Noob PAM 127 Fiddy - NOT A SUPER REP Review

[valueprop]

Hi Folks!

I got my first rep, the Noob Fiddy, from Trusty Time last week. I immediately felt disappointed in the quality of the crystal. The way the crystal distorted the dial felt unnatural and disorienting. Now, don't get me wrong, the rest of the watch is made terrifically. I ordered a replacement crystal and just put it in tonight. It makes a WORLD of difference. There is still some distortion, but the better shape of this crystal makes it a smoother transition, and much more pleasant on the eyes. One of the biggest tells is when you turn the watch sideways: the rep crystal forms an 'opaque band' at the edge of the crystal curve much sooner than a well made one. I strongly recommend anyone that has a Noob 127 with a strongly distorted crystal to consider replacement: it was more than worth it.

Based on my experience with the Noob Fiddy and the replacement crystal, I am confident that I could spot a similar rep crystal from a two-second glance. This, to me, disqualifies the Noob rep from being a Super Rep. I think that the Noob Fiddy + Replacement Crystal is a Super Rep, and this should be made clear on the Consensus page as well.

QC and 'before' pics:
https://imgur.com/a/BxaDmsX

After replacement pics (forgive potato camera skills):

 

[mysterio]

Your comment is noted but we will not change the rep's classification. Crystal quality can change from time to time and can certainly affect how the dial appears. But that supply related issue will not factor into a rep's classification.

 

[mech500]

Ain’t the fiddy crystal meant to distort the dial? I quite like the distorted dial look on a thick crystal diver watch.



Crystal quality can change on gens as well. Generally speaking.

You can spot a noob fiddy rep via a 2 Sec glance? Wow.

You sound like a paranoid rep buyer.

The ones that think everyone in the whole world is a 16 year old kid, living in their mums basement, staring at rep vs gen pics all day ..... until they reach enlightenment, and commit to memory every flaw on every rep and can all spot anything made in China in a 2 sec glance from across the table. Lol.


Sent from my iPhone using RWI

 

[stufuse]

Ain’t the fiddy crystal meant to distort the dial? I quite like the distorted dial look on a thick crystal diver watch.



Crystal quality can change on gens as well. Generally speaking.

You can spot a noob fiddy rep via a 2 Sec glance? Wow.

You sound like a paranoid rep buyer.

The ones that think everyone in the whole world is a 16 year old kid, living in their mums basement, staring at rep vs gen pics all day ..... until they reach enlightenment, and commit to memory every flaw on every rep and can all spot anything made in China in a 2 sec glance from across the table. Lol.


Sent from my iPhone using RWI

Faackin loooool


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Naish99]

On a fiddy the crystal has to distored the dial. That is was gen fiddy is about. No lol .. just facts

Gesendet von meinem SM-G950F mit Tapatalk

 

[superspark69]

There is expected to be distortion in the fiddy glass, however there have always been reports in the past about differing quality crystals. However having said that I actually asked the legend of the fiddy himself Marlin last night about wether it was worth changing the crystal to a WSO as I know that what he used to do to his builds years ago. His answer was no, don’t do it as the new crystals were far better than previous and the chance that you get a better crystal from WSO is slim and is just not worth doing. the distortion on your new crystal looks worse imo than my noob crystal

Regarding the gen crystals, there is also varying crystals out there from amount of distortion/rings to varying AR with some being bluer than others.

looking at your before crystal I think you lucked out a little as it does look fairly worse than usual.

A new crystal from panerai is about €700 BTW

 

[superspark69]

Of course the next thing you will have to do is change the dial and hands to gen if you really are trying to get as close to gen as possible.

( Gen dial and hands on my franken)

 

[64TT180]

Is there a big difference in the hands and the dial?

 

[KOT1917]

You are simply not lucky with the steel. Noob did less distortion than zf, but on my zf there was less distortion. In addition, as already mentioned, gens are very different, and partial distortion is part of the charm of this watch. If you do not like it, then it is better to use a watch with a different type of crystal.

 

[superspark69]

Is there a big difference in the hands and the dial?

you mean you cant see the difference between mine and the first pic in the thread??? Not massive massive but still there.

1. text printing, Shape, size/boldness and colour
2. Hands shape/sharpness/colour
3. Engravings for sandwich are sharper and more defined. for example look at the head of the '1' cutout.

 

[valueprop]

Thanks for all the comments folks, even the sarcastic ones. Given I'm new to the rep world and clearly have a lot to learn, I take it in stride. But I know that a good community is one in which people support newcomers. In that spirit, it is worthwhile to warn newcomers of the complexities in the rep world and I'd like to contribute to that by making it easier for the next person buying a PAM127 to make that choice. Yes, the point of the watch is an 'underwater' effect. The curvature of the crystal is vital to this effect. Incorrect curvature leads to an incorrect effect which is immediately visible. I'm not being a paranoid snob. I could tell as soon as I got the watch, never having seen it in person, that something was wrong. And I can tell now that it is much better. I can believe it can be 5% better, but the difference of $500 for a better crystal isn't worth it, as the effect for this one is good.

WRT to the dial and hands, I can't say it's an obvious tell like the crystal but it does look great Can I ask how much the upgrade cost?

 

[superspark69]

Thanks for all the comments folks, even the sarcastic ones. Given I'm new to the rep world and clearly have a lot to learn, I take it in stride. But I know that a good community is one in which people support newcomers. In that spirit, it is worthwhile to warn newcomers of the complexities in the rep world and I'd like to contribute to that by making it easier for the next person buying a PAM127 to make that choice. Yes, the point of the watch is an 'underwater' effect. The curvature of the crystal is vital to this effect. Incorrect curvature leads to an incorrect effect which is immediately visible. I'm not being a paranoid snob. I could tell as soon as I got the watch, never having seen it in person, that something was wrong. And I can tell now that it is much better. I can believe it can be 5% better, but the difference of $500 for a better crystal isn't worth it, as the effect for this one is good.

WRT to the dial and hands, I can't say it's an obvious tell like the crystal but it does look great Can I ask how much the upgrade cost?

Once you see the dial and hands in the flesh then its an obvious tell and a major upgrade, almost impossible to obtain though and will set you back $1500 for a dial and hands (at least). Thats when the other fun starts on the movement mods/upgrades etc etc. For a fully modded franken 127 you will be looking in the region of $5k

 

[superspark69]

And of course to stay with rep, the best rep 127 to get is a Marlin modded 127 - 319840-pam127-marlin-vs-v6f

 

[64TT180]

Very interesting these answers !!!!

 

[KOT1917]

Of course the next thing you will have to do is change the dial and hands to gen if you really are trying to get as close to gen as possible.

( Gen dial and hands on my franken)

Thanks for sharing. A good shot, in fact, thanks to it, the difference in fonts and color of the lum has become more definite for me than before.

 

[mysterio]

There is expected to be distortion in the fiddy glass, however there have always been reports in the past about differing quality crystals. However having said that I actually asked the legend of the fiddy himself Marlin last night about wether it was worth changing the crystal to a WSO as I know that what he used to do to his builds years ago. His answer was no, don’t do it as the new crystals were far better than previous and the chance that you get a better crystal from WSO is slim and is just not worth doing. the distortion on your new crystal looks worse imo than my noob crystal

Regarding the gen crystals, there is also varying crystals out there from amount of distortion/rings to varying AR with some being bluer than others.

looking at your before crystal I think you lucked out a little as it does look fairly worse than usual.

A new crystal from panerai is about €700 BTW

Marlin can attest to variation in replacement crystals. He encountered a problem before where a batch of WSO crystals were not fitting correctly on the PAM127's he was modding. Good thing he has a good relationship with them (and WSO is a good seller) so he was able to get replacements for the replacements.

 

[Max111]

I'm not being a paranoid snob. I could tell as soon as I got the watch, never having seen it in person, that something was wrong. And I can tell now that it is much better. I can believe it can be 5% better, but the difference of $500 for a better crystal isn't worth it, as the effect for this one is good.

WRT to the dial and hands, I can't say it's an obvious tell like the crystal but it does look great Can I ask how much the upgrade cost?

I had same issue with trusty time. He showed me QC pictures. I immediately rejected it because of the glass. It was very distortive. Andrew claim it was ok. I refused to take it. He sent it to me anyway. Won’t buy from him again.

 

[[email protected]]

The fiddy is available again? Couple months ago I checked my dealer and she said they weren't making it anymore.

 

[mysterio]

The fiddy is available again? Couple months ago I checked my dealer and she said they weren't making it anymore.

Ask the TDs the previous post before yours was over 2 months ago. A lot of things could have happened to Noob in that time.

 

[valueprop]

The fiddy is available again? Couple months ago I checked my dealer and she said they weren't making it anymore.

Unfortunately no and possibly won't ever be again. I did end up getting a Marlin that is probably my greatest rep.