Newbie first order

[Burken]

Hi!

After a few weeks of reading and pondering I have decided to order two PAM's as my first rep purchase ever. A KW 312/359 and a KW 505/Noob 292J to try the basic shapes and colors of PAM's. The 111 was on my mind initially, but it has to wait or never happen since I know that shape from a friends gen. Of course, ideally I would like to order 10-20 different types but I must limit myself:woo:. I can never decide between the 312 and 359 so it will be a coin toss and the 292J seem to be out of stock, but I have not yet emailed the TD's. Unfortunately, the 505 carry the same Seagull movement as the Luminor's, it would have been nice to receive a second type of movement with the 292J.

I also like the Bronzo for its early 20th century technology feeling and material like an old artillery shell casing, but am I correct in thinking it should come with a Seagull movement instead of the 7750? If likely, it can wait some time.

How do you experienced members service your ST2555 movements? Can I expect experienced watchsmiths to be able to handle it, or is it actually a wise strategy to go for 7750's since in the long run the movements must be properly maintained and the 7750 design should be well known?

In case anyone knows about a Noob 292J of latest version laying around at a TD I would be grateful for a PM.

It's a good thing there's some delivery time, it will be a mess deciding about which straps to get later...

 

[sanankid]

292j I'd ask Trevor or sora. In terms of servicing I would say there are lots of guys here that can service any movement in a rep. Ncchef, ko67 and ssteel are all recommended by me.

 

[Burken]

Thanks for the tip. I've already had some contact with one of them.

Regarding the service of the movements I was thinking of using local shops with good references rather than sending the pieces via mail, but I will browse around the forum and maybe I'll find someone here not too far away .

 

[nicktan182]

Hi!

After a few weeks of reading and pondering I have decided to order two PAM's as my first rep purchase ever. A KW 312/359 and a KW 505/Noob 292J to try the basic shapes and colors of PAM's. The 111 was on my mind initially, but it has to wait or never happen since I know that shape from a friends gen. Of course, ideally I would like to order 10-20 different types but I must limit myself:woo:. I can never decide between the 312 and 359 so it will be a coin toss and the 292J seem to be out of stock, but I have not yet emailed the TD's. Unfortunately, the 505 carry the same Seagull movement as the Luminor's, it would have been nice to receive a second type of movement with the 292J.

I also like the Bronzo for its early 20th century technology feeling and material like an old artillery shell casing, but am I correct in thinking it should come with a Seagull movement instead of the 7750? If likely, it can wait some time.

How do you experienced members service your ST2555 movements? Can I expect experienced watchsmiths to be able to handle it, or is it actually a wise strategy to go for 7750's since in the long run the movements must be properly maintained and the 7750 design should be well known?

In case anyone knows about a Noob 292J of latest version laying around at a TD I would be grateful for a PM.

It's a good thing there's some delivery time, it will be a mess deciding about which straps to get later...

mate since you want a composite/ceramic looking radiomir, why not check out the kw pam 339? pretty sure the noob 292J is still sold out everywhere, pretty hard to come by one from TDs nowadays. the 339 is a 47mm radiomir with the same dark brown dlc coating as the 505 (not black real ceramic like the 292J), the finish of the watch is impeccable and it has a great unique dial with the "marina militare" and "8 giorni brevettato", very few pams have these on the dial. the movement in the gen 339 is a manual wind p2002 8 days movement, however in the rep it is an auto movement with the rotor removed (as far as i'm aware) so when winding the watch it will never be able to be fully wound since it's not an actual manual-wind movement. but it still does require manual winding to get the rep started. another difference from gen is that it is DLC coated steel, not composite, so there is quite a weight difference btwn rep and gen. having said that, it is a beautiful, very well made rep. but if you think 47mm is too big for your wrist then i would suggest just go for the 505. also an amazing watch from kw.

now since you mentioned you want 2 different types of pams with different movements, have you checked out the noob pam 111 v3 or noob pam 390? 2 of the best luminor reps out there, both with a different case shape to the 312/359, and are manual winds, both also super reps. then in that case you could buy a 111/390 and the 505 and have 2 different case shapes as well as 2 different movements. but of course if your preferred luminor model is the 312/359, i would go for the 312 as it is the more classic/versatile looking pam, and beautiful brushed case/polished bezel combo. very very nice.

with regards to to the seagull movement, i'm pretty sure any experienced watchsmiths will be able to service it, it's not a rare or custom build made to look like a genuine panerai manifatture movement, like the p3000 clone. also with the a7750 movement, there runs the risk of messing up the date function if you change the date between a certain time of the day (i think it's between 9pm and 3am? please correct me if i'm wrong here), and it is the general consensus that the seagull movement is more reliable than the a7750 movement anyway. so you definitely should not be put off by the seagull movement because not only is it better, it is also cheaper and that's always a good thing!


sorry for the wordy post but i hope this helps your decision somehow

 

[sanankid]

I think ssteel isn't too far from you.

 

[Burken]

Thanks for the reply!

I've not found a 292J in stock yet, but I found this on Angus' site: http://www.puretime-asia.com/product/pam292-j-pig-11-noob-best-edition-on-black-leather-strapa/

Would that be the latest Noob version? It seems less expensive than other specimens (that would be labeled "out of stock" as well).

Is it realistic to hope for a new batch of full ceramic 292J to be produced since it seems to be in demand? If so, I can leave it for later and get something else now.

 

[Burken]

More questions as time goes by.

Is it true that a 312 needs 24 mm straps and a 505 26 mm straps? Trying to find the correct sections on Panatime.com.

Is Panatime a good place to look first, or the strap dealers on the forum?

Panatime sells straps with XL length. Is "XL" a standard, or does every vendor define their own "XL" length?

Since I have no clue, how much should I add in length for the watch itself? Is it 44 mm for a 44 mm Luminor?

And another noob question; how much extra strap around my hand am I looking for? With extra I mean "strap + watch - wrist > ?"

Edit: my questions seems silly. Rephrase: How does one know if to get the XL strap or not?

Edit 2: Only now I realise Panatime is on the TD list.

 

[Burken]

I have now received QC pics of the 312 and 505. Three questions:

- They are almost small as thumbnails in resolution. Can I ask for higher resolution?
- The CG lever seem to protrude a bit from the CG where it is "hinged". Is it OK if I crop a picture (or show the whole, it is from the back side) in order to get a vote if it is normal quality or not?
- The second dial is not moving on one of the watches. Should I ask for pics where I can see it moving, or is it enough to ask the TD to verify the movement is working?

 

[ALE7575]

There are more 75000 members in this forum
Do you imagine just a 10% asking such a kind of questions ??
Please be adults and make your own decisions for simple matters

We are here to help, of course, and we are willing to do it, but the questions should be more studied previously and more elaborated
How the hell will you get a pic to see a hand moving?
Please try to focus a little your questions and try to get a solution from the dealer when that is possible without consults
Anyway the forum is free and you can continue in this way if you think you can get answers

Just my thoughts

ALE

 

[Fiddo]

I have now received QC pics of the 312 and 505. Three questions:

- They are almost small as thumbnails in resolution. Can I ask for higher resolution?
- The CG lever seem to protrude a bit from the CG where it is "hinged". Is it OK if I crop a picture (or show the whole, it is from the back side) in order to get a vote if it is normal quality or not?
- The second dial is not moving on one of the watches. Should I ask for pics where I can see it moving, or is it enough to ask the TD to verify the movement is working?

1. Try saving them to your desktop or something and then opening them. You can ask the dealer for better pictures. However, it will delay your order. Also, they tend to be busy guys...keep that in mind.
2. Sometimes they protrude a little. This may be inherent to the model etc.. Search the threads here and look at other examples.
3. Like Ale said, how will you see this in a picture? Asking the dealer for multiple pictures to show movement, probably not necessary. The watch is working when they ship it to you, They won't ship you a broken watch. The last thing they want to see is a thread on RWI from a customer stating ""XXX sent me a broken watch". They just want to sell you the watch that works.

 

[Burken]

Well, since I don't believe in magic I don't think a picture will be a movie. However, if 4 pics presents the second hand on the same spot the clock is not ticking.

I'll wait for the better pics, hope the lever thing is due to the angle of the pics and low resolution.