{*PCTeam*} H-factory PAM 240J (Titanium) - Review

[PolonusTM]

I decided to buy a new rep for my collection to ease the wait for new releases. Since PAM 240 is not one of the latest and hottest BUT still very nice watch, I decided to buy it, too. The subtle combination of silver shiny hands, tobacco dial and dull gun metal titanium case looked very promising on photos - and it is very nice one, indeed. I can consider this watch one of most elegant PAMs - subtle, under the radar, full of dignity - look.

Due to the titanium used, the rep is also lightweight one, like a gen. The rep comes from Joshua/PC but any TD can have it, I suppose.

Some notes on the rep:

- typical high quality, single AR H-factory sapphire. Nothing new, just great quality
- Luminova C3 on dial and hands - usual quality for H-factory
- everything except lug bars (and deployant clasp) is titanium (even crown)
- CG: nice roller, wrongly rounded internal corners of CG
- wrong shape of lever tip (minor detail)
- very good, polished CP, without a tip on the center, almost flush with minute hand
- a bit too thin font (just a tiny bit), correct kerning. The '6' on dial is of a bit different shape (less bold).
- the tobacco dial behaves the same as gen - I can reproduce all shades of it while taking photos - as seen on gen photos.
- engravings on the back seem to be little too shallow and light compared to gen
- Asian 7750 28.8k with micro regulator was exceptional out of the box although the rotor has engravings "OP VIII" instead of correct "OP III"

It is very underrated watch, even as a gen. It's beautiful and awaits a strap from Orloff

GEN PHOTOS (to compare some aspects):

NOW REP PHOTOS:

that was out of the box… Tip: the caseback was removed and it is enough for Kello to get measures.

Movement:

Other:

Wristshot:

HD video:
Hfac 240J - YouTube

 

[thran]

very nice watch!

 

[co-axial]

Nice watch Polonus and I love those HD vids

I think due to tobacco dial this will not be seen often; nice combination imo (Ti and tobacco) tough + Orloff strap then

 

[PolonusTM]

Nice watch Polonus and I love those HD vids

my pleasure

 

[dracula3]

Beautiful watch, great video and very informative review. Many thanks for your work.

 

[superdriver]

Thanks for the review, it is indeed a beautiful watch, and now on my want list. Thanks just when I thought I was done buying watches. Lol

 

[ALE7575]

Hi Polonus

Congrats for your watch+strap and for this interesting Review with nice pictorial included.
You are right, this watch is really beautiful, smart , and has character.
After seeing your review, sure it will be in many wishlist. Mine included .... LOL

As you say the combination Ti, Brown, silver hands... and the strap looks actually awesome.
Interesting to see, as very usually, that the movemnts is wrongly marked OPVIII instead of OPIII.
Almost no noticeable tip on lever flaw and font differences.

Thanks for this interesting review.

After reading and seeing the pics this replica is really bordering on Super rep grade and it is normal that many people consider it directly as a Super rep

THIS REVIEW GOES DIRECTLY TO the PAM REVIEW GUIDE and I will include some observations about the Evaluation as bordering on Super rep.

PAM GUIDE Data Table and aux. info of PAM 240J H maker needed a review and pictorial like this.

Many thanks Polonus, your contribution to the PCTeam, like other kind members, is being very active and really useful

ALE

 

[PolonusTM]

ALE: thanks for the kind words well, I didn't spot the flaw with wrong movement markings, thanks.

 

[ALE7575]

ALE: thanks for the kind words well, I didn't spot the flaw with wrong movement markings, thanks.

Hi Polonus
You are welcome
In order to have better and concentrate info, please EDIT the first post including the movement No.flaw.
Thanks for your kind cooperation

ALE

 

[PolonusTM]

Just a though about titanium - I got a nasty scratch on PAM 240 today. I found that the simplest, best way to brush it is to use dishwashing sponge with non-woven abrasive on one side. PERFECT! It took literally seconds to get the perfect titanium brushed surface. So much easier to brush than to polish stainless steel

Interesting read about titanium:

Titanium metal's corrosion resistance is due to a stable, protective, strongly adherent oxide film. This film forms instantly when a fresh surface is exposed to air or moisture. The oxide film formed on titanium at room temperature immediately after a clean surface is exposed to air is 12-16 Angstroms thick. After 70 days it is about 50 Angstroms. It continues to grow slowly reaching a thickness of 80-90 Angstroms in 545 days and 250 Angstroms in four years. The film growth is accelerated under strongly oxidizing conditions, such as heating in air, anodic polarization in an electrolyte or exposure to oxidizing agents such as HNO3, C(R)O3, etc.

The composition of this film varies from TiO2 at the surface to Ti2O3, to TiO at the metal interface. Oxidizing conditions promote the formation of TiO2 so that in such environments the film is primarily TiO2. This film is transparent in its normal thin configuration and not detectable by visual means.

A study of the corrosion resistance of titanium is basically a study of the properties of the oxide film. The oxide film on titanium is very stable and is only attacked by a few substances, most notably, hydrofluoric acid. Titanium is capable of healing this film almost instantly in any environment where a trace of moisture or oxygen is present because of its strong affinity for oxygen.

 

[PolonusTM]

Since some guys were interested in Kello timing application, I found author's blog entry about it:

http://watchmakingblog.com/2010/07/11/measure-the-precision-of-mechanical-watches-using-your-iphone/

 

[ALE7575]

Hi Polonus
This is an interesting thing to know
Thanks for the info

The abrasive you are talking about is type Scotch Brite?
Do you have some pics of the sponge ?
Good solution for a bothering issue

ALE

 

[PolonusTM]

The problem was that since I am into abrasives, I couldn't find non-vowen abrasive giving me exactly "the finish". It was too coarse or too fine. Just regular dishwashing sponge did the job exactly the way you want. The cheap one, you can buy in bulk in any shop.

You need a fresh one, of course

 

[kaniel]

Nice review.

That watch looks great! Thanks for the HD video too!

 

[ALE7575]

The problem was that since I am into abrasives, I couldn't find non-vowen abrasive giving me exactly "the finish". It was too coarse or too fine. Just regular dishwashing sponge did the job exactly the way you want. The cheap one, you can buy in bulk in any shop.
You need a fresh one, of course

Thanks Polonus
Yes I guessed it was this type, but I wanted to be sure.

Do you think it would be interesting to cover the other parts of the watch with a strong adhesive tape in order to make the job easier??
In this way you could concentrate your attention in the brushing job and the alignement of brushing without worries !

ALE

 

[PolonusTM]

Do you think it would be interesting to cover the other parts of the watch with a strong adhesive tape in order to make the job easier??
In this way you could concentrate your attention in the brushing job and the alignement of brushing without worries !

ALE

I squeezed abrasive foam between fingers and just brushed gently over damaged area. Since it is hard to scratch sapphire - I didn't bother covering it. Everything in titanium watch is brushed anyway....

 

[ALE7575]

I squeezed abrasive foam between fingers and just brushed gently over damaged area. Since it is hard to scratch sapphire - I didn't bother covering it. Everything in titanium watch is brushed anyway....

Sapphire OK
But the rest of the case, of course, is brushed but in order to preserve the alignment of brushing, maybe it would be better to cover the rest.
Isn't it?
I don't know, it is only an idea !! You have already the experience


ALE

 

[PolonusTM]

I brushed here and there, barely trying to resemble original brushing directions and - success Of course covering will help, I was just too lazy

 

[ALE7575]

Thanks Polonus for the comments



ALE

 

[PolonusTM]

...an Orloff's strap just came in: