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PAM177 [HWF]

KOT1917

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Hello guys
I just bought a used, older PAM 177, HWF.
The watch is nice and all., but the crystal is very disapointing, as it is very reflective, and in a strange way that is (of course it's always depending on the lighting and the angle).
Any idea what I can do? replace crystal with a prof crystal ? or is there another supplier?
Thank you!

In general, for rep panerai of those years - normal.
For GEN, at first there was no coating, and the crystals were exactly like that, then for 176/177 in particular, AR appeared and became quite clearly blue, then they went colorless. So, in terms of proximity to GEN, I would not worry about this effect, although clarifying the series of release, it would probably turn out - with a slight blue tint, it would be more correct.
If you just subjectively need less glare, then perhaps you should contact Prof, and if he works, he can make such a 2AR that you will not see the crystal at all.
 

merowinger

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In general, for rep panerai of those years - normal.
For GEN, at first there was no coating, and the crystals were exactly like that, then for 176/177 in particular, AR appeared and became quite clearly blue, then they went colorless. So, in terms of proximity to GEN, I would not worry about this effect, although clarifying the series of release, it would probably turn out - with a slight blue tint, it would be more correct.
If you just subjectively need less glare, then perhaps you should contact Prof, and if he works, he can make such a 2AR that you will not see the crystal at all.
thanks , guys, for the fast reply!

I have had many crystals coated by sweetwatches.de, with good results. But I'm not so sure about this one, because the initial situation is bad (fisheye effect, strange reflections).. but maybe it's worth a try.
Of course, a Prof-crystal is even better as it is practically invisible, but of course it is also much more expensive with transportation and installation.
It is not important to me that the watch is as close as possible to the gen, but that the glass is as clear as possible.

the way it looks now, I don't want to wear it at all.
to me it looks as if you can recognize it from 5m as a rep (yea, i know, it's only in my head)
 
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KOT1917

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Always happy to be of useful. Really, there are no problems with this crystal. The fish eye effect is a must on this generation of bettarini. A bad crystal will have a clear white haze, or just poor transparency, like many old DSN crystals, for example. There is simply a lack of AR, as it would look on the same crystals of GEN Panerai, up to 2000 - 2002 - almost stable, on most models. So, I would not say that on the model of old titanium bettarini this obviously gives away rep. However, the main thing here is how comfortable you are.
 

allez

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Exactly as already described. This fisheye effect is normal for these models, but with the new submersibles it is also present in some (best Versions from vsf) reps, but here for submersibles it is really not right.

So everything is fine, but I can understand that someone fears that for outsiders the quality of such an effect on an otherwise perfect noob/H-fact 005, 111, 177 etc. will be diminished. For connoisseurs, however, it is normal and correct, so I would say that it is up to the wearer whether they want an accurate copy and enjoy obły as it comes for a fraction of the price of gen or just has a different purpose.

I have an H Maker 177 and I love it..
Its simple, easy to read and glows like a nuclear power plant in the dark.:alien:
And not mainstream watch which is spotted easy for every teenage guy as a rolex or that.
 

KOT1917

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Oh, and just for comparison here's an old noob 299 case. I imagine it would be the same in titanium if I had one to compare. Similar above the lugs weirdness and these pics are all zoomed in so much less noticeable in real life. I'm satisfied with the HWF 177 though.




Unfortunately, I missed a lot in this topic. Thanks for the valuable comments



Indeed, the color of the lume can be too different, and I came across senselessly green sampl



Regarding the texture of the dial in the question of the reflective ability of the paint - a very valuable remark, but from what I see, this quality has remained in the history of old NOOB and HF, I have not seen it in full anywhe



The thickness of the cutouts - in my opinion, is unacceptable, especially, coupled with green lu

The sandwich gives dynamism to the dial when looking at the indices, and in this case, everything, as you mentioned, in comparison with sausage

However, the sausage, on the example of HF 005, is not static, due to a small deepening and a share of transparent lume binder, which also makes it readable in life, but moderately playful in the light



As for the weight, I think everything is fine, I have quite a few examples of measuring titanium bettarini from different factories and all this from a little less than 70g., to 90g., depending on the model and manufactur



As for the sandwich, I would also pay attention to the roughly cut inner edges of the indices. This is rarely good, even, for example, on the PAM312 VSF, which is generally close to ideal, but the edges of the GEN are always well rounded before painti



The last thing I wanted to add is about the "processing defect" above the lugs. In your photos it looks a little more obvious than usual, but gen is always like this, and the older it is, the worse it is. For comparison, my PAM00656 gen, on which I would not expect to see this in these years of production, but neverthel





A nice shot of the gen sandwich vs rep:

ess.ng. er. . . me. re. es. . 



 
Last edited:

merowinger

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Thank you @KOT1917 for your expert opinion.
I understand now that the HWF-crystal is close to the gen from this era.

But like I said: it is simply not clear enough, for my taste

See this crystal comparison: PAM177 HWF vs PAM1229 VSF

 

allez

Active Member
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Thank you @KOT1917 for your expert opinion.
I understand now that the HWF-crystal is close to the gen from this era.

But like I said: it is simply not clear enough, for my taste

See this crystal comparison: PAM177 HWF vs PAM1229 VSF


Well, without owning a HWF or the VSF 1229 you showed in the comparison, it's difficult for me to judge.

I only can compare it with my H factory PAM177N, an older 176 (factory unknown) and the 1:1 comparison with the crystal of the VSF submersible PAM683.

Right on the outside of one of the pictures is added further a ZF PAM 682 with an anti-reflective coating that was added later, but not top notch .

So I can only estimate that the HWF crystal on yours may not be as good as the older H Factory in terms of quality...at least that's how it seems to me overall from pictures.

The comparison VSF planet ocean an 177 for me is the best one. The PO crystal is really good and I have a gen speedy that is not better in that. Here dis VSF a really impressive work