GMT movement in my 688 and after a little bit of adjustment it runs within +1 per day.

 

[thrillofhunt]

The 441 I have is fantastic. Wont go wrong with that.

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