Update: pam 187G swiss upgrade to super super rep status
Hey guys,
I've been thinking of upgrading my A7753 pam187G to a swiss 7753 for awhile now and I'm finally getting the show started. I've poured over the forums looking for a how to but haven't found any threads that address this except an old thread about a TD offering a swiss version 4-5 years ago.
Step one:
Find a source for a new ETA 7753. After looking on ebay, ofrei and member to member sales, Joe out of the blue contacted me and told me he would help me out and get me a new movement from his source. :woot:He said with ofrei you never know whether the movement is new or refurbished.
Step two:
Find a source for ETA compatible panerai hands. Here is a thread talking about the differences in hand sizes between ETA 7750/53, old Asian 7750 and new Asian 7750/53
http://forum.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php/guide-7750-hand-7388
After searching on ebay I found what I thought was a compatible set
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemVersion&item=310304840183&view=all&tid=346377608021
This is what I got
http://www.ebay.com/itm/WATCH-HANDS-FOR-PANERAI-ETA-7750-7753-GMT-SILVER-1-PART-/160895920057?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item257624e7b9
A couple of problems that are not so obvious. The long sweeping hand is too short and the hour and minute hands are the wrong size. I was told by the company that they are the same on the chronograph set so that they would only ship me an extra set of subdial hands. Turns out the subdial hands are the smaller ones used for 3/6 subdials on the daylights.:facepalm:
I now have one correct large subdial hand from the incorrect GMT set and three incorrect subdial hands, incorrect hour/minute hand and incorrect sweeping second hands.
Luckily from the RWI post about hand sizes, the rep hour and minute hand should already fit. Hopefully Joe will work some magic and somehow make the other hands fit.
Step three: Ship to Joe and pray everything works out and have him also do these mods.
1. Relume hands to a lighter color and brighter lume than dial markers as per gen
2. Relume dial markers
3. Relume pearl so that it is flat and a little sunken as per gen. The rep pearl is convex and is not sunken.
4. Water proof the watch. It is a diver right?
5. Swap datewheel to new ETA7753 movement
Gen Pearl
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Rep Pearl
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Gen Dial and Hands( Notice the hands are much lighter than the dial markers)
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Rep Dial and Hands(notice the hands and dial markers are the same yellow color)
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I will update this thread as things progress!
Watch getting ready to ship to redbigjoe
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Update 6/24/13
And so it begins
Movement removed from case
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Side by side with the new ETA7753 replacement
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First bump in the road. The cheap rep hour subdial hand came apart from the post upon removal.
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Second bump in the road. Apparently the rep datewheel does not fit on the eta movement. The gears are different and the movement is definitely not a 1:1 copy.
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The gears are different
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So now my options are 1. get a black eta 7753 datewheel with incorrect font and live with it until I can get a compatible datewheel 2. Source a true black eta compatible datewheel 3. scrap the upgrade and just sell the movement.
If any one can help that would be awesome!
Update 7/10/13
Ok the date wheel from davidsenjpn has come in and it fits perfectly in the date window! Also the font looks better than I thought it would. I was worried it might be too thin but it seems spot on. i asked for the thick font version. I found a gen pic to compare it to and it looks very close. It actually may be the same but the angle of the gen shot makes it hard to compare accurately.
[/URL][/IMG]
Joe graciously squeezed this datewheel fitting in before he went on vacation so now I have to wait until next week to see how the rest goes. Also, he did mention concern on luming the dial markers saying that it would change the color of the markers. I've decided to skip the dial and just have him relume the hands and do the pearl mod. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Update 7/18/13
I am so bummed. Joe contacted me yesterday and told me that many of the datewheel numbers do not line up. Even though the "6" he tested before he left on vacation lined up well, upon further inspection yesterday, the other number do not.
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As a result I have decided to pass on this upgrade. I do not want to spend more time and money on another datewheel that might work. If any of the watchsmiths have one that is compatible that would be great! Otherwise, as per Joe's advice, I have decided to just relume, water proof and service the A7753. Joe also offered that another pam rep chrono might work and that he could order one at his risk. What a guy! I am thinking of the new pam 356O. The date window which is perfectly centered between the "4" and "5" might actually fit the datewheel.
Thanks for following this thread!
Update 9/10/13
Well, as stated previously, I decided to scrap the movement upgrade and settle for a hand relume, pearl mod, light movement service(rbj said the movement was in great condition already) and water proofing. Here is a pic of the watch before he sent it today. Can't wait to see it in person. I'm debating if I should sell it with all these new watches out right now or keep it. I guess i'll have to get it in my hands and get reacquainted
[/IMG]
Hey guys,
I've been thinking of upgrading my A7753 pam187G to a swiss 7753 for awhile now and I'm finally getting the show started. I've poured over the forums looking for a how to but haven't found any threads that address this except an old thread about a TD offering a swiss version 4-5 years ago.
Step one:
Find a source for a new ETA 7753. After looking on ebay, ofrei and member to member sales, Joe out of the blue contacted me and told me he would help me out and get me a new movement from his source. :woot:He said with ofrei you never know whether the movement is new or refurbished.
Step two:
Find a source for ETA compatible panerai hands. Here is a thread talking about the differences in hand sizes between ETA 7750/53, old Asian 7750 and new Asian 7750/53
http://forum.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php/guide-7750-hand-7388
After searching on ebay I found what I thought was a compatible set
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemVersion&item=310304840183&view=all&tid=346377608021
This is what I got
http://www.ebay.com/itm/WATCH-HANDS-FOR-PANERAI-ETA-7750-7753-GMT-SILVER-1-PART-/160895920057?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item257624e7b9
A couple of problems that are not so obvious. The long sweeping hand is too short and the hour and minute hands are the wrong size. I was told by the company that they are the same on the chronograph set so that they would only ship me an extra set of subdial hands. Turns out the subdial hands are the smaller ones used for 3/6 subdials on the daylights.:facepalm:
I now have one correct large subdial hand from the incorrect GMT set and three incorrect subdial hands, incorrect hour/minute hand and incorrect sweeping second hands.
Luckily from the RWI post about hand sizes, the rep hour and minute hand should already fit. Hopefully Joe will work some magic and somehow make the other hands fit.
Step three: Ship to Joe and pray everything works out and have him also do these mods.
1. Relume hands to a lighter color and brighter lume than dial markers as per gen
2. Relume dial markers
3. Relume pearl so that it is flat and a little sunken as per gen. The rep pearl is convex and is not sunken.
4. Water proof the watch. It is a diver right?
5. Swap datewheel to new ETA7753 movement
Gen Pearl
Rep Pearl
Gen Dial and Hands( Notice the hands are much lighter than the dial markers)
Rep Dial and Hands(notice the hands and dial markers are the same yellow color)
I will update this thread as things progress!
Watch getting ready to ship to redbigjoe
Update 6/24/13
And so it begins
Movement removed from case
Side by side with the new ETA7753 replacement
First bump in the road. The cheap rep hour subdial hand came apart from the post upon removal.
Second bump in the road. Apparently the rep datewheel does not fit on the eta movement. The gears are different and the movement is definitely not a 1:1 copy.
The gears are different
So now my options are 1. get a black eta 7753 datewheel with incorrect font and live with it until I can get a compatible datewheel 2. Source a true black eta compatible datewheel 3. scrap the upgrade and just sell the movement.
If any one can help that would be awesome!
Update 7/10/13
Ok the date wheel from davidsenjpn has come in and it fits perfectly in the date window! Also the font looks better than I thought it would. I was worried it might be too thin but it seems spot on. i asked for the thick font version. I found a gen pic to compare it to and it looks very close. It actually may be the same but the angle of the gen shot makes it hard to compare accurately.
Joe graciously squeezed this datewheel fitting in before he went on vacation so now I have to wait until next week to see how the rest goes. Also, he did mention concern on luming the dial markers saying that it would change the color of the markers. I've decided to skip the dial and just have him relume the hands and do the pearl mod. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Update 7/18/13
I am so bummed. Joe contacted me yesterday and told me that many of the datewheel numbers do not line up. Even though the "6" he tested before he left on vacation lined up well, upon further inspection yesterday, the other number do not.
As a result I have decided to pass on this upgrade. I do not want to spend more time and money on another datewheel that might work. If any of the watchsmiths have one that is compatible that would be great! Otherwise, as per Joe's advice, I have decided to just relume, water proof and service the A7753. Joe also offered that another pam rep chrono might work and that he could order one at his risk. What a guy! I am thinking of the new pam 356O. The date window which is perfectly centered between the "4" and "5" might actually fit the datewheel.
Thanks for following this thread!
Update 9/10/13
Well, as stated previously, I decided to scrap the movement upgrade and settle for a hand relume, pearl mod, light movement service(rbj said the movement was in great condition already) and water proofing. Here is a pic of the watch before he sent it today. Can't wait to see it in person. I'm debating if I should sell it with all these new watches out right now or keep it. I guess i'll have to get it in my hands and get reacquainted
