Panerai 111H AR question

[wobbler]

Hi all,

Great forum.

I have been loitering around these parts for some time now and have purchased quite a few watches. My latest acquisition is a PAM111H that I bought from Davidsen.
I love the watch , the lume is great crown pin looks ace movement is fine etc.
The only thing is that the crystal still gives off a slight blue hue, it is not overly bad but I was wondering if it is worth my while getting a new crystal from an AR specialist (eg Fine DD) or is a slight blue hue pretty difficult to shift??

Any help appreciated.

I paid quite a bit of money for this watch and would pay a little bit more to get it absolutely perfect.

Many thanks.

 

[takashi]

Well, you come to the right place.

Here you go:
http://www.2geek.net/eMart/index.php?c=21&p=69

Ready to ship

 

[drivesick]

Wobbler, you have a few choices.

You can remove your crystal and send it away to get re ar'd by Chief, FindDD, or 2 Geek. The problem with this is you will be out of your watch for at least a month but normally closer to 3.

Remove the AR on your crystal. There are instructions around the board on how to do this. (Last choice imo)

The best choice to me is purchase one of the 2Geek crystals and have it installed. No being without your watch for a long period of time. You can even do the swap yourself with a cheap crystal press you can but for $20 - $30 and some patience... I haven't seen that particular crystal but have ordered other items from 2geek including a crystal and everything so far is top notch!

You asked for options so there they are. Good luck!

 

[hooligan]

How slightly blue is it? I'm sitting here looking at my gen G series Panerai and it has a slightly blue hue to the AR as well. Some of the older crystals were quite accurate with the slightly blue AR color, actually (depending on the model).

 

[takashi]

We include free AR stripping if you were to choose for aftermarket AR coatings. As many steps further, we charge very reasonable amount for crystal deinstallation and installation. Please refer to www.2geek.net/eMart/service.php for more details.

We will have the run very very soon so it's best to act fast, otherwise as stated, the fastest and very reasonable option is to purchase the readily coated glass

Good luck on achieving your goal of the "ultimate" 111.

 

[wobbler]

Hi again everyone, many thanks for all the replies, appreciated.

To be honest it is hard to describe exactly how blue it is. I would have to say "slightly" blue, I have a PAM00025 that cost a lot less than my DSN 111H and that one is really blue but it only cost something like $130 so it's all relative.

Hooligan, I would describe it as slightly blue as you described for your gen.

I don't know guys maybe I'm getting a bit too anal, it's a fantastic watch the superlume gets me buzzing every time I see it (especially when I come inside out of the sun) but now I have in my mind that it may look a bit tacky because of the blue hue.

Thanks for the info drivesick I would probably buy the glass from tak and get it swapped at a local watch repair shop, even with that I don't know how I stand (like do they deal in Pams and rep Pams at that??)

So if I went with you takashi I could send the crystal in with around a 2-6 week turnaround or I could just buy the crystal and then take it in to a local shop to get it fitted? Is either option better or is the crystal only option as good as me sending it in?
I am looking for the "no glass" effect.

 

[drivesick]

Wobbler, As for swapping the crystal at a repair shop. Really depends on the watchsmith. I've found a rep friendly watchsmith where I live (Las Vegas) but it took some digging. Where are you located???

A crystal swap on a manual 44mm pam isn't to bad at all to attemp on your own. The crystal press does make it a lot easier. Much easier than doing a auto with date-window or the fiddy cause of the huge crystal...

 

[wobbler]

Wobbler, As for swapping the crystal at a repair shop. Really depends on the watchsmith. I've found a rep friendly watchsmith where I live (Las Vegas) but it took some digging. Where are you located???

A crystal swap on a manual 44mm pam isn't to bad at all to attemp on your own. The crystal press does make it a lot easier. Much easier than doing a auto with date-window or the fiddy cause of the huge crystal...

Hi again drivestick, I'm located in South West England mate, a fairly small town (pop 100,000) there are a few watchsmith's but tried a couple and seems a no-go. I have a few more to check with tomorrow.

I know if I attempt to do it on my own something will go wrong lol!

 

[takashi]

That is right. The key is using proper tools. You can get the sticky ball opener or better still, pam 44 specialised pam caseback opener. I think offshore has one of this. Good luck on finding your watchsmith. Usually but not always the younger ones are a little bit more open minded about working on reps.

 

[wobbler]

That is right. The key is using proper tools. You can get the sticky ball opener or better still, pam 44 specialised pam caseback opener. I think offshore has one of this. Good luck on finding your watchsmith. Usually but not always the younger ones are a little bit more open minded about working on reps.

Thanks takashi, I will let you know how I get on later today.

 

[wobbler]

Right guys here's an update.

Managed to find a watchsmith in my home town that is willing to do the swap.

Now I have a few questions for takashi:

The link you showed me (in your earlier post) is for a glass ready to be shipped. Now is that the same thickness as my current glass? Also you say you have an AR run coming up soon, now is the quality of the one ready to ship going to be of the same quality as the ones coming up? Sorry for all these dumb questions but if I am going to spend even more money on my baby then I need to know these things.