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PAM 243 J-series Tritium dial H maker – Overview and Evaluation
This thread is an extract from PAM GUIDE of PAM 243 J-series Tritium dial from H maker
EVALUATION:
(**) SUPER REP ( H maker J-series )
The gen PAM 243 1950 case 1000m Submersible was a newly introduced watch for 2006 I-series. The PAM 243 replaced the now discontinued PAM 087 1000m Submersible. The PAM 087 was affectionately referred to as the 'tuna can' because of its sheer weight and thickness. The PAM 243 1950 case of 44mm made of SS feels like it has a more distributed an even-weighted feel as compared to the PAM 087. The PAM 243 is incredibly comfortably, sporty and unique looking and the newly styled ridged rubber sport strap (previously only available on the 47mm sport models like the PAM 194, PAM 187 and Slytech models) is soft and comfortable. It has unidirectional bezel Egiziano style, skeleton hands, automatic movement, small seconds @9, a date window @3 with cyclops and helium valve @9.
First years productions were fitted with Tritium dials, but last years Panerai introduced Luminova dials. Tritium dials lume has vintage character and ecru-brownish colour that changes over time, becoming darker and more brownish. For replicas J-series dial should be marked T SWISS MADE T tritium dials and have vintage ecru-brownish colour. PAM 243 aged Tritium looks like a warmer version of PAM 243 Luminova
- H maker J-series
July 2015- H maker released a rep of PAM 243 J-series with the good caseset used for H maker V2 M-series and obviously changing the dial for a Tritium-like dial with ecru-brownish vintage lume. Fortunately H maker has not used the same dial base as previous M-series version which had thinner and slightly inaccurate “6†and “12†markers.
Like in V2 M-series, H maker has again made some efforts to get a rep at least at the same level of previous versions and has got IMO an improved rep in relation to H maker V2 M-series.
H maker has used the same caseset from V2 M-series with improved overall quality of finish, getting a great gen-like appearance at the same level as Noob. Even it looks, from the pics I have studied, that H maker has improved a bit more the finish and polishing of the bezel knurling. Unfortunately it seems they have not yet corrected the size of the upper polished external bezel edge which remains narrower than gen.
In relation to the caseset I have almost the same comments as H maker V2 M-series version
CASE- Accurate shape and improved finish in the same level as Noob.
BEZEL- Accurate overall shape. This rep has improved the horizontal section of bezel knurling and mainly the vertical section of the knurling, making the upper and lower bevelled much more accurate and better polished than previous V1 H maker version.
Anyway the upper external polished part of the bezel bevelled, although nicely polished remains narrower than gen. This narrower edge was the main issue of all Noob versions, in H maker this upper bevelled is a bit hit miss: usually it is a bit wider than Noob, always narrower than gen. But I have seen some QC pics and some catalogues with new H maker reps with a bevelled edge almost with the same width of the gen, but usually it remains smaller.
As above commented it looks that knurling polishing has improved in relation to V2 M-series, becoming closer the finish and polishing to last Noobs. Bezel rotation has 60 clicks, the same as Noob and gen (previous V1 version had inaccurate120 clicks). Working of rotation is precise and without play. The same as on M-series, black minute markers on bezel from 12 to 3 hrs. have been also improved in accuracy and finish at the same level of Noob. H maker has also improved bezel dots markers, they are now really accurate and well polished with rounded edges and raised like gen (even better than Noob). The black numerals 15, 30, 45 of the bezel dots have worse finish than previous V1 version and than Noob, but this could be variable between batches.
The pearl is a controversial matter because J-series pearl is really different from M-series one. But this is the same for the gen J-series. If we made a comparison with the gen, the accuracy is really good, as you can see on below comparison pic.
PEARL AND SAUSAGE LUME – GEN - Hmaker (J-series) COMPARISON
To get more info about the gen pearl see another pic from kilowattore in below post:
https://forum.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php/247081-*PCTeam*-The-PAM243J!-The-Tritium-Rep-Is-NOT-Dead!!!?p=2342903&viewfull=1#post-2342903
CROWN GUARD- The CG has improved a lot in H maker V2 M-series and J-series, the quality is at the same level as Noob regarding shape, finish, lever, CGpin, rounded edges and finish of the “holeâ€, and it seems than chamfered edges are even better and more uniform than Noob. Nice CG overall.
CASEBACK- Accurate enough with nice and deep engravings, less accurate and less deep than Noob and gen, and with a weird crooked second “S†in SUBMERSIBLE engraving.
CRYSTAL- H maker V2 M-series and J-series have improved a lot the contour of the date Cyclops, carefully polishing the edges of the loupe and almost avoiding the “frozen†halo, almost at the same level as gen and even better than some Noobs (Noob improved this issue a lot in last batches).
CANNON PINION- Like in V2 M-series CP has improved a lot, it is nicely polished and flat, but I see the contour of the CP a bit rounded, most likely due to it is a cup covering the real CP. I think Noob CP of last versions is better, more credible and flatter, although maybe with worse polishing. Anyway, both CP are really good for a rep.
DIAL-There is a surprise with this rep because, as you can see in the review of H maker V2 M-series, the markers of this version were inaccurate, being “6†thinner and “12†thinner and smaller. PAM 243 H maker J-series has improved the accuracy o the makers fonts and we have now accurate thickness, size and fonts for “6†and “12†markers.
The sausage lume application and the marker fonts are also very accurate with a slim white contour on markers and really raised sausage lume application just like gen. You can see the accuracy I’m talking about in below comparison pic.
“12†MARKER – SAUSAGE LUME – GEN - Hmaker (J-series) COMPARISON
As you can see sausage lume application, white contour and fonts are really accurate, much better than in H maker V2 M-series
The surface and overall finish of dial are really good. Dial layout is very accurate, as the same level as previous versions.
Another improvement added by H maker in J-series is the surface os seconds sub-dial @9. Maybe due to a more appropriate viscosity or thickness of the black paint the glossy appearance the seconds sub-dial @9 has disappeared.
And now the differences:
As previous H maker versions lume dots have accurate shape, but H maker dots have more rounded upper surface whereas gen and Noob are flatter.
Regarding inscriptions the colour is accurate but the fonts are inaccurate, in the same way as H maker V2 M-series.
Therefore, as commented in previous H maker version, H maker J-series “R†has straight, completely vertical and without pointy bottom tail, whereas gen “R†has a slightly inclined tail, it is a bit curved and at the bottom it has a pointed shape toward the right side. “R†fonts are really inaccurate in practice.
H maker “A†has bigger inner triangle, due to the horizontal “A†gen stroke is placed a bit higher than H maker one. Noob is accurate in this regard.
Automatic inscription font is always inaccurate, mainly “a†font, but H maker fonts are a bit narrower and more inaccurate.
In LUMINOR inscription, moreover the “R†font, H maker “U†has the bottom part more rounded than gen and Noob. This is very frequent but few noticeable in practice. We can see the font differences in above comparison pic of “12†marker.
Maybe the more debatable matter of this rep is the lume colour of dial dots, markers and hands. As already commented gen has Tritium lume which the colour ages over time, becoming darker and more brownish with different degrees of change. For some reasons lume of gen dots seems to get more darker than gen markers lume and mainly hands. Gen usually presents lighter colour lume on markers and mainly in hands than lume dots. That could be due to a different gen Tritium lume material used in the production of the gen PAM 243 Tritium. Talking about Tritium lume these differences cannot be considered as a rule, because the aging of this Tritium lume is completely ramdom. Rep lume colour is very similar in hands, markers and dots and quite dark. Rep lume usually is darker and seemingly more “aged†than most of the gens. We could say that the rep has an aging at the limit of darkness in relation to the gen aging. H maker rep lume is really nice and gives to the watch a nice vintage and warm appearance, although I had preferred a lighter colour on markers and mainly in hands. But as above commented aging has no rules and we can consider accurate enough the rep J-series lume colour and, besides, beautiful.
That said we can conclude that PAM 243 H maker J-series is a very nice rep, in many aspects is the same as Pam 243 H maker V2 M-series, but with better dial markers accuracy, closer to gen, accurate pearl and improved appearance of seconds sub-dial @9. In this way H maker J-series overall improves H maker V2 M-series and gets a quality similar to Noob V2 (V3) M-series.
Rep PAM 243 H maker J-series is a clear Super rep at reasonable price and the best alternative for the unavailable Noob. If you are lucky and get a rep H maker J-series with a bit wider upper external polished bezel edge, you will have a rep even with better appearance than the better Noobs.
More info here:
https://forum.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php/247081-*PCTeam*-The-PAM243J!-The-Tritium-Rep-Is-NOT-Dead!!! by Grimlocktime
https://forum.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php/250657-H-Factory-PAM-243J-Someone-got-it-already-QC-pics-allowed?p=2365617 by PAMaholic
http://www.repgeek.com/showthread.php?t=255954 by PAMaholic
A very good candidate for a first PAM rep.
PAM 243 J-series
REPLICA links:
- H maker J-series
(**)http://www.torobravo2015.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=1661
(**)http://www.intime.co/panerai/2245-pam243j-h-maker-1-1-ultimate-edition-on-brown-leather.html
(**)http://www.ttw8488.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=352&products_id=13722
(**http://www.ttw8488.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=352&products_id=13723
http://www.pf-818.com/0140c-p-17988.html
GEN links:
http://shop.analogshift.com/products/tudor-heritage-chronograph
http://forums.watchuseek.com/f29/fsot-panerai-pam-243j-tritium-dial-quick-strap-change-buttons-879930.html
http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=301882
http://www.lacotedesmontres.com/Annonce-Panerai-PAM-243-J-Luminor-Submersible-Tritium-Full-Set-No_50760.htm
https://onlyvault.com/watches/panerai-pam-243-luminor-submersible-1950-pam-243-i-tritium-series-16463
http://forums.timezone.com/index.php?t=tree&goto=7130728&rid=0
This thread is an extract from PAM GUIDE of PAM 243 J-series Tritium dial from H maker
EVALUATION:
(**) SUPER REP ( H maker J-series )
The gen PAM 243 1950 case 1000m Submersible was a newly introduced watch for 2006 I-series. The PAM 243 replaced the now discontinued PAM 087 1000m Submersible. The PAM 087 was affectionately referred to as the 'tuna can' because of its sheer weight and thickness. The PAM 243 1950 case of 44mm made of SS feels like it has a more distributed an even-weighted feel as compared to the PAM 087. The PAM 243 is incredibly comfortably, sporty and unique looking and the newly styled ridged rubber sport strap (previously only available on the 47mm sport models like the PAM 194, PAM 187 and Slytech models) is soft and comfortable. It has unidirectional bezel Egiziano style, skeleton hands, automatic movement, small seconds @9, a date window @3 with cyclops and helium valve @9.
First years productions were fitted with Tritium dials, but last years Panerai introduced Luminova dials. Tritium dials lume has vintage character and ecru-brownish colour that changes over time, becoming darker and more brownish. For replicas J-series dial should be marked T SWISS MADE T tritium dials and have vintage ecru-brownish colour. PAM 243 aged Tritium looks like a warmer version of PAM 243 Luminova
- H maker J-series
July 2015- H maker released a rep of PAM 243 J-series with the good caseset used for H maker V2 M-series and obviously changing the dial for a Tritium-like dial with ecru-brownish vintage lume. Fortunately H maker has not used the same dial base as previous M-series version which had thinner and slightly inaccurate “6†and “12†markers.
Like in V2 M-series, H maker has again made some efforts to get a rep at least at the same level of previous versions and has got IMO an improved rep in relation to H maker V2 M-series.
H maker has used the same caseset from V2 M-series with improved overall quality of finish, getting a great gen-like appearance at the same level as Noob. Even it looks, from the pics I have studied, that H maker has improved a bit more the finish and polishing of the bezel knurling. Unfortunately it seems they have not yet corrected the size of the upper polished external bezel edge which remains narrower than gen.
In relation to the caseset I have almost the same comments as H maker V2 M-series version
CASE- Accurate shape and improved finish in the same level as Noob.
BEZEL- Accurate overall shape. This rep has improved the horizontal section of bezel knurling and mainly the vertical section of the knurling, making the upper and lower bevelled much more accurate and better polished than previous V1 H maker version.
Anyway the upper external polished part of the bezel bevelled, although nicely polished remains narrower than gen. This narrower edge was the main issue of all Noob versions, in H maker this upper bevelled is a bit hit miss: usually it is a bit wider than Noob, always narrower than gen. But I have seen some QC pics and some catalogues with new H maker reps with a bevelled edge almost with the same width of the gen, but usually it remains smaller.
As above commented it looks that knurling polishing has improved in relation to V2 M-series, becoming closer the finish and polishing to last Noobs. Bezel rotation has 60 clicks, the same as Noob and gen (previous V1 version had inaccurate120 clicks). Working of rotation is precise and without play. The same as on M-series, black minute markers on bezel from 12 to 3 hrs. have been also improved in accuracy and finish at the same level of Noob. H maker has also improved bezel dots markers, they are now really accurate and well polished with rounded edges and raised like gen (even better than Noob). The black numerals 15, 30, 45 of the bezel dots have worse finish than previous V1 version and than Noob, but this could be variable between batches.
The pearl is a controversial matter because J-series pearl is really different from M-series one. But this is the same for the gen J-series. If we made a comparison with the gen, the accuracy is really good, as you can see on below comparison pic.
PEARL AND SAUSAGE LUME – GEN - Hmaker (J-series) COMPARISON
To get more info about the gen pearl see another pic from kilowattore in below post:
https://forum.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php/247081-*PCTeam*-The-PAM243J!-The-Tritium-Rep-Is-NOT-Dead!!!?p=2342903&viewfull=1#post-2342903
CROWN GUARD- The CG has improved a lot in H maker V2 M-series and J-series, the quality is at the same level as Noob regarding shape, finish, lever, CGpin, rounded edges and finish of the “holeâ€, and it seems than chamfered edges are even better and more uniform than Noob. Nice CG overall.
CASEBACK- Accurate enough with nice and deep engravings, less accurate and less deep than Noob and gen, and with a weird crooked second “S†in SUBMERSIBLE engraving.
CRYSTAL- H maker V2 M-series and J-series have improved a lot the contour of the date Cyclops, carefully polishing the edges of the loupe and almost avoiding the “frozen†halo, almost at the same level as gen and even better than some Noobs (Noob improved this issue a lot in last batches).
CANNON PINION- Like in V2 M-series CP has improved a lot, it is nicely polished and flat, but I see the contour of the CP a bit rounded, most likely due to it is a cup covering the real CP. I think Noob CP of last versions is better, more credible and flatter, although maybe with worse polishing. Anyway, both CP are really good for a rep.
DIAL-There is a surprise with this rep because, as you can see in the review of H maker V2 M-series, the markers of this version were inaccurate, being “6†thinner and “12†thinner and smaller. PAM 243 H maker J-series has improved the accuracy o the makers fonts and we have now accurate thickness, size and fonts for “6†and “12†markers.
The sausage lume application and the marker fonts are also very accurate with a slim white contour on markers and really raised sausage lume application just like gen. You can see the accuracy I’m talking about in below comparison pic.
“12†MARKER – SAUSAGE LUME – GEN - Hmaker (J-series) COMPARISON
As you can see sausage lume application, white contour and fonts are really accurate, much better than in H maker V2 M-series
The surface and overall finish of dial are really good. Dial layout is very accurate, as the same level as previous versions.
Another improvement added by H maker in J-series is the surface os seconds sub-dial @9. Maybe due to a more appropriate viscosity or thickness of the black paint the glossy appearance the seconds sub-dial @9 has disappeared.
And now the differences:
As previous H maker versions lume dots have accurate shape, but H maker dots have more rounded upper surface whereas gen and Noob are flatter.
Regarding inscriptions the colour is accurate but the fonts are inaccurate, in the same way as H maker V2 M-series.
Therefore, as commented in previous H maker version, H maker J-series “R†has straight, completely vertical and without pointy bottom tail, whereas gen “R†has a slightly inclined tail, it is a bit curved and at the bottom it has a pointed shape toward the right side. “R†fonts are really inaccurate in practice.
H maker “A†has bigger inner triangle, due to the horizontal “A†gen stroke is placed a bit higher than H maker one. Noob is accurate in this regard.
Automatic inscription font is always inaccurate, mainly “a†font, but H maker fonts are a bit narrower and more inaccurate.
In LUMINOR inscription, moreover the “R†font, H maker “U†has the bottom part more rounded than gen and Noob. This is very frequent but few noticeable in practice. We can see the font differences in above comparison pic of “12†marker.
Maybe the more debatable matter of this rep is the lume colour of dial dots, markers and hands. As already commented gen has Tritium lume which the colour ages over time, becoming darker and more brownish with different degrees of change. For some reasons lume of gen dots seems to get more darker than gen markers lume and mainly hands. Gen usually presents lighter colour lume on markers and mainly in hands than lume dots. That could be due to a different gen Tritium lume material used in the production of the gen PAM 243 Tritium. Talking about Tritium lume these differences cannot be considered as a rule, because the aging of this Tritium lume is completely ramdom. Rep lume colour is very similar in hands, markers and dots and quite dark. Rep lume usually is darker and seemingly more “aged†than most of the gens. We could say that the rep has an aging at the limit of darkness in relation to the gen aging. H maker rep lume is really nice and gives to the watch a nice vintage and warm appearance, although I had preferred a lighter colour on markers and mainly in hands. But as above commented aging has no rules and we can consider accurate enough the rep J-series lume colour and, besides, beautiful.
That said we can conclude that PAM 243 H maker J-series is a very nice rep, in many aspects is the same as Pam 243 H maker V2 M-series, but with better dial markers accuracy, closer to gen, accurate pearl and improved appearance of seconds sub-dial @9. In this way H maker J-series overall improves H maker V2 M-series and gets a quality similar to Noob V2 (V3) M-series.
Rep PAM 243 H maker J-series is a clear Super rep at reasonable price and the best alternative for the unavailable Noob. If you are lucky and get a rep H maker J-series with a bit wider upper external polished bezel edge, you will have a rep even with better appearance than the better Noobs.
More info here:
https://forum.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php/247081-*PCTeam*-The-PAM243J!-The-Tritium-Rep-Is-NOT-Dead!!! by Grimlocktime
https://forum.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php/250657-H-Factory-PAM-243J-Someone-got-it-already-QC-pics-allowed?p=2365617 by PAMaholic
http://www.repgeek.com/showthread.php?t=255954 by PAMaholic
A very good candidate for a first PAM rep.
PAM 243 J-series
REPLICA links:
- H maker J-series
(**)http://www.torobravo2015.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=1661
(**)http://www.intime.co/panerai/2245-pam243j-h-maker-1-1-ultimate-edition-on-brown-leather.html
(**)http://www.ttw8488.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=352&products_id=13722
(**http://www.ttw8488.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=352&products_id=13723
http://www.pf-818.com/0140c-p-17988.html
GEN links:
http://shop.analogshift.com/products/tudor-heritage-chronograph
http://forums.watchuseek.com/f29/fsot-panerai-pam-243j-tritium-dial-quick-strap-change-buttons-879930.html
http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=301882
http://www.lacotedesmontres.com/Annonce-Panerai-PAM-243-J-Luminor-Submersible-Tritium-Full-Set-No_50760.htm
https://onlyvault.com/watches/panerai-pam-243-luminor-submersible-1950-pam-243-i-tritium-series-16463
http://forums.timezone.com/index.php?t=tree&goto=7130728&rid=0
