This week I received the PanoMatic from InTime, some 3.5 weeks after ordering . How they manage it I don’t know, but even though it was sent with DHL and I am in the EU I wasn’t charged any VAT or duties .
My first impressions of the watch, pros and cons:
Cons:
Pros:
Movement (don't mind the sweat stains on the case, was a hot day...)
Conclusion:
While this rep is far from perfect it’s the best PanoMatic available at the moment . IMO, it really succeeds in giving the appearance of a luxury watch, mainly thanks to the beautiful dial. Overall I’m very happy with it (and that’s not just the cognitive dissonance talking
).
Just don’t expect a super rep or something, this watch is a lot harder to rep than the average Rolex or AP, and it’s really just the first serious attempt .
In conclusion, if this is your grail and the gen is nowhere in sight this will probably please you. Just don’t have unrealistic expectations about this $298 rep.
Anyway for me it does scratch the itch, and I won’t have to rely on just these Panomatic homages anymore I collected these past few years …
My first impressions of the watch, pros and cons:
Cons:
- The date is small compared to the gen, even more so than the photos suggested. It’s about the size of a date on an average watch but nothing like a panorama date. It’s also not in the same position on the dial.
- With a diameter of 40 mm and a thickness of 14 mm it does sit rather high on the wrist, resulting a bit in the appearance of a tuna can or hockey puck. The gen however with 12.7 mm is also not a slim watch.
- Strap is very stiff but this will probably improve with time; more importantly it is rather short. On my wrist (18 - 18.5 cm) it’s already on the second to last hole!
- Movement feels a bit like a typical inexpensive Chinese movement : it doesn’t hack, has fairly loud rotor noise and when setting the time or date it doesn’t feel very solid. The rotor is not a micro-rotor like with the gen but a conventional one.
- As mentioned previously the seconds hand is not exactly in the centre of the subdial, but somewhat above it. As a quick measurement, the diameter of the subdial is 10 mm, the seconds hand axis is 4.5 mm from the top of the subdial and not 5 mm as it would be when positioned at dead centre. I assume that this has been done to preserve the appearance of the watch face even though the movement available was not designed for these proportions.
Pros:
- On the wrist the rotor noise is noticeable but not really annoying ; of course this may be personal .
- Watch runs fairly accurate ; some -4 sec/day
- It’s a very pretty watch to look at . The outer part of the dial has a soft, silvery satin sheen to it which contrasts nicely with the main- and subdial which have a slightly different look due to a spiral groove. The applied hour markers are straight, clean and shiny. The hands have a subtle dark blue colour that gives good contrast to the dial. The day/night dial has 2 equal moons so as to better resemble a real moonphase. The moons and stars have a shiny mirror-like finishing .
- Finishing of the case is very good for this price point; a polished bezel and brushed sides. The lugs have polished and brushed surfaces with bevelled edges between .
- For the price a nice decorated movement , including an attempt to replicate the double swan neck regulator typical of Glashütte.
- Regarding the eccentrically positioned seconds hand, once seen it cannot be unseen but it bothers me less than I expected. It’s only about 0.5 mm off and not directly obvious . Most people probably won’t notice it.
- Modest price compared to a lot of reps nowadays .
- My wife, who doesn’t care about watches at all, says it’s a beautiful watch!
Movement (don't mind the sweat stains on the case, was a hot day...)
Conclusion:
While this rep is far from perfect it’s the best PanoMatic available at the moment . IMO, it really succeeds in giving the appearance of a luxury watch, mainly thanks to the beautiful dial. Overall I’m very happy with it (and that’s not just the cognitive dissonance talking
).Just don’t expect a super rep or something, this watch is a lot harder to rep than the average Rolex or AP, and it’s really just the first serious attempt .
In conclusion, if this is your grail and the gen is nowhere in sight this will probably please you. Just don’t have unrealistic expectations about this $298 rep.
Anyway for me it does scratch the itch, and I won’t have to rely on just these Panomatic homages anymore I collected these past few years …
