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Monsieur_B

Tuttonero and how I got there

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Monsieur_B

This might be a bit long, sorry but my last purchase made me wonder on all the changes so far and how did I get there.

The last thing I recall about looking at Panerai watches was that I was thinking how bulky they are and could not wrap my head around the crown guard clasp mechanism, I just didn't see the point. This was around the Expendables  came out and Stallone was returning in tabloid news as well as Statham and their watches were all over the internet and the Forum as well.  I  never really looked into their lineup, however their history is pretty amazing.

My first rep. was a TAG Heuer Link Cal 36. from Lifetimereplicas (which does not exist any more)  in 2007 long time before I have found the forum. It served me for a couple of years when I have found the forum and moved on to a TAG Pendulum which was a homage kind of a watch quite off from the original but a good solid reliable one for the last 7 years. 

A lot of things happened in between in private life and I have been missing in action for a while, but as you all know the urge was there like when you quit smoking and it returns to tingle the back of your spine unexpectedly even after years. 

So, I have never been into Panerai but two things got stuck with me which I have seen on RWG before the long break which were an all ceramic Hublot Bing Bang all black (that is the one and only Hublot I like) and a white ceramic Seal I think with a white strap. The ceramic watch concept did intrigue me since then.

So there I am browsing through the Trusted Dealers list end of 2017 looking for my new baby checking out Omegas, when deciding to check the inventory of Kuvarsit who are known for their PAMs, stumbling into the 438 and it was love at first sight.

It seems I have reached a new level in my watch maturity apparently as I cannot take my eyes off it and have reconsidered everything I have preferred previously.

The watch is 149grams so rather on the heavy side, and from the front there is no telling from the genuine as we are already used from Kuvarsit. The unified color of a satin ashy black is amazing, even more in sunlight with the vintage style color choice of the lume it make a perfect combo for me.

Where it gives it's origin away is the backside with the custom Seagull movements screws not being PVD. The power reserve indicator is only cosmetic,

It has a GMT function which is a working one. So far my only issue is that I seemingly have hit the bracelet here and there during daily wear and the ceramic coating is quite thin apparently as the metal is already visible in a very tiny spot which is a bit disappointing as the description says it is made of ceramic.  *Correction - it is ceramic and as I was advised using a rubber did remove the residue metal stuck to it.

Other than that I really love the watch, it is accurate and just lovely to look at.

And now for the kink.

IMG_0784.jpg

IMG_0788.jpg

IMG_0790.jpg

IMG_0799.jpg

Thank you for looking.

Edited by Monsieur_B
correction of material assumed, and rotor fabrication

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Dandyman

Inappropriate Post Dandyman.  Refrain or you will be removed.

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NCRich

Nice PAM.

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mysterio

Congrats on picking up the PAM438. I am interested where you think the KW version is better than the VSF version.  Also, you seem to have not read about finding metal marks on ceramic. Ceramic is indeed very hard, so much so that when it hits another metal, the metal can leave some of its own material on the surface of the ceramic. The mark can be removed by an eraser. 

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Monsieur_B
13 hours ago, NCRich said:

Nice PAM.

Thank you.

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Monsieur_B
11 hours ago, mysterio said:

Congrats on picking up the PAM438. I am interested where you think the KW version is better than the VSF version.  Also, you seem to have not read about finding metal marks on ceramic. Ceramic is indeed very hard, so much so that when it hits another metal, the metal can leave some of its own material on the surface of the ceramic. The mark can be removed by an eraser. 

Thank you mate. You were right the eraser worked, thanks for the tip and apologies for my ignorance. 

The weight on the rotor seems to be different as on the VSF it seems to be press cut and has an edge around the windows which are cut into it, but the KW is true to gen. with the same form, although not sure if this is due to the type of movement used in them.

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Monsieur_B
13 hours ago, Dandyman said:

Inappropriate Post Dandyman.  Refrain or you will be removed.

wow, what did I miss?

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TheTinMan

Is this a 12 hour GMT (dual time) or a 24 hour traditional GMT?  I don't see the 24 hr markings on the dial. I picked up a 24 hr GMT  and it's just a pain in the cock to figure out what time it is in that second time zone. 

Very nice find by the way. Glad it's really ceramic too.  Enjoy, it's beautiful! 

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mysterio
18 minutes ago, Monsieur_B said:

Thank you mate. You were right the eraser worked, thanks for the tip and apologies for my ignorance. 

The weight on the rotor seems to be different as on the VSF it seems to be press cut and has an edge around the windows which are cut into it, but the KW is true to gen. with the same form, although not sure if this is due to the type of movement used in them.

I think you have it reversed. The rotor (weight) on the VSF is more like the gen as you can see from the pictures below. The edges of the cutouts are raised. On the KW, the sides of the cutouts are sunken.

KW

66502.jpg

VSF

DSC_0171.jpg

Gen

Panerai-007b.jpg

 

15 minutes ago, TheTinMan said:

Is this a 12 hour GMT (dual time) or a 24 hour traditional GMT?  I don't see the 24 hr markings on the dial. I picked up a 24 hr GMT  and it's just a pain in the cock to figure out what time it is in that second time zone. 

Very nice find by the way. Glad it's really ceramic too. 

The V2 P.9001 movement now has the correct 12-hour GMT as per gen, including the other gen functions such as independent hour hand adjustment. PR gauge is still false though.

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Monsieur_B
52 minutes ago, mysterio said:

I think you have it reversed. The rotor (weight) on the VSF is more like the gen as you can see from the pictures below. The edges of the cutouts are raised. On the KW, the sides of the cutouts are sunken.

KW

66502.jpg

VSF

DSC_0171.jpg

Gen

Panerai-007b.jpg

 

The V2 P.9001 movement now has the correct 12-hour GMT as per gen, including the other gen functions such as independent hour hand adjustment. PR gauge is still false though.

Damn you are right. I was checking this on the factory gallery but the photos were made from the front and it seemed like it is the opposite way around.

Hats off to you sir, and thanks for the corrections.

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Glaude

Very nice pictures ! Thank you for sharing this story !

I really like this watch also !

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Monsieur_B
3 hours ago, Glaude said:

Very nice pictures ! Thank you for sharing this story !

I really like this watch also !

Thank you! :)

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whitegold79

Hi, can someone guide me please. 

I've ordered the 438 v2 but the TD insists it has silver under the balance wheel at 7.

Looking at pictures from various websites it suggests that the v2 should have black below the balance wheel.

Can anyone confirm or comment

Regards

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Genius
51 minutes ago, whitegold79 said:

Hi, can someone guide me please. 

I've ordered the 438 v2 but the TD insists it has silver under the balance wheel at 7.

Looking at pictures from various websites it suggests that the v2 should have black below the balance wheel.

Can anyone confirm or comment

Regards

Honestly mate I'd just forget about what it looks like under the balance wheel what you really care about is the bits you can actually see when you are wearing it.  Even a salesman in a Panerai boutique would not know what colour a specific part of the movement should be

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whitegold79
Honestly mate I'd just forget about what it looks like under the balance wheel what you really care about is the bits you can actually see when you are wearing it.  Even a salesman in a Panerai boutique would not know what colour a specific part of the movement should be
Thanks, agree with that

My concern is I'm not sold a V1 instead of a V2 as the V2 functions same way as the gen whereas the V1 doesn't


Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

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mysterio
On 14/12/2018 at 01:30, whitegold79 said:

Thanks, agree with that emoji106.png

My concern is I'm not sold a V1 instead of a V2 as the V2 functions same way as the gen whereas the V1 doesn't


Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk
 

I think the movement on the PAM438 was not updated to V2 until it was colored black as well. So if it's silver, it would be a V1 (with no gen functions).

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