I began a search for what I would consider a dress watch. It seemed like most of the watches that I was finding and classified as “Dress†were on what I consider the smaller side with an average 40mm case. My perfect range is a 45-47mm for my 7.5†wrist.
On Oct 1 nalonrico (@ RWG) posted a wristie of his PAM 511 on a nice custom leather strap and immediately I knew that would fit my requirements perfect. I sent nalonrico a pm and inquired some additional information. He kindly pointed me over to Toro. I had not made any purchases from Toro yet but nalonrico let me know to just pm him to inquire about using PayPal. The entire process was fast! PM sent and quickly replied with the goahead for PayPal.
Order placed on 10-02-2015, QC’s received and OK’d for shipping on 10-03-2015.
I knew I wanted a nicer leather strap even though the reviews here indicated that the overall quality on the rep strap really was not bad. Following up on a different post from GentLE (@ RWG) I went to an eBay seller in Vietnam. He did not have anything that would fit me listed so I made contact with him and requested a different size. Great service and communication from this seller. We worked out all the details and the order was placed on 10-04-2015. On 10-20-2015 I received the pictures of the finished strap and made the payment. Ten days later and the strap had arrived!
All of this is a bit of a preamble to the actual watch. It seems Toro takes a lot of flak for things that really are not his fault. The only thing I want to call Toro out on is the wristie he posted on 10-30-2015 (@ RWG). I believe his account got hijacked. I know what Toro’s hands and nails look like from reviewing all the QC’s and this wristie was not his
. Toro advised against DHL shipping and recommended air mail; not what I wanted but I trusted his experience and followed his advice. No complaints at all!
Toro provided fantastic and fast service!
And Now the Watch! Toro’s Description:
DESCRIPTION: From the V6 Factory
CASE: 18K Rose Gold Plated Solid 316L Stainless Steel Case
MOVEMENT: Asian UNITAS 6497-2 17J Hand-Winding Movement Mod P5000 Plate
DIMENSIONS: 44mm x 15mm
CRYSTAL: Sapphire Crystal with AR Coating
STRAP / BRACELET: Leather
Overall quality is great! I am easy to please and not that picky. The biggest thing that struck me on this watch is that the case is a 44mm but I swear it wears closer to a 47mm and in my book this is a bonus!
The finish: Rose Gold is a good quality and tone. I did notice a VERY SMALL unevenness in one spot of the plating. I believe it is close to the 6 and 7 marker however you can’t see it until it is viewed on a macro photo shot.
The movement: what can you say… it is a 6497 and feels smooth and solid when winding. The 6497 is my preferred movement in the lower prices reps ( < $300 )
The lume: I will let the pictures do the speaking on this. I think it is pretty darn good
The strap: As others have stated, the leather strap that comes with the watch is not a bad quality at all. It has a decent feel and texture to it and came with the RG Panerai buckle. My personal taste just did not care for the white stitching as I felt it took away from a dressier look.
The croc strap from Vietnam: $35 delivered from Vietnam. Genuine croc, padded 5mm on the lug end down to a 2mm. The color, stitching and overall craftsmanship is really nice especially at this price point. This will not need much breaking in at all. I placed a RG deployment clasp on this in place of the Panerai buckle since I felt it gives the overall look of the watch a dressier appeal ( IMO ) which was my goal.
Overall experience: In less than 30 days from order I have both a fantastic watch and custom leather strap both from Asia to the USA and I think that is great service.
Watch Ordered: 10-02-2015 / Received: 10-18-2015
Strap Ordered: 10-04-2015 / Received 10-30-2015
And now the pics! On the original rep strap first:
and then on the croc strap
Thanks for looking and now it looks like I need to update my post for my collection. :biggrin:
On Oct 1 nalonrico (@ RWG) posted a wristie of his PAM 511 on a nice custom leather strap and immediately I knew that would fit my requirements perfect. I sent nalonrico a pm and inquired some additional information. He kindly pointed me over to Toro. I had not made any purchases from Toro yet but nalonrico let me know to just pm him to inquire about using PayPal. The entire process was fast! PM sent and quickly replied with the goahead for PayPal.
Order placed on 10-02-2015, QC’s received and OK’d for shipping on 10-03-2015.
I knew I wanted a nicer leather strap even though the reviews here indicated that the overall quality on the rep strap really was not bad. Following up on a different post from GentLE (@ RWG) I went to an eBay seller in Vietnam. He did not have anything that would fit me listed so I made contact with him and requested a different size. Great service and communication from this seller. We worked out all the details and the order was placed on 10-04-2015. On 10-20-2015 I received the pictures of the finished strap and made the payment. Ten days later and the strap had arrived!
All of this is a bit of a preamble to the actual watch. It seems Toro takes a lot of flak for things that really are not his fault. The only thing I want to call Toro out on is the wristie he posted on 10-30-2015 (@ RWG). I believe his account got hijacked. I know what Toro’s hands and nails look like from reviewing all the QC’s and this wristie was not his
. Toro advised against DHL shipping and recommended air mail; not what I wanted but I trusted his experience and followed his advice. No complaints at all!Toro provided fantastic and fast service!
And Now the Watch! Toro’s Description:
DESCRIPTION: From the V6 Factory
CASE: 18K Rose Gold Plated Solid 316L Stainless Steel Case
MOVEMENT: Asian UNITAS 6497-2 17J Hand-Winding Movement Mod P5000 Plate
DIMENSIONS: 44mm x 15mm
CRYSTAL: Sapphire Crystal with AR Coating
STRAP / BRACELET: Leather
Overall quality is great! I am easy to please and not that picky. The biggest thing that struck me on this watch is that the case is a 44mm but I swear it wears closer to a 47mm and in my book this is a bonus!
The finish: Rose Gold is a good quality and tone. I did notice a VERY SMALL unevenness in one spot of the plating. I believe it is close to the 6 and 7 marker however you can’t see it until it is viewed on a macro photo shot.
The movement: what can you say… it is a 6497 and feels smooth and solid when winding. The 6497 is my preferred movement in the lower prices reps ( < $300 )
The lume: I will let the pictures do the speaking on this. I think it is pretty darn good
The strap: As others have stated, the leather strap that comes with the watch is not a bad quality at all. It has a decent feel and texture to it and came with the RG Panerai buckle. My personal taste just did not care for the white stitching as I felt it took away from a dressier look.
The croc strap from Vietnam: $35 delivered from Vietnam. Genuine croc, padded 5mm on the lug end down to a 2mm. The color, stitching and overall craftsmanship is really nice especially at this price point. This will not need much breaking in at all. I placed a RG deployment clasp on this in place of the Panerai buckle since I felt it gives the overall look of the watch a dressier appeal ( IMO ) which was my goal.
Overall experience: In less than 30 days from order I have both a fantastic watch and custom leather strap both from Asia to the USA and I think that is great service.
Watch Ordered: 10-02-2015 / Received: 10-18-2015
Strap Ordered: 10-04-2015 / Received 10-30-2015
And now the pics! On the original rep strap first:
and then on the croc strap
Thanks for looking and now it looks like I need to update my post for my collection. :biggrin: