Unscrewing PAM 438 bezel?

[Unknownwatchmaker]

Hello everyone,

I just took delivery of my first Panerai, a used 438, though I am having a couple issues with the watch. The biggest one is that the GMT hand strikes the sweeping seconds hand -- the two hands completely engage and the movement stops. I was hoping to pop off the crown and ever-so-gently bend the hands away from each other, rather than remove the entire A7750 movement from the back.

My issue is that the ceramic bezel is stuck on quite firmly and will not budge despite a couple hours of tinkering. Has anyone had issues with this before? Any tips to unscrew the bezel? I have tried searching the forums several times and do not see this addressed. My apologies if it has been discussed before.

Thanks!

 

[PAM1983]

Pics of what you are talking about


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[Unknownwatchmaker]

Sorry, I misspoke on the first post. I am under the impression from Intime that bezel screws off leading to easy access to the dial, however mine is not budging.

I think I just diagnosed the other issue as a slipping cannon pinion. Fixing the pinion is beyond me at the moment. I will likely have to send it in to get this fixed, and the hand stack can be addressed at that time as well.

I guess the next step is finding a watchsmith in the North Carolina region, if anyone has suggestions