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{*PCTeam*} H-factory PAM 089E anthracite- Review

PolonusTM

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PAM 089E

I got this watch from Joshua / Perfect Clones, being probably the first or second person ordering it ;) Pam GMT, titanium and anthracite dial - enough for me ;)

Info about GEN 089E:

pam89_zps206df605.jpg


TimeKeeperss comment:

"The PAM89 44mm titanium GMT was made for D, E, F and G series in very limited quantities. The PAM89 was always a hot watch in short supply among authorized dealers and independent watch dealers alike. Most collectors simply refuse to part with their PAM89 titanium GMT and for that reason, there are not many of these available in the secondary marketplace.

The PAM 89 44mm titanium GMT has a completely brushed/satin finished look with no shiny parts anywhere on the case, bezel or crown protector. What makes the PAM89 standout is the silky anthracite (fancy name for charcoal) dial with jet black sub seconds dial at 9:00. The anthracite dial is chameleon-like; many people would swear it is blue while others think it is black. In reality it is a smoky grey that depending on the clothes you are wearing or the light that is shining on it, it takes on the appearance of its surroundings. This is a classic and desirable Panerai watch that is available in very short supply and is becoming increasingly harder to find in the secondary market.

THIS IS ALSO BILL CLINTON'S PANERAI OF CHOICE - THERE ARE MANY PHOTOS OF WILLIAM JEFFERSON CIRCULATING ON THE INTERNET WITH HIS FAVORITE 89!!!"

Interesting. Bill and his 089.

…back to the rep:

Movement

Asian 7750 with GMT module as per gen (which means it uses day wheel to move 24h GMT arm). When You pull the crown to the first position, rotating in one direction quickly set date while in other direction - jump-move GMT hand. It is my third watch based on A7750 GMT from H-maker - no problems so far. Seems A7750 GMT is exclusive for H-factory while i.e. A7753 is exclusive for Noob.

Anthracite dial

Anthracite is a type of mineral coal. Look here Anthracite - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia .
I personally do not believe Panerai used real anthracite for their dials. To me it is more like fashion way of calling the color/effect combination as "anthracite". I allowed myself to quote aladin_sane/WUS on this matter: "(…) it is highly unlikely that anyone is using coal as a dial material for a couple of reasons. First, coal, even anthracite, is very soft, and friable. I don't think it would machine well or stand up to shock. Second coal is full of volatile materials. If you took slice of anthracite and encased it under a watch crystal, in a short time, the heat of the sun would vaporize some of the organic material or even water that is present in the coal and it would fog the crystal."

Can You even imagine cutting out subdial or date window in such a brittle material? Or.. solder the dial feet in place, and watch it burn? ;) (I know I know - just joking)

So what is it? Anodized / vertically brushed aluminum? Maybe… Does it react to light as gen on various photos? Yes, it does! However making photo of vertical brushed lines is a pita with artificial light.

Hands and lume

Hands are perfect as known from previous H-factory GMT releases (237 & 088). Polished Cannon Pin - in my experience you can pull or push minute hand on the pin to adjust surfaces to the same level.

Crown Guard

internalcorners_zps895011ff.jpg


CG internal edges are not sharp 90º angled corners. They are not even round, they look like three surfaces combined to make into a corner so I bet it was made by a machining process of broaching. Why broaching? Because CG internal corners are even more dull that on SS version of H-factory CGs, which is normal when broaching harder materials like titanium. You want to avoid 90º corners when broaching hard materials because the tool (broach) becomes dull too fast. The tool is probably custom made for H-factory replications, maybe they have two of them: one for SS and one for titanium (less pronounced corners). Why do I think they do this machining by broaching? Because broach is an expensive to make custom cutting tool. Easy 10-15 USD grands for one. Really. That's why they cannot just "sharpen" internal corners despite all our loud talking - the tools are too expensive to just forget about them. I guess Noob factory does the same job by CNC milling. More expensive, I guess - but gives you sharp corners.

example broaching tools:
broachers_zps1cb85ad1.jpg


Coming back to overall CG shape when comparing with gen: it is a bit different, but maybe can be recognized as variation in production as well. The arc of top surface of CG is a bit bigger on rep than on a gen (whoa… that was nitpicking at full speed!) Anyway, it is visible on the watch when looking from CG side. One-glance-to-know-its-a-rep is possible ;)

CG_shapes_zps7c8e6c89.jpg

CGcaseMatch_zpse3fc3681.jpg


Titanium case-set

dial-details_zpsd2ce0e4e.jpg


Well, it looks pretty much the same as case-set for PAM 240J. Good, satin brushed surfaces, dull in look etc.

sideview_zps2addf275.jpg


But when looking on gen to rep photos kindly presented by Joshua on PC site, I found that there is something wrong in lug shapes… maybe the angles of as photos were taken… but no.. I did quick overlay job in PS and here is the result:

lugshape_zps3b080bae.jpg


But guess what.. The lugs shape CHANGED on the gen: the gen E-series are having lower top of lugs while F-series of 089 have the same shape as from H-factory! Look:

gen_lugs_89f_zps782cc02e.jpg


The top of gen CG is more flat than the rep CG anyway, regardless series…

So… when someone knows about the lug shapes in connection to E and F series - he can prooobaaaablyyy spot the lug shape difference when handling the rep directly. But on Your wrist - never.

FINAL CONCLUSIONS

pros:
- they got the anthracite dial RIGHT
- sapphire with polished internal side walls of date loupe
- GMT mod of A7750 is already proven one and works well
- superlume
- titanium caseset is nicely machined
- nice strap in case of this version of watch bundle

cons:
- wrong CG shape
- wrong lugs profile for E-series but correct for F-series so no problem on a wrist
- price… but prices are slowly getting higher and higher

Possible modding: source Noob factory titanium CG… but the lever has a roller which is wrong for 089E… so maybe H-factory titanium lever will fit Noob CG?

As a watch: it is amazing! Anthracite dial makes it! Look very elegant / tasteful in combo with titanium case-set.

Super Rep? With correct CG it would be easily Super Rep, hands down. Now it is between First Class and Super Rep in my opinion.

01_zps3b67b7be.jpg

02_zpsfeaf7410.jpg

03_zpsf1643fb3.jpg

04_zpsab5890e6.jpg

05_zpsa6515f95.jpg

06_zpsaec279b1.jpg

07_zpsa971b649.jpg

09_zps3ecb2104.jpg

08_zps1ba41ee9.jpg


And HD Video:
P089e - YouTube
 

kaniel

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28/10/10
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Wow!! Now that's a good review!

Congrats for your watch and thanks for sharing all the info!

I think the H factory has to do something with their CGs... Nowadays Noob and latest KW CGs are much better than H factory's.

I miss a lumeshot and a wristshot! LOL
 

invisible1

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Excellent review and analysis Polonus! Thanks for the effort...guys like you make RWI an excellent resource.

I own this same watch. I received it 2 days ago. According to your detailed analysis, the rep has 2 tells. In my opinion the tells are minor. The PAM 089 is a beautiful watch!
 

PolonusTM

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I think the same - tells are not bothering me at all :)
 

sanankid

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very nice, what happens if you swap cg with the gen? i am assuming it still wont line up with top of case correctly.
 

PolonusTM

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very nice, what happens if you swap cg with the gen? i am assuming it still wont line up with top of case correctly.

On the contrary - it will match the case I suppose.


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Q5?

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Great review of a great watch! :cheers:
 

ALE7575

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Many thanks Polonus
This is a great Review of a fantastic watch.

I was looking forward to the release of this replica because DSN version was not good enough IMO.
Althought the little evident flaw, mainly in crown guard and case shape (lugs), this is a very beautiful watch and you can forget the flaws without problems.

I think that Case and CG of this replica are the same as replica PAM 061, Isn't it??

This a clear watch to the wishlist of many people

For sure one of my preferred PAMs

Your review enhances these impressions

Thanks again for the effort and very nice pics.

ALE
 

PolonusTM

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I think that Case and CG of this replica are the same as replica PAM 061, Isn't it??

I don't know if 061 has the same case (is it really 6497=case=7750 ?) but clearly the CG is different. The CG from rep 061 would look better on 089 :)

I must admit I found flaws on the purpose of honest review. They are not bothering me at all. Titanium is a dull looking material, such small details as a bit different CG shape are just very hard to spot when on the wrist. Everything is titanium gray ;)
 

Rwolf

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Interesting review, thanks. This rep is very nice
 

Sora

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very nice review
i would like to say the fonts also look "fuller" than before, no more thin fonts like the old h factory pams.

check out my below pics , comparison between noob fac pam111 , h fac pam089 and h fac pam390 ( in order top to bottom)

qFPjt3d.jpg
 

PolonusTM

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very nice review
i would like to say the fonts also look "fuller" than before, no more thin fonts like the old h factory pams.

check out my below pics , comparison between noob fac pam111 , h fac pam089 and h fac pam390 ( in order top to bottom)

qFPjt3d.jpg

I found the same. And sapphire is somewhat better, especially date loupe is not so deforming as usual.


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