So, I have a fascination with genuine tritium dials. This is well established. There’s just something about the Panerai era from 1993 through 2003-ish that maintains that “hand made†look that has been gradually lost in the years that followed. In particular I love the Panerai Submersibles and have been jumping at every chance I have to source a gen Sub dial.
Naturally, when I had a shot at a gen PAM087 E Series La Bomba dial, in all of its royal blue and yellow patina glory, I had to pull the trigger.
The only problem is where the hell do I source a good case for the dial? This question is rhetorical… There’s virtually no way. These watches are long since buried in the watch boxes of collectors that have moved on from the hobby or guard them jealously with insane asking prices.
Then it hit me. I remember reading somewhere that the PAM243 is actually a redesign of the PAM087. I thought, what’s a more fitting way to improve one of the best replicas ever made than to fit it with the genuine dial of the watch that inspired it? This question is rhetorical…there isn’t a better way
This is the La Bomba PAM087E. You can see it is based on the classic 44mm La Bomba mid case. Also shared with the PAM064. The CGs were unique to the La Bomba Subs of the time period with 1000m engraved on the lever. Some call it “Tuna Can†Sub, but I reject that. I think the only Tuna Can is THE Tuna Can PAM193 47mm Depth Guage mid case. The "Less dial and more bezel" and unique CG separate it from the other less beefy subs of the time like the PAM024 and PAM025
Now for the PAM243. It is actually a cross between the Tuna Can and the La Bomba. It has a 44mm fiddy mid case, Tuna Can (fiddy) CG with 1000m engraved lever, and the La Bomba bezel/dial size. The main thing that ties it to the La Bomba is the bezel and complications.
This leads to me to last night when I got my Noob PAM243 in the mail and sat down to give this project a go… The big question I had in my mind was, will the dial fit?
The gen La Bomba dial is surprisingly small measuring at 29.57mm
I stopped along the way to admire the internal case construction of the Noob 243, this thing is seriously gen like and amazing. The caseback O Rings are twice as thick as any other rep O ring I have seen and it has the proper gen double O ring system: one on the case back and one on the case.
All I could hear was a drum roll in my head as I carefully mic'd the beautiful PAM243 dial. “PLEASE be the right size!â€
“Boom goes the dynamite†(google it)…. Huzzah! We are in business, mates! The Pam243 dials measures a perfect 29.68mm. Time to build!
Once again, I had to stop along the way to admire the quality of the Noob finish and components. There were no excess oil smudges on the movement, no finger prints. The dial retainer arms had a tight fitting, strong feeling to them. It very much reminded me of the genuine Panerai 7750 movement that I have. And the dial has a beautiful semi-matte finish, identical to the gen dials I have handled.
One thing I The blue paint on the La Bomba dial is less even and almost has a texture to it. Maybe it's the varnish that caused the texture appearance? However the concentric circles are still plain as day on the 087 Dial.
In contrast, they are ALMOST non-existent on the 243. They are faint, but I think they are there.
Anyway… assemble, press, grease, This big beauty is ready to go.
I give you my first intentionally “WRONG†Fantasy Franken the PAM243 La Bomba
If this is wrong, I don’t want to be right
Naturally, when I had a shot at a gen PAM087 E Series La Bomba dial, in all of its royal blue and yellow patina glory, I had to pull the trigger.
The only problem is where the hell do I source a good case for the dial? This question is rhetorical… There’s virtually no way. These watches are long since buried in the watch boxes of collectors that have moved on from the hobby or guard them jealously with insane asking prices.
Then it hit me. I remember reading somewhere that the PAM243 is actually a redesign of the PAM087. I thought, what’s a more fitting way to improve one of the best replicas ever made than to fit it with the genuine dial of the watch that inspired it? This question is rhetorical…there isn’t a better way
This is the La Bomba PAM087E. You can see it is based on the classic 44mm La Bomba mid case. Also shared with the PAM064. The CGs were unique to the La Bomba Subs of the time period with 1000m engraved on the lever. Some call it “Tuna Can†Sub, but I reject that. I think the only Tuna Can is THE Tuna Can PAM193 47mm Depth Guage mid case. The "Less dial and more bezel" and unique CG separate it from the other less beefy subs of the time like the PAM024 and PAM025
Now for the PAM243. It is actually a cross between the Tuna Can and the La Bomba. It has a 44mm fiddy mid case, Tuna Can (fiddy) CG with 1000m engraved lever, and the La Bomba bezel/dial size. The main thing that ties it to the La Bomba is the bezel and complications.
This leads to me to last night when I got my Noob PAM243 in the mail and sat down to give this project a go… The big question I had in my mind was, will the dial fit?
The gen La Bomba dial is surprisingly small measuring at 29.57mm
I stopped along the way to admire the internal case construction of the Noob 243, this thing is seriously gen like and amazing. The caseback O Rings are twice as thick as any other rep O ring I have seen and it has the proper gen double O ring system: one on the case back and one on the case.
All I could hear was a drum roll in my head as I carefully mic'd the beautiful PAM243 dial. “PLEASE be the right size!â€
“Boom goes the dynamite†(google it)…. Huzzah! We are in business, mates! The Pam243 dials measures a perfect 29.68mm. Time to build!
Once again, I had to stop along the way to admire the quality of the Noob finish and components. There were no excess oil smudges on the movement, no finger prints. The dial retainer arms had a tight fitting, strong feeling to them. It very much reminded me of the genuine Panerai 7750 movement that I have. And the dial has a beautiful semi-matte finish, identical to the gen dials I have handled.
One thing I The blue paint on the La Bomba dial is less even and almost has a texture to it. Maybe it's the varnish that caused the texture appearance? However the concentric circles are still plain as day on the 087 Dial.
In contrast, they are ALMOST non-existent on the 243. They are faint, but I think they are there.
Anyway… assemble, press, grease, This big beauty is ready to go.
I give you my first intentionally “WRONG†Fantasy Franken the PAM243 La Bomba
If this is wrong, I don’t want to be right
