I almost bought PAM 380 but Joshua (not TD here) proposed new PAM 292J. I did not notice it was available before, so after not much hesitation I changed my order. Glad I did.
Gen PAM 292 was introduced in 2007 as a part of their historic series. Sported ceramic case and bezel, 2.2mm sapphire and black sandwich dial with Pig submarine in it J-series. Gen movement is Calibre OP XI, based on ETA 6497-2 (21'600 vph.) the same as found in i.e. PAM 111.
Quote: "When the 292 was first announced, the paneristi world went wild. Everyone called their dealers and put their names down. When they first made it to the street, the flippers had a field day. There was an incredible pent up demand. Prices went through the roof. The following year, when the series was continued (sans pig), prices were still high. However, it really wasn't that hard to get one anymore and so prices moderated a bit.(…).
J-series were having SLC Pig (Siluro a Lenta Corsa, wiki [ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manned_torpedo[/ame]) submarine pressed on the dial. All of them, 1000 pieces. Next series were Pig-less with exception of L-series, where little submarine was available in few pieces. Just Panerai thing
Making cases: "Panerai makes its ceramic watches from zirconium oxide, which it obtains by pressurizing the material in powder form, to achieve a uniform, even appearance, and very high quality."
I guess the replica method of getting case done for rep 292 was less costly way of how ceramic cases are produced, such as injecting the material into a mold. So far both makers (H-factory & Noob) directly on non-directly confirms their ceramic material was "imported" one and of high quality.
Unfortunately, considering the gen release, Panerai had some tremendous production problems, where very small quantities were provided to the market. Some paneristis said Panerai's production level was as low as up to 80 watches per month on the very beginning. Later, with latter part of J-series, they probably outsourced cases production to another manufacturer (Joshua / Perfect Clones suggest it was probably a Chinese one) able to provide ceramic cases in needed quantities.
Anyway, forming watch cases from zirconium oxide powder is not a child play. Now it continues to affect ceramic crown cap issue. Owners of 292J series recognized the case and bezel to be ceramic, while buckle, caseback and crown to be black PVD stainless steel. Few even recognized the different light reflection abilities between case and crown as a "fine contrast by design". MAYBE the latter part of J-series and newer ones seem to be equipped with ceramic crown caps, the possibility available when case production was outsourced to unknown company, I guess. It is 100% correct that M-serie 292 has ceramic crown.
On the beginning of 2011 some posts appeared on paneristi.com announcing the problem of easy to crack ceramic crown caps (probably M-serie). It was enough to bump at it, drop on the floor etc. to make it crack. Interesting, since I wasn't able to find any earlier post about this problem than beginning of 2011 - despite ceramic crown caps were probably delivered from 2008 onward. Probably another change of case supplier or change in technology. Owners declared that broken crown caps were replaced "quickly" by Panerai.
So, in case of recent PAM 292J release by H-factory and expected one from Noob maker - the PVD crown is the valid one. Word of caution - ceramic crown can crack easily and even Panerai had troubles handling it.
Now to photos:
It is quite difficult to catch the shape of that pig...
Crown… PVD glory
Different angle to show polished part of the crown with Panerai logo:
It is matte from the side, as on gen:
Crisp, deep engraving of serial number:
More desperate attempts to get the pig:
Lume is typical C1+C3 luminova torch Unfortunately, no photo of it since I wasn't having enough time to play with it.
As You can see, the minute hand has to be pressed a bit down since it is not flush with CP. It is cosmetic problem and it will take my watch smith just enought time to tell few jokes to get it set right way. I found it visible on QC pictures but I know how easy it is to correct so decided it is good to go.
Gen PAM 292 was introduced in 2007 as a part of their historic series. Sported ceramic case and bezel, 2.2mm sapphire and black sandwich dial with Pig submarine in it J-series. Gen movement is Calibre OP XI, based on ETA 6497-2 (21'600 vph.) the same as found in i.e. PAM 111.
Quote: "When the 292 was first announced, the paneristi world went wild. Everyone called their dealers and put their names down. When they first made it to the street, the flippers had a field day. There was an incredible pent up demand. Prices went through the roof. The following year, when the series was continued (sans pig), prices were still high. However, it really wasn't that hard to get one anymore and so prices moderated a bit.(…).
J-series were having SLC Pig (Siluro a Lenta Corsa, wiki [ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manned_torpedo[/ame]) submarine pressed on the dial. All of them, 1000 pieces. Next series were Pig-less with exception of L-series, where little submarine was available in few pieces. Just Panerai thing
Making cases: "Panerai makes its ceramic watches from zirconium oxide, which it obtains by pressurizing the material in powder form, to achieve a uniform, even appearance, and very high quality."
I guess the replica method of getting case done for rep 292 was less costly way of how ceramic cases are produced, such as injecting the material into a mold. So far both makers (H-factory & Noob) directly on non-directly confirms their ceramic material was "imported" one and of high quality.
Unfortunately, considering the gen release, Panerai had some tremendous production problems, where very small quantities were provided to the market. Some paneristis said Panerai's production level was as low as up to 80 watches per month on the very beginning. Later, with latter part of J-series, they probably outsourced cases production to another manufacturer (Joshua / Perfect Clones suggest it was probably a Chinese one) able to provide ceramic cases in needed quantities.
Anyway, forming watch cases from zirconium oxide powder is not a child play. Now it continues to affect ceramic crown cap issue. Owners of 292J series recognized the case and bezel to be ceramic, while buckle, caseback and crown to be black PVD stainless steel. Few even recognized the different light reflection abilities between case and crown as a "fine contrast by design". MAYBE the latter part of J-series and newer ones seem to be equipped with ceramic crown caps, the possibility available when case production was outsourced to unknown company, I guess. It is 100% correct that M-serie 292 has ceramic crown.
On the beginning of 2011 some posts appeared on paneristi.com announcing the problem of easy to crack ceramic crown caps (probably M-serie). It was enough to bump at it, drop on the floor etc. to make it crack. Interesting, since I wasn't able to find any earlier post about this problem than beginning of 2011 - despite ceramic crown caps were probably delivered from 2008 onward. Probably another change of case supplier or change in technology. Owners declared that broken crown caps were replaced "quickly" by Panerai.
So, in case of recent PAM 292J release by H-factory and expected one from Noob maker - the PVD crown is the valid one. Word of caution - ceramic crown can crack easily and even Panerai had troubles handling it.
Now to photos:
It is quite difficult to catch the shape of that pig...
Crown… PVD glory
Different angle to show polished part of the crown with Panerai logo:
It is matte from the side, as on gen:
Crisp, deep engraving of serial number:
More desperate attempts to get the pig:
Lume is typical C1+C3 luminova torch
Unfortunately, no photo of it since I wasn't having enough time to play with it. As You can see, the minute hand has to be pressed a bit down since it is not flush with CP. It is cosmetic problem and it will take my watch smith just enought time to tell few jokes to get it set right way. I found it visible on QC pictures but I know how easy it is to correct so decided it is good to go.
