Pam 253 : Id and restore

[mrsullivan]

Hello Pam freaks,

In my neverending search of a Regatta, I just stumbled on this one in M2M on a sister forum.
Without much infos about its origins and despite it's in an obvious used condition, I gave it a try and got it this morning.

I'm not too aware of the different factories and versions of production for these 253, any hint on who made this one please ?

Also, the crystal need a change. I know WSO for instance sells some, can standard 253 crystals fit on such a rep (not sure about case and bezel measurments yet)?

Thanl you all.

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[Natas78]

Congrats with your purchase.
These are pretty good watches, well made and the movement is reliable as long as you know the do’s & don’ts.
They are pretty much 1:1 to the gens so the crystal should be the same size.
Always measure the crystal and not the bezel.
Good luck!


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[JayBee0815]

Maybee this thread on our sister board is helpful for you ...
https://www.rwg.bz/board/index.php?/topic/51722-looking-for-pam-253i/

I used it to find out more about my 253 ;-)

Some details, with which you may define the factory/version are the "30 Jewels" on the rotor and the "I" in front of the serial number (slainted or not slainted).

Here is as a comparison a picture of my old 253 (31 Jewels and non slainted "I") ...

Anyway: Congratulations to this wonderful watch. Some day I hope to find one for me too. It was my biggest mistake, to trade it away ;-)

 

[mrsullivan]

Thank you both gentlemen (@Natas78 I love that blue Slytech from you!), JayBee0815 thank you for the link, digging in it right away.

Cheers !

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[Seamusflood]

I’d give my right arm for one of these


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[granvino]

You got a now very rare H Factory solid rep. I had one and of course I now regret selling it. They look awesome on a carbon fiber strap. Good restoring project too....

 

[mrsullivan]

Thank you granvino , Hfac indeed.

I went digging in the thread above and our great Pam guide here by ALE, and I tend toward the V5. I could'nt find much pictures of Hfac older samples to compare (most TDs links are dead and so on) but the dial printings and its nice hobnails, indexes spacing with tachy, rotor plate, CG shape, all these lean toward the description I read of V5.
Not sure about the "i" in serial though, some may see it a bit slanted but so far that watch looks more like a V5 than a V3.

I just put it on my old OEM carbon strap and there it goes, love it.

The crystal shows 36,80mm when measured right above the bezel, which makes me think that the WSO 37mm with 5,5mm height offer could fit. It's quite expensive but I'll give it a try.
In the end, a good polish/brushing and it should be like a reborn icon.

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[up_right]

Here is my 253 with the slanted I.

 

[mrsullivan]

Here is my 253 with the slanted I

Thank you for this sample, so as I understand it the slanted "I" refers to V3 or older versions of the watch. The caseback engravings look better centered than mine actually, nice 253 you have here too.

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[up_right]

Thank you for this sample, so as I understand it the slanted "I" refers to V3 or older versions of the watch. The caseback engravings look better centered than mine actually, nice 253 you have here too.

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Good to know!

This watch was mint when I received it. I used the chrono once on this one and the pusher got stuck down... so I had to pull it back out with pliers! hahaha

 

[mskwatch]

You made me curious need to grab mine from the safe and check

 

[nardin]

My 212 says hi.
Those are great reps.
I'm planning to put a Swiss ETA movement with blue screws and use the rep rotor because it's definitely a keeper.

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[mrsullivan]

Just got my 253 back from JohnnyDepp, with the brand new crystal from WSO freshly installed.
I must point that despite being a bit expensive it is a very good replacement option : thick, good fit, with a great optical result, I'm more than happy with it.

The movement worked ok so JD passed on the service, and the watch passed waterproofing (although diving is no the goal).

All in all, after thinking of a rebrush I finally decided to keep it as it is, with the daily wear marks. I don't know, a few dings give it more life and history, proper age marks for a supposed 15 yo watch

Cheers to all

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[KOT1917]

It looks really good in general photos. Happy for you. Show a profile photo at right angles to see the shape of the dome?

 

[mrsullivan]

Here are more angled shots at it :

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[asanibal]

Very nice
The version where the color of the second hand (darker in previous versions? And the rotor holder where the last version had the same as Gen.

Mines is one of the previous versions.

 

[Casinoboy]

Damn nice.. years ago sold mine hard to find one of these now..

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