Questions about GMT, ETA and Panerai cases

[lacklusterplus]

Is the ETA 2893 GMT movement available for purchase? If so, where and for how much?

Many of the vendors sell watches with the ETA 2836 that has been modified to have a GMT function. How does this differ from the 2893? Are there good and bad versions of this modified 2836? How do you tell the difference and what should the price be?

How easy is it to fit either the ETA 2893, or modified ETA 2836 into Panerai cases such as the Luminor or Radiomir cases? Are there standard spacer rings avialable?

Any advice/info would be a big help.

 

[babola]

I believe 2893-A2 is still available for purcase via Otto Frei or Cousins.
Expect to pay a hefty premium, though.

You will need a special 44mm case to fit an auto mov't to create either 29/63 GMT PAM, or 27/28 PR. The issue is the clearance between the underside of the xtal and the hands, especialy due to the fact you'e dealing with the 3-hand stack on PR and 4-hand stack on the GMT. The cyclops (date magnifiers) are attached on the underside of the xtal, so you need enough clearance between the mag cyclop and the second hand, for the hand to be able to move freely without touching the mag cyclop. The sapphire xtal at it's 3.5 mm is not exactly thin, either. So I guess you get my grip

The 44mm Luminor cases that house both gen and rep 27/28/29/63 come with higher bezel, resulting in deeper rehaut, for the reasons I mentioned above. These are now nearly impossible to find as a spare part. You may check with DSN, but it's a long shot.

Hope this helps a bit,
babola

 

[lacklusterplus]

I didn't see the 2893 at ofrei. I will check again.

I would likely start with a full rep GMT watch from DSN without cyclops, so that should take care of case depth and crystal height.

I am just trying to figure out if I would want to buy a 2893 to put in there instead of the 2836 with Chinese modified GMT feature. I don't know enough about these to make the determination. Do they operate differently via the crown? Are there any servicing issues with the Chinese modification vs the 2893? Any idea on the cost of a 2893?

 

[babola]

I didn't see the 2893 at ofrei. I will check again.

I would likely start with a full rep GMT watch from DSN without cyclops, so that should take care of case depth and crystal height.

I am just trying to figure out if I would want to buy a 2893 to put in there instead of the 2836 with Chinese modified GMT feature. I don't know enough about these to make the determination. Do they operate differently via the crown? Are there any servicing issues with the Chinese modification vs the 2893? Any idea on the cost of a 2893?

I believe GMT hand sits above the hour hand on modified 2836 which is simply wrong from the cosmetic angle point of view (if you care about it, that is), and from what I heard the GMT feature doesn't function as smootly as it does on 2893. Horses for courses...it's not surprising the 2893-A2 GMT rep comes with 3X the price tag of the inferior 2836

cheers,
babola

 

[lacklusterplus]

I haven't seen the ETA 2893 GMT rep. Can you point me to the vendors who carry it? (models affected?)

 

[babola]

I haven't seen the ETA 2893 GMT rep. Can you point me to the vendors who carry it? (models affected?)

There aren't any left. Hence the top premium you pay for NOS and second hand ones. I guess you just missed the ad from River for PAM63C GMT he advertised 3 weeks ago for $695, delivered.
According to him those were the last PAM GMT pieces produced with genuine ETA 2893-A2 mov't.

cheers,
babola

 

[lacklusterplus]

I missed that. So what would stop me from buying a 2836 GMT PAM and then putting an ETA 2893 inside? Would the hands be transferable? Would the movement collar be transferable?