Just got my first PAM...111H (with pics... & now problems)

[golgi]

OK, so I had never heard of Panerai before I joined this forum, but I have now received my first this morning, with another one somewhere between Asia and North America. I decided to get the 111H from Trevor because, for the money, it seemed like I got a lot of the things I was looking for. For me, the only mods I see making are the canon pinion and superlume. The lume job it has now is not bad, it's just the staying power is lacking. I expected it to be a flat dial for the price, but there is texture to the dial. The cg lever folds in tightly and is not floppy, but could still use the hot glue fix. The swan dagger movement is beautiful up close and in my hands. For whatever reason, I expected the watch to be huge, but it is, IMHO, a perfectly sized watch.

I do have a couple of noob questions... 1. Is the crown in all the way (in the pictures)? I would have thought it to be more flush to the case. 2. The winding feels more "clicky" vs. "rachety" like a rolex. Is this right? 3. Does a PAM not have a hack mechanism? When I pull the crown out all the way, the secs at 9 do not stop.

OK, here's some pics:

 

[COLDI]

Re: Just got my first PAM ever....111H (with pics)

To my knowledge there Ian hack mechanism. My swiss 111 keeps running when I set it

The clicking noise is normal

To grung he crown in you will have to sand the crown a stem down to bring the stem closer to the case. Then you will need to file the CG feet down to bring it closer to the case again to it locks the crown into place or else it will just flop around.

Nice looking watch though. Wear it well

 

[Uk Watch services]

Re: Just got my first PAM ever....111H (with pics)

Lovely watch, I got mine through a couple of weeks ago and love it. My fav watch for sure.

Enjoy it

 

[AllergyDoc]

Re: Just got my first PAM ever....111H (with pics)

The entry level 111h is one of the best bargains out there.

 

[golgi]

Well, now I've encountered a couple of problems. I noted in my first post that the crown seemed to be a little far from the case:

But as I got to looking at the crown, it is pretty flush at the back (wrist side) of the watch:

Further inspection led me to the CG lever. Wow! Is that right? It seems really ground down towards the dial in my case:

OK, so maybe I just email Trevor and get him to send me a new CG lever. But another problem has become apparent. The watch is fast. Not like 10 secs per 24 hours fast, but more like 6 minutes per hour! :shock: Not that I'm complaining since on an 8 hour work day I would tend to leave 50 minutes early, but my boss might eventually get upset. Can a watchsmith solve this easily? Like less than $20-30, because I would prefer that as opposed to spend it in shipping back.

One last thing, I have finally realized that the bridge has an "Officine Panerai" sticker on it, versus the engraving. Can I order an engraved bridge and have the watchsmith swap when he adjusts the timing?

TIA! I still love it! Even with it's...quirks.

 

[golgi]

Could use some help guys!

 

[greg_r]

The watch running very fast is a common problem in 6497s and is usually caused by gunk in the balance spring. Hold the watch in one hand and gently, but firmly, smack it into the palm of your other hand. 9 times out of 10 that solves the issue and it should not recur.

The other problem appears to be that the CG lever has been trimmed unevenly and is forcing the crown to lie at an odd angle. The big problem with this is that it may have bent the stem slightly. If you remove the CG carefully (don't lose the screws), does the crown then sit straight? If not, then I'd suggest you contact Trevor and arrange to send the watch back. If it does sit straight, then a replacement CG or possibly a little filing of the tip of the lever (hard to tell whether that's practical from your photos) should sort it out.

 

[golgi]

Thanks Greg...I'll give it a whack. I fired an email off to trevor a little while ago. Thanks!

 

[golgi]

Gave it a whack and now it keeps perfect time! 8) The bad news...now it intermittently just stops :shock: Thanks a lot!! Haha j/k. It starts running again with a little bump, so I think I'll just take it to get serviced. Sent an email to Trevor and got a quick response. He wanted a picture of the poorly ground cg lever so I sent that, now waiting to hear back.