Silverspeed 10 Posted January 23, 2011 Last week I got a very nice 177L from Lay. I ordered this about a week before Christmas, probably the busiest period for dealers and shipping companies, so it took quite some time to get from China via the UK to The Netherlands. I've had a few titanium PAM's before but these newer handwound PAM's are completely different. I'm sure there are still plenty of flaws, but I've never been too concerned with that....and no reason to start now With every new watch I get I always check if the screws are tightened and take the caseback off to see if the movement is clean, movementholder screws are tightened, crease the caseback seal and to remove any dirt in the caseback threads. The movement was nice and clean but there was quite a lot of dirt in the caseback threads. The titanium case is very well finished, no rough parts anywhere and a nice and even metal sheen on it. The caseback has very good engravings and the individual serial numbers are a nice touch. The crownguard is better than any other standard crown guards I've seen on reps, almost perfectly flat lever, good CG pin and the fit of the CG on the case is again better than all the other rep PAM's I had before. Same story with the dial, the sandwich dial is nicely cut out with clean and crisp dial printing. Another huge improvement is the crystal. Usually rep Pam's have the blue coloured AR coating which was quit obvious and a dead give away. These new handwound Pams are much better, the AR is colourless pretty much the same as my gen 312. The only difference is that the gen AR is more clearer the AR on this 177 seems to have a very light grey haze over it....but you'll have to look for it to actually notice this. It gets kind of boring but the lume is also a big improvement over my previous rep PAM's, it's much brighter and longer lasting and what I find more important the colour of the dial indexes, when the lume is not charged, are very close to a gen Panerai sandwich dial. Most sandwich rep dials are much to green in regular daylight. The movement is a standard Asian 6497 and thus nothing like the gen handwound Panerai movement. This otherwise very well made watch deserves a higher grade 6497, but no complaints on the performance of this 6497, it keeps excellent time and has the usual very long power reserve of over 48 hours. All in all this is very nice rep and a huge improvement over the previous generation handwound PAM reps.....enough talk on to the pics...oh I immediately took of the rubber strap, I hate rubber straps and had a nice Mario Paci strap laying around which fits the titanium PAM very nicely Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gez45 0 Posted January 23, 2011 Great review Silverspeed because it covers all the questions I would like answered in one go, and your pics are great very clear, it looks like you are the bloke to go to for reviews , good job mate cheers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gB. 0 Posted January 23, 2011 I did the same SS. I also had like you the "ultimate" 177 older version that Robert offered, but decided to jump on these newer ones and it is far superior to the previous ultimate version from Robert. I agree it is more suited to a brown leather strap than the rubber strap it comes with IMO, although the rubber is decent quality and the thicker version. Enjoy it often mate! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebzen02 341 Posted January 23, 2011 The watch and strap are a match made in heaven! Where did you get the strap? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Del 4,459 Posted January 23, 2011 Really nice PAM and a great review - thanks . Oh, and enjoy your new watch :P Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greg_r 81 Posted January 23, 2011 Great review, Silver! Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
warbreck 0 Posted January 23, 2011 I have ordered one of these from sead at RG. Cant wait!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GC 4,487 Posted January 23, 2011 Now that's HOT! SS, you have done it again! Your photo's are beautiful as always! Now i know what my next watch will be...DAMN IT! p.s. you say the movt is a standard 6497 but it has a swan neck micro regulator and looks exactly (at least to my eyes) like the Gen. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeMcNair 0 Posted January 23, 2011 so this "hand wind" thing, is it true that you actually have hand wind it? i would love this if it were automatic, its the PERFECT look i want from the next pam i get... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wombosi 0 Posted January 23, 2011 What an amazing watch! Enjoy wearing it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Member X 91 Posted January 23, 2011 so this "hand wind" thing, is it true that you actually have hand wind it? i would love this if it were automatic, its the PERFECT look i want from the next pam i get... Yes, 'tis a handwind - only take 1-2 minutes to wind to 'full' though, and it lasts at least 48 hours, on average. Buy it!! There is talk of some closed caseback autos coming, though, but I love the simplicity of this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Silverspeed 10 Posted January 24, 2011 The watch and strap are a match made in heaven! Where did you get the strap? Bought it a few years ago from TCstraps during a 50% off sale Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gtwc 1 Posted January 30, 2011 lovely, simply lovely. where are all the 'neer-do-wells' with their constant carrping at ti cases? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gianton 14 Posted January 31, 2011 Nice write up and awesome pics mate, congrats! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greg_r 81 Posted January 31, 2011 lovely, simply lovely. where are all the 'neer-do-wells' with their constant carrping at ti cases? d'oh The 'carping' as you put it was about the previous generation of ti cases, which were - as Robert so eloquently put it - "as rough as a badger's arse". They're still found on most of the cheaper ti reps and homages and are generally poor quality (not to mention the sharp edges). The generation before that was decent quality although, apparently, not as good as this latest version - they hadn't been available for the last year-18 months or so, though. This case is completely new (remember, this watch has only been available for a couple of months) and vastly superior. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeMcNair 0 Posted January 31, 2011 so this "hand wind" thing, is it true that you actually have hand wind it? i would love this if it were automatic, its the PERFECT look i want from the next pam i get... Yes, 'tis a handwind - only take 1-2 minutes to wind to 'full' though, and it lasts at least 48 hours, on average. Buy it!! There is talk of some closed caseback autos coming, though, but I love the simplicity of this ok, last dumb question: can you get this with a BLUE face and BLUE lume? if so, it would be 99.9% the pam i am looking for (if it can be had with a power reserve gauge it would be 100 % the one i want) i am having a really tough time finding the pam that fills all my "wants" cause there are so many, and i can't get all the #'s straight. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
solkryssare 109 Posted January 31, 2011 So pretty this is...........This one needs an Architect to play with Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeMcNair 0 Posted February 1, 2011 ok, last dumb question: can you get this with a BLUE face and BLUE lume? if so, it would be 99.9% the pam i am looking for (if it can be had with a power reserve gauge it would be 100 % the one i want) i am having a really tough time finding the pam that fills all my "wants" cause there are so many, and i can't get all the #'s straight. HALP Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
