PAM 386 question

[nielsen]

Hello All: I've been out of touch for a bit.... I love the PAM 386 and didn't think it was rep-able, but I see Hont has one. I did a search but couldn't find any reviews here on the forum. So..... are they any good? I realize that it is DLC over stainless rather than composite, but how does it compare, visually, to the beautiful genuine?

 

[frigpig]

It's purple......

V1 was purple

V2 has the correct date wheel ect but still purple

Puretime has the latest one out shortly if not yet that is coated aluminum. It looks tons better now. And yes......... the gen is coated aluminum.

 

[nielsen]

You GOTTA be kidding.... the genuine is COATED ALUMINUM???? Are you serious????

 

[frigpig]

Here is the rep geek post on the matter. Technicly no, it's an aluminum compound.

http://www.repgeek.com/showthread.php?t=166180

 

[Papi]

Did you end up getting it from hont? Or from anyone else for that matter...

 

[Bonesey]

I had the V1 which was very nice, but the purple undertones killed it for me. V2 looks nicer for sure.

 

[ALE7575]

You GOTTA be kidding.... the genuine is COATED ALUMINUM???? Are you serious????

Hi nielssen

Absolutely NO, the gen is made of a "composite" very special material:

"The PAM composite is the result of an electrochemical process of ceramization of the aluminium, this material is harder than the ceramics normally used for cases in watch-making (zirconia), and also harder than metals like steel and titanium, as well as being lighter. Thanks to its qualities of ductility and reliability, the Panerai composite allows for complex and extremely precise workings and is the result of processes that, up to now, were employed in the creation of components for the aeronautic industry and for car and motorcycle races requiring the highest levels of performance."

The below rep from Puretime:
http://www.puretimewatch.com/product/pam386-m-composite-v2-on-asso-strap-a7750/
Is made of aluminium DLC Coated, and due to the low weight of the aluminium, the rep have a wight similar to the gen. But it is much softer thqn the gen.
A sandblasted finish in the rep gives to the watch a ceramic like aspect as the gen has.
The look is similar to the SS sandblasted DLC Coated but the weight is much closer to the gen
This rep from PURETIME is the closer to the original PAM

EDITED: July 2012. From the introduction of PAM 386 rep made of SS coated V1.1 version, this is the more accurate rep.
Concerning weight the more accurate continues being the Aluminium coated one. Read the PAM REVIEW-GUIDE
"Reference PAM REVIEW-GUIDE" - Replica Search, Identification, Evaluation & Selection

ALE

 

[jbetts1790]

still looks too purple from those pics... would be interesting to see if someone buys one and posts some "real world" photos!

 

[Papi]

Purchased a rep from Timeshop after doing some research. It’s decent… will post pics later this week. The purple undertones come out only in direct sunlight. Watch is extremely light in weight but after reading several threads – I guess the original is as well. Overall I’m pretty happy but you guys can judge from the pics I will be posting.

 

[mykeos]

This photo of the genhttp://www.watchstreet.com/img/users/maxime/panerai/tn/pam-386-4.jpg imho shows that the latest V1.1 version is pretty close.

Even the gen can look purplish under a certain light (http://montre24.com/exhmember/3/60/) an here:http://www.paneraiforum.de/wbb2/print.php?threadid=8453&page=3&sid=5498a7bae6ed26be4e12c9f63f23da69
I'll take the 1.1.

 

[machiavegli]

Here is my mini review of my V1 PAM 386. Now that I've had it for a while I would warn you the coating is extremely prone to chipping and wearing off, it should be issued with a brown Sharpie marker for touch ups. Would not buy again although it looks great out of the box. I'd love to hear from owners of other versions (V1.1, V2, puretime updated V2, etc) about durability of the finish after they've worn it a while to see if they all have this issue! I think I'm going to try and stick to SS or ceramic cases for now.

http://forum.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php/mini-review-brown-101851?t=101851

-Mach

 

[mykeos]

I think the 1.1 version should be less prone to wearing off/chipping than aluminum coated v2,since it's SS.Warm thanks for the warning tho and for the review.

 

[ALE7575]

I think the 1.1 version should be less prone to wearing off/chipping than aluminum coated v2,since it's SS.Warm thanks for the warning tho and for the review.

I don't think so.
FIRST- The hardness of the coating layer is the same in SS and in luminium. Of course the SS is harder than Aluminium, but this is under the coating layer.
SECOND- The weight of the Aluminum watch is almost half than SS one. The more heavy the easier to scraching.

Just my opinion
ALE

 

[mykeos]

I agree as far as the coating part is concerned,but the case damage is possible as well and I think the ss case wins here.On the other hand aluminium case is of course very tempting because of it's weight,which makes it somewhat closer to the gen.

 

[ALE7575]

I agree as far as the coating part is concerned,but the case damage is possible as well and I think the ss case wins here.On the other hand aluminium case is of course very tempting because of it's weight,which makes it somewhat closer to the gen.

+1
ALE