OK, I've got the Panerai bug, Need advice.

[replica]

Little history: As a big Omega fan, I never "got" the whole Panerai obsession. The other day, I was in Chicago, and I wandered into a watch store to look at the Omegas. He said, no Omega's, but the Panerai's are flying out the door. He pointed to a case across the store. I had never seen a Panerai. I assumed they were way too big for me. I tried on the 40mm 250 Chrono (I have relatively small wrists) and it was love at first sight.

Now, I had bad luck with a Seamaster 21J rep that died on me. I want to wear someting that actually has some semblance of reliability. I noticed this 40mm:

http://www.trustytime.com/index.php?mai ... ucts_id=82

It's listed as a "Asia 7750b1 Automatic" movement.

Is this a reliable movement? Or, rather how does the reliability compare to other movements?

Can it be expected to last a least a couple of years?

Does it have to be oiled/serviced immediately?

Thanks all,

Appreciate the help- great community.

 

[pman]

I literally went through the same thing you did regarding Omega's and PAMs. I just bought my first PAM yesterday from Joshua yesterday. I agonized about swiss vs asian movement dilema. In the end I decided to go swiss because of reliability and if something goes wrong somewhere down the finding parts and someone to work on the watch will be much easier. Others on the board can provide advise about the pros and cons of each movement. I'm already shopping for straps.

Most important thing you can do is pick a trusted dealer. I'm a big believer in you get what you pay for. Best of luck.

pman

 

[SportsPg]

I'm in Chicago, where did you go to shop? I've only seen Panerai's at Tourneau in Water Tower. I believe CD Peacock carries them as well, but I have not been in one of those stores.

I've got a Black Seal and a 196, love them both. I'm thinking about the 253 next...if my wife doesn't kill me first... :shock:

 

[pugwash]

http://www.trustytime.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=82

It's listed as a "Asia 7750b1 Automatic" movement.

Is this a reliable movement? Or, rather how does the reliability compare to other movements?

I think 40mm PAMs are a little ... well, missing the point. However, if you tried one and you loved it, then I'd suggest you could buy from trusty without fear. If a 7750 chokes, it's usually down to the chrono, which this doesn't have. Also, if they die, they die in their first week of use and a dealer like Trusty will look after you.

 

[manydivers]

Hi,

Note the "swiss" movements are asian clones of swiss movements,
only genuine swiss movements are likely to be more reliable than
the Asian movements, an asain is arealiable as a swiss-u-like.

I have a PAM49-u-like from silixprime, very good value.

I expect the 21J asian movement to be reliable, and it does not need servicing.
Also note many rip-off reps that claim to have a 21J movement don't.

/mds.

 

[crick]

Little history: As a big Omega fan, I never "got" the whole Panerai obsession. The other day, I was in Chicago, and I wandered into a watch store to look at the Omegas. He said, no Omega's, but the Panerai's are flying out the door. He pointed to a case across the store. I had never seen a Panerai. I assumed they were way too big for me. I tried on the 40mm 250 Chrono (I have relatively small wrists) and it was love at first sight.

Now, I had bad luck with a Seamaster 21J rep that died on me. I want to wear someting that actually has some semblance of reliability. I noticed this 40mm:

http://www.trustytime.com/index.php?mai ... ucts_id=82

It's listed as a "Asia 7750b1 Automatic" movement.

Is this a reliable movement? Or, rather how does the reliability compare to other movements?

Can it be expected to last a least a couple of years?

Does it have to be oiled/serviced immediately?

Thanks all,

Appreciate the help- great community.

my advice would be to stay away from pannie's as they sap all your energy away!

i had the same problem. my wrists are 5.75 inches so i went with the 40mm. But now that i'm so used to it, i thinks i can go 42's! 44 if i can find one used

have u tried the 44's on at the AD? I got mine from EL. he is super.

 

[panman8888]

regardless of wrist size

stay away from 40mm pams. within a week of getting one, you'll want the real deal: a 44mm. believe me, everyone (except women) who've bought 40mm pams have sold them--and had a tough time doing so--to replace with a 44mm. you'll get used to really quickly. it's big, but not obscenely so like a 47mm. and because it's very very chunky/thick, it's actually very well balanced.

i sound like a broken record player, i'm sure, but the thickness ALONG WITH large face size makes a huge difference. that's why a genuine 47mm iwc big pilots--which is a very thick watch--looks fine on my smaller wrists, but a 47mm azimuth or steinhardt looks terribly big (too thin, yet still 47mm). similarly, the 47mm pams aren't as chunky as the 44mm, at least not proportionally so, so they tend to look a lot bigger.

go with a 44mm. manual wind. pam 012, 000, 111, 005, or if you like titanium a lot, a 176 or 177.

 

[Roeod4]

I have to agree with Pugs and Panman on this point. The 40mm are fine if you have super small wrists, but if you can wear an Omega Seamaster then you should have no problem with a 44mm PAM. If you get a 40mm you will only want the 44mm a short time later. Plus if you get a 44mm and decide it is not for you, you can always sell it again on the forum, but like Panman said, selling a 40mm is a hard thing to do. Unless you have a wife or girlfirend that would be willing to wear a 40mm Panerai when you no longer like it, don't get one.

On the issue of the 21j Asian movment....who did you get that from? Dealer here or some website out there? The reason that I ask is that I have 4 21j Asian movements and never had a single problem. I have 3 of the Asian Unitas movements and have never had a problem with any of them either. This is the norm for most people. The nice thing about the asian movements is that if they go bad, you can replace the movement for cheaper than you can get a Swiss one fixed many times.

 

[replica]

Thanks for all the advice. The arguments for the 44mm are convincing. The thing is, I know the 40mm fits,
cause I tried it on. But, you guys talked me out of it and will take a stab at the 44mm.

I got the seamaster from a well-known member on the board. I am reluctant to divulge his name, because it was a smooth transaction on a used watch, so I am swallowing it and putting it in the category of "tough luck". I wouldn't want his reputation reduced because of the failure of this watch.

 

[TWP]

ADVICE

PUT YOUR MONEY IN A SAFE PLACE. HAND-OVER YOUR CREDIT CARDS, CHECK BOOK, ETC. CHECK YOURSELF IN WHILE YOU STILL HAVE TIME.

 

[Roeod4]

Re: ADVICE

@ replica

I would also agree with what shutter_bug just said. Replicas are addictive as hell and Panerais are the worst of them all. If you are not careful you can kiss your financial future good bye.

 

[TWP]

Re: ADVICE

@ replica

I would also agree with what shutter_bug just said. Replicas are addictive as hell and Panerais are the worst of them all. If you are not careful you can kiss your financial future good bye.

Thank God I have a very patient wife (whom hates watches btw)

 

[higgy]

I wondered who was going to be the first to warn replica about the addictive nature of the Panerai....... :wink: So are we going to wait until the addiction is really set in to mention the expensive side effects..... STRAPS....hehehehe Luckily TC straps is here to ease the strap issues for you!!!!!!!! Didn't really see if you have decided on model yet. The 111H is a must have, manual wind asian or swiss are both reliable workhorses. Good luck with the choice....


Higgy 8)

 

[longshot]

ok, i’ll bite....

i’m not really sure why i was even mentioned in this thread (not by name though) or why replica sent me a somewhat terse pm with a link to it?

i sold him the asian 21j seamaster gmt. actually i had two, the other i gave to a friend and it's still running great as the only watch he owns, both originally from andrew. the watch was exactly as i described it in my for sale post. it was running great and was as accurate as any of my eta reps. i shipped it the same day i got paypal. and when replica received it he was very happy (they are a great rep).

this all happened in june or july!

i made some changes to my watches, knives, flashlights spreadsheet and the ‘good’ version is on my pc at work so i will not know the exact date of the sale until tomorrow.

i guess i’m a bit irritated at the inference in the post that somehow i as the seller did something wrong?

are we actually expected to warranty used reps we sell? if so, for how long? if i had sold the watch and it died in a week i’d probably be willing to un-wind the deal or help cover repair costs. but after 5 months i’m curious as to what is expected of me? i would not expect andrew or joshua or el or any of the other dealers to do anything about a watch that developed a problem 5 months after i had it and i certainly would not expect a forumer who is not a watch smith to do so.

 

[manydivers]

Hi,

What with the 40mm Panerai bashing ?

I got mine after a 44mm 111H. It is easy to get used to the 44mm and stop realising it is a very
big watch (7.5" wrist). I like the 40mm, its not a "ladies" watch, and its not small (22mm lugs).

/mds.

 

[pugwash]

What with the 40mm Panerai bashing ?

It's a traditionalist view. Panerai only recently released 40mm models for those who thought 44mm was too big.

The problem was that no-one bought them.

 

[hooligan]

And 40mm is HUGE for a ladies' or even boys' size watch. Heck 5 years ago, it would've been on the big end of the scale for mens' watches!

Longshot, FWIW, I see nothing wrong from your end of the deal and I would not expect any assistance or "support" on a watch that I bought 5 months ago from anyone, except belial2k, as he advertises a 1 year warranty. :wink:

Nothing wrong with 40mm PAMs for the smaller-wristed of us out there. Be advised, though, that the nature of the addiction will have you trying to convince yourself that 47mm isn't *that* big before long! At that time, should you decide to "offload" your 40mm model, you may have a rough time finding a buyer, as that size is less popular.

Armed with that knowledge, go forth and do great things.